Maclean barn find

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Bobby Maclean

Well-Known Member
Here she is, all I know is the badge has the se London logo, so I assume made by holdsworth?
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biggs682

Touch it up and ride it
Location
Northamptonshire
@Bobby Maclean i like orange coloured bikes and that looks great , nothing a clean and some fresh consumables won't sort
 
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Bobby Maclean

Bobby Maclean

Well-Known Member
Thanks classic33, there is not a lot more info on the web that I can find, because this is sporting an SE20 head badge then it makes it one of the models made by Holdsworth in the early 60's ?
This is a section from the classic lightweights site you kindly put a link up for....

http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/macleans.html


In 1934 they moved a few doors up the road to occupy 362-3 Upper Street, where they remained until the business was wound up in 1962 and passed into the ownership of Holdsworthy Cycles.

Holdsworthy produced small numbers of "Maclean" badged cycles throughout the 1960's, these being re-badged versions of their own range of frames. Thus a 1960s Maclean frame could also be found with Holdsworthy or Claud Butler badges.


The Holdsworthy metal badge consisted of a rounded oval with a simplified wreath border and a simple coronet at the top. The interior has a black background with the word "Featherweight" across the top part and the word "Cycles" at the bottom, both in gold. In between, diagonally across the centre of the oval, the word "Maclean" is printed in large gold capitals on an orange/red background, bordered top and bottom by a gold strip. Along the bottom of the oval is an oblong panel with a step base and fluted ends. The interior of the panel has a green background upon which are the words "London S.E.20" in gold capitals. The badge has mounting pins top and bottom. A transfer version of this badge is used on the seat tube - complete with marked pin holes!

"I only knew them in their swansong years: this would be from 1959 to the closure in November 1962. Swansong is a deliberate play on words by me as the legendary Dick Swann was shop manager there during their final years and he use to chase us out of the shop. Most of the work that was being done by the frame builders who were still working there was repairs or modifications, new tubes, modern Campag ends being fitted, and frames being re-spaced for modern gears.

They did try very hard to regain their former sales by introducing two cracking racing models in early 1960s. These were both designed by Dick Swann and were called Ultra in either Road or Track versions.

The Road Ultra was Reynolds 531 Butted Tubing with Ekla cast lugs, Campagnolo ends and Campag head and BB fittings. It had an exclusive reinforced fork crown and head lugs and seat-stay bridge.

The Ultra Track was made of Kromo tubing, again with Ekla lugs and with the reinforced crown and head, plus special rear track ends. The track had an oversize Chater BB. These came as standard with chrome fork crown and front and rear ends. Expensive but beautifully made and finished. They remained very popular for the short time they were made. In fact they were so dear that people remarked "are they gold plated for that sort of money? " They cost in full road race kit over £90.00 then!

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Cycling - 1 June 1960

These remarks might have prompted N.Taylor, the then director of Macleans Featherweight Cycles, to produce a show model Road Ultra for the November Cycle Show to mark the Golden Jubilee Year of the British Cycle and Motor Cycle Industries Association. This was in a stunning gold finish and was complete with gold plated drops. It was hanging up in the window prior to the show for weeks. As kids we flocked to Upper Street just to see it.

Most of the builders finished up working on the buses after the closure: remember this was the time of the replacement of London Trolleybuses with diesel Routemasters. Most of the trolley people were ex-tramways anyway and were on a much higher rate of pay than the equivalent bus crews so they were old and either copped it and hopped it or went out on early retirement. This created many vacancies on London Transport and the bus pay was still better than frame builder's money. Tom Board went to either Fred Deans or F.W.Evans I am not sure. Macleans then became part of Holdsworthy and they just became another Grubb, Butler, Holdsworth or Macleans - in bare metal you would never know which.

Claud Butler I think restarted in 1959. Anyway he was certainly at it in this year at his shop in St.Johns Hill by Clapham Junction Station because my Dad took me there. The story is that he had a picture of old man Holdsworth pasted up in the shop which he used to practice his darts on. There was certainly no love lost between the teetotaller Holdsworth and Claud who liked a drink. He must have been a right thorn in their side with his new Claud's!


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midlife

Guru
Rear mech should have Pat. Followed by the year on the top where the cable goes in :smile:
 
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Bobby Maclean

Bobby Maclean

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the advice but I dont mean to be dumb, but do you mean on
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the derailleur itself?
There is a few worn digits where the hub attaches to the frame. Other than that the only other numbers I can find are on the bottom bracket. I have tried to give you an idea from the pictures.
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