Blogging a Dead Horse

Malvern Star SuperMax, Maxi and Speedwell Sting

While researching information for my '81 SuperMax, '83 Speedwell Sting and up-coming '79 5-Hole gusset builds, I got so sick of finding information then losing it again that I started copying images of bikes, parts and advertising material into a single place. To assist others, I have reproduced this information over the following pages .. most of the information can be found on OzBMX and BMXMuseum and I am not pretending that this informtion will replace either of these valuable resources.

Please browse through all of the material I have collected:

If you have any Malvern Star or Speedwell information or photos, please forward them to me and I will add them to the site. I am especially interested in brochures and advertisements as these are most valuable when restoring bikes back to their original glory.

Hall of Fame

Malvern Star Freestyle
Speedwell Sting

Hall of Fame: Malvern Star SuperMax 5 Hole

The original SuperMax, known now as the 5 Hole or 5 Hole Gusset model, was originally made with a Euro bottom bracket but by late '79 manufacturing had switched to a more conventional US bottom bracket.

'80 Malvern Star SuperMax This second bike from jasbins is an exceptional example of a 5-Hole gusset in (relatively) rare metallic brown that was colour-matched to the original by Clayton. It is complete with Takagi Tourney cranks and matching gold Takagi chainring guard, KKT Lightning pedals, original Tuff wheels and a Nitto MX2 stem. These anodised accessories beautifully match the Tange 1200 forks.		'8? Malvern Star SuperMax Yet another build by jasbins .. Judging by the 1980 Moscow Olympics decal at the bottom of the down tube, this completely original 5-Hole SuperMax was built in '80 or even '81. The bike features the original Takagi cranks, rat trap pedals, Nitto MX-2 stem, Kashimax MS seat, Win bars and polished Shimano Tourney callipers and pre-bent levers.
'79 Malvern Star SuperMax Another exceptional build by jasbins .. When first submitted, this '79 SuperMax had a very clean look due in part to the coaster brake and the absence of brake calipers and cables. Returning it to factory finish, Jasbins has fitted factory-correct Shimano Tourney calipers and levers.		'80 Malvern Star SuperMax I have been watching Clayton buy parts on OzBMX - sometimes beating me to the same items - and have been waiting to see the results of his build. Wow .. if he had described the colour scheme to me I would have had my reservations. However, that looks great in the flesh!
'?? Malvern Star SuperMax I don't think that the first generation of the SuperMax ever came in black with gold accessories but Ripper-Mad's bike show that they would have been as just good looking in this range as they were in the second series frame. This build features Shimano 600 cranks, Shimano Tourney calipers and Shimano levers .. worthy of the MX equipped sticker it sports!		'?? Malvern Star SuperMax Archie picked this 5-Hole SuperMax up from Bear Trap a short while ago and has rebuilt it in a 'Superman' colour scheme with parts that he had on-hand. Doesn't everyone have some alloy flange Tuffs, Shimano 600 cranks and an MX2 Stem just lying around?
'79 Malvern Star SuperMax In my opinion, the white and blue colour scheme is the quintessential choice – especially when matched with the powdercoated blue, chrome plated forks. This particular example was restored back to its original glory by Patto82 with Shimano pre-bent levers, Shimano Tourney brakes, a Nitto MX2 stem and blue Tuffs.		'?? Malvern Star SuperMax David has submitted both an iconic BMX Bandits Series II SuperMax and this classic blue and white 5-Hole which sports NOS Takagi Tourney cranks and chainwheel, Shimano Tourney callipers and pre-bent levers, re-anodised ALPs bars, a Nitto MX1 stem and original Series II Tuffs. David is looking for some mint KKT Lightning pedals, and a slightly smaller handlebar pad that fits the narrow ALPs, anyone?
Just looking at the other 5-Hole SuperMaxes in this section reveals one thing - Tuffs are popular on these bikes. But Lewis' white 5-Hole is different and sports blue spoked wheels along with matching Shimano brakes and KKT pedals.		'8? Malvern Star 24" Cruiser Clayton took a 24" Apollo cruiser and turned it into a unique 5 Hole 24" Cruiser and then fitted 'catalogue' correct parts that make it look like the bike that Malvern Star never made! As with all of his bikes, the finish and build quality is exceptional.
'79 Malvern Star SuperMax This one is mine and I have been planning it forever. This bike is blessed with a lot of NOS parts including the Kashimax seat, Shimano Tourney callipers, Shimano DX levers, Suntour seat clamp, Takagi Tourney cranks and OGK grips ..		'79 Malvern Star SuperMax Troy's lovely, original 5 Hole has all the good bits - ALPs bars, Nitto stem, Kashimax seat, Takagi Tourney cranks, KKT Lightning pedals and a collection of old school decals and stickers including the Shimano MX Equipped ones. Check out Troy's great photos of his older brother and him racing in 1979.
'8? Malvern Star SuperMax Known as Hotfeet1 on OzBMX, you would expect Jason to be submitting a bike to the other part of this website but instead he has offered up this custom 5 Hole. The amazing finish is a purple pearl powder that was mixed in with the clear that goes well with the (new school) tyres. Looks great with the MotoMags !		'8? Malvern Star SuperMax Scratchydogs has submitted a couple of Hotfeet already to this site but this is his first SuperMax - a tribute to Judy's bike in BMX Bandits but in 5 Hole form! This bike features a host of gold and yellow goodies - DC brakes and levers, DC Seat clamp, SR chain ring, Tuffs and a Nitto MX2 Stem.
'80 Malvern Star SuperMax Lewis built this 5 Hole as a Christmas present for his younger brother, David. This build shows how good a build can be using quality reproduction parts. This bike features a freshly sand-blasted and painted frame, Dia Compe brakes and levers, new 3 piece cranks, MKS pedals, limited edition Skyway Tuffs, Panaracer tyres, reproduction Nitoo MX2—stem and a Tange head seat.

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Extra Info / Links

OldSchoolMags.com Have you ever wished that you could go back in time to the late 70's and early 80's when you could walk into a newsagency and see the latest issues of BMX Action, BMX Plus, Super BMX and Freestylin' in the racks as crisp and clean as the day they were printed? If you said yes to any of these questions, this is the site for you ..

BMX Works This site has everything you will ever need to restore an old school bmx from loose parts - nuts, bolts and bearings - through to complete brake sets, cranks sets and finishing parts, such as pad sets and decals.

Madman's BMX Painting Services Pete's work is second to none. I have two frames painted by him - a Hotfoot Freestyle in white and a Hotfoot 24" Cruiser in Hazard Yellow - and both have come out beautifully. Pete can also handle the stripping of paint and chrome and other prep work.

Re-Rides Sydney Australia based BMX restoration and photography. Rebuilding retro BMX bikes from 80's old-school, 90's mid-school and 00's new-school era's.

SDBMX SDBMX sells a distinctive range of cast alloy BMX rims that will finish of any old-school, mid-school or even new-school build. Styles include the Blizzard, Cyclone, Hurricane, Tornado and Typhoon.

Vintage Mongoose Anyone who is interested in Mongooses (Mongeese?) has probably already found this site. When I was restoring my Motomag, I found this site invaluable for information and reproductions decals and grips. Warren, who is behind this site, is a local who is passionate - no obsessive - about the Mongoose brand and it shows.

Recent Updates

Dec 2017, Hall of Fame Lewis' latest build shows how good a bike can look with quality reproduction parts.

Mar 2017, Hall of Fame Robert's Series II SuperMax looks at home amongst his collection of vintage '80s boom boxes.

Jan 2017, Pad Sets Another addition to the pad set - a NOS set of SuperMax pads for a 5 Hole!

Oct 2016, Hall of Fame Shane's collection of original SuperMax and Speedwells covers 5-Hole, Series II and CrMo models. All feature original pad sets, the ubiquitous MX-2 stem and enough Shimano / Takagi gear to start a museum!

Feb 2016, Hall of Fame Dave's yellow and red CrMo is no carpet queen as these pics at the Lalor BMX track show. His ride features a host of new parts including a Nitto MX-2 Stem, Dia Compe MX-1000 brakes and Tech 4 levers mated to an original frame and fork combination and pad set.

Apr 2016, Hall of Fame Other than adding a pair of front brake pads, Jimmy Boy hasn't touched this survivor Series II SuperMax. As Jimmy describes it, its "the best Supermax survivor in Australia ..."

Feb 2016, Flotsam and Jetsam At only eleven years old, Scott Henrick shows no fear as he prepares on his silver / red 5 Hole for his first race at Sandgate in 1983(ish). On race day, he borrowed the helmet and gear from Scott Luscombe (anyone know what became of him?). Unfortunately, BMX racing and football were on at the same time and footy won out !

Jan 2016, eBay Purchase Bought this set of NOS Maxi Freestyle pads off eBay in December but have only just had a chance to take a photo of them. Nice and clean but with a few shelf-ware marks on them ..

Jan 2016, Hall of Fame Scratchydogs (Clarke) has submitted a couple of Hotfeet already to this site but this is his first SuperMax - a tribute to Judy's bike in BMX Bandits but in 5 Hole form!

Dec 2015, eBay Listing This NOS CrMo Frame and Fork set was listed on eBay this month for a reasonable $600 - not bad considering how rare a NOS frameset must be. If the forks are an original match for the frame, this dates the bike around December 1980 (Tange date stamp 0L).

Dec 2015, Hall of Fame The amazing finish on custom Jason's 5 Hole is a purple pearl powder that was mixed in with the clear that goes well with the (new school) tyres..

Oct 2015, Collections Jason has 5 SuperMaxes and Maxis on this site ranging from beautifully restored, factory originals to unashamed riders. View his collection to see if any new ones have been added over the last day or two.

Apr 2015, Hall of Fame Not content to build another BMX Bandits replica, Lewis' has put a spin on the traditional black and yellow colour scheme by substituting anodised gold partsot give this bike a totally different, really clean and even a modern look. But everything is original - down to the correct Shimano calipers and levers, Takagi crank and chainwheel and KKT pedals. Nicely done!

Mar 2015, Hall of Fame This bikes is nicely finished with the original pad set that allows the front brake cable to pass through it and the pots-mod stem. I am not sure whether these bikes came with front and rear brakes - as they have a coaster tab - but Clarke has fitted his with matching Chang Star Freestyle 980 brakes.

Dec 2014, Hall of Fame Not another black and gold SuperMax! Scotty's Series II example is original right down to the the OGK grips and original Tuff reflectors. Other original parts include the KKT lightnings, Nitto MXII stem, Takagi cranks and chainguard, Tange seat clamp and Win bars. Beautiful!

Nov 2014, Hall of Fame Hot on the heels of his Series II BMX Bandit replica (below) is another beautiful example from David. This too has been restored using NOS and re-finished parts including those beautiful Takagi Tourney cranks and matching chain guard, Shimano Tourney callipers and pre-bent levers and original Series II Tuffs. David is chasing down some minty KKT Lightning pedals and a slightly smaller handlebar pads to complete this build. Can anyone help?

Nov 2014, Hall of Fame David's BMX Bandit replica is a nice blend of original, NOS, restored and new parts. The frame was powder-coated before being fitted with some of Lixy's decals and fitted to original Tange TRX forks. A number of parts were re-anno'd by Benny at Strike a Shine including the WIN handlebars, Tange seat clamp and Takagi Chain guard.

Oct 2014, Hall of Fame Lewis owned a similar '79 blue and white SuperMax for 30 years until it was stolen. He replaced it with this pristine Series II example that he bought from BMXWorks with the intention of replacing the reproduction parts with NOS.

Feb 2014, Hall of Fame Clayton took a 24" Apollo cruiser and turned it into a unique 5 Hole 24" Cruiser and then fitted 'catalogue' correct parts that make it look like the bike that Malvern Star never made!

Jan 2014, Hall of Fame Jason started the rebuild of his '84 looptail Maxi with the intention of keeping it original but then decided to add the parts he always wanted as a kid.

Jan 2014, Hall of Fame Not content with just one pristine SuperMax, BMXWorks has built up a second SuperMax in white with red accessories to match - and there is a third one in blue on the way!

Dec 2013, Hall of Fame Not just another BMX Bandits bike - Two Hip's Series II SuperMax is nearly all original, from the ALPs bars, Nitto MX2 Stem, Shimano callipers and pre-bent levers right down to the NOS pad set!

Nov 2013, Hall of Fame As a proud sponsor of OzBMX and online store owner, BMXWorks has access to a lot of new and reproduction parts - but don't be fooled this bike has more NOS and restored parts than not.

Aug 2013, Hall of Fame The black and gold colour scheme of JV911's SuperMax could be mistaken for another 'BMX Bandit' replica but unlike the colour scheme on those bikes that shouts 'look at me', the gold trim on this CrMo is used sparingly to great effect!.

Jul 2013, Hall of Fame Speedwell Sting has built a replica of his childhood bike with the only differences being an original set of Tuff IIs and the proper Speedwell pad set.

Dec 2012, Hall of Fame Alf's '85 Freestyle is totally original with the exception of the rims which appear to the be the correct candy-coated steel items. What a pain it must be to try to keep those tyres clean!

Nov 2012, Hall of Fame Archie's 5 Hole SuperMax has been restored in a distinctive 'Superman' colour scheme using some high quality parts including Tuff 2s, Shimano 600 cranks and an MX2 Stem.

Nov 2012, Restorations Trent has almost completed his BMX Bandits tribute build. This has been a long time in the making but the result is worth it, its totally NOS and exactly like Nicoles.

Sep 2012, Hall of Fame Featuring a 'rattle can' Metalcast paint finish and gold annodised parts, Jock's CrMo shows that if prepare a frame carefully the finished result can look better than powder! The bike is almost complete and waiting on only a few more parts - gold pedals, gold MX2 and WIN bars.

Aug 2012, For Sale I have been getting a lot of Hotfoot pad sets made recently and though I would let my man have a go at a set of Malvern Star SuperMax Series II pads. These will go on my next build - a baby blue frame with black accessories.

Aug 2012, Catalogues The November '82 edition of the French BMX magazine Bicross carried an article on the Australian BMX scene. Featured at the end of the article is this overview of the Series II SuperMax.

Aug 2012, BMX Bandits The July '84 edition of the French BMX magazine Bicross featured a review of the 1983 Australian film, The BMX Bandits.

Jul 2012, Hall of Fame Occy restored his bike with a fresh coat of white paint, new decals and blue anodised accessories.

Jun 2012, Flotsam and Jetsam I picked up this decal of eBay - it appears to be a sticker for a Malvern Star dealer to put on their window or display cabinets to advertise the (then) new SuperMax CrMo. Like the bike decals, it is printed on silver foil and is approximately 9.5cm in diameter.

Jun 2012, Hall of Fame When restoring his Series II SuperMax JV911 must have consulted Zuno555 when choosing a colour scheme .. the end result of black and red is stunning!

Jun 2012, Hall of Fame MuckPuppy has submitted photos of his Maxi. Finished in orange with red accessories, the colour scheme sounds like it should clash but the inclusion of white Tuffs breaks it up them nicely!

May 2012, Flotsam and Jetsam Hot on the heels of Rob Milne's old school photos come these three from Phil Kaye. They show his black and gold 5Hole SuperMax being put through its paces on a track.

May 2012, Flotsam and Jetsam Zuno555's cousin Rob has submitted some great photo that show exactly what a 1981 SuperMax looked like back in the day .. the third photo shows Rob scoping out a new sheep run on their farm in Hamilton, VIC and dreaming about how he could turn it into a BMX track!

May 2012, Restorations Zuno555 has submitted a series of photos detailing the build of his Series II Maxi. As with most builds, this one is not finished and he is currently locating parts to convert it a full SuperMax.

May 2012, Hall of Fame OzBMXBandit's 1981 "BMX Bandits" inspired SuperMax has incredible attention to detail from the beautifully annodised Takagi chainring guard through to the original flick bell.

Apr 2012, For Sale Lixy has prepared artwork for the Malvern Star 5 Hole Gusset SuperMax. These decals are highly accurate and are professionally printed to ensure top quality.

Feb 2012, Hall of Fame Kristina has submitted photos of her original SuperMax CrMo. It has what looks like a '1' stamped into the bottom bracket with no other serial number or Redline oval .. is this a really early CrMo?

Other Bikes

Below are some of my other completed bikes. I am currently working on a couple of local Australian bikes and I will publish pictures of these when they are complete.

If you have a bike that you don't want and you are in Australia, contact me as I may be interested in restoring it!