OPUS bikes: Canadian-designed-and-made
"For any mountain bike line to be successful in Canada it has to be accepted and successful in B.C., I'd almost call the North Shore the spiritual home of mountain biking in this country." - David Bowman, the man behind Opus bikes.
David Bowman, president of Outdoor Gear Canada, quickly back-pedalled when asked how many kilometres he cycles each year.
"I describe myself, charitably, as a dedicated recreational cyclist," chuckles the man behind OPUS Bikes.
"Is that an evasive enough answer?"
The Montreal-based Bowman was in Vancouver yesterday visiting with bike distributors who handle the 37 models that his company designs and assembles.
"Five or six years ago, we decided we'd learned a lot about bicycling in Canada and rather than selling other people's bikes we were going to put together a Canadian-made-and-designed line of high-value bicycles," said Bowman, on a visit to Cove Bike Shop in North Vancouver.
Bowman said his company started out making road bikes, which are very popular in Quebec. Then, about two years ago, the firm expanded into mountain bikes and hybrids.
"For any mountain bike line to be successful in Canada it has to be accepted and successful in B.C.," he said. "I'd almost call the North Shore the spiritual home of mountain biking in this country."
OPUS bikes range in price from $500 for an entry-level model to $4,400 for a full-suspension mountain bike.
"The Cove Bike Shop is one of the core bike shops on the North Shore, so to have them agree to pick up OPUS bikes was an enormously significant opportunity for us." The bicycling market in Canada totals in the hundreds of millions of dollars, with more than a million bikes being sold every year. Technology has improved and bikes now feature disc brakes and suspension, making them more user-friendly.
One model that's particularly suited to Vancouver's rain-soaked pavements is the Sentiero, says OPUS sales rep Dave Cressman. "The trend is for people looking for a better, faster commuter bike," he said.
"It's like a road bike with slightly knobby tires and more aggressive brakes."
Cove Bike Shop sells 2,000 bikes each year with an annual turnover of $3 million, said general manager Scott Taylor.
He said that since signing on with OPUS last fall, they've already sold several of the Sentiero bikes, which retail at $1,350.
