Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

P10630: I think it is 1939 or slightly later, but hard to tell really. It is similiar to the "Two Star Racer' model in the 1939 catalogue, but it is missing all of its original equipment. Does it have BSA stamped in the BB shell? Are the head fittings BSA?
Warren

Only the frame was given to me 35 years ago. I will check the BSA stamps for you on weekend. May still have the original head fittings
Gary

RobertFirth,
The s/n for the Swansea 4 Swan is 11620
Cheers
Gary

Just joined after a google search to find out a bit more about my grandfathers Malvern Star. I have read all the posts and nothing has been mentioned about a similar bike except one member querying about a "Two Star semi-racer Supersports?" My grandfathers bike is a Two Star Malvern Star "Superlite" (that is what is on the decal on the seat tube) with Tour de France front forks. My mother can remember him racing this bike in 1937-38 when she was a kid. He used to race from a Hotel in Sydney called 'The Crossroads' (anyone know of it?) with his club and would regularly ride the 200 miles to Yass and back. Apparently he bought it from someone in the club a few years beforehand.

Anyway, back to the bike, there are no numbers on the rear cutouts, just what looks like the letter "z" on the bottom of the crank hub and the number "2" on the bottom of the left rear tube next to the crank hub. The frame has the lugs for a pump, holes for brake mounts but no provision for mudguards. The crank gear is held on by five square headed screws (for quicker gear changeover??) Unfortunately, the bike is missing a lot of parts but I still have the original wheels (steel 28"), the handlebars (no headstem), the cranks (nickel plated with a symbol I can't make out and the letters "USA" underneath.

The remains of the bike has never been repainted but is in very poor condition. Any help would be appreciated.
Mark

groovedwarepeople wrote:
The remains of the bike has never been repainted but is in very poor condition. Any help would be appreciated.
Mark

the description could fit a 60's/70's bike so we need photos, put some on photobucket and post links.

Thanks for replying, I have uploaded some photos onto photobucket and I hope this link works....
http://s1331.photobucket.com/user/groov ... slideshow/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Forgot to take some photos of the wheels and handlebars,but they are in my shed and I will have to dig them out tomorrow.

[quote="groovedwarepeople"]
Two Star Malvern Star "Superlite"

the frame has been refinieshed , thats a Speedwell Superlite decal

with Tour de France front forks.
not sure if those are the original , Warren will be here soon but those are just stockish forks, its a pre war frame but thats as far as Im going The chance of finding a superlite decal is minimal but try GTS753 on Ebay, he doesnt do them as yet but may be able to.

Yes it is possible the frame has been refinished as my grandfather did buy it from someone else in the club but, if it was, then it was done prewar and with all the pinstriping and Malvern Star name hand painted on. Do you have a link to a good photo of the Speedwell Superlite decal? I want to restore it back to how it was when my grandfather rode it irrespective of whether it is original or not.

As for the forks, I personally wouldn't know if they are Tour de France or not. However, I used to have another old Malvern Star road bike frame (model?? but long gone now) and the sweep on those forks was nowhere near as far forward as the ones on this bike.

Any views about the frame number? It seems strange that there is only that 'Z' marking and the number 2 stamped on the hub and nothing in any of the normal places.

Process of deduction:
Cam stops in rear ends: Phased out approx 1934
Stars in fork crown: Introduced 1933
Key hole lugs: Suggests it is one of the better models.
BSA fluted cranks: Introduced early 1930's. but uncommon and expensive until say 1935. I think they are a later edition to this bike.
28" wheels: Phased out mid 1930's on racing models, late 1930's on sports models.
Forks: Would appear to be correct for that frame.
Frame numbers: The '2' is a casting number (I think), the Z is an N , and possibly an enamellers mark, to identify the frame when repainted. It is usually repeated on the fork steerer, so they dont get things mixed up.
Decals: Malvern Star did not use the 'scroll' decal on the main bar until 1930. That one is done with a stencil maybe, by the enameller, but I doubt anyone would have had a scroll stencil prior to 1939. They used the scroll before that in advertising etc. So maybe repainted in 1939/40?

Questions:
Does it have 'clip head' type head fittings?

On what I can see there, the frame matches the features of the 'Oppy model' from the 1933 catalogue. (It had a clip head, and 28" Endrick rims, nickel plated.)

Warren

Hi warren,
Any idea on seat lug serial 162575
Flared head tube
Bolt on rear end
28" rims and bb oiler
Thanks

Hi I have just joined and already posted some pic's of this bike,
love to date it the only number on it I can find on the seat post.

Thank you,
PP

Hi Warren

I just dug out what appears to have been my Grandfather's bike from my brother's garage. The decals are all but worn off but appear to be Malvern Star. The serial number we found was under the bottom bracket, Z30967. Any idea of it's age or if the sequence matches MS serial number sequencing? It is a ladies step through single speed with pedal brakes (back pedal to brake) only. Thanks!

[quote="SewJillian"] The decals are all but worn off but appear to be Malvern Star. The serial number we found was under the bottom bracket, Z30967. quote]

we need photos, put some on photobucket and post links

Here are the photos of recently un-earthed bike. Hope someone can give me an idea of age, but thinking 60's/70's and also if it is definitely Malvern Star. The bike also has a front wheel mudguard, but was removed so we could take front wheel off for transport. Also the rims were originally red, but someone painted them grey as some point.

Photos at Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jillianlan ... 311849769/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks in advance

something other than Malvern Star that one

Thanks Torana68. I wondered given there were no cast stars on the headset. It definitely had a Malvern Star decal though. So now it's a bit of a mystery. Any ideas anyone? It certainly resembles other identified Malvern Stars I've seen, but maybe we've hit a brick wall?

it has some features of a Speedwell but I have never seen a Speedwell with a Z prefix, so it could be made by Bennett and Wood for someone else or????

Hi Warren,
Regarding the Frame with serial number P10630 earlier in the thread that you asked to me to look at the BB for a stamp BSA, it has nothing stamped. The Headset or the BB gear has nothing marked as BSA.

Thanks
Gary

Hi Warren,
Could you help date this Malvern Star




Thanks
Gary

Gary, number 42849 on seat lug would suggest 1933/4. I need more photos of rest of bike - front and rear dropouts. I think that is a repaint, a very good one. What does it have written on the downbar?
Does it have:
BSA embossed under BB shell?
27" or 28" wheels?
Warren

Warren,
This is all I have at the moment. The bike has gone to my brother and I will let him know to keep care of it and it's age.
It has had a repaint like many of my Grandfathers and other family members bikes. It was painted by my 3rd cousin Nelsen Smith who was a 1st cousin of Oppy. He was a very good painter for Malvern Star. He has painted our family name Hartley onto a lot of the frames. I believe the wheels are 27" and I'm not sure on the sticker on the downbar. I checked for the BSA embossed under the BB shell and nothing.

Cheers
Gary

Hi Warren,
Would you happen to know anything about this frame below. It is not a Malvern Star and we believe my Grandfather may have bought it out from England. The forks are not original, but may be in his other shed. The only thing that may help with this frame is the number under the BB. Any clues would be nice




Cheers
Gary

Does the gold bike have 26" wheels? The A27 number is a casting number, for the bottom bracket shell. The way the seat stays are attached to the seat lug is very common for English frames, very uncommon for Australian frames. Interesting that both bikes appear to have BSA fluted cranks.
The paint jobs are great!
Warren

Hi Warren,
Next time I'm up at the holiday home I'll check. He has a pile of old rims I can check through. My Grandfather did like to buy bicycles and parts and was still riding this bike 10mile a day at 102.

Gary