A 1977 Gravel Bike? Vintage Bike to Modern Gravel Bike Build & Ride

After riding on the road a lot I got a little bored and wanted to try a gravel bike, but why buy a new one? I wanted to see if I could build one with eBay new & second hand parts using a 1977 Holdsworth Record Reynolds 531 frame and forks...

This bike is a mash up of parts, I didn't want it to break the bank if it turned out to be a terrible idea, so I shopped on eBay as well as the sale sections of cycling websites and managed to find parts that took the total build budget, including the frame to just under £600

And it turns out, its actually a great bike to ride, it rides smooth and handles anything I've thrown at it so far, before this filming, I took it out for a 30 mile test ride and it was great, the only thing I would like to change is the brakes, I didn't want to drill the frame to fit recessed brake callipers and the Weinmann brakes just pass in terms of stopping the bike.

After the build, before the riding film, I did add the bottle mounts as the frame didn't have any, and I added some paint protection film.

Speaking of paint, a massive thank you to Jack Kingston for helping with the paint and giving me some great advice, I'm still learning when it comes to building and restoring bikes and creating these videos is amazing for learning new things and meeting new people.

And a big thank you to East Coast Powder Coating for helping strip and blast the frame.

Thank you for watching.

[inspector]

Back in 1977...every bike was a gravel bike.

[catalogodefantasmas]

A restoration craftsman, but also a cinematography craftsman. Excellent work!

[solitaryrefinement]

Seriously, even the lowliest vintage steel road or vintage steel MTB is going to be an easy build. Tire clearance might be the only real issue and disc brakes, forget 'em, but once an old bike is built up with modern bits, it's a smooth riding beast that you can roll over anything and not having to do an inspection after the ride looking for cracks in the frame or stays.

That's a seriously beautiful build.

[jdillon]

For anyone else watching, don't be afraid to drill the rear of the fork to fit modern dual-pivot caliper brakes. It's not a difficult job. Drilling the frame for the rear brake can be a little trickier, due to clearance issues with the seat tube. Using another front brake caliper on the rear (with the longer stud) is a work around so you can still use an external nut. Thanks to RJ the bike guy for that tip.

[bosanderspublictheology]

I have to admit that I have watched this several times but at minute 19 it really hits a new level when you see it in action. This is great stuff.

[mattgatof]

Beautiful build. Check Tektro 559 brakes. They make a nutted version to fit older steel frames without drilling. Add koolstop salmon pads and you will get good stopping power. Done this on several of my vintage steel frames. Again beautiful build

[ronwhite]

Cracking job, beautifully filmed. It always gladdens my heart to see a classic steel bike brought back to life. I do the same with old hybrids and tourers; the bargains to be had for a wonderful riding bike is almost criminal.

[jamiepeirce]

Crazy and so well presented. Recently I turned a late 70s road bike into a gravel bike. I actually did a similar downtube shifter clamp mod to cable tensioner. Had to drill wider holes into the tensioners and used the shifter clamp bolt. Now I want to paint it..

[stephenfernald]

Beautiful. I was worried that Reynolds 531 sticker was gone for good, but after about 20 minutes I breathed a sigh of relief.

[billmarsh]

The invisible hands part of the video grabbed me right away. Nice to see old good quality steel be resurrected into something that fits modern cycling adventures.

[davidrobinson]

I joined the Mississauga cycling club in 1972, at age 12.
Our president was a fine British gentleman named Eric Watson. He rode a racing orange Holdsworth, all Campagnolo except for the centre- pull brakes, which Eric had cuatomized by drilling a hole in his cinelli stem, and using the stem as a stopper for the front brake cable. I thought it was the coolest modification ever, and i did likewise with many road bikes since. Even doing the same trick with the seatpost.
I just rode a 1979 Panasonic, with some modifications, on an 1800 km tour. No problems at all with the bike. I don't know why bikes have to be over-thought, over- designed and changed every year when the 70's bikes had everything figured out.
It just comes down to geometry and type of tires. I wish more people knew how to keep the old, well made bikes restored and ready for the road.
Nice job !

[RyanStanis]

The heat applied frame protectors are a very nice touch. For future builds, that little brazed on bit on the underside of the downtube goes below the clamp-on barrel adjusters, not above.

[Brookspirit]

Very nice. I was always a fan of Holdsworth bikes, i used to go past their shop in Putney quite often.

[omare_biketonature]

Absolutely beautiful! Therapeutic to watch, found a gem on YouTube, a lot of work and talent both upgrading the bike and filmmaking. Thank you for sharing

[electrocit]

Awesome build. I have 3 vintage to gravel conversions. A great brake upgrade is to go Center Pull brake. They give more clearance than single or double pivot brakes, more stopping power and make taking the wheel off much easier. You can even get QR hangers for them, though you could just squeeze and pull off the yoke too.

[etiennemuller]

Thanks for doing this video. I am currently converting a 1970s HARRY QUIN. It was handy to see a modern cassette working on the rear axle. I had to stretch my stays to allow for the extra 5mm. I gritted my teeth and heaved a little. It worked without breaking anything. They were exceedingly hard to bend, even a tiny bit, which is rather comforting. I haven’t ordered the wheels yet, and still awaiting the paint.

[tinkerbike]

Great build. Makes me want to another vintage gravel build in addition to my bridgestone. Those steels frames are the best.

[zedddddful]

Probably the best bike restoration i have seen yet the mix of modern components and old frame is perfectly done.

[DiegoChauvin]

Que buen trabajo, la pintura es de lo mejor que vi, una obra de arte, saludos desde Argentina 🇦🇷

[romemancer]

I did that with an apollo road bike in the mid 80s...before gravel bikes were even thought of...using flat bars and 27 inch snow and mud tyres...cheers.