The household name for over 120 years

Malvern Star is not just a house hold bicycle name for Australians It’s a tradition. A tradition of high quality, value for money and impressive design. It’s no wonder then that Malvern Star is often the brand chosen to introduce little ones into the world of cycling. The kid with the Malvern Star was always the envy of the neighbourhood and as Australians grew up, so did our brand. There’s an innocent thrill to riding a Malvern Star, the feeling which brings back nostalgia for those revisiting the brand.

Proud history

The 1898 winner of the world’s oldest existing track race, the Austral Wheel Race, was a young cyclist named Tom Finnigan. Investing his prize of 40 gold sovereigns, he opened a small bicycle shop in an inner-city eastern suburb of Melbourne and, in 1903, the home-grown Australian icon Malvern Star was born.

From its beginnings, Malvern Star set out to deliver more than just urban city style, offering a more traditional and unique riding experience for the recreational rider, a trait for which the brand is known today. In 1920 a young man by the name of Bruce Small invested his life savings, around 200 pounds, as a deposit for Malvern Star Cycle Works on Glenferrie Road, purchasing the business from Finnigan as he moved into retirement.

Many thought he was mad. Little did they know this decision would lead Small to become a pivotal figure in Australian cycling as one of the sport’s great entrepreneurs. Malvern Star grew and began fostering the cycling community by sponsoring local races and riders. In 1921, a 17-year old telegraph messenger finished third in one of these races. Small, through fate or faith, offered the boy a job at his bike store. The boy was Sir Hubert Opperman and this moment would mark the beginning of a prosperous relationship, taking both names to the world stage.

Malvern Star made history by backing the first ever Australasian Team to ride the Tour de France in Hubert ‘Oppy’ Opperman headed this Malvern Star team, with Small taking this opportunity to advance Malvern Star’s presence on a global level. In 1934 Opperman and Small returned to Europe where Oppy broke five world cycling records, stamping his reputation as a bona fide champion. Malvern Star’s ambition saw the company undergo a radical reshaping of its product line for a proposed entry to the United States market. The introduction of duralumin components created a strong, lightweight and high-performance bike, aptly named the Malvern Star Five Star. The second World War stifled the brand’s plan for US expansion as raw materials were being repurposed for the war effort. When production resumed post-war, top line racing bikes returned to the spotlight and Malvern Star continued supporting Australia’s top cyclists. Decades on at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, the Australian Pursuit Team, aboard what were considered ‘standard Malvern Star bikes’, beat the highly fancied USA Team which boasted the latest in bicycle technology, carbon fibre. Malvern Star is the brand which generations of Australians were proud to call their own. And it remains an intrinsic part of Australian life – designed and built for local conditions.

Today, Malvern Star is owned by Sheppard Cycles, Australasia’s leading distributor of bicycles, parts & accessories. The same ideals that forged Tom Finnigan’s fledgling brand more than 100 years ago sit at the heart of the Malvern Star of today: bicycles offering the ideal balance of performance, style and comfort.

Timeline

In 1903, Tom Finnigan revolutionised the Australian cycling industry by founding Malvern Star, a cutting-edge bicycle shop inspired by the leafy east-Melbourne suburb of Malvern where the store was opened.

His mission was simple: to support the local cycling community and create quality bicycles for all Australians. More than a century later, we’ve made it our mission to honour Malvern Star’s rich heritage and carry forward its legacy as a recognisable and cherished brand for Australian families.