Craftworx

Craftworx was founded by Steven Craft and Mark Kirby.

Their experience in the Bicycle Industry dates back to the Eighties when they worked together in the local bike shop. Collectively, they have more than 60 years of industry experience.

Even in the early days they were building wheels. Working for Repco Cycles on the weekends and at night for the princely sum of $1.30 per wheel. Over one Easter weekend, they hand built 300 wheels, a feat they both swear they will never do again!

Mark has owned and operated both Bicycle Retail and Wholesale companies in Australia since he was 20. He is currently the Managing Director of Bicycle Warehouse (a Retail Factory Outlet), KHT Industries (the newly appointed Australian Distributor for KTM Bikes) and Craftworx.

In his earlier years, Steven managed bike shops. From there he progressed to manufacturing, working for Velocity Australia manufacturing bicycle rims and bottle cages. It was at Velocity, where Steven's passion for the bicycle wheel grew. Steven was a founding employee at Velocity and remained there for over 20 years until they moved to the US 4 years ago. Working with Tom and Grant in their factory, Steven helped them build the machines that manufactured their rims. This gave Steven a deep understanding of the both materials and production techniques.

As the business grew, Velocity started manufacturing their own wheels and Steven headed up the wheel building department. During his time at Velocity, Steven hand built more than 125,000 wheels.

The end of an era at Velocity heralded the beginning of Craftworx. Originally it was to be a small affair, custom building and repairing wheels but like many ideas, it has grown into something far greater.