Holdsworth

Holdsworth was a bicycle manufacturer in London, England. It was created by William Frank Holdsworth, known as Sandy. Holdsworth took over the Ashlone Cycle Works at 132 Lower Richmond Rd, Putney, south-west London in 1927. Holdsworth continued to work in the insurance business and appointed his wife's brother, Owen Bryars, as manager. The shop mechanic, Jack Capeling, made the first Holdsworth frames there around the end of the 1920s, using a shed behind the building.

The company expanded by the end of 1930 so that it had further addresses at 121 Lennard Rd, Beckenham, Kent; 185 Markhouse Road, Walthamstow; and 5 Thesiger Road, Penge.

Holdsworth's wife, Margaret, came from a family in the clothing business. The clothing background appears relevant because Holdsworth began advertising cycling garments and shoes under the brand name Worthy. The company was better regarded for clothes than for frames until the arrival in 1938 of an established frame-builder, Bill Hurlow.

Harlow arrived at the time of an internal row that led the manager, Owen Bryars, to open a rival shop across the road and in Beckenham, south London.

The original company formed a subsidiary, Holdsworthy Factoring, which built W.F. Holdsworth bicycles and wholesaled British-made parts and those it began importing from the Continent.

In 1953, Holdsworthy appointed a former sailor, Roy Thame, who had worked at a cycle shop in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, where he lived. He worked with the company for more than 50 years and managed the professional team that the company established in the 1960s as well as Great Britain teams in world championships. Thame also served on British Cycling Federation committees nationally and acted as commissaire, or chief referee, on domestic multi-day races such as the Tour of the West.

By the time Sandy Holdsworth died on 28 August 1961, the company had grown too large to build the individual frames that racing cyclists were demanding. The solution was for Holdsworth to sell to the mass market and for a frame-builder, Reg Collard, to make frames to order at 132 Lower Richmond Road. The division of operation was made clearer when Owen Bryars, who had left the firm after a row and started a rival shop across the road, died in 1963. His shop was taken over and sold mass-produced Holdsworth bikes while the individual orders were handled in the original shop.

Holdsworth became a national name in British cycling through its catalogue, "Aids to Happy Cycling", later renamed "Bike Rider's Aids", and through its professional team. Holdsworth had rights to import Campagnolo accessories from Italy and Campagnolo was named as joint sponsor of the team. Its riders included Colin Lewis, who twice rode in the Tour de France, and the Tour of Britain winner Les West.

Roy Thame inherited two-thirds of the company when Mrs Holdsworth died. The wholesaling company stayed in her family and so the original business divided. The shops were operated by W.F. Holdsworth and the wholesaling branch became the Holdsworthy Company. A change in cycling tastes from road to mountain bikes, general foreign competition and a sequence of management difficulties led to Holdsworth being bought out. It has changed hands owners several times.

The shop at 132 Lower Richmond Rd, Putney, is still there. After a period selling just low to mid-range mountain and hybrid bikes, it has now tried to resurrect some of the Holdsworth heritage by selling road bikes, including some top end frames (e.g. Rosa) and recently reintroduced some Holdsworth branded road bikes and clothing.

Roy Thame died aged 85 in 2006.

External links

* [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/nkilgariff/ Holdsworth Bicycles]
* [http://www.mybyk.com/ebykr/blog/holdsworth_british_reliability_personified Holdsworth: British Reliability, Personified] on [http://www.mybyk.com MyByk]