What the Heck is CBS?
 

I got this bike from the original owner, who bought it as a frameset c. 1980 here in Canada. It's a Reynolds 531 tubeset, with the pantographed stays, Campy dropouts and double crown fork. It's in pretty rough shape and has already been resprayed. Anyone ever heard of this company? I haven't been able to find anything.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b8ef4f0254.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f02ae314da.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a1654a3391.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...13dfd87085.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0090aca712.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...679ed7b9a2.jpg

Gotta be an acronym for something;
Campagnolo Bicicletta Servicio?
Columbus Bike Studio?
Canadian Bicycle Shop
Complete BS?

OT but... nice vintage wool blanket. It is about time to pull the wools from the chest and get them ready. Which mill did it come from?
[MENTION=487355]VtwinVince[/MENTION]

That's a very pretty frame.

Judging from the thread suggested by [MENTION=28167]dedhed[/MENTION] it seems that [MENTION=384338]Duke7777[/MENTION] will be able to shed light on the origins of this bike.
Brent

Possibly a previous owner's initials? If that's the case, lightning may strike you two or three times before you figure it out.

See my post on the Larry Ruble frame thread for some info on CBS (Canadian Bicycle Specialists). I recently found both Gay Wise and Larry Ruble on facebook, tried contacting Larry, but didn't get a response. You could try contacting Gay on facebook - she now lives in Shawnigan Lake BC. The two frame builders I knew at CBS were Koichiro Seki and Tony Hoar, although I suspect there may have been other sources for CBS frames, especially in the 1970s.

+1, Canadian Bicycle Specialists. I don't have much to add to what has already been stated in the two threads.

I am the OP for the Larry Ruble thread that dedhed mentioned above. I have asked the folks at Super Champion Bike Shop on Main St, near E. Cordova St. in Vancouver, Canada, to reach out to Larry Ruble for me (they confirmed they know him), but I have received no reply in the past 3 weeks, but I am still working on my mystery.

Any other leads are welcome.

-Will

Thanks for all the tips. Regarding the blanket, it's from Harmony House and was retailed by Simpson-Sears back in the '50's. I have a few vintage blankets. Anyway, I do know about Tony Hoar, and I live not far from Shawnigan Lake, so things are starting to make sense. The frame itself is very straight, no dents etc. I'm also having trouble figuring out what BB is in there. The bike came with Ofmega CX cranks.

Wow! In the 60’s we had a very similar looking pink wool blanket. I remember that edging design. It brings back childhood memories.

The red anodized cups makes me think Bullseye bottom bracket.

For comparison, I've uploaded some photos of my previously owned CBS: https://www.flickr.com/photos/577760...57716940876373

I suspect this frame is earlier than VtwinVince's, and there are definitely some differences.

It's also a very nicely made frame, custom built as a touring frame for the person I bought it from. It originally had bosses for Mafac cantilevers. There doesn't seem to be anything stamped on the bottom bracket.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b3d9146bed.jpg

Just to resurrect this thread, I recently picked up a few bikes which Gay Wise had been storing since Tony's death in 2019, including two of Tony's road bikes and an interesting mountain bike which was apparently made for the '88 Olympics in Calgary. I'm just restoring these now, so I'll update my progress as I go.

I look forward to seeing some photos. Are these bikes that were built by CBS? Is Gay still around and did you buy them from her? My wife finally sold her 1982 Seki-built CBS team bike last year, but I recently bought back my 82 CBS touring bike, converted it to 1x10, and enjoy riding it very much. The previous owner repainted it and put on some Tony Hoar decals that he got somewhere, possibly from Tony. It originally had CBS decals and was also built by Seki I think.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6e062f334f.jpg

CBS = Canadian Bicycle Specialties

I took this photo early 1980's when we were riding the Juan De Fuca Velodrome Victoria, B.C.
We brought out the CBS, a Flying Scot, Flying Gate, Frejus and a Limongi that day.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2c68173f55.jpg

Pretty cool stuff. Yes, I bought the bikes directly from Gay, and they are all in a pretty sorry state. One of the road bikes is 753 and has some interesting features, including internal cable routing on the derailleurs. I will be getting in touch with Seki as well, as I'm interested in the details on these bikes.

I just came across this article from May 2024 about Gay recovering her CBS race bike that was stolen about 30 years ago. https://www.hopestandard.com/trendin...stolen-7361366
From the info in the article I would guess this bike was built in the early 80s by Seki, who still seems to be around and has a record of all the frames he built. Here is my wife's race bike, built in 1983 I think.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...381ca918b1.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d54c10c043.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8cb641e45b.jpg

That's a beauty Duke. I'm looking forward to getting in touch with Seki, as the bikes I'm restoring all have no serial numbers, so essentially one-offs. I believe they made three of the mountain bikes. I did follow that story about the stolen bike, and Gay also got her custom tandem back that she campaigned with Tony. Right now she's in Europe, and had planned to ride the Dalmatian coast, but she broke her wrist in a training accident in the summer.

Here's a 1988 mountain bike built for the Calgary Olympics, one of three total. It has a custom one piece bar\stem, 6 speed XT driveline and the paint was done by Gay Wise.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9b86f619d3.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ff9f1be57c.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4cb3756bc5.jpg

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a3b5fd1c53.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bc0ebf1596.jpg
Here is my CBS. Original Campy components and seat. I am not sure the wheels are original, as they are Saturae rims with Shimano hubs and freewheel. It might have come with tubulars and was converted later.

Nice one Bill, what part of the OK valley are you in? I'm from Summerland. BTW I found out that the MTB was painted by Art Tyler of Brodie-Kona fame.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c516cddc98.jpg