Gorgeous recreation of sleek 1930s Pashley bicycle
The Pashley Guv'nor — horrific name aside, apparently chosen by the company to "signify the renaissance of our great English bicycle heritage" — is a gorgeously sleek recreation of the same company's Path Racer Model from the 1930's... a throwback to the days when the aesthetics of a truly handsome bicycle were just as important to its price as the space-age alloys used in its construction and impossibly intricate matryoshka arrangement of gears.
I love it, but not for the price: perhaps I'm a pleb, but £795 is a hell of a lot of money to spend on a bicycle with only a single speed.
Pashley Guv'Nor [Official Site via Retro-to-Go]
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My ghod it's beautiful!
Reminds me of a Hardy Boys book cover!
You could probably re-create this look with a less expensive "cruiser" style bike using white tires and a set of those handlebars, but that might be the hard part right there: the cool handlebars.
(Oh, and the cool seat too, although that's re-creatable too.)
A low-cost facsimile of this beauty would be a very cool project for those inclined.
Check out the Amsterdam Sport 9 Special (9-speed derailuer) or the Balloon 8 (8-speed hub gear) from Electra: http://www.electrabike.com/amsterdam/
They should be significantly lower in price.
Where are the mud guards? Surely no gent from that age would risk soiling his trousers on a guardless mount?
Woah that is hot stuff!
but too spendy for me.
Have you seen the Flying Pigeon?
http://www.flyingpigeonnyc.com/
Thats Pashley not Pashnell. All of their bikes look gorgeously retro like that, although I think to ride that one you need googles and a flat cap, and a manservant in front with a red flag.
BTW strider, the cool seat is a Brooks, you can get them for other bikes; very comfy they are too. Handlebars in that style ('North Road') can be had here. That's without the leather, but Brooks also do leather bar wrap.
I'm sure it will be all the rage with trust fund kiddies in Philly and other small college towns across the states.
Anybody know what those brake levers on the handlebars control? It's difficult to tell from the photos, but there don't appear to be conventional caliper brakes on it. Also, the rear hub appears to be a coaster brake unit which would make a rear coaster brake redundant.
Thanks, Bazzargh. I'll correct. Not sure how I made that mistake.
Those mustache handlebars will guarantee you an accident the first time you hit a bump wrong or a car scares you.
If they really wanted to pay tribute to their British engineering heritage, they'd resurrect the famous Sturmey-Archer three-speed hub -- the bit of mechanics so fiendishly complex that no mechanic would dare touch it. I saw an exploded schematic once -- it makes the Space Shuttle look like a block of wood.
@ bazzargh: THANK YOU!
If they really wanted to pay tribute to their British engineering heritage, they'd resurrect the famous Sturmey-Archer three-speed hub -- the bit of mechanics so fiendishly complex that no mechanic would dare touch it.
That hub is an option on this bike.
I see now. They use Sturmey-Archer internal drum brakes on both wheels. Neat!
This inspired me. Last year I collected the parts to convert an old Reynolds 541 'Ten Speed' road bike frame to a coaster brake town bike. The frame was a rusty mess. After looking at this Pashley I dragged the frame outdoors, wire brushed the rust, sanded it out and painted it with rustproof primer. Later today it will get a coat of green 'wrinkle finish' electrical cabinet paint.
Oh heck. I forgot to do the fork...
I'm glad that, within a few posts, someone managed to bring out the vitriol against "trust-fund kids" and other such nonsense. That's usually a productive tack to take.
I respect that most people don't want to pay that much for a bike, but I guarantee you that it's worth it. It's fairly hard to find a good frame with angles like that, and with that parts all combined, it's totally a fair price. You could certainly build a similar bike if you know how and can find a bike with similarly relaxed angles, but most people don't have the sort of knowledge or desire. If you've never ridden a bike like this, though, the difference between this and an old racing-inspired frame is several orders of magnitude.
For reference, Velo Orange (http://www.velo-orange.com) makes bikes like this and provides parts for similar builds... and their prices are similar or more.
http://vanillabicycles.com/
Hand built beautiful bicycles that are the envy of every bike geek on the planet.
The geometry of the Pashley is a bit relaxed for heavy traffic city commutes, but the seat tube looks positioned to allow a foot down at an intersection. Would be good in a city without too much road rage.
Pshh. Some of those Brooks saddles cost more than this bike. Most of them are over $100, some are ~800. I've never ridden a Brooks saddle, but for as much work goes into them (they are the finest in the world), they better make my ass feel really good.
This bike doesn't satisfy my need for fast. I like to be able to reach 45 mph on the flats.
Screw this. Go rescue a beautiful old Raleigh, instead. Pennies on the pound.
Please stop misusing apostrophes - especially in headlines. Please!
Neat discussion!
Well worth checking back on!
Thanks, BBG!
Want a Flying Pigeon even cheaper? Come talk to me, I got 'em dirt-cheap here in Texas.
http://www.guanxi-trading.com/bikes.aspx