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I am on the right and this was one of my early Holdsworth's with GB brakes, GB handlebars P3 Campagnolo pedals, wing nuts, and my beautiful Lucifer Dynamo.
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My experience with a Hetchins bikes was essentially drawn by their extrodinay lug work and how it was picked out but it is with regret I simply could not get on with this form of frame and whilst I gave it about 6 months I have to admit that they were both sold very quickly and as I recall for a song at that.
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| My experience with a Hetchins bikes was essentially drawn by their extrodinay lug work and how it was picked out but it is with regret I simply could not get on with this form of frame and whilst I gave it about 6 months I have to admit that they were both sold very quickly and as I recall for a song at that. |
Finally or that is what I thought this Atala arrived and was equipped with all that I dreamt of and this was the machine that would propel me into the pages of Cycling Weekly and put up some serious times for 25's, 50's and the ultimate, the 100. It was certainly very fast and very light, but there was something about the frame behaviour that did not suit me, perhaps it was to advanced for my experience, whatever, and all I knew was I had to change it, and quickly Unlike these days when all that is required is the comfort of a Randoneur, cycling as it was originally attended, rambling through the lanes that were so often missed in early days when the head was down and the line was ahead.
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At last I had found a bike that had sound engineering and many questions were asked to ensure that the frame was turned out to what I thought were my precise requirements, yet despite my own efforts and those of F H Carpenter of Surbiton Road Kingston Upon Thames, just up the road from where I was living, the frame was far to rigid for me and very unforgiving. It is quite a phenomena that is difficult to understand that a good quality frame and components can immediately be felt by the rider, and there is only one thing for it, complain or sell. In this case Carpenters rode with me to see the trouble and they offered to correct what they saw as my problem. The frame was altered and a respray was involved all at their own cost, so for a year or two I was a happy bunny.
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| There was a period of a craze for track ends and because of it I ended up with a green A S Gillott with as in this illustration which is not my bike a Chater Lea chain wheel, truly beautiful British Hub Co 'Airlight' large flange hubs, Campagnolo pedals etc, but take a look at those dents in the chain stays, certainly not for me, but the bike was the closest that fitted my needs but not for touring and seeing the country side, imagine those track ends when fitted with mud guards. |
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This is my 1971 W F Holdsworth Cyclone that I have treated over the years and is currently with Paulus Quiros for restoration. She was bought from Roy Thame in 1971 at the Lower Richmond Road Putney SW 15 in the great days of cycling when people were able to call at their local shop where a cup of tea was always on offer even if one popped in for a chat
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This is where it all became very serious and weekly runs down to the shop for some valve rubber or whatever just to be amongst those early Holdsworth frames and having a natter with Jack in the work shop and Roy and Mike in the shop. There were rows and rows of completed frames, some client builds, and others of the range in a literal rainbow of colours. The shop smelt of bikes, oil, and rubber, and the tea that was forever being offered was roughly the same. My very first Holdsworth bike:
Even at these prices it was a period of very low pay and a desire for bikes so the system was that one paid what one could and the rest went on the card, based on the principle that you would call at 132 Lower Richmond Road Putney SW15 on a regular basis and pay a little off the card. the visit to the shop was always a pleasure, bike chat and a chance to look at the latest gear but that led to a further purchase that began to accumulate on the card. Eventually I was able to pay off the card order a frame, and a bit later order the next model.
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The Mistral although I could only afford to buy a second hand model seemed to encompass all the components that provided the up and coming cyclist with all the talked of parts of the day, and provided at last a true clubmans highly specified bike, and in those days if you had a fiver in your pocket that would start off a card allowing you to spend a few bob off the sum on your next visit to the shop. This was a neat arrangement as each visit to the shop, combined with a natter and a mug of tea ensured you always bought something which went on the card
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I had the good fortune to be able to purchase a second hand Super Cyclone from W F Holdsworth which was resprayed to black and those lugs lined in gold where truly a sight to see and I held that bike for about 9 years. In the meanwhile I purchased a basic Cyclone which proved to be a superb bike for road trials and general club work. The Cyclone was to be discontinued in 1980 so in approximately 1973 to 1974 I was so pleased with the varied specification that I was able to order from the shop a further somewhat luxurious Cyclone bike which Roy and I built up from the frame, and she was finished in a beautiful rich British Racing Green with a white head tube and the traditional decals of Holdsworth on the seat tube. At this time I was approaching my business life and it had already begun to curtail my cycling activities so the inevitable happened in that one of the Cyclones bikes had to be sold and I retained the one I write of here. I only used it on very few occasions but took great care over the bike itself and the very desirable high end components. This bike I write of is currently with Paulus Quiros for restoration retaining all the vintage components and will be delivered later during the course of this year.
This particular frame is equipped with a Suntour rear derailleur, a Suntour front derailleur, hubs and pedals are early Campagnolo, as are the skewers and down tube levers. Weinmann alloy wheels as they were 27 1\4, Dunlop sprite tyres being replaced and a lovely early Stronglite double chain wheel and fluted cranks.
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