Claud Butler were taken over by Holdsworthy in the ’70s and this Colstar is effectively built around a top-of-the-range Holdsworth Special frameset (complete with racy parallel 73° geometry, long Campagnolo adjustable drop-outs, wrap-over seatstays and… a £350 frame-only price tag back in the day) making it a fabulous basis for a rather special bike from the Dead Rats Cycles workshop.
The Colstar’s handbuilt double-butted Reynolds 531 frame is fully restored and was refinished with tasteful new custom paintwork, New Old Stock (NOS) decals and hard-wearing clearcoat, though a few recent paint chips have been touched up. The components are mostly period-correct and in mint condition. Central to the build are the deliciously high quality and low mileage early Shimano Dura-Ace high-flange hubs – easily worth over £200 alone and freshly built onto clincher rims with new stainless steel spokes – which spin as smoothly as any I’ve worked with.
There’s very minimal sprocket wear front & rear on the slick Suntour VX Power Shift drivetrain which has a new bottom bracket, chain and cables along with a 30 tooth low rear sprocket and compact 110BCD chainrings with scope for lower gears. The restored brakes have new hoods and cables, there’s lovely new faux leather bar tape padding the New Old Stock (NOS) ITM bars and stem, and the bike absolutely tramped along on my numerous test rides!
- Frame & forks: handbuilt 57cm double-butted lugged Reynolds 531 (recent new custom paintwork & decals) with Campagnolo dropouts
- Headset: Tange Seiki Levin
- Stem: ITM (NOS)
- Handlebar: ITM Mod Super Europa Racing (NOS)
- Bar Tape: Velox (new)
- Brake Levers: Weinmann (with new Cane Creek hoods)
- Brake Calipers: Weinmann Vainquier 610 (with Dia-Compe quick release front cable hanger)
- Brake Pads: Weinmann
- Brake Cables: Jagwire housing with stainless steel inner cables (new)
- Shifters: Suntour Power Shifters
- Front Derailleur: Suntour VX
- Rear Derailleur: Suntour VX GT (long cage)
- Derailleur Cables: classic style rear derailleur housing with stainless steel inner cables (new)
- Freewheel: Suntour Perfect 5 speed 14-30 (mint)
- Chain: KMC (new)
- Cranks: Suntour VX
- Chainrings: 52/42 (upgraded)
- Bottom Bracket: Shimano BB-UN54
- Pedals: your choice (within reason)
- Rims: Wolber Gentleman GTA2 (front) and Ambrosio Super Elite Durex (rear)
- Hubs: high-flange Shimano Dura-Ace
- Quick Releases: Shimano Dura-Ace
- Nipples: brass
- Spokes: stainless steel
- Tyres: Schwalbe HS180 gumwall (700 x 25c)
- Inner Tubes: Presta
- Saddle: San Marco Super Course (others available)
- Seatpost: Sakae Ringyo Laprade 27.2mm fluted
- Seatpost Binder: J-Tek cro-mo (new)
- 6 month guarantee
