mHarrisss

Hi!

I need to get this Don Farrell out of my Mum's garage! My Grandad owned it previously (After this I used to ride it occasionally ~10 years ago, and probably didn't take good enough care of it). I've since gotten into cycling more seriously and like the idea of building it up. I'm pretty comfortable working with modern components, but I'm not so familiar with vintage bikes. I'd be interested to hear what this is worth, and how much it would cost to build up. I can see it needs a new chain and cassette, and the chainring and wheels are a bit rusty. Would a modern (standard) chain and cassette fit here?

Looks like I can't upload pics yet because my account is too new, so I've put them on my member page (hope this is ok)

juvela

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definite quality and well meritous of the candle...


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frame -

nine-tube Reynolds 531 plain gauge

NERVEX Professional pattern lug set

Vagner DP+ fork crown

frame ends either Campag Gran Sport or Agrati

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fittings -

Campag gear ensemble, appears to be model Gran Sport 5V

here are the manufacturer's catalogue pages showing its details (1960)



the cycle's headset is the Thomas D. Cross & Sons model Continental S -




Lyotard model 15S pedals




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date: estimate somewhere near to 1960

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condition is nice in that it appears all complete and without damage

would expect refurbishment to consist of disassembly, cleaning, lubrication and reassembly

see nothing to be fearful of in terms o' spanner twistin'

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obrentharris 

I agree with the esteemed Mr. juvela, a nice bike worth the effort. Not a lot of work needed here, probably new tires and cables, some cleaning, and lubrication of all the bearings. The cogs on the freewheel look fine to me. (Yes, you have a freewheel, not the more modern cassette.) I can't tell from the photos but the chainwheels are probably fine too. A little evaporust or some scrubbing with a brass brush will clean up the rust on the crankset.

There are plenty of used copies of Tom Cuthbertson"s Anybody's Bike Book available from the used book sellers from $4 on up. This is a fun book and very helpful as a reference for repairing bikes of this age.

Have fun with this very worthwhile project! As you progress with your project don't hesitate to ask specific questions in the "Classics and Vintage" forum. We love to see fine old bicycles brought back to life.
Brent

randyjawa 

The OP's bike is, indeed, worth some refurbishment attention. By refurbishment, I mean lubricate bottom bracket bearings, head set bearings and wheel hub bearings. Why? Because time and mother nature have a way of dealing with our stuff that might not be optimal for riding comfort and/or safety...


Next, forget about using old tires. They might look good but, once again, mother nature and her companion, the passing of time, might have rotted the tires to the point of being unsafe to use. This early PX10 taught me that lesson. In those days, I would test ride a newly found vintage steed without making sure that it was/is road worthy and safe to ride. The X10 showed me the error in my thinking and darn near dumped me on the pavement in the process...


When the tire blew, it sounded like a gun shot. I was far from home and had to call my wife to come and pick me up. Two bummers in one day - pooey stinko!


Were I the OP, I would make sure that I use clincher rims and tires. The Old School tubulars are fine but not worth all of the expense and hassle. Today's clinchers perform just fine, in comparison. My opinion based on testing one system, against the other, on a few bikes.

Be prepared to replace your old cables with newer ones. The old ones will have, most likely, suffered from oxidation, negatively impacting their ability to slide smoothly through the cable casings, which you might as well replace also. Don't forget to get cable and casing end pieces (save the old ones, some are hard to find), when at the bike shop. By the way, it is a good idea to become familiar with the bike shops in your area and which ones might be able to offer advice and/or assistance, when needed.

So far, few, if any, special tools or infinite mechanical knowledge/skill have been needed. Pulling the cranks, bottom bracket and freewheel tools are what you will need, in the way of special tools. There goes a hundred bucks, where I live. Make sure that you get the correct freewheel puller tool - there are many to choose from...


Once the refurbishment is complete, ride the bike and enjoy. You might even revel in the bike's personal history and the patina that goes with it. Long have I wanted to repaint my Legnano, but I hate the idea of destroying so much well earned patina...


That, plus full restoration = bye bye $$ and sense (I meant cents) and just might, actually, lower the value of the bicycle, assuming monetary value is important. Remember, a bike can be restored a hundred times but it can be original only once.

If you do choose to go the full restoration route, consider a second mortgage, Full restoration, paint, art, chrome and all costs a lot, or so I have been told. This bike was given to me by a fellow forum member...


$500 or $600 later, this is what I got and I don't even ride it, anymore...


Thanks to the Old School idea of good gearing in those days. Being well past my biblical expirery date, my worn out old legs have trouble pushing those wee cogs to do what we want...


Although, I have been meaning to get around to installing a wee cog gone derailleur, that waits on the "to do" shelf right now...


I might add, that from personal experience, I have learned that rare or unusual does not equate with valuable. In fact, a lesser know make high ender might be worth less than better known a mid level steed, in today's market.

Anyway, in answer to the OP's question - is it worth restoring, perhaps, but it is certainly worth refurbishment (without upgrades) and riding, just to see...

juvela

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Don Farrell a retail cycle shop in north London

not a manufacturer

some Don Farrell marked frames were produced by builder Don Pike

the majority were contract supplied by Holdsworthy

subject machine lines up very closely with the Holdsworth Hurricane of the late 1950's

Hurricane model could be purchased as a 1/V, 5/V or 10/V at this era

extensive Holdsworthy catalogue collection viewable at Kilgariff site

individual catalogues in form of pdf

do no have the computer savvy to pull out individual pages from a pdf

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rustystrings61 

I can only add that this is a LOVELY bike, and a good and careful disassembly, cleaning and polishing and a loving re-asssembly with freshly serviced bearings, modern stainless brake and gear cables with lined housings will likely yield a wonderful ride. Plain-gauge 531 + construction likely by Holdsworthy means it is comparable to the Holdwsorth-built Freddie Grubb that Ian Hibbell rode for many of his earlier adventures. The brakes appear to my eye to be Weinmann 730 (unless they're the Weinmann Jr. model that Dawes used in that era), and with good cables, housings and Kool-Stop or Matthauser pads work wonderfully.

Please do NOT ever repaint this baby. Please DO gently remove the crankset and let it soak in Evapo-Rust, you will be astounded by the results!

mHarrisss

juvela Thanks for the parts breakdown (I'm slightly blown away by your knowledge of this stuff!). I knew Don Farrell were a shop in north london, but I didn't realise they didn't actually build the bikes. I'll have a look into holdsworths. Is there any chance you could say with any certainty what freewheel puller tool I would need (as in, what freewheel puller is normally needed for campag gran sport 5V cassettes freewheels? Maybe it isn't as simple as I'm thinking...!) I understand I could take the wheel off and find out for certain, but was hoping to order everything I need in advance of next visiting the garage where it's stored.

obrentharris I've ordered the book you recommended. I had to look up the difference between freewheels and cassettes, any idea if replacement freewheels like this would be easy to get hold of now (if I needed one?)

randyjawa Nice bikes! Yep, one of the first things I was going to do was order some new tyres. Modern clinchers would be compatible right? I think your comment on rare and unusual not equating with being valuable is true here. I can't find much information how much other Don Farrells on the internet are worth, giving me the impression they aren't sought after (meaning it's therefore more valuable to me, and not worth selling )

rustystrings61 Glad you like it! Don't worry about me repainting it, I don't have the skill, tools, time or money for that!

Thanks everyone for the incredibly useful information!

juvela

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gear block -

the brand name is likely to be written on its faceplate

there are a great many freewheel remover tools (patterns) with some gear block manufacturers having used two or more differing ones through the decades

replacement gear blocks, should one be required, are easily found and not dear

since the cycle is roughly seventy-five years old there is every possibility that the block has been changed at least once

BITD it was fairly common for Holdsworthy products to be "private labelled" as we say here in the states
best known among these is Freddy Grubb but there are a number of others somewhat less known such as Charlie Harding (in California no less!)

here is the excellent web site for historical information on Holdsworthy produce -

​​​​​​https://nkilgariff.com/

take your time and explore - site navigation takes a spot of getting used to

estimate your example to be ~1958-1959

thank you for sharing the bicycle with the forum


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