Holdsworth Criterium 531 - Worth buying?

[Cavalier65]

I'm still looking for my first vintage road bike to use for commuting. I'm looking to spend up to £300 because this is to be a workhorse that I have to leave at work. I've seen a Holdsworth Criterium within striking distance. The asking price is £150. Anyone know if it's worth that? I googled the bike and interestingly an old Gumtree advert came up for the exact same bike in the same town and the asking price was £70. I suspect this is the same bike but with the dealer's mark-up.

 

[biggs682]

I'm still looking for my first vintage road bike to use for commuting. I'm looking to spend up to £300 because this is to be a workhorse that I have to leave at work. I've seen a Holdsworth Criterium within striking distance. The asking price is £150. Anyone know if it's worth that? I googled the bike and interestingly an old Gumtree advert came up for the exact same bike in the same town and the asking price was £70. I suspect this is the same bike but with the dealer's mark-up.

The way the market is at the moment i think £150 is a bit high , but as long as you like it and it rides ok without needing work then who knows

Where are you based ?

 

[Cavalier65]

I'm still looking for my first vintage road bike to use for commuting. I'm looking to spend up to £300 because this is to be a workhorse that I have to leave at work. I've seen a Holdsworth Criterium within striking distance. The asking price is £150. Anyone know if it's worth that? I googled the bike and interestingly an old Gumtree advert came up for the exact same bike in the same town and the asking price was £70. I suspect this is the same bike but with the dealer's mark-up.

The way the market is at the moment i think £150 is a bit high , but as long as you like it and it rides ok without needing work then who knows

Where are you based ?

I'm in Barnsley.

I'm actually fancying something like a Falcon or Carlton as my first 'usable' vintage bike but I'm open minded. I'm finding it a bit frustrating because people are asking silly money and not budging on price. I've made offers on a couple of bikes needing restoration but the sellers won't negotiate. The cost of restoration outweighs the price of the bike in mint condition but these sellers don't take that into account. They think all old bikes are worth hundreds of pounds. Needless to say, the bikes I've enquired about remain unsold on Ebay. It seems they'd rather clutter up their garages than turn an unwanted item into cash.

 

[mdvineng]

The cost of restoration always outweighs its final value, same if it's a car, motorcycle or anything, unless it is a complete steal.

 

[biggs682]

what about this viewtopic.php?f=47&t=393890

 

[Cavalier65]

The cost of restoration always outweighs its final value, same if it's a car, motorcycle or anything, unless it is a complete steal.

One of the bikes I'm talking about is a late Falcon. They seem to go for about £120 to £150 in good condition. This guy wants £130 for a bike he's selling as spares or repair. It seems crackers to me. I'd rather wait until a good one comes along than pay top whack for a restoration project.

 

[allenh]

The cost of restoration always outweighs its final value, same if it's a car, motorcycle or anything, unless it is a complete steal.

Yep, those that are in any hobby for the purpose of making money are not generally those that spend any time or money on renovation, and those that do the renovation don't tend to do it for the money but rather the enjoyment of the act.

How much was that Mondi you posted @Cavalier65? It was hard to see in the picture but it looked a nicer machine than this Holdsworth, and yes I think £150 is a bit too high for the Holdsworth. Being a 531 frame it puts it up a peg from all the Raleighs and Falcons with standard mass produced cheap frames so if it was in better condition or was fitted with better parts then maybe.

Remember All comes to those who wait, so just keep looking and something will come along at the right price, in the meantime do your research on why particular things are better than others and then you'll see why the low end unrestored Raleigh's and Falcons attempting to be sold for that sort of money are just the uneducated trying it on.

Its a pity you're not closer to me as I've probably got enough spare frames and parts knocking about where I've bought bikes to break up for parts which I'm not going to use that you could put yourself together a perfectly good machine with.

 

[Cavalier65]

The asking price for the Mondia is £260.

 

[allenh]

The asking price for the Mondia is £260.

hard to say really as the picture is so small it doesn't show a lot and I don't tend to buy bikes that don't need any work, it's such a minefield price wise and £260 can buy some very nice bikes just looking at what has sold on ebay for instance.

 

[Cavalier65]

If you were spending between £200 & £300 on a bike to use as a workhorse, what would you be looking at?