Old Holdsworth Professional Resurrected as Cyclocross Bike
11-05-07, 01:20 AM
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Old Holdsworth Professional Resurrected as Cyclocross Bike
I have finally finished a project that I have been working on for a while. I resurrected my old warhorse Holdsworth Professional for 25 more years of serious riding. It will be used as a cyclocross bike and a very fine one at that. Here are pics.
The reason the project took so long was that the old stem was frozen in the forks. I think that the last time I adjusted it was in the early 90s. After much trying to remove it by pulling it out I finally resorted to cutting it out. After that was done the rest was easy.
This bike is now somewhat of a mongrel but a proud mongrel with great heritage. The wheels are built from Campy Super Record 36 hole hubs laced to old Mavic MA40 700cm clincher rims. After polishing the hub's cones and races and replacing the bearings they now spin silky smooth. The front derailleurs are Suntour Superbe Pro. The last before indexing. The are shifted with old Suntour ratcheting type bar shifters. The freewheel is a 12-23 tooth 7 speed Suntour New Winner. The crankset is an old Sugino 110 bolt diameter double with 170 mm length crank arms. The chainrings are 48 and 34 tooth.
The reason I was able to make this bike into a cyclocross bike is the fact that it was built for 27" wheels. When using 700cm rims you have to use long reach brake calipers and you also have clearance room for fatter tires. My brake calipers are Campy Super Record. The saddle is a Rolls with titanium rails mounted on to a Campy two bolt seatpost.
The handlebar, stem, and brake levers are the only new components on the bike. The handlebars are 46cm wide Richey bolted onto a Dimension stem with a two bolt clamp. The brake levers are Tektro aero and Cane Creek cyclocross.
I just took it on my first off road ride today. It ran beautifully. The brakes work great. The gears shifted great. I was a little worried about the gears not being low enough for some of the hills I will be climbing. The lowest gear got me up the hill with about the same effort as the lowest mountain bike gears that I usually use to climb. This gearing set up will do me just fine.
Right now the frame's paint job looks rough. I have sanded some rust spots off and covered them with clear coat. I also have some other rust spots. For right now I just plan to ride this baby over the winter. Next year I plan on giving this frame the restoration and new paint job it deserves.
Lets here it to 25 more years of service out of my old Holdsworth Pro. What an awesome bike!!!!
The reason the project took so long was that the old stem was frozen in the forks. I think that the last time I adjusted it was in the early 90s. After much trying to remove it by pulling it out I finally resorted to cutting it out. After that was done the rest was easy.
This bike is now somewhat of a mongrel but a proud mongrel with great heritage. The wheels are built from Campy Super Record 36 hole hubs laced to old Mavic MA40 700cm clincher rims. After polishing the hub's cones and races and replacing the bearings they now spin silky smooth. The front derailleurs are Suntour Superbe Pro. The last before indexing. The are shifted with old Suntour ratcheting type bar shifters. The freewheel is a 12-23 tooth 7 speed Suntour New Winner. The crankset is an old Sugino 110 bolt diameter double with 170 mm length crank arms. The chainrings are 48 and 34 tooth.
The reason I was able to make this bike into a cyclocross bike is the fact that it was built for 27" wheels. When using 700cm rims you have to use long reach brake calipers and you also have clearance room for fatter tires. My brake calipers are Campy Super Record. The saddle is a Rolls with titanium rails mounted on to a Campy two bolt seatpost.
The handlebar, stem, and brake levers are the only new components on the bike. The handlebars are 46cm wide Richey bolted onto a Dimension stem with a two bolt clamp. The brake levers are Tektro aero and Cane Creek cyclocross.
I just took it on my first off road ride today. It ran beautifully. The brakes work great. The gears shifted great. I was a little worried about the gears not being low enough for some of the hills I will be climbing. The lowest gear got me up the hill with about the same effort as the lowest mountain bike gears that I usually use to climb. This gearing set up will do me just fine.
Right now the frame's paint job looks rough. I have sanded some rust spots off and covered them with clear coat. I also have some other rust spots. For right now I just plan to ride this baby over the winter. Next year I plan on giving this frame the restoration and new paint job it deserves.
Lets here it to 25 more years of service out of my old Holdsworth Pro. What an awesome bike!!!!
Last edited by russdog63; 11-05-07 at 01:29 AM.
11-05-07, 01:23 AM
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Right now, the only thing I want to change on the bike is to get a different compact crankset with 180mm crank arms. Also the chain I used was an old one that I had lying around. It is could stand to be a couple of links longer.
11-05-07, 02:45 AM
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Oh I see what you did thar.
Nice resurection. Enjoy riding that over the winter. What do you have in store for " the restoration and new paint job it deserves"? Are you going to do way with the cyclocross-esque set up? I think it is pretty killer the way it is
Nice resurection. Enjoy riding that over the winter. What do you have in store for " the restoration and new paint job it deserves"? Are you going to do way with the cyclocross-esque set up? I think it is pretty killer the way it is
11-05-07, 03:14 AM
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Sweet! If you're actually going to ride cross, might 180 cranks not give you clearance problems in the bumpy stuff? Remember it doesn't have a high BB like a cross bike would. Whatever, I love it.
11-05-07, 03:32 AM
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Originally Posted by russdog63
The crankset is an old Sugino 110 bolt diameter double with 170 mm length crank arms. The chainrings are 48 and 34 tooth.
11-05-07, 03:48 AM
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11-05-07, 07:55 AM
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Very cool. I just bought a 1982 Holdsworth Nuovo Record yesterday and with white lettering they could be twin frames. I would never have thought of a cross bike. Good luck with it and let us know how it does!
11-05-07, 08:32 AM
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That's no mongrel, it's a purebred mutt.
Hope you both continue to be very happy together.
Hope you both continue to be very happy together.
11-06-07, 07:53 AM
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I plan on keeping the cyclocross setup. This bike frame is perfect for that. As far as the restore I don't think I am going back to the original paint scheme. I am thinking Molteni or Holdsworth orange with black or blue lettering. Either that or hunter green with white lettering.
As for the 180 cranks they fit my riding style. I plan on using this bike for cross country mountain biking. For me that is gravel, dirt roads, logging roads, and stuff like that. The 180s will give me extra torque witout havinig to change my gearing setup.
As for the 180 cranks they fit my riding style. I plan on using this bike for cross country mountain biking. For me that is gravel, dirt roads, logging roads, and stuff like that. The 180s will give me extra torque witout havinig to change my gearing setup.
11-06-07, 09:04 AM
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That is essentially what I did with my Peugeot UO-8, although I currently have 27 x 1-1/4" street tires on it instead of the Schwinn 27 x 1-3/8" knobbies which served me well until they finally wore out.
I like old steel because a bit of extra tire or mudguard clearance greatly enhances a frame's utility and versatility.
I like old steel because a bit of extra tire or mudguard clearance greatly enhances a frame's utility and versatility.
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
11-09-07, 05:47 PM
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If you're so inclined, consider adding canti bosses prior to your repaint. I had a local framebuilder do front and rear, and rear cable stop on my 84 Centurion LeMans. Pics of welds here.
You'll gain a little mud clearance, as well as the cross aesthetic. Like you, I ran mine with long-reach calipers to determine if I liked it first, than invested in framework.
You'll gain a little mud clearance, as well as the cross aesthetic. Like you, I ran mine with long-reach calipers to determine if I liked it first, than invested in framework.
11-10-07, 08:07 AM
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I like!
I'm trying to do something very similar but I haven't decided whether to go geared or single speed. It's a late 80's Panasonic DX-3000 in excellent condition. I'm not sure how big I can go on the tires. I like how your bike came out!
11-10-07, 11:12 AM
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If you're so inclined, consider adding canti bosses prior to your repaint. I had a local framebuilder do front and rear, and rear cable stop on my 84 Centurion LeMans. Pics of welds here.
You'll gain a little mud clearance, as well as the cross aesthetic. Like you, I ran mine with long-reach calipers to determine if I liked it first, than invested in framework.
You'll gain a little mud clearance, as well as the cross aesthetic. Like you, I ran mine with long-reach calipers to determine if I liked it first, than invested in framework.
