Holdsworthy 'Cycling Aids' Books - now with Pages!

[Old Ned]

Hands up all those who remember these little booklets packed with all manner of cycling goodies. They were - at the time - virtually the only place to find out what was available and how much it was, no internet then!

Published by the Holdsworthy Co. (not quite the same as Holdsworth but closely related) they were a catalogue of all they stocked - which was very extensive. From cable clips to socks, chainsets to caps, shoes to brake blocks, the 'Aids' listed it.

It was also a good place to learn of new introductions onto the market and therefore - for us - somewhere where the ellusive 'when was X introduced?' question can possibly be answered.

It was with great pleasure therefore that I received last week a CD of 'The Norman Kilgariff Collection' containing scanned images of 'Aids' dating from 1936 to 1981. I can't guarantee that they're all there, no way, but there's a fair selection.

Also included are some Claud Butler, Holdsworth and Freddie Grubb catalogues and scans of articles including one by Nick Crane (of 'Coast' fame) about a cycle tour of Greece.

I haven't looked at all of them yet, just browsed, but if anyone needs any info in the short term I'll see if I can assist.

 

[Old Ned]

Brakes anyone?

A selection of pages showing some of the goodies available in days gone by...........................

From 1936 to 1968 with the introduction of the first Campag brakes. The price of these was considered horrendous in those days, just 6d under £18 which was a week's wages for some people and a price that could buy a frame.

Notice that there are no engravings shown on the brake arms, a sign of an early and rare version.