When Evan Hu was six years old, his father took him to the Eaton’s store in Winnipeg in September and bought him his first bicycle. The little, red shiny bike sat off in the corner of the clearance centre and Hu’s father bought it for 50 per cent off.

In the spring, Hu went to work on the bike. He stripped off the fenders, turned the handlebars around, and then took a hacksaw to them to chop them shorter. “It was in my blood to start modifying things,” Hu recalls.

Hu hasn’t stopped since. Hu and his business partner, Angus Cowan, own Calgary’s Cycles Toussaint, a boutique bicycle frame-building business that creates bikes that look like they’ve sprung from another era.

If Hu's bikes harken back to a distant past, then the serial entrepreneur who has founded no fewer than four start-ups is very much of his time. Hu has successfully sold three of his firms, while his current venture is Knelf, an app and messaging platform that sends questions back and forth between mobile phones to spark conversations between people.

Cycles Toussaint is sparking conversations, as well. A Vancouver bike shop owner calls Cycles Toussaint 'The King of Bling.'

There are two models, the Velo Routier and the Citie. The former is an all-purpose machine capable of handling smooth pavement and rough dirt roads equally and designed for long-distance touring. The latter, as its name suggests, is a city commuter that positions its rider in a comfortable, upright posture.

Both bikes possess the kind of detailing and parts that cycling enthusiasts moon over: light-weight cro-moly frames; leather seats; braze-ons for touring racks, water bottles and pumps; high-quality shifters, brakes and cranks.

Detail of one Cycle Toussaint's bikes. Photo from Evan Hu

Cycles Toussaint sells online and through a small network of dealers. “It’s a tiny, niche business,” Hu says. “I call it a slow business. I was inspired by the slow food movement.”

So far, Hu and and Cowan have honoured that slow philosophy. The business is a part-time venture for the tech industry executive and even somewhat of a family affair; his sons help assemble the bikes when a large order arrives and the Hu and Cowan home’s basements are crammed with parts and frames.

Hu made a promise to himself and his family that he’d only spend four hours a week on the business. Since starting Cycles Toussaint in 2012, Hu and Cowan have sold 140 bikes.

Right now, Hu is working a couple of new stainless steel prototypes. Harkening back to his slow analogy, he says, “We’re kind of like the bakery where you make so many buns and then when they sell out, they sell out.”