MisterK

Long story short: nieghbour put out old bike for free in the alley and I took it home (thread here: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ne!?highlight= )
After being given a restore with a personal touch, all that is original from when I got it are the frame crank and rear derailleur.
Only thing left is to reattatch the headbadge.
This was my first rebuild and its my first roadbike. I'm excited.
I already got the itch for another...

eschlwc

canadian? (i think i see a leaf on that pretty badge.)

MisterK

I'm pretty sure she's a canadian bike. Def boom era. Not a super high end bike, maybe double butted if I'm lucky but I put a tange fork on it and custom paint. Really happy about it. Just gotta do little tightening and adjusting but she's assembled
Only the frame craank and rd are original

sailorbenjamin

Nice color. Tasteful build.

old's'cool

I know almost nothing about the history of the Empire brand; it seems to be very obscure. But by the mid-70s, at least, they seem to have become a Canadian-branded, Japanese-manufactured bike. Here are some pics of my 1976 Empire Professional restoration project. Components are generally entry level Shimano alloy, except brakes/levers which are early 600, and stem/bars/seatpost, which are entry level SR alloy.

T-Mar

Since the previous threads, I've dug up a little more info. Empire was the private label brand for Empire Distributing, a Canadian company importing and distributing sports equipment. Circa 1978 there was a merger of sorts with CCM, when CCM was sold to Empire's Montreal based parent company. At the time, Empire reportedly had about 7.5% of the domestic maket, while CCM had about 15%. By merging the two companies Empire could apparently avoid the import surtax imposed on their Japanese built models.

CCM was in dires straights at the time and while things improved they never reached stability. CCM's Weston plant closed in 1982, after a strike. It never reopened and CCM was placed in receivership later that year. Bankruptcy was declared in 1983 with the CCM brand and assets being purchased by ProCycle.

bradtx

Really nice job, MisterK. What color green is that, the shade of green I wanted to use on my build is a bit of a wash with so little area to bring it out properly.

Brad

MisterK

Its Volkswagen Metallic Dragonfly Green. You can't see in the picture but there is a nicce amount of flake in the paint, gotta take her out in the sun n let her shine.
The rear derailleur is a shimano eagle I (5speed friction shift), nervar crank, 27" araya rims on shimano hubs, all shimano hangers and cablestops in chrome , dia compe centre pull brakes.
Nothing super special about the parts but I'm definatly satisfied and can't wait to ride it.
Thanks for the extra info about my bike. Neat that its japanese.

bradtx

MisterK, Thanks for the color.

Brad

old's'cool

T-mar the additional info is much appreciated!
Don't supposed you gleaned anything about who manufactured the frames? Would a serial # tell you anything? Mine is [TABLE="width: 64"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 64"]76L94064
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
I assume the bikes were completed in Japan, if duty was being paid, unlike Sekine, or do you know something different?

T-Mar

No, nothing yet, outside of the fact that there appears to have been at least 3 different manufacturers, which isn't suprising. I've been trying to remember who was the retailer for these. Something inside me wants to say Home Hardware but I have little confidence.

As for the duty and country of origin sticker, it appears the rules were in near constant flux. I have seen several different tariff rates and Canadian content requirements. It's all quite muddled and confusing. I wouldn't be surprised if there were various rates depending on the amount of Canadian content. For instance, even though Sekine were assembled in Canada they proably still paid a tariff on the imported parts, while CCM would have paid very little as they manufactured a lot of components in house. Then there was also the favoured nation rule. A Sturmey-Archer IGH from Britain had a lower tariff rate than a Shimano IGH. So it wasn't just that it was foreign but where it came from.

old's'cool

...more cool info, as always.

FYI, I bought my Empire at The Happy Outdoorsman, on South Pembina Highway in Winnipeg in spring 1976. I had been searching since the previous fall at all the bike shops & sporting goods stores in Winnipeg for an above entry level road bike, i.e. with all alloy components and a double butted frame for under $300, and the Empire Professional was the first one I found that fit the bill, albeit marginally. Only the brakeset arguably exceeded the "above entry level, alloy" minimum requirement by any margin; but I wasn't that discerning at the time, and as a budding teenage bike enthusiast, I was extremely happy with my find. I'm looking forward to getting my replacement project bike completed and evaluating how it feels to ride (again), with all the intervening experience I've had with other bikes in the mean time.

bradtx

T-Mar, I thought it was odd that there was a Made in_____ sticker as that was, or is just a US import requirement. Maybe there were plans to export to the US?

Brad