For Sale: 1953 Freddie Grubb with fancy lugs - complete bike

**1953 FREDDIE GRUBB 'Perfection' **

Size 23in c-t.

Price: £350 for the complete bike.

The 'Perfection' model was the top-of-the-range Freddie Grubb frameset for 1953. Featuring special hand-cut lugs of scroll design, the fine example shown here was constructed of double-butted tubing (Reynolds 531 or A & P Kromo - not sure which).

Freddie Grubb was a top racing cyclist and record-breaker in his day and his firm began building high quality and innovative lightweight cycles in south London from about 1914 until 1952. At this time the firm was taken over by WF Holdsworth. My frame must have been one of the first of the Holdsworth-built Freddie Grubbs.

Holdsworth clearly held the Perfection lug design in high esteem because they 'stole' the design and used it for their own 'Monsoon' road racer which was offered from 1954. As such, the Holdsworth-built Freddie Grubb Perfection is a rare model as it was built only for a year or so.

I recently restored this frame and built it up as a single-speed machine using 700C wheels and with decent quality non-period components. It could easily be converted to fixed gear of course.

The frame alignment has been checked so it's straight and true, and it rides very nicely. The colour is 'Eau de nil', with cream seat band and lugs lined in gold. It is fitted with a period-correct headset.

Specification:
Frame and forks: Double-butted throughout. Feature cut lugs. Braze-on cable stops for rear brake cable.
Rims: Mavic 700C ceramic
Hubs: Campagnolo, stainless steel spokes,18t Shimano freewheel.
Tyres: Michelin Axial Pro
Bars: GB Maes
Stem: Quill type.
Saddle: Selle Italia Trans Am
Seatpost: Condor
Brakes: Weinmann all-metal 730, drilled levers
Chainset: Shimano-copy with 42t ring
Bottom Bracket: Campagnolo

It can be viewed at Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. I will not post but could deliver to the West London area for a small fee to cover my fuel costs.

Feel free to call me on 01491 638307 if you need more info, or send a PM.

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Lovely. Who did the paint? And is it definitely DB tubing? I'd thought Holdsworth Grubbs were all plain gauge.

Lovely. Who did the paint? And is it definitely DB tubing? I'd thought Holdsworth Grubbs were all plain gauge.

I had read also that Holdsworth-built Freddie Grubbs were built of plain gauge 531, but not everything published on the internet is correct.

This frame weighs exactly the same as a similar size Hetchins that I own, and I know that my Hetchins is 531 butted tubing throughout as I have the build card. If the Grubb had been built using plain gauge, it would weigh significantly more than the Hetchins. Draw your own conclusion...

The customer in the early 1950s era could almost always specify what he or she wanted in terms of tubing type, paint schemes, chroming, braze-ons, and sometimes even the frame angles and bottom bracket height, and this was true even with the relatively large-scale lightweight specialists such as Holdsworth. Perhaps it was a special order? Or perhaps the Perfection model was built of d/b 531 as standard.

This bike is now provisionally sold.

Holdsworth clearly held the Perfection lug design in high esteem because they 'stole' the design and used it for their own 'Monsoon' road racer which was offered from 1954. As such, the Holdsworth-built Freddie Grubb Perfection is a rare model as it was built only for a year or so.
.

I have these lugs on my Monsoon, and very pretty they are too. Like a long point Nervex type lug

I am very interested in this bike. I see the ad was posted 5 years ago ... is the bike still available?

Please reply to this e-mail (address) or phone me on 01896 830830

Thank you,

Richard Squirrell

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I am interested in the 1953 Freddie Grubb racing cycle you are advertising on the internet. My first question is: is this bicycle still for sale? (I understand it was first advertised 5 years ago but would assume if you are advertising it, it must be available.)

Please let me know what the position is; if it is still for sale, it would be sensible to check the frame size; from memory, I ride a 21-inch frame.

I can be contacted by e-mail at richard@ad-ho.co.uk or you can 'phone me on 01896 830830.

Thank you!

Richard Squirrell

p.s.I rode a Freddie Grub in the early sixties: loved it!

If it's available also intetested

Hahahhahaha

I highly recommend you edit your post to remove your email address and phone number which is now visible to the entire world. The person selling this bike has not been active on this forum for over 5 years.

Now here's an idea, the OP has a phone number in the first post. Have you tried calling it?

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I know exactly where that is, at the foot of a nice climb up the lane to Turville and the lovely http://www.thebarnatturvilleheath.com/

@richardshill
Ah just removed it so others will be perplexed!
looks nice round there, I like the idea of no car cafe as well.

Oh yeah! Good idea thou.
The cafe is down a chalk track (roadie-skinny-tyre-fiendly, just), it's a regular haunt. Food's good, coffee's good, track pump on the premises. Well worth a detour if anyone's in the area.