As a previous owner of a Planet X "Holdsworth" frame i would say don't bother ... Awful gas pipe tubing and paint that chips off as you touch it ... However if its cheap ????....
"it'll do a trip!"
As we said back in the day.
“Quiet, calm deliberation disentangles every knot.”
Be more Mike.
The road goes on forever.
It looks well specced with regard to fittings but I am always confuzzled as to what you are getting with modern steel road frames that don't boast a recognised tubeset badge. Gaspipe it may indeed be, as well as reasonable cro-moly. There's a world of difference between seamed carbon steel pipes and Reynolds 953 so which is this frame closer to? Who knows? Just because it's got a recognised brand name doesn't mean it's got pedigree. Who are Holdsworth these days?
The older I get the more I’m inclined to act my shoe size, not my age.
for a steel frameset with disc mounts it isn't too heavy (medium size ~6.8lbs; they claim, in 4130 DB tubing) but
- I don't understand why the front dropouts don't face forwards instead of backwards - the four sizes are all quite middling so not for very tall or small folk - the front rack braze-ons are the surface type that are less strong than the through-blade type - straight fork blades..? - shame you need an aluminium seat clamp on a steel frame - rear dropouts/disc mounts look like meccano rejects but are actually neat investment castings - mudguard clearance is a bit lacking; 32mm tyres with mudguards, 38mm without - not sure there is that much toe clearance...? - the sticker says 'designed & handcrafted Holdsworth England' but the frame is not made in the UK (I do believe)
Overall, it isn't at all bad for the money, (people happily pay a fair bit more for surly frames which have a similar spec, although maybe the surly paint is better...?) but IMHO it falls between stools a little; it isn't a very sporty frameset, but it arguably doesn't have the tyre/mudguard clearance that a full-on tourer perhaps ought to have, either. But if you had to have just one bike, it might well do a fair job of most things.
The front dropouts face backwards to make it easier to get the disc rotor between the pads when replacing the wheel.
the front rack braze-ons are the surface type that are less strong than the through-blade type - straight fork blades..? - shame you need an aluminium seat clamp on a steel frame
Cheaper to produce and less skill required
'designed & handcrafted Holdsworth England'
I believe this was a phrase used in the Holdsworth logo and probably constituted a part of the 'brand' that was purchased so is used as a moniker even though it is not completely factual.
The older I get the more I’m inclined to act my shoe size, not my age.
peetee wrote:The front dropouts face backwards to make it easier to get the disc rotor between the pads when replacing the wheel..
I doubt it makes much difference in that respect, but when the brakes are on, forward facing dropouts are a much better idea, because the hub is being forced backwards.
Non factual branding, huh...? The 'fake news of bike frames'...?
The problem for me is its Planet X. I have had one of their London road frames that was really poor quality, seat tube oversized, threads poorly taped in brake mounts, pin hole clean through the weld where the rear seat stay bridge met the stay, was told I could not have a replacement with free postage as I am in France it was to much to send it back.
I don't like the look of the rearward facing front drop out for disc brakes it looks like a recipe for disaster.
that is what they say, as an 'approximate weight', but I wonder.... I took a look at some of the other PX steel frames and they appear to claim virtually identical weights for all of them. Even if they use the same tubing this simply isn't possible e.g. because disc mounts don't weigh nothing. Obviously the larger sizes will weigh more but I suspect there is much in the word 'approximate'.
wicki wrote:The problem for me is its Planet X. I have had one of their London road frames that was really poor quality, seat tube oversized, threads poorly taped in brake mounts, pin hole clean through the weld where the rear seat stay bridge met the stay, was told I could not have a replacement with free postage as I am in France it was to much to send it back.
I don't like the look of the rearward facing front drop out for disc brakes it looks like a recipe for disaster.
that is what they say, as an 'approximate weight', but I wonder.... I took a look at some of the other PX steel frames and they appear to claim virtually identical weights for all of them. Even if they use the same tubing this simply isn't possible e.g. because disc mounts don't weigh nothing. Obviously the larger sizes will weigh more but I suspect there is much in the word 'approximate'.
