Gordonsons Cycles and Indie 500/Mortlocks

[Darla]

Hi,

Does anyone know what happened to Gordonsons Cycles and Indie 500/Mortlocks?

[hiflange]

Good question. I think Gordonsons must've closed up in the late '80's, no idea about Mortlocks. The Indis and most of the bikes Gordonsons were serving up were really very poor quality, heavy tubing, low end steel components. There are a lot of survivors out there, many in excellent condition having been ridden so little.
* Mods this thread might be more at home on the Retro forum.

[find_bruce]

Mods this thread might be more at home on the Retro forum.

Done

[Thoglette]

Good question. I think Gordonsons must've closed up in the late '80's,

That'd be about right. I recall them still being on Wellington St in the early 80s and being gone by the end of the decade.

I've a plain-steel Gordo in the shed that I adore.

Made for 28" wheels but flogged by them as a 27" touring tens-speed. Brakes barely reached the rims even with looong reach (read floppy) calipers. Combine that with the original steel rims; rock-hard rubber pads & "suicide" brake levers and you got very poor stopping (well, "retarding") power, even in the dry.

But it's in a very pretty translucent red. With original alloy mudguards.

Swapped out the drop bars for some south-roads; added some "normal" break levers; alloy rims & Kool-stops and it now stops properly. I'm running a 3sp S/A hub, just to remind me why we abandoned them for the Japanese gear.

[hiflange]

These ads are from 1985. They list 3 metro area shops and a factory showroom.

[greg hill]

Mortlocks were the WA distributors for Kuwahara, Indi500, Apollo and many other cycle brands in WA for decades.
The Gordonson bikes, were incredibly heavy. I owned a couple. Good quality but more suited to be boat anchors.
The Indi500s were the ubiquitous everyman bikes. I reckon every second bike sold in WA in the 80s was an Indi500.
They were the economy line from Kuwahara.
One of my neighbours, a very elderly gent, was the bike mechanic/assembler for Mortlocks. He knew all these brands and the relationships
and reckons he put together more of these bikes than anybody. Thousands.
While you will rarely see them on the road now they were actually very reasonable quality for their time.
They offer good value for money, every second bike shop sold them. They had full Japanese frames, steel, a little heavier than modern standards but very acceptable. Most of the parts and running gear were also Japanese, and very decent quality.
These bikes were not cheap Asian junk. Their bearings etc lasted years. Not in the same category as K-mart bikes.
I knew folks who took them on 1,000 kilometre tours. You could in those days pay $1,000 for a steel Surly tourer or $200 for an Indi500 set up as a tourer and the quality difference would be minimal.
I actual rode a Record Renown. A Japanese fully imported slightly higher spec bike than the Indi500. I rode that for about 5 years and
traded up to Ricardo Vegas. Assembled in Adelaide with a Japanese frame and mostly Japanese components. I rode it for 10+ years and ended up with two of them. Both set up as light tourers. Greg in Rockingham

[P!N20]

You could in those days pay $1,000 for a steel Surly tourer or $200 for an Indi500 set up as a tourer and the quality difference would be minimal.

You could also time travel - Surly began building frames in 1998.

[hiflange]

An interesting tidbit;
in preparation for an upcoming exhibition about Flash Cycles a WAHCC colleague and I recently had a chat with Bevan Barron and his wife Pat. Bevan is the son of Flash proprietor Eddie Barron (after whom the road leading to the Midland Velodrome is named). Bevan worked for his Dad for a while before setting up his own shop and ultimately becoming the production manager for Ricardo in Adelaide. He recalls that in the 70's Flash made up to 8 frames a day for Gordonson and Indi. The Barrons sold Flash to Bob and Shirley Reynolds in 1980 and I think frame production in Midland ceased at that point.

[Royal Greyhound]

I note Greg Hill posted a note on the 9/12/19 and talked about his elderly neighbour who had worked as a mechanic for Mortlocks. I have a Greyhound built in 57 or 58 for the Schoolboys Cycling Championship in 1958 which was built by Mortlocks. There were three of this model produced but two went overseas so mine is the only one in Australia and likely the only one in existance. Mine is serial number 1. I have owned the bike since early 1959. I am in the process of researching its parts and wish to sympathetically restore it under advice from The Historic Bicycle Club of W.A of which I am now a member.
Would it be possible to talk to Greg and maybe put in touch withthis gentleman who may be able to shed some more light on its manufacture and possible advise me on the parts used. It is as original and has never been altered from new.
I can be contacted via private message.
Thanks Barry