For those not 'in the know', 'CanCon' is an abbreviation of 'Canadian Content'.

And I'm pretty excited about it.

After a bit of back and forth by email, followed by a home visit and some negotiation over a difference of both opinion and means on price (settled amicably with a partial trade that lightened my over-supply of consumables)...I've scored a Cyclops road frame.

It's got all the (slightly eerie) trademark Cyclops decals - and the deep metallic purple paint job that I've lusted after for some time - setting those decals off better than any other paint scheme I've seen.

It also sports a 'Freuler'-style geometry (as I've heard it called), with significant HT and ST extensions that make a 58.5x57.5 frame fit like a rather larger one (with ostensible benefit to stiffness and general handling, I hear).

The marque is relatively well known in Canada, Mike Mulholland having been both an excellent builder and cycling scene fixture in southern Ontario (later moving the business to Vernon, BC). He built a lot of nice bikes, generally custom; mine was built for someone named Jacob Astin. Sadly, Mr. Mulholland passed away in 2005.

I've got a bit of a thing for Canadian bicycles; this will join my Marinoni and Proctor as a top example. I've been particularly drawn to Cyclops as a marque for some time...certain coincidental details speak to me, as do the slick decals, paint, and generally nice (but never ostentatious) details. For example: The Cyclops marque was born in 1983, the same year I was - and Mr. Mulholland's given name was Mike, as is mine (we share the same initials: MM).

Pics to come, I promise...