Oppy Owners Club

[Downhill]

Since our Aussie sense of humour allows us to poke fun at ourselves.... I thought I'd have a little light hearted tongue-in-cheek fun and launch the OPPY OWNERS CLUB!!!

Am I right in thinking that us OPPY owners like to cut through brand-name BS in order to perceive something for what it's actually worth? Or is there still a deeply entrenched sense of nostalgia trapped within the apparent ickiness of the Malvern Star label?

Yeah, I know that MS is about as Aussie as Vegemite, but personally I think there's something rogue-ishly Australian about a bike that pretends to thumb it's nose at the establishment.

So come on OPPY owners, "Where are the bl**dy h*ll are ya?" and why did you choose your Oppy?

[martinjs]

Haven't bought one yet but looking at getting probably a C6 Oppy for my 50th (18 months away) Strangely enough it was the curves and the colour scheme that won me over. oh and the test ride of the C7 helped a bit too.

Well thought out decision that hey.

Martin

[jules21]

my partner bought an A4 at a charity auction. i'm a reluctant oppy owner

[Solirossi]

Ill chime in. To be honest iv not been riding long enough to really have had the association with what Malvern Star used to be, let alone what it used to, used to be. My opinion of them is purely driven by my experience since I have started riding. 2 years ago.

I never knew MS back when it was apparently a really good Aussie brand, although my Dad knew it as such. I also never knew MS made K-Mart bikes, I was too busy surfing or doing other things to really care about bikes. But approximately 2 years ago i got bitten by the bike bug. I purchased an Avanti Cadent which was great. BUt then i began to see the Oppys pop up and comparing them to what I saw in many bike shops I was like man these bikes are great value. I tried to poke holes in why they were priced as such. Then as I read more, in particular on forums, it became apparent that MS were trying to break back into the high end bike market. They needed to regain credibility and the only way to do that was to be aggressive with pricing, have a unique distribution solution that allowed them to do this and be a forward thinking company. You can even visit their facebook page where they ask Oppy owners to report the good bad and ugly of the carbon oppys.

But lets omit all that research and knowledge that I have gained, I ended up purchasing my Oppy not because its Aussie (although that is a great reason), but i bought it because i objectively rode quiet a few bikes, looked at what they offered and how they compared to each other. And it boiled down to the fact that it was a great bike and a great price. To get an equivalent specd' Euro bike, that is made in the same country as the oppy (probably the same factory) with the same components I had to fork out an extra $2k.

I suppose that im fortunate that iv not been around long enought to associate the negative aspects of MS's previous products with their current range. I just made the call based on what i experienced. Its a great bike, i would have loved a bit more $ and got the pro with 404's and DA7900 as that would be a crazy bike but really the C6 is far more bike than I need.

[brauluver]

12 months ownership of a 2010 A4 and loving it.
Great bang for buck, nice wheelset, funky colour scheme.Compact frame, responsive handling.
All i did was swap out saddle and tyres.
Not a brand whore or fanboi of anything particular.Bought it based on it being the best appointed entry level bike in my price range.

[Shifter]

ownership of a 2010 A4 and loving it.
Great bang for buck, nice wheelset, funky colour scheme.Compact frame, responsive handling.

Ditto

It's a very shiny and nice 'my first roadie'

[sven]

Chose mine for looks and value

i love it

[Sweeper59]

Count me in. I bought an Oppy about 2 years ago, and have done over 10,000k's since. I think they're great value for money.

[duds2u]

Count me in as well. Bought an A3 as as a first bike 5 months ago. Have done 1700 kms and love it.

The only regret i have is I did not have the extra $$$$'s to go to the A4 or better at the time.
I think that by the time I have built the cycle legs and cycling confidence to warrant an upgrade I will have $$$ to do it.
All told I'm a happy MS Oppy peddler.

[familyguy]

Couldnt beat it for value at the time (last October). Still cant. There's a few more around now too, which I kinda like.

Jim

[antipodean]

More Oppy love with my new 2010 Oppy Pro.
Couldn't resist Carbon everything, DA 7900 and Zipp 404's at $4500.

Great bike

[grimbo]

Me and my C5 say "Yeeeeahhhhhhhhhhhh"

[Rhubarb]

I'm in as a fan too !!!

Although I must confess this is the first decent bike I have ever owned so nothing to compare it to really.

2010 C5 here. I got it brand new (still in box, self assembly) for $1699 (ebay - bike store close down sale). Full CF, 105 groupset, Mavic Aksium wheels. Not super light (8.4kgs) but really nice to ride and really good value.

I'd fancy a new 2011 C6 though .....

I commute 200kms per week and very happy with it.

[ni78ck]

can i join too
oppy le mauco 2008 model. its been two years of great fun on a bike that represents great value!

[martinjs]

Ok you Oppy owners, who has a Oppy A5?
Looking for feed back on this model
Does it commute well?
Nice and fast?

Following on from my question about fast commuters/tourers.
Have nothing against Carbon and if I had money for a bike for every occasion I'd have one without hesitation, but for my purpose I want a nice fast bike and it needs to be able to handle rough roads and will be stored out side. Not in the direct sun I hasten to add but still out side.
Also don't want to have to buy special tools and carriers to take it places.

I noticed a few of the bikes that have the 105 running gear are a little more expensive than the Oppy.
Oppy is a big possibility because I can buy it local.

Martin

[im_no_pro]

It's not an oppy, but I would love one of these

If my current bike hadnt been half price, I probably would have grabbed an Oppy hands down. Still might with the (remote) potential to become a commuter sometime in the future.

[igstar]

Where is Oppy actually made? I suspect the frame is manufactured in China or Taiwan, but is it painted and assembled there as well or locally?

[wheels46]

It's not an oppy, but I would love one of these

If my current bike hadnt been half price, I probably would have grabbed an Oppy hands down. Still might with the (remote) potential to become a commuter sometime in the future.

Wow retro right down to the good old threaded headset !!

[rkelsen]

They look like they're pretty good bikes for the money. However, having watched Immigration Nation on SBS, I dunno if I'd be so keen to own something with Oppy's name on it.

He may have been a great cyclist, but learning about the things he did while he was Immigration Minister for the Menzies government has caused me to lose all the respect I had for him previously.

[martinjs]

Where is Oppy actually made? I suspect the frame is manufactured in China or Taiwan, but is it painted and assembled there as well or locally?

Sorry, I meant I could buy one from our local LBS.

Martin

[drubie]

He may have been a great cyclist, but learning about the things he did while he was Immigration Minister for the Menzies government has caused me to lose all the respect I had for him previously.

The past is a different country rkelson - both major parties had despicable immigration policies back then.

I reckon the oppy range looks the goods, but they could really benefit from sponsoring a team in the national road series to give 'em a bit more credibility. Overall they'd get a fair bit of goodwill / racing cred for the annual cost of 20 or so bikes. If I was in the market for a new bike I'd definitely have an oppy on the shortlist.

[Chuck]

I reckon the oppy range looks the goods, but they could really benefit from sponsoring a team in the national road series to give 'em a bit more credibility. Overall they'd get a fair bit of goodwill / racing cred for the annual cost of 20 or so bikes. If I was in the market for a new bike I'd definitely have an oppy on the shortlist.

+1 to all points drubster if I may

[igstar]

Where is Oppy actually made? I suspect the frame is manufactured in China or Taiwan, but is it painted and assembled there as well or locally?

Sorry, I meant I could buy one from our local LBS.

Martin

[familyguy]

He may have been a great cyclist, but learning about the things he did while he was Immigration Minister for the Menzies government has caused me to lose all the respect I had for him previously.

The past is a different country rkelson - both major parties had despicable immigration policies back then.

I reckon the oppy range looks the goods, but they could really benefit from sponsoring a team in the national road series to give 'em a bit more credibility. Overall they'd get a fair bit of goodwill / racing cred for the annual cost of 20 or so bikes. If I was in the market for a new bike I'd definitely have an oppy on the shortlist.

Genesys, ring a bell?

[rkelsen]

He may have been a great cyclist, but learning about the things he did while he was Immigration Minister for the Menzies government has caused me to lose all the respect I had for him previously.

The past is a different country rkelson - both major parties had despicable immigration policies back then.

Yes they did, but that doesn't change things for me. I wouldn't buy a "Gorton" bike either.