1985 Holdsworth Avanti "modernisation"

9

91lavadome

Old School Hero
Avert your eyes if you don't want to see a basiclly NOS 1985 Holdsworth Avanti stripped down and modernised with 8 speed stis and mudguards!

The Problem
Got peer pressured into the etape so need a road bike to put in some serious mileage on. Bought a rather nice 1996 Pinarello Asolo(viewtopic.php?t=235327) which after a few muddy salty sandy wet rides around the potholed roads of dorset I decided was far too nice to trash.
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This holdsworth popped up on gumtree locallly so I invested.
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As you can see basically mint and original and NOS. Simplex gears weinnman brakes a nasty plastic brookes vitesse saddle.
I then stripped the pinarello of its shimano 600 an transferred it all to the Holdsworth. Got some tatty 600 stis cheap of ebay, fitted some guards and hey presto, a winter mile munching machine. The drop on the 600 calipers was perfect so avoided the hassle of long drops. Had to drill :oops: the frame to fit the allen key style recessed brake bolts.

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looking at the holdsorth catalogue for the year

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/nkilgariff ... Avanti.jpg

the avanti was described as the sports tourer-ie pretty low end made of gas pipe reynolds 501. Despite this, or maybe because of this I can report she rides like a dream. Very comfortable, a little flexy in the bb and stem area but had 39 mph out of it the other day and its rock solid and less speed wobble than the asolo (same wheels etc). The guards are essential for winter(and maybe summer!) The shifting is sweet-set up perfectly (where the modest emoticon?) Done about 500 miles on it so far, only another 10000 to go!
Prehaps as a way of getting back some bike karma the pinarello will be clad in a campag groupset-didn't feel right having the functional but soulless japanese gear on her.
 
That looks suspiciously like the one I built up, but mine is the earlier (1982) 531 version, thusly:

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Since that photo was taken I have upgraded to 6600 throughout, including wheels.

I kept it as my fair weather bike, but only rode it twice last year, and need to pare down the stable, so am in the process of stripping it down (the components that I want to use will go on the Dave Yates I am building up, the rest will be on a for sale board near you very soon :) )
 
very nice-wish mine was 531!

although did 45 mph on her yesterday down the exact same hill(creech hill in the purbecks) where 40 ish caused some major speed wobbles on the pinarello. same wheels same hill same rider, surely a bottom of the range gas pipe holdsworth can't handle high speed better than italys finest!
 
91lavadome":1enq1ktl said:
very nice-wish mine was 531!
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If a 60cm frame fits you, I am selling this one, once I have stripped it! :)

ETA: They only made them in 531 for one year, 1982.

although did 45 mph on her yesterday down the exact same hill(creech hill in the purbecks) where 40 ish caused some major speed wobbles on the pinarello. same wheels same hill same rider, surely a bottom of the range gas pipe holdsworth can't handle high speed better than italys finest!
Click to expand...

You'd be surprised, the bike that I have most problems with is also one of my newest, and one of the stiffest, a Ridley Triton-T.
 
Yes its the same one. Reluctantly for sale.
Of course will consider offers from retrobikers rather than using ebay.
 
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