#holstarredux

The ugly duckling. 

Spotted on eBay some months ago with a confidence-inspiring description along the lines of “can ride, needs work”, this “Pro-Ace by Holstar” didn’t seem to offer much at first glance. That blue-and-yellow Biopace sticker taunted me from the big ring, suggesting there was not much help on offer for what little power my stroke might boast already… but I wanted a 1x drivetrain anyway…  

Closer inspection revealed healthy bones. Low-spec CroMo, but real-steel all the same, and internal cable routing in the toptube. An elegant quill stem, modest lugs, and braze-on downtube shifters were on my wishlist. And that unified seatstay… lateral stiffness be damned,  it just looked too good. Sold! to the highest - though not that high - bidder. 

“Sure”, I said, “I’ll just tidy it up with a quick coat of warpaint, new tyres and a fresh cassette. That’ll be fine to get me to the shops and back…” 

Famous last words. Introducing the WS/CC HP#2 Holstar-Redux. 

Another swan rescued from the ducks.  Another bike saved from the bin. 

What began as a quick tidy up get me to the shops and back, may have gotten a little out of hand…

First, the wheels. Knackered. No point rebuilding a wheelset with a 7sp freehub. “Yeah, 1x10 would be cool, right? Works on the mountain, and should make the ride home from the pub easier too. Ok. New wheels.” Arm twisted.

A neat Shimano 5700 series 105 derailleur turned up on eBay. They guy selling it had some pristine brakes to match. “Why not? They’ll look great with the new wheels. I’ll paint it in grey primer and be done with it.”

Then I discovered the Paul Component Engineering Duplex Lever. “Gee, wouldn’t that make braking with another hand on the shifter a lot easier? And damn if it isn’t a work of art!?”

With new wheels, new drivetrain, new brakes, and a shiny lever… I was starting to worry about the time I would need to spend on the bench-grinder polishing everything else to match… 

“Screw it. I’ll do it properly.” Turns out Dulux isn’t just for homeowners with shaggy dogs. You can also use it to lay a nice coat of ‘60s hotrod flake. 

After a crash course in Affinity Designer, the crew at Veloink sorted me out with some bumper stickers to make it official.

And the left-side shifter boss? I couldn’t bring myself to carve it off the frame, so function found a form. Sure, I’ve already got a bottle opener on my keys, but cordless angle grinders are really fun to work with… Cheers.