I went to my local bike co-op today to pick up a few items for some projects I'm working on and was happy to see they are busier than a one armed paper hanger. They had loads of bikes and have been doing great business, which is how it should be. Now most of the bikes are your standard box store discards but there were a few gems that I really had to turn away from. I've never heard of a GUSU? or a Montini but that Gardin looks beautiful. Please feel free to fill me in with any details if you know about these bikes.

They were all in very good shape and reasonably priced.

Please tell me they are all terrible and not worth going back

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speaking of two-wheelers...

how are you getting on with your wee Roma lass?

is that her we see hanging beside the GUSU in the first image?


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Sure it doesn't say GURU?

The Gitane, no progress since my last post on her, too many pokers in the fire ha ha. I have a Peugeot UO 14 which I've switched over the wheel set and bought a new pair for her, so needed to get a 6 speed cassette and then get the tires switched over to get her up and running.

So many bikes, so much work to do!

That bike on the wall is very similar and I think was the same original colour that my Gitane was before it got customized with a paint job.

Yup, I think you're right. I've never head of GURU either. Looked liked a decent bike?

Seeing as these are all Canadian bikes, I am going to bring in the expert T-Mar for some thoughts on these bikes. I've done a bit of research on each bike and it seems they are all short lived CDN bike companies during the 80's bike boom. That Gardin bike looks attractive though and wondering if that's worth picking up? I read an earlier post from a rider on the CDN racing team who rode Gardin bikes and had some interesting things to say. I'm always interested in supporting the history of CDN biking, as limited as it is.

Those are complete junk, not worthy of a second look. Where did you say they were located?

GURU was prominent in high end triathlon bikes for a little while, but I don't know anything about that particular model.

Say, I think I know what you're up to

Let me make my mind up first and then I'll let you know.

The Guru is the most modern and appears the cleanest of the three. I can see a Columbus decal and it at least has dual pivot brakes. However, it's also notably smaller and I can't tell if it is one of their road models or triathlon specific models with a steep seat tube.

The Gardin looks like it may be from the period just before the split with Rino. It has some sort of Modolo brakes and appears to have the Modolo shift levers. The drivetrain appears to have been upgraded.

The Montini is the lowest recognition/prestige brand of the three. The bicycles were contract manufactured for CBD and sold as a B-brand (some might argue C-brand). I can't recall seeing any above lower mid-range.

Given the apparent discrepancy in sizing, that should be your prime consideration. Drive side photos would probably provide a lot more information.

Thanks again T-Mar, your knowledge on vintage bikes is a huge benefit to us all. When I get back to the shop I'll try and take a few more pictures. I will admit it's that Gardin that I have my eye on but I'm a sucker for a local story.

T-Mar, can I ask your opinion? I am interested in that Gardin but they are asking a fair bit of cheddar for it so I was thinking of offering up a trade, but want to know which bike is better. I have this Sakai Select that i've updated a bit but it's mostly as is, which was in great condition.
I would really like to own a local bike to the GTA but Miele's in my opinion are priced out of my comfort zone around here.

Shimano 600 friction components
Suginao crank
made in Japan

so I thought this Gardin would be interesting to have.

and they were still in business (or al least somebody had the brand and was selling some high end bikes with it) as late as the middle 2000s. A coworker bought one in around 2008 and he spent some money for his! Some carbon fibre was involved but think it was a hybrid frame with other materials, cannot recall. Had never heard of the brand before seeing his.

Well, you already own a GTA brand, as Sakai was the louse brand for Bloor Cycle.

We still don't have much info on the Gardin, but it's likely a competition model, so it should be lighter and more nimble. It will also have more street credibility. The Sakai is more recreational touring. It should be heavier, with more relaxed and comfortable ride characteristics. The Gardin is likely the more expensive of the two but that doesn't necessarily make it better, particularly if it's not suited to your intended use and riding style.

Guru is till around but they're primarily in the bicycle fitting business business, selling their fitting equipment and training IBS personnel. I believe the switch took place 5-10 years ago, around the time they were acquired by Dorel's sports division, which also owns, Caloi, Cannondale, GT, Ironhorse and Mongoose. You see lots of Guru bicycles at duathlons/triathlons in eastern Canada.

I had a tour of the Guru production facility in Laval about 15 years ago. Very impressive place, seems they got some financial support from the Quebec government. They were still riding high from the Simon Whitfield Olympic triathlon gold medal. They were producing frames in carbon fibre, titanium and steel in house. Their titanium frames were very nice. However, they went bankrupt at least twice leaving some of their suppliers with losses of thousands of dollars. They shut the Laval factory and moved to cheaper premises but still couldn't make a go of things.

You might have told me about the bike being the house brand of Bloor Cycle already and if so, sorry I forgot. That is really cool and explains why you don't see too many of these out there as well as the Bloor Cycle sticker! You are spot on, it's a very comfortable ride, smooth but pretty light actually - with the chromoly frame. I don't tend to ride my C&V bikes to race or do long rides but mostly for cruising into town for a coffee or a light ride. I have 2 newer road bikes that I use for harder riding.

This is good, thank you I feel much better now with the bike I have and don't feel i need to rush out and pick up the Gardin. It would be nice to have but I don't really have room for any more bikes.

We may have discussed your bicycle before but I'd have to check my database to see if I have your serial number. Your Select is circa 1981 to 1984. I recall the main tubes on these were typically Tange Mangaloy 2001 (carbon-manganese alloy) as opposed to CrMo (chromium-molybdenum alloy). Still, it's relatively light and I'd expect the bicycle to weigh around 24-25 lbs . The Gardin might be 2-3 lbs lighter, depending on the components and tubeset. Given your riding, the Sakai sounds like a better choice. It looks like it has the nice jadestone finish, where the colour appears to vary from black to green, depending on the light conditions

You sir, are 100% correct on both counts, the sticker on main tube is Tange Mangaloy 2001 and it is the jadestone finish, which goes from black to green in the sunlight. There's also the gold trim around the lugs and interestingly, the freewheel was a gold colour as well, which is a bit odd to me. Naturally, it gets dirty from grease and grime and looks more like rust at a glance but a closer inspection, indicates the gold colouring.

thank you once again, I feel much happier with this bike now