In a corner of a basement, behind a pile, dust on top of dust, flat tires, cob-webbed spokes — we found this Holdsworth in a disparaged state. Sitting for at least 20 years. Patina! We wish we took a picture but this description will have to do. A lot our of stories about bikes start off this way, with a bit of hope and some wacky ideas.
Behind the layers of dust, there was burst of bright orange and ‘Kingfisher’ blue that popped. Team Holdsworth racing team paint theme, ouf! Although this wasn’t the bike that was raced in the Tour de France but it’s pretty awesome that it looks like it. Classic, timeless, 1978. It wasn’t the team-level bike, but it’s bastard-wannabe-cousin with some street smarts. Perfectly rough around the edges.
Slide to see the transformation
Meet the Holdworth Equipe, a bottom-of-the-line sport touring bike made in England. Reynolds plain gauge tubing with Prugnat lugs. Basically, nothing fancy. Birthed in London, raised in Toronto, this bike is now 42 years old and it’ll go another 42. Isn’t that beautiful?
It started with replacing the fork, instantly gave it a sportier look and feel while not losing the tire clearance. We had been sitting on these cream Bluemel fenders for years, waiting for the right build and this was certainly the one; paired with a colour-matched Concor saddle – it was on. It all came together after that. We’re most proud of the retro-fitted Suntour ratcheting thumb shifter placed on the downtube adapter.
- Campagnolo headset, cranks, hubs
- Huret Jubilee rear derailleur
- Mafac Racers w/ Tektro city levers
- Suntour thumbie retrofitted to downtube
- Velo-Orange Porteur bars, chainguard kit, fender stays
- 3TTT stem
- Straight blade chrome fork
- Bluemel Fenders
- Concor saddle
- MKS city pedals w/Campy straps
Sitting with drop bars, dried up hoods, a rear rack, double bottle cages and lots of Campagnolo. It was clear that this bike had seen many places, traveled to distant lands and it had the scars to prove it. The bike told a beautiful story about being ridden hard, and ridden a lot and, most of all, begging to be ridden once more.
The vision was a short-slow-rip-in-the-city bike – park, cafe. Wherever you were going to take this thing, take it easy and have a good time. We went deep into the parts bin for this, it had to the flash and embody the class.
The slow bike ended up being pretty fast, but we still slow roll it.
This article would not be possible without the work of Norman Kilgariff 1952-2016, who dedicated incredible energy to capture the history of British bicycles.
Thank you Norman.
Beautiful isn't it? Functional too.
The creamsicle Holdsworth was always meant to take to the streets and write new stories. Check out our Toronto Islands adventure to see its inaugural ride.
Corner of a basement, behind a pile, dust on top of dust, flat tires, cob-webbed spokes — we found this Holdsworth in a disparaged state. Sitting for at least 20 years. Patina, wish we took a picture but this description will have to do. A lot our of stories about bikes start off this way, with hope and some wacky ideas.
Behind the layers of dust, there was a bright orange and ‘Kingfisher’ blue that popped out. Team Holdsworth racing team paint theme, ouf. This wasn’t the bike that was raced in the Tour de France but it’s pretty awesome that it looks like it. Classic, timeless, 1978. It wasn’t the team-level bike, but it’s bastard-wannabe-cousin with some street smarts. Perfectly rough around the edges.
Slide to see the transformation
Meet the Holdworth Equipe, a bottom-of-the-line sport touring bike made in England. Reynolds plain gauge tubing with Prugnat lug. Birthed on London, raised in Toronto, this bike is now 42 years old and it’ll go another 42. Isn’t that beautiful?
Sitting with drop bars, dried up hoods, a rear rack, double bottle cages and lots of Campagnolo. It was clear that this bike had seen many places, traveled to distant lands and it had the scars to prove it. The bike told a beautiful story about being ridden hard, and ridden a lot and, most of all, begging to be ridden once more.
The vision was a short-slow-rip-in-the-city bike – park, cafe. Wherever you were going to take this thing, take it easy and have a good time. We went deep into the parts bin for this, it had to the flash and embody the class.
It started with replacing the fork, instantly gave it a sporty look and feel and didn’t lose the clearances. We had been sitting on these cream Bluemel fenders for years, waiting for the right build and this was certainly the one; paired with a colour matched creme saddle – it was on. It all came together after that. We’re most proud of the retro-fitted Suntour ratcheting thumb shifter placed on the downtube.
-
Campagnolo headset, cranks, hubs
-
Huret Jubilee rear derailleur
-
Mafac Racers, Tektro city levers
-
Velo-Orange bars, chainguard bits, fender stays
-
3TTT stem
-
Straight blade chrome fork
-
Bluemel Fenders
-
Concor saddle