Late 80s Holdsworth Professional 531 Competition frameset (or not...)

[RetroDavy]

I was recently gifted an intriguing single speed road bike. The frame has been powder coated white. There are no stickers, previous colours or other clues to its identity, other than a 6-digit frame number under the BB: 906401.

Barely perceptible marks under the coating seems evidence of the derailleur hanger, down tube shifter bosses and rear derailleur braze-ons having been removed before it was painted.

Frame size is 60cm (C-T). Seat post fitted was 27mm. Headset fitted was Campagnolo Mirage but I am 99% sure this wasn't original (the stack height was wrong with lots of thread showing inside the headset nut, and I'm not even sure the fork race was right for the headset). It has Gipiemme fork ends, not sure about the rear drop outs.

The frame details all seem very consistent with the higher-end 1990s Brigg-built Claud Butler (e.g. Criterium) and Holdsworth (e.g. Professional) road bikes in the Retrobike catalogue archive. But then the frame weight is only 1875g, and the fork 720g. It’s lighter than I understood 531 Competition to be.

So, the question: have I got what I think I’ve got, a later Brigg-built 531C frame converted to single speed or… something else? Retrobike wisdom needed!

 

[RetroDavy]

More photos...








Those are all the pictures - what do you think?

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

A
Nice frame, I think it will remain a mystery.

 

[RetroDavy]

A
Nice frame, I think it will remain a mystery.

Thanks, I think so too.

And there is something to be said for mysteries; plus an already modified frame means originality is Not A Thing.

On the other hand, the arcane knowledge of Retrobikers is both deep and wide and I won't be surprised if someone identifies it from some impossibly small detail. Then I can fit an appropriate tubing sticker to it in good conscience!

 

[RetroDavy]

To cut a long story slightly shorter, my summary is that this is probably either a Holdsworth Professional frameset in 531 Competition, or a 653-framed Falcon, from somewhere between 1987 and 1990, with probability pointing towards 531C.

Here’s the evidence:

The six digit frame number starting with a 9 appears on a few Holdsworths in the post-1985 database at https://nkilgariff.com/frame-numbers/ (brilliant reference point for Holdsworth, Claud Butler and F H Grubb). One of them is identified as a 1987 bike with the same frame design and sloping fork crown. (A ‘1986’ bike in the same database starts with a 9 but has an older style crown.) Another couple of bikes in the same database both start 90…, one identified as from 1987, the other from 1990. The closest frame number, if that means anything, is the 1990 one: 906037.

But then Falcon models from around this time also seem the use the same/a very similar frame. E.g. a Falcon San Remo looks the same as Holdsworth Espirit and Professional both c.1990. This makes sense, as Holdsworth and Claud Butler became Falcon Cycles brands in 1987: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_Cycles.

The white bike on this page (similar to mine but different chainstay bridge) has frame number 907123 https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/raleigh-531-veloce-or-falcon-653-late-edition.451171/ whilst the blue San Remo frame pictured on the same page looks identical to mine:

In terms of weight, my frameset (allowing for surgical removal of a few bosses) is about the same as the near identical 531C Falcon frame and forks (1903g & 726g) in this thread https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/1153283-average-steel-frame-weight-2.html. which will be 1989 or later, based on the Reynolds 531 Competition decal.

Everything at this point is pointing to late 1980s or 1990ish Holdsworth/Falcon 531C.

My frame was likely black, based on a bit of paint on the steerer tube that wasn’t blasted off when it was powder coated. In terms of model, the Holdsworth Professional was 531C and available in black. Here's one, likely from 1988 or earlier, based on the 531C decal.




Case closed? No!

Because, in one of the links above, there is a mystery Falcon made from Reynolds 653. It’s also black and also looks the same as mine in every way! And the same model popped up on eBay as having been sold recently: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335694530115?msockid=24b1dfc3d5d2639c0bb8cd42d4f5628d. Pictures copied from the advert below as eBay links don’t work forever.

So, two candidates, both black, both made out of decent tubing and from the same parent company. My guess is Holdsworth Professional 531C just because there must be so many more 531C framesets out there.

And now what to do with it? I’m thinking of getting some Holdsworth and 531C decals from H Lloyd to give it an identity. But probably not adding a model name, or aiming for period correctness because A) I’ll never be sure what it is, and B) I prefer the older (1986ish) style script.