Table of Contents

Morrison of New Zealand

New Zealand's first mountain bike 1)

In 1963 Morrison Industries produced lawn mowers and bicycles sourced “almost completely from New Zealand made parts” 2) so that by the 1970’s ninety percent of all bicycles sold in New Zealand were locally made. At the time, New Zealand restricted imports of bicycles and companies, such as Morrison, licensed outside bicycle designs 3). When the import bans were lifted around 1985, almost all local bicycle manufacturing ceased 4) and the Morrison bicycle brand ended. Morrison continues to make the lawn mowers they initially started with: Morrison Outdoors. 5)

Morrison Lawn Mower
Morrison Lawn Mower
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1983 Sidewinder

The components are labeled Suntour, the rims Araya, and the frame has a Miyata sticker on it. Perhaps it's not quite 90% Kiwi, but it has many unique touches in its bmx frame/forks, welded on kickstand, cable routing and bmx bars. It's very similar to its namesake, the Schwinn Sidewinder.

1983 Sidewinder
1983 Sidewinder chainslapmag

1984 Sidewinder

The date is completely uncertain.

1984 Sidewinder
1984 Sidewinder flickr

1985 Sidewinder

Another guess on the date, although it's likely a 1986. The Sidewinder went through yearly evolutionary incarnations, finally acquiring a triple front derailleur around 1986.

1985 Sidewinder
1985 Sidewinder flickr

Production Notes

[1]. ?

1)
Or perhaps it was the 1983 Healing Mountain Cat? Research needed.
2)
Which is highly unlikely, but quoted often: tractionbikeblog
3)
Many Raleigh badged bikes in NZ were manufactured by Morrison
4)
Avanti Bikes, of New Zealand, preserved their brand name using imports and continues today. They also state that the Avanti Revolution, 1987, was “the first locally assembled mountain bike in New Zealand.” Not even close…
5)
Info from: tractionbikeblog, chainslapmag && Masport.