Age of Holdsworth frame

[OldTel]

Hi, lovely Holdsworth, and an entertaining thread, I was just tidying up my latest find, a Hobbs Raceweight from Dec 1946, and I noticed the angles were similar, these angles must of been for a particular reason, and my guess is time trialing ( 115mm across dropouts - 3 speed ? ) but with a pre war influence, the upright angles were just becoming the norm for the best bikes before the war, but there's bound too of been some old school thinking left over after the war. Just some thoughts. Terry

 

[blackmaxr1]

Hi Terry,

That is very similar angles to my Holdsworth. When my Dad first saw my frame, he said it was a time trail frame, and explained to me thats why the angles were like they were. I think the frame I have is a 23", it's very similar in height to my 54cm 2012 Pinarello Prince. Obviously ALL the angles are different though. How did you get such an acurate date on your bike? Could they track it by frame number?

 

[OldTel]

Hi, the serial numbers for Hobbs in 1946 had the year and month as the first four digits ( I wish all my finds were this easy ), in 1947 they started using a letter prefix instead of YYMM, unsurprisingly an 'A'. As stated earlier Holdsworths are sequential, so its a matter of getting a good reference point, and I do think the previous suggestions are correct ( 1948 ). Thanks for the interest. Terry

 

[torqueless]

So what is the seat-tube length (c-t), and fork-rake on the Hobbs, OldTel?

 

[OldTel]

Hi, the seat tube is 23 inches centre of BB to top of seat tube, the angles are in the bottom part of the pictures, nearly parallel ! Terry

 

[keithglos]

Tel, the head angle was measured from where you started straight down the head tube, nothing to do with the fork rake, which is measured from the centre line of the head tube extended downwards then the horizontal distance forward to the centre of the fork end. Looks like 72, fork about 3 inches. Motor cycle term was "trail", the distance from a vertical line down to the road from the fork end and the extended line down the centre of the head tube to the road (head angle)
Keith

 

[OldTel]

Hi, thanks for clarifying, when I was doing it I found it quite interesting that the logical angles were nearly the same, luck or good judgement, the latter I think. The head angle was 73.8 according to the software, and spot on with the trail, its a shame its behind a queue, as I'm quite interested to see how it rides when restored. Terry

 

[torqueless]

I took some liberties with your pic., OldTel- hope you don't mind!
Fork rake indeed looks to be a bit less than a quarter spoke-length, around two-and-a-half to three inches?

 

[American Friend]

2 and 5/8"?

 

[kennywareham]

Please identify my holdsworth!!!

Hello retro fans,

I'm new to cycling and have inherited (which i believe) a 'vintage' Holdsworth.
ideally id like to restore it or convert it to a SS fixie. You may think I'm just following trends, however i have ridden this beast nearly 1000 miles and I'm looking forward to simplifying the maintenance.

I'm really looking for some help/tips (being a newbie) on how to progress with this project.
at this stage identification, dating and valuation would be nice.

Hopefully I've found the right thread to attract any experts in this field? I have also scanned the Holdsworth webpage with no joy. So this is where you guys come in. (fingers crossed)

frame number - C 027742
professional SIS - BIOSPACE - SLR (531 TUBING)

other parts to include....
full shimano 105 groupset
SR shake set post
Mavic turbo saddle
amoeba headset
compagnolo pedals
cinelli bars
mavic ma40 27''