Old Holdsworth - ?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

simongt

Guru
Location
Norwich
There's an oldish orange Holdworth bike locked up on the cycle stands at Norwich Rail station. Been there for a while and looks possibly forgotten, but has a decent D lock on it. 531 frame & forks, two speed chain wheel, can't make out the cassette numbers though, centrepull Weinmann brakes. Appears to have been supplied by a L.T. (?) Buck of Clapgate Lane, Ipswich. Straight bars have been substituted, as the brake levers are obviously from the original drops. Anyone familiar with Mr. Buck of Ipswich - ? :whistle:
Wouldn't mind getting my hand on it - ! :smile:
 

classic33

Leg End Member
There's an oldish orange Holdworth bike locked up on the cycle stands at Norwich Rail station. Been there for a while and looks possibly forgotten, but has a decent D lock on it. 531 frame & forks, two speed chain wheel, can't make out the cassette numbers though, centrepull Weinmann brakes. Appears to have been supplied by a L.T. (?) Buck of Clapgate Lane, Ipswich. Straight bars have been substituted, as the brake levers are obviously from the original drops. Anyone familiar with Mr. Buck of Ipswich - ? :whistle:
Wouldn't mind getting my hand on it - ! :smile:
From on here...
A quick Google has just returned the following quote from another FORUM although it is from 2011. Hope it's some use.

"Bucks Cycles of Clapgate Lane Ipswich was the mecca for keen cyclists in the area then. It was a family business, run by Roland Buck his wife, and their son Graham, who eventually inherited the business.

Roland was a superb wheel builder and the Super Champion Arc-en-ciels on Campag Record hubs he built for me in 1980 were still running true in 2006.

His wife, only ever addressed as Mrs Buck, was in charge of day-to-day running of the shop. She was the epitome of that wonderful breed of shopkeeper we rarely see these days, carrying the location, price, merits and demerits of every item of stock in her head, never having to refer to any documentation.

I knew Graham (G.E.) Buck well. He was an ace bike mechanic, active on the racing scene, and he provided sponsored frames to top local riders, including Steve Lawrence, who was national road champion at the time. You could order a frame from Graham but I think they were actually built by one of the famous London frame builders, perhaps Condor Cycles.

Graham is semi-retired now and Bucks Cycles has gone. The last I heard of him (six months ago) he was working part-time in a cycling/running establishment in Colchester, Essex UK.

During the 1980s the USAF bases at nearby Bentwaters and Woodbridge were active and Graham sold a lot of GE Buck frames especially with Campag equipment to airmen serving there. I would guess that your bike is one of those."
Further information can be viewed at
https://onlinebicyclemuseum.co.uk/graham-buck-cycle-shop-customer-fitting-bicycle/
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
simongt

simongt

Guru
Location
Norwich
Thanks for the info folks. Another fine LBS faded into history. Like Bryant's Cycles in Norwich, what Mr. & Mrs. Bryant didn't know about cycles etc. wasn't worth knowing - ! :okay: Sadly, when their son Chris took over, he hadn't inherited their business acumen. The rest is history when it didn't have to be. :sad:
 
Top Bottom