trgz

My daughter's picked up an old rod-brake Pashley ladies bike (probably a Princess) as a restoration project and we're struggling to figure out the age. The serial number is 92417 (or at least that what it looks like) but I can't find anything on the evolution of the bike let alone anybody else that's posted up another frame number. Even the Lepper (Concorde?) it's fitted with hasn't proved a useful clue. Despite the rod-brakes I reckon it might only be a '70's bike but ultimately she's very happy with it. Any suggestions as to an approximate age?

beech333

I know virtually nothing about the brand, so my help is very limited, but I will do my best. Is it a 3-speed? If "yes", does it have a Sturmey Archer hub. SA hubs have date stamps that could be used to date the bike, if it is original.

I believe that I have seen the name Pashley Princess on this blog. She may be able to help. She might also be a BF member(Veloria?).

Best of luck.

terraskye

oh yes Velouria is a Pashley Princess owner and BF member maybe she'll see this post

David Newton

Pashley is still in business, you might try contacting them.

wahoonc

There seems to be a black hole for information on older Pashleys. They claim to have been in business since 1926, but you don't see very many if any of their older bikes, even in the UK.

If it has a Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub you should be able to pull a date off of it.

Aaron

beech333

I had been wondering if Velouria was the owner of that blog. Thanks for the confirmation.

terraskye

Lovely Bicycles is probably one of the few bike blogs make sure to read daily...I'm mimicking some of the same upgrades on my DL-1 that she did on hers...

Veloria

Hello everyone and thank you for the kind words!

Although Pashley has indeed been in business making bikes since 1926, they initially specialised in delivery bikes. As far as I understand it, they did not begin to make the elegant loop-frame bicycles they are known for today until the 1970s. If you can post some pictures of the bicycle your daughter picked up, I can get a better idea based on the decals and accessories.

trgz

Lovely to hear from so many people so quickly.
Well, the SA hub has a 91-2 stamp on it, but the rest of the bike really doesn't look that young (I recently let go a Ladies Claude Butler from the 70's that looked newer).
I've attached a few pix (sorry about the blurry one and I forgot to include a picture of the SA gear shift which is black plastic rather than the old chrome variety) that should help determine the age. The down tube and fork stickers are of the transparent plastic variety so in my mind that possibly rules out the 70's. The Lepper saddle is off at the moment undergoing some hefty leathery TLC!
Thanks again
Paul T

wahoonc

Well the rear hub dates it as a 1991 model, the black plastic shifter is also correct for that age of bike. If it is a '91 it is 10(make that 20) years old. From the pictures it looks older, but if it had been parked outside for many of those 10 years it will have aged faster. I have a 1972 Sports that many people mistakenly think is from the 50's due to the patina on it. It was my transportation bike for several years and spent most of those years outside locked up to bike racks.

Aaron

beech333

That is some bad math, but representative of the way I am thinking at 4:30am.

wahoonc

Yup and been up and down most of the night checking radar for the night crews and still expected to make an appearance at the day sites too

I can believe the bike is pushing 20 years old...

Aaron

trgz

I did for a moment consider that it'd had a new shifter, and then followed that with the idea of a new hub judging by it's date, but it is looking like it's a '91 model at the oldest, even a '92 as the SA hub might've been old stock.
Anyone know when they dropped the rod-brakes? This is the one anachronism that baffles me for a 90's bike (or any bike from the 70's on), especially as so many of their much older models had cable brakes.

wahoonc

Might have been a retro model? FWIW they STILL build rod brake roadsters on the Raleigh Pattern in India and China. Supposedly they are the most produced bike in the world as well as being the longest continuous production.

Aaron

trgz

Just spotted this similar thread
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=656980

bikerosity57

Yes that is probably an early 90's model before they stopped using the rod brakes. It's a fabulous bike. It is pretty much exactly the same as a Raleigh ladies model tourist. It'll clean up real nicely too. Use black kiwi shoe polish to shine the paint. It'll look great. I wouldn't "upgrade" anything. I'd leave it just as it is.

Veloria

It is very plausible that they still used rod brakes in 1991; I'd go with that date unless proven otherwise.

trgz

Again, thank you all for your help.
As for upgrades, I think the only thing I'll suggest is she hunts for a less plasticky looking SA lever - I remember my first bike had a nice all-metal one that would look much more appropriate. Not sure that just some boot polish is going to be enough - the paint is ropey in places and I think she's after her boyfriend, who's a pro car painter & bodywork expert, to give it a new coat and get some replacement decals. Whatever she does, no doubt she'll be riding this before her other restoration project, a '63 Mk1 Mini, is on the road!
Love the Lovely Bicycle! website BTW.

Hilarystone

Pashley continued using rod brakes on these models until the mid 1990s - the frame number I am certain confirms it as 1992. I worked with Pashley in the mid to late 1990s doing a newslettter for the and assisting them with catalogues and such like...

trgz

You can't get much better than that! I think that seals it.
Once again, many thanks to all who replied.