and the bike

For the ride I have decided to use my late fathers 1938 Holdsworth.  The bicycle was actually in a very sorry state, but following Dad’s passing in 2009 I decided that it would be fun to rebuild the cycle to its original specification. I only had, as a guide, a photograph taken around 1939 and a memory of Dad saying that when new it had been finished in dark green.

The internet allowed me to track down many of the parts that I needed and, after sending the frame to Dave Yates Cycles for repairs and a repaint, (Dave made a lovely job of it http://www.daveyatescycles.co.uk  )  the rebuild was completed. (actually, it took rather a long time, but that's another story..) The only departure from the original specification was the fitting of a 3 speed Sturmey Archer hub gear to compliment the 1930's 3 speed derailleur gear. This delivers a much wider range of gears to deal with hills that have clearly got a lot steeper since I was young!!  and I reasoned that the change was very much a period modification. Finally, I replaced the 26 X 1¼ wheels with 26 X 1 3/8 as tyres for this size rim are more readily available, and as I intended to use the Holdsworth regularly this was an important consideration. The results look bang on and my only regret is not having carried out the work while Dad was still with us.  I hope he would have approved.