About

History

True North Cycles was founded in 1993 when Hugh Black started building frames in the workshop of his parents’ farm near Alma, Ontario, Canada. Hugh’s dedication to custom-frame building was tested and proven in the early years-the workshop was heated by woodstove, and Hugh had to repeatedly collect firewood to keep warm enough to work! Most of the early frames that Hugh designed and handcrafted were mountain bikes, but he steadily expanded his repertoire over time to include frames for other types of cycling.

The Frame Builder: Black is the New Black

Hugh graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s University (Kingston, Ontario, Canada), where he built and rode a number of prototypes of mountain bike frames. Upon graduation, Hugh was underwhelmed by the typical engineering jobs available in the labour market. He was fascinated with bicycle manufacturing, and excited about the possibility of dedicating his engineering skills and attention-to-detail to bicycle frame building. Hugh merged his passions for bicycles, engineering, and craftsmanship in True North Cycles.

True North Cycles Today

True North Cycles is currently located in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. We specialize in steel and titanium bicycles, designing and building custom frames for various types of bikes ranging from touring and road and mountain. Hugh continues to hand-build all True North frames.