Suggestion on lower gear range for old Holdsworth

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
keithxyz
Posts: 4
Joined: 27 Sep 2022, 10:22am

Suggestion on lower gear range for old Holdsworth

Post by keithxyz »

Any info please.
Am looking for a lower gear range on my old Holdsworth. Age etc !
freewheel currently 14/24 ,is anything out there maybe in the range 16/32,..or similar..
Rear mech is a Shimano Tourney.
thanks for any suggestions.
jimlews
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Joined: 11 Jun 2015, 8:36pm
Location: Not the end of the world.

Re: Suggestion on lower gear range for old Holdsworth

Post by jimlews »

A bit more info about your current set-up would be useful.

However, "Old Holdsworth" could mean as old as 1929 when the company began frame building.

Useful info about your present machine would include:

Number of sprockets at the rear hub. i.e this may be 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 etc. etc.
The over locknut dimension i.e. this may be 120mm, 126mm, 130mm or 135mm. and governs the no. of sprockets
The number of chainwheels i.e. One, Two or three.
The bolt circle diameter(s) of your existing chainset. This dictates the smallest and the largest chainwheel you can use*.
Does your existing chainset attach to the bottom bracket axle by cotter pins or is it a cotterless system?

Assuming that you are presently using a screw-on freewheel (as opposed to a cassette), reasonably priced
rear sprocket clusters utilising 5, 6 or 7 sprockets can be obtained for between £ 10 & £ 20

* The type and capacity of your rear gear change mechanism is intimately linked to this

https://spacycles.co.uk/m8b0s112p3169/S ... -Freewheel
thirdcrank
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Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Suggestion on lower gear range for old Holdsworth

Post by thirdcrank »

Speaking from experience, I'd recommend caution over a larger small sprocket, although I doubt something as large as a 16 is available off-the-shelf. The problem to look out for is clearance between the smallest sprocket and the chainstay.

If your current freewheel is indeed a freewheel then if it's 6 speed then 14 x 28 seems widely available and should be compatible
cyclop
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Joined: 3 Oct 2013, 7:49am
Location: Dumfriesshire

Re: Suggestion on lower gear range for old Holdsworth

Post by cyclop »

What chainrings have you got?Would the chainset(front rings plus crank)allow smaller rings to be fitted.
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geomannie
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Joined: 13 May 2009, 6:07pm

Re: Suggestion on lower gear range for old Holdsworth

Post by geomannie »

If you have a 5 speed rear freewheel, a 13-32 replacement freewheel is available here, but at a price.
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/freewheels/ ... ompatible/
geomannie
Biospace
Posts: 2008
Joined: 24 Jun 2019, 12:23pm

Re: Suggestion on lower gear range for old Holdsworth

Post by Biospace »

A slightly smaller chainring would seem to make sense together with a 14-28 freewheel, but we've little to go on. What era is the bike and how how many ratios?
thirdcrank
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Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Suggestion on lower gear range for old Holdsworth

Post by thirdcrank »

One thing about reducing chainwheel size - unless it's possible with the existing cranks - is that you are potentially heading out into big money territory, unless smaller rings are available for the existing cranks.
JohnMorgan
Posts: 111
Joined: 9 Jun 2022, 7:19pm

Re: Suggestion on lower gear range for old Holdsworth

Post by JohnMorgan »

Sunrace do a five speed freewheel, 14-28, for about £13?
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Chris Jeggo
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Location: Surrey

Re: Suggestion on lower gear range for old Holdsworth

Post by Chris Jeggo »

JohnMorgan wrote: 4 Oct 2022, 5:59am Sunrace do a five speed freewheel, 14-28, for about £13?
That one is 14-16-20-24-28, with a big jump 16-20. A couple of years ago I bought a Suntour 14-17-20-24-28 (unused) at a bike jumble - slightly better spacing. Suntour also did a 14-17-21-26-32, which might turn up at a jumble.
wjhall
Posts: 265
Joined: 1 Sep 2014, 8:46am

Re: Suggestion on lower gear range for old Holdsworth

Post by wjhall »

In the spring I sprang an attractively priced SunRace 7 speed Megarange with 34 tooth big cog into the frame of a 1980 Claud Butler, of Holdsworth manufacture. This has 125 mm Over Locknut Dimension; I removed a spoke protector disc and offset the rear axle by about 3 mm to restore the clearance to the right dropout. Cold setting was not required. It works very well. Whether this can be done with a different bicycle will depend on the dimensions of frame and wheel.

This probably completes a two decade progression from the original 36/50 & 14-28 to 28/38/48 & 13-34. The rear derailleur was changed because the orignal wide range campognolo did not impress, the front derailleur only when it broke last month. The rear derailleur change is likely to be necessary on any machine, especially one originally sold with a 24 tooth big cog, which also suggests a risk that the front derailleur is designed for a lower range. Spa cycles triples are attractively priced, with low price bottom brackets the simplest way to fit a new chainset. Other changes will also depend on the details of the bicycle.
Last edited by wjhall on 5 Oct 2022, 9:20am, edited 1 time in total.
JohnMorgan
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Joined: 9 Jun 2022, 7:19pm

Re: Suggestion on lower gear range for old Holdsworth

Post by JohnMorgan »

Chris Jeggo wrote: 4 Oct 2022, 10:38am
JohnMorgan wrote: 4 Oct 2022, 5:59am Sunrace do a five speed freewheel, 14-28, for about £13?
That one is 14-16-20-24-28, with a big jump 16-20. A couple of years ago I bought a Suntour 14-17-20-24-28 (unused) at a bike jumble - slightly better spacing. Suntour also did a 14-17-21-26-32, which might turn up at a jumble.
Suntour Perfect? I have the 14-32 on the Galaxy - it’s a godsend if I have full panniers :-)
ANTONISH
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Joined: 26 Mar 2009, 9:49am

Re: Suggestion on lower gear range for old Holdsworth

Post by ANTONISH »

About thirty years ago I had begun to return to cycling after a break of about 20 yrs.
I dug out my old Witcomb road bike and after doing some short rides decided that I would use it for a tour (as I had in the sixties).
The lowest gear was 45 x 25 - 48.6" which had been ok for the pyrenees in my twenties.
I went to a local bike shop and he managed to remove the old block and I bought a six speed block with a 30t large sprocket and a mountain bike rear mech.
I bought a 48/34 double chainset .
So I ended up with a 34x30 lowest gear - 30.6" which seemmed amazingly low - I thought I could climb anything on that until I turned left in Belgium and encountered something like a wall.
Eventually I fitted a triple 48/38/28 so a 25.2" - used that for Jogle.
The rear ends of the Witcomb were 120mm so there was a bi of shoehorning involved and a new BB but it does show what can be achieved with a vintage bike with little modification.
Tinkerbell
Posts: 62
Joined: 6 Oct 2022, 1:38pm

Re: Suggestion on lower gear range for old Holdsworth

Post by Tinkerbell »

I put a Shimano Megarange on my old 27” wheeled Puch a little while ago - works nicely. Found it on eBay

https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/technolo ... range.html
rubelahamed
Posts: 4
Joined: 3 Oct 2022, 12:05pm

Re: Suggestion on lower gear range for old Holdsworth

Post by rubelahamed »

Speaking from experience, I'd recommend caution over a larger small sprocket, although I doubt something as large as a 16 is available off-the-shelf. The problem to look out for is clearance between the smallest sprocket and the chainstay.
gxaustin
Posts: 890
Joined: 23 Sep 2015, 12:07pm

Re: Suggestion on lower gear range for old Holdsworth

Post by gxaustin »

I fitted a 6 speed 14-28 freewheel in place of 5 speed on my Falcon Olympic by redishing the wheel. I then swapped the cranks for a Stronglight item with 34 and 46t chainrings. this worked with the original Crane derailer.
in my relative youth I toured the Wicklow Mountains carrying panniers with a 42/28 lowest gear :D .
The panniers were home made from RAF haversacks BTW, lined with bin liners against the wet.
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