The founder of Ace Cycles, Lorne “Ace” Atkinson , had a life-long history with cycling. Lorne’s father, Charlie Atkinson, was a professional cyclist/coach from Scotland nurtured Lorne’s interest in road racing at a young age and supported him in his long history of competitive cycling.

Ace represented Canada at several international competitions from 1948 to 1954, including the 1948 Olympics in London. In the 1950 British Empire Games he not only competed, giving Canada a 5th place finish in the 10 Mile Track Championship, but also managed and coached the Canadian cycling team.