Holdsworth restoration: stage ten

Things have moved on a little with the bike project. Mum and Dad came up trumps on the accessories front.
Having been provided with the materials courtesy of Fabric World in Bletchley Mum created a 50s style cap in white and ‘Holdsworth’ green. I’m now poised to add some 50s advertising to it.

Over the bank holiday weekend Dad and I created a bespoke bottle holder body using some 1mm stainless plate, a jigsaw and a set of engineer’s files. Uncle Des provided hose clamps to attach it to the bars and this seems to have worked admirably. The holder is going nowhere but keeping the bottle securely in it will be tricky.

I’ve modified a briefcase strap to bind the whole shooting match together but I think further modification will be required before road testing. I've also identified a supplier of demi-john corks for the tops of the bottles.

On the negative side I have had repeated problems with the back tyre blowing out or puncturing. Pumping the tyre to 6 barr is definitely not a good idea. It peels off the rim and the tube explodes like a rifle shot (leaving shredded remains). I established this after two tubes went the same way. Sadly the current tube also seems to have sprung a fastish slow puncture. This may be bad luck or it maybe a spiky bit in the tyre. I certainly won’t be taking it to P&D cycles to find out.