1970's Mariposa

Early Headbadge decal.

Custom bracket for remote operated Sanyo generator

This custom Mariposa rack is not original but was made for this bike a few years ago.

Drilled Stronglight chainrings.

Bicyclesport Decal; always a sign of a quality bike.


Growing up in downtown Toronto in the eighties and being obsessed with bikes meant that a lot of my idle time was spent riding around and loitering in as many bike shops as I could. We had a bunch of great shops then, all seemingly catering to a different clientele. My local shop was Spinning wheels on Parliament street and it was almost entirely a mountain bike shop. I spent many hours on my way home from school staring at the window displays of handbuilt Ritcheys, Mountain Goats and Rocky Mountains they always had. At the time, mountain bikes were just beginning to catch on and you could really only find serious ones to obsess over at Spinning Wheels and an uptown shop on Mount Pleasant called Cycle Logic. Most of the few times I ventured north of Bloor street as a kid was to see what was going on there. For Bmx bikes there was only one shop, Ream's Cycle on Victoria Park; way out of my zone back then but an amazing place full of straight-from-California culture. In the Toronto of the early eighties Redlines, Hutches, Vans and Diamond Backs existed only in magazines and Ream's Cycle. It blew my mind.
For road bikes there were far more options. On Bloor street there was the huge Bloor Cycle and the weird High Park Cycle. Bloor Cycle was an old shop that had an annual catalogue and an expansive showroom floor. They imported all the high-end italian marques as well as every conceivable bike for the whole family. It was a good place to wander around as a kid and not be asked to leave but it didn't really have much character. High Park Cycle was across the street and had far more character but never wanted any kids to come in. I was kicked out of there many times for just browsing at the strange European imported BMX's and track bikes. Ironically, of all the shops I remember from youth its the only one that's still around. It's moved since ( It's now actually in High Park) and is still run by the same surly owner, who still occasionally kicks me out for lack of purchasing. Another option for unbothered loitering was the original Peddler on the east side of Avenue Rd. It was a roadie store that catered to the Rosedale rich and because of that it carried some really nice bikes. The real draw though was the glass cases of high-end parts from Campagnolo, Mavic, Suntour and Shimano. But the shop that seemed to be the most serious and certainly was the most intimidating to me was BicycleSport. When I first discovered them, they were on King Street just east of Jarvis but were soon to move to the perhaps more appropriately "speakeasyish" location in an alley south of Front Street. The shop had only a small showroom but what they had was always different from everyone else. They had English fully-suspended Moultons, French touring bikes, classic used road bikes and, best of them all, custom-built Mariposas which were made right there in the back of the shop. It was amazing to me that someone right here in downtown Toronto made bicycles. I had always pined after bikes made in Europe or California but these were cooler then them, far more refined and detailed. I had no chance at the time of riding one, they were way too expensive for my non-existent budget but I always thought that one day I would have one built for me. Mariposa's are no longer made so unfortunately I will never have a custom one but this bike here is perhaps the next best thing.
This is a mid to late 1970's Mariposa sport-touring model. Its in near perfect original condition and fits me perfectly. I really love riding this bike, it always feels good to be riding something made here, in my neighbourhood, in my youth.