Holdsworth, Elswick, Claud Butler

Quick question, were the above 3 companies basically the same company around about the late 70's early 80's ?

From my reading it seems that several differently named bikes were effectively the same bikes with different badges :?

velomaniac":3i9j2ll9 said:

Quick question, were the above 3 companies basically the same company around about the late 70's early 80's ?

From my reading it seems that several differently named bikes were effectively the same bikes with different badges :?

Click to expand...

Sort of.... Holdsworth bought the Claud Butler rights/name from the receivers in 1957/58 I also think they bought Grub.

they went bust near the end of 1985, a small firm in Birmingham called Malboro picked up the rights but only survived a year (1986)

By 1984 Elswick Hopper became a conglomerate and re-named its bicycle division 'Falcon'

Falcon bought-grabbed-received Claud Butler/Holdsworth/Grub at the start of 1987, carried on some production there but soon shifted all production to Brigg by 1989. I think they also got British Eagle about 1992/3 which is about the time the alloy frames started appearing in the Claud & Holdsworth ranges..

NB all the above is sort of third hand-ish and not by any means verifiable fact. :|

Awaiting a CB Sovereign mixte frame circa 1981 which seems to become a CB Ladydale and a Holdworth Lady Mistral in 1982. All three seem to be the same bike. Further I used to own an Elswick Mistral, the name seeming to transfer to Holdsworth about the same time. All this suggested it all linked which from your description seems likely

Cheers

Didn't Holdsworthy also buy Macleans?

BTW - Grubb. As in Freddie. In my experience, CB, Holdsworth and FG were basically all interchangeable, possibly depending on which transfers and badges were in stock? Was there any method in their 'branding'? Photos in magazine adverts in the 60's for the different brands showed frames that were to all intents and purposes identical.

Grubb, yes of course...sorry.
As for being interchangeable, not sure, but once the frame was completed (pre-painting and decals) they were all most definatly stamped diferently up until sometime (June-November) 1976 when the Holdsworthy 6 digit starting with a zero system kicked in, certainly for Holdsworths & Clauds... not so sure about Grubb's.

Re:

When I was selling Holdsworthy products in the 1960s Freddie Grubb was the cheapest, one well made gereral purpose road frame made of drawn tubing to a standard design, one road/track frame with 3 tubes 531 to a standard design.
Above these were claud butler, again standard design. The base CB was the same as base FG.
Holdworth were the top frame, butted 531, variable design.

Keith

Adam Hill of Hill Special bought the bits and bobs of Claud Butler when they were in trouble only to end up in poop themselves around 1958.