Holdsworth Professional build (650B)
06-16-22, 03:50 PM
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Holdsworth Professional build (650B)
Apologies for some repetition with the previous thread I started to help identify this bike before buying it the other day, but I thought it might be interesting to have a thread on the build I’m planning for this. I’m confident the frame is a ’79 Holdsworth Professional (thanks to great info in these forums). Equipped as bought as follows-
Campy seat-post (NR 4051), binder bolt, headset, brakes (NR 2030, 2040), shifter levers, crankset (Record Strada 1049 ’78) & bottom bracket, Cyclone II derailleurs, Superbe pedals, Ambrosio bars, not sure what the stem is, 27" alloy rims without markings/missing a label, small-flange Shimano hubs (early 600, I believe), Suntour 6-speed freewheel. San Marco Concor saddle.
Now disassembled and started on cleaning up/polishing components....
Frame has no decals and was repainted at some point. Very thick and kind of plastic-y paint. It appears it was stripped and primed before the repaint, so no sign I can find of original color. Don’t know if it was the prep or the paint job, but there a quite a few rough patches. Black isn’t my thing, so I’m going to strip & repaint (more likely powder-coat).
I’m not a purist, and as it’s already been repainted I’ve got no compunction about modifying to suit my needs. Skinny tires are out for me for reasons of comfort and the awful roads where I live (and most of my regular routes involve some gravel), so it’ll be getting the 650b treatment (couldn’t fit 700x35, but 650bx42 will just fit. Tight at the chain stays, so I may dimple for a little more room. Sacrilidge to some, I’m sure, but I may braze on some eyelets for fenders when the frame is stripped- it’s often wet in the AM when I ride and I do periodically get caught out in a shower.
Aside from the brake calipers & wheels I’m going to try to stick with the components that are on it (assuming the campy levers will work with Weinmann center pulls).
I’ll have to do some image perusing online for color ideas. Yeah, the Holdsworth Team orange and blue is a kinda cool combo, but I don’t know if it’s for me. I’ve been envisioning a build with an understated, two-tone grey scheme- not sure this’ll be the bike for it, but maybe.
I’m going to see if I can get away with a 2x7 42/52 setup with a freewheel with the biggest cog in the rear I can find/Cyclone can handle. I may end up having to triplize up front like my PX-10- hills around me can be murderous.
More to come.
Campy seat-post (NR 4051), binder bolt, headset, brakes (NR 2030, 2040), shifter levers, crankset (Record Strada 1049 ’78) & bottom bracket, Cyclone II derailleurs, Superbe pedals, Ambrosio bars, not sure what the stem is, 27" alloy rims without markings/missing a label, small-flange Shimano hubs (early 600, I believe), Suntour 6-speed freewheel. San Marco Concor saddle.
Now disassembled and started on cleaning up/polishing components....
Frame has no decals and was repainted at some point. Very thick and kind of plastic-y paint. It appears it was stripped and primed before the repaint, so no sign I can find of original color. Don’t know if it was the prep or the paint job, but there a quite a few rough patches. Black isn’t my thing, so I’m going to strip & repaint (more likely powder-coat).
I’m not a purist, and as it’s already been repainted I’ve got no compunction about modifying to suit my needs. Skinny tires are out for me for reasons of comfort and the awful roads where I live (and most of my regular routes involve some gravel), so it’ll be getting the 650b treatment (couldn’t fit 700x35, but 650bx42 will just fit. Tight at the chain stays, so I may dimple for a little more room. Sacrilidge to some, I’m sure, but I may braze on some eyelets for fenders when the frame is stripped- it’s often wet in the AM when I ride and I do periodically get caught out in a shower.
Aside from the brake calipers & wheels I’m going to try to stick with the components that are on it (assuming the campy levers will work with Weinmann center pulls).
I’ll have to do some image perusing online for color ideas. Yeah, the Holdsworth Team orange and blue is a kinda cool combo, but I don’t know if it’s for me. I’ve been envisioning a build with an understated, two-tone grey scheme- not sure this’ll be the bike for it, but maybe.
I’m going to see if I can get away with a 2x7 42/52 setup with a freewheel with the biggest cog in the rear I can find/Cyclone can handle. I may end up having to triplize up front like my PX-10- hills around me can be murderous.
More to come.
Last edited by ehcoplex; 06-16-22 at 03:53 PM.
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06-16-22, 04:13 PM
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My vote is for the orange/blue. This color may not work for YOU, but we are the ones that have to look at it! LOL You need to keep your eyes on the road! I bet it will look sharp when it's done either way.
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06-16-22, 04:21 PM
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06-16-22, 04:23 PM
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Looks like a great project. The first 650b experiment I did was on an 81 Miyata 912. It was a low dollar afair with zac19 rims but I couldn't believe how it transformed the bike and made some awful trails quite rideable with 38s. Nowadays if a bike won't take 32s and fenders, it leaves or gets 650b.
Can't wait to see what you paint it
Can't wait to see what you paint it
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06-16-22, 04:29 PM
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I just may come around to the orange.... or maybe a twist on it and reverse the scheme, blue with orange panels/graphics....
06-16-22, 04:32 PM
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06-16-22, 04:54 PM
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Cool project. Here's my Holdsworth Special 650b bike. I think it's ~1981.
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06-16-22, 05:02 PM
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06-16-22, 05:11 PM
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06-16-22, 06:56 PM
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06-16-22, 08:56 PM
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Thats what I had in a box of random stuff a friend gave me a while back- well, one Weinmann 750, and one Dia-Compe that is virtually identical. I'm hoping they perform as well as the Raids on my PX-10, because free-and-on-hand sure is better than shelling out for what Raids get now (though I do admit I think the Raids look a little nicer).
How does yours ride with a weighted bag on the front?
How does yours ride with a weighted bag on the front?
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06-16-22, 09:46 PM
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06-16-22, 09:59 PM
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You guys answered a question I was going to ask...how do you find brakes to go from 27” to 650b wheels...
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06-16-22, 10:12 PM
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06-17-22, 03:43 AM
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06-17-22, 03:48 AM
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And you have to either take careful measurements or have a set of 650b wheels & long-reach calipers to test fit first to make sure it'll work! Having done the former for my PX-10 conversion (it worked!) I had the wheels (and some Weinmann calipers in a box of 'junk' someone recently gave me) to do the latter with the Holdsworth (it will work!).
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06-17-22, 10:40 AM
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Don't know if op has seen this thread on 1979 Holdsworth Professional. https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...rack-bike.html
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06-17-22, 10:44 AM
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I was initially bummed that I couldn't make the Tektro 559 dual-pivots work on my 650B conversion. They ate up enough clearance that the fenders would have been a pretty tight fit around the tires. Centerpulls just accommodate that stuff a little better...
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06-17-22, 10:59 AM
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Don't know if op has seen this thread on 1979 Holdsworth Professional. https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...rack-bike.html
06-17-22, 11:00 AM
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I think the old centerpulls also just seem to look more right!
06-17-22, 11:06 AM
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They do! And they do a way better job of opening wide to let big tires in and out. 
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06-17-22, 01:08 PM
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I do wish the Weinmanns had the same sort of simple/elegant straddle-cable-as-quick-release that the MAFACs do. Hangers or levers with QRs seem to complicate matters unnecessarily, IMO.
06-17-22, 01:54 PM
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I haven't actually used one of those -- does the straddle-release open enough to let a 38mm tire through? A Tektro 559 sure doesn't; I would have needed to add an extra QR in the system anyway.
06-17-22, 02:12 PM
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Squeezing the calipers and popping out one end of the straddle on the Raids opens them more than enough to get a 42mm tire in and out! The Weinmann's wide open will also clear 42mm, but it'll depend on if the QR on the hanger releases enough for them to completely open.... The straddle cable ends seem kinda fiddly to get in and out of the arms on the Weinmanns, but maybe they can be released that way while on the bike...?
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06-17-22, 02:27 PM
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I have modified the brake, widening the slit that the cable has to pass through to get out, in the direction that makes it easier. Hard to explain but you'll see what I mean when you try it. I used a needle file, slow going but I did it ~40 years ago and have reaped the benefits ever since...
Maybe I made the brake less safe, like the cable could pop out unexpectedly? Not really, it only needs a little positive retention and the design as delivered is way over-constrained. The metal I removed is not in the load path at all so I didn't weaken it.
I did that filing on only one of my two bikes with Vainqueurs, but I still pop the cable out to release the brake on the other one. Still do-able, just a bit harder. Easier with some sort of metal tool like a screwdriver, allen wrench or tire lever, but possible with nothing but fingers. You have to hold the pads to the rim with your other hand to make some slack.
Racers, Raids etc are WAY easier.
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