Swampgas

I am the original owner of a 1980 Holdsworth Professional. Sadly not in the orange color scheme, I passed on that as being too garish at the time and chose the boring silver. I built it up myself with components that I could afford with an eye towards saving weight. It was a fantastic ride when I was a youngster and I lavished a lot of love and attention on that bike and kept it in great shape even after I stopped riding it. A few years back I replaced all the worn, dried rubber bits with an eye to getting back on it but my body just wouldn't cooperate. I guess my old joints got too accustomed to lower gearing and suspension bits so it went back into storage. Now I am trying to pare down the stuff in storage and am thinking it may be time to find another loving home for it but alas I have no idea if there is a market for it or even what it may be worth so any insight would be appreciated. Here are the specs;

frame and fork: 23 inch double butted 531, built by Andrew Hague (according to the water bottle cage screws)
cranks: O.M.A.S. 52/42 with titanium bottom bracket and sealed bearings
pedals: Suntour Superbe sealed bearing
rims: Mavic Module E 27"x 1.25"
hubs: Sunshine with qr skewers. (Nothing special, left over from an older bike)
spokes: Swiss db stainless with the rear wheel dished and tied
tires: Panaracer Pasella 27x1 (about 6 years old just a few miles)
cassette: Suntour Winner Pro 13-21
derailleurs: Suntour Cyclone MKII
shifters: Suntour Power with new cables
brakes: Modolo Speedy with new pads, hoods and cables though hoods are starting to crack.
seat: Avocet RS
seat post: Campagnolo (don't remember which line. Came with the frame)
headset: Campagnolo (don't remember which line. Came with the frame)
stem: Cinelli
bars: Cinelli Criterium with new cork tape

The good:
Paint and decals are in very good condition, a few nicks here and there.
Always stored indoors
Everything but the rubber, cork, grease and cables are original though I did replace the rear derailleur with the same model when the spring on mine broke.

The bad:
There is a small dent in the side of the top tube from when something fell against it while it was in a friends garage in the mid eighties. It is right on the "professional" decal.
I somehow lost one of the crank arm dust caps.
The left crank arm is loose and I can't seem to get it to stay tight. The hole for the spindle may have been rounded a bit as a result or as the cause, not sure which came first.

I do not yet have enough posts to be allowed to add pictures but I am getting there.
Any insight would be appreciated.
Thanks

bikemig 

If you post pics to your profile, someone will post them to this thread. Please take pics of the drive side showing the complete bike. Location matters in terms of value if you plan on selling locally. The crank is likely 52/42 and not 58/42, right?

This is a very desirable bike; the ding will hurt on the price though.

3alarmer 

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...there's definitely a (small) market niche for these, and yours is a popular size. They don't seem to sell for nearly what I think they ought to be worth, but depending on cosmetic condition, what you feel you want to be paid for it, and your location, it will definitely find a new owner. I think a lot of the potential new owners are, like you and I, starting to age out. This contributes to a glut on the supply side of the equation, and you need to locate people who not only still enjoy riding a bike like your Holdsworth, but who are also the proper size for it.

All the racey guys are buying $5000 plastic wonder bikes, and all the more sedate are prone to look at more upright cycles. Which leaves a small demographic of people like those in the C+V here, who still collect and ride old race bikes. But it does have value to the right buyers.

cyclic_eric

I did a quick search for a silver 1980 Holdsworth Professional and found the following bike. It doesn't sound like yours, but is illustrative. This type of bike would likely be listed for around $1500 on my local San Francisco Bay area Craigslist. Selling price may be closer to $1000 though. If it were mine, I'd make adjustments to the gearing and stem/seat to make it more comfortable, and continue to enjoy it. Good luck with the sale. Early 1980's Holdsworth on "bikeville.blogspot.com"

Swampgas

Thanks for all the responses. Yes, it is a 52/42, not 58/42. I couldn't turn a 58 with a 13-21 in the back. The pic above is similar to mine but I will take some clear photos and post them to my profile as suggested.

Swampgas

I took a bunch of photos and uploaded them to an album taking care to put them in an order that makes sense. Somehow the system reordered them in a very random fashion. If someone with the proper clearance would be kind enough to post some of them to this thread I would be grateful. The album is titled "1980 Holdsworth Professional" I tried to capture all of the bad stuff to get a true depiction of it. I did find the Suntour Superbe pedals but they are missing the original Christophe toe clips and straps. Sadly the relatively new replacement Modolo brake hoods are cracking but holding together.

3alarmer 

3alarmer 

3alarmer 

3alarmer 

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...it will probably be harder to match that crank arm with a replacement than it would be to replace the whole crank with something like a Campy New Record, which would be period correct. Whoever buys it will want it discounted for that reason, and the paint dings appear to be fixable, assuming someone knows how to do it.

Again, it's a popular size. I already have an orange one, and I had to fix some stuff on mine, and repair the paint. I built new wheels, but if yours are serviceable, that's a plus. Probably $500-$600 gets it sold, even with the issues you point out. Brake hoods on a bike this old are not usually in good shape, so that goes with the project.

Maybe you could get another $100 bucks because it's a Holdsworth Pro, in a poplar size. With the crank as it is, I don't see it selling for much ore than that.

Swampgas

Thanks for posting some of the pics and the information 3alarmer.

bikemig 

Nice job of taking pics and showing some of the possible issues. It looks bigger than a 23 inch, right?

$500-$600 sounds right for the bike as is but it could go for a bit more as well. Vintage British bikes tend to go for a premium and this is one of the very good ones.

Where you do you plan to sell it? If you live in a large city, it might sell locally for your asking price. Otherwise you will have to think about eBay or here on this site. To sell here, you will have to join (I think $10 a year) but there are no fees from the sale.

Swampgas

Thanks bikemig. It does measure 23" from center of bb to top of top tube along seat tube. It is in Seattle and I may have found a replacement crank arm so I may be able to rectify that problem. I would imagine that listing here will get the most exposure to people that appreciate this kind of bike so that is the current thinking for once I get the crank sorted.