A few weeks ago the Winter Canadian Vintage Bicycle show was held in Brantford Ontario. Across the room from where I was vending, I saw an interesting outline of a well worn road bike. When I got a chance to look at it I was mildly interested but thought the price might need to be negotiated.
The day went on and because I had not yet sold any of the bikes I brought I decided not to purchase it. A fellow hobbyist who lives nearby asked me if I was going buy it and I said no. Later I saw him leave the building with the Holdsworth and I was okay with that.
Just before dinner that evening he called me, said he hoped he hadn't "poached" the bike and did I still want it. My first thought was "Thanks for the offer", and then he said it would likely be too large for him and he would just flip it. A little voice in my head said go for it! He sold it to me that evening for a much lower price ($135CDN) than I would have negotiated and delivered it to my home! On the down side he did mention the stem was stuck.


Since then I have successfully removed and saved the stuck stem. The 1971 Holdsworth Equipe appears all original including the tires and tubes. I read an online reference that this bike was exclusive to Bloor Cycle in Toronto and the bike still has the Bloor cycle sticker. The Campagnolo hubs and alloy wheels do not match the Ad specification but appear original, maybe Canadian specific?


It is my plan to do a sympathetic restoration over the next few weeks or months.

Serial# 36309
Campaqnolo Valentino Extra
Campaqnolo hubs, 27" alloy rims
GB stem and Ventoux bars with England pantograph
Weinmann Vainqueur999 brakes
Prugnat lugs
Blue green paint (original and salvageable)
Weinmann Shorty Inoxyable mudguards
Brooks B5N (decent condition)
Dunlop Sprite tires (hard)
Dunlop Champion Airseal tubes (not patched)

Ooh. I love old Holdsworths.

Looking forward to this threads progress.

I like my Holdsworth Special. A lot.


Looking at the brake adjustability, I'd go 700c for weight redux and tire selection; tubular preferred - its' big brothers wore them.

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Congratulations on the new arrival!

Will look forward to following along.

Chainset appears to be Williams model C34. There will be a date coded on the backside.

Pedals Lyotard model nr. 15S.

Headset appears to be T.D.Cross Model J.

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Member T-Mar recently posted the Williams date code chart -

Nice score. It fits you I hope? Should make a really sweet ride.

I'm 5'11" and it is a little taller than the normal 23" I ride. The frame is 24" which is the same size as my Raleigh DL1 (rod brakes) I did ride it up the street, sans brakes! I have lots of bikes, its partly the project that drives me.

As to the comments on the chainset, I now have it removed and the cotters were in bad shape but came out relatively easy. The only markings I could find was the NB 30 and the E. When I get it fully cleaned up maybe something will appear. Could it be N for Nicklin?

Great-looking bike. Let's see what you end up doing with it.

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wrt chainset -

yes, N for Nicklin. also often seen in an oval recess.

they continued to produce a version of the Williams C34 model following the closure of Williams.

some information here -

https://www.classiclightweights.co.uk...ification.html

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The Holdsworth is fully apart now and individual parts are being inspected cleaned and repaired as required. The crankset cleaned up nicely and looks like it is in decent shape. The TDC headset is likewise in good condition although seven 5/32 ball bearings may never be found in my shop. They were so dry they dropped and flew all over.
The TDC bottom bracket was in good shape other than a bit of internal rust marking. The cardboard sleeve looked like it had held water at some time and was a bit soggy. Not the best material for the purpose.
As most or all of the bike is intact and not worn, I'm leaning towards not modifying it.

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Thanks so much for the update!

Happy to read the good news.

Fine job with the parts cleaning and with the pictures.

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T.D.C. Usually made some good stuff which lasted. Chrome work has been very nice with the components I have come across.

Saddle is super! What is the post size?

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Yes for headsets and bottom brackets. Gear blocks can be problematic...

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Just my luck then I have only come across the BB and HS. Completely forgot about the gear blocks but yeah, they had those as well.

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there were some boom Raleighs which came through with them.

some other Brit makers of the era employed them as well.

enjoy a poor reputation at the shop mechanic level.

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The post size is 26.4mm.


The B5N looked pretty good to start with no major cracking or scuffing but it was pretty stiff and dry. Three thin brushed on coats of vintage Neatsfoot oil (friend recently gave me a gallon can with a quart left in it from the 70s) on the underside of the saddle over a one week period, followed by Proofide a week later. This method has served me well on a couple of worse saddles. Too much neatsfoot oil can cause a saddle to go too soft and feel wet for ages.
The "Brooks" label on the rear is badly faded.

Don't you just love cleaning 46 year dirt off freewheels? The good news is, it looks in pretty good shape. I don't have a removal tool. It looks like a suntour with more narrow slots. Might have to try one ground down a bit?

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Best not to attempt removal with a tool lacking a guide ring.

Without guide ring tool can shift under load damaging ears and rendering removal more difficult.

Here is the Bicycle Research tool from California. There are other brands of similar design. Back during "the boom" shops sold the Cyclo tool without guide ring for use in Regina removal. Not recommended. The Campag and the DuraAce tools also have the guide ring and are a good fit on these notched Regina gear block bodies.

Isn't the plural Holdsworthsisez?

[MENTION=298130]browngw[/MENTION], this bike is lucky to be in your able hands.

Great advice! I will wait until I find the right tool and thanks for the pictures of them.

I'm thinking that if you have many Holdsworth, (singular OR plural as in "sheep" ?) then you would be Holdsworthy?

A stormy wet, icy windy weekend was a good opportunity to do some wheel work. After carefully lubing each spoke nipple with T9 on an artist brush last week, cleaning and tension and truing went well. Bearings were removed and cleaned and replaced without any signs of damage. The hub freewheel design allowed me to do the rear without removing the freewheel. (Don't have the proper tool yet) The rear axle had a thread that needed filing as well. Nice to have a finished set of wheels ready. I mounted up some new Kenda K35s I had on hand for now using the original Dunlop Champion Airseal tubes. Rim tape was replaced with modern high performance Schwalbe type.

While on the topic of wheels, can anyone identify the specific model or type of these Campagnolo hubs that came with the bike. The rim has no markings of any type, anywhere, that I can find. The Campagnolo hub locknut has a "72" on the back side. The spokes are double butted front and rear.

Cool find. I am newly arrived to the Toronto area and looked up the bike show. Seemed to be mostly cruiser and balloon tire stuff. Is there any event similar for the lightweight racers?