Mr IGH

Good combo. Performance sells lots of bikes in the urban areas, lots of extra $$. Cost less than a fancy watch and way more fun. LA, I hope you get a test ride and buy one!

Stadjer

I don't know Pashley, but I believe the classic Gazelle, the 'Tour Populair' is overpriced, everywhere and especially in North-America. It's just not the quality anymore it's got it's reputation from. I bought a relatively young but used one a couple of years ago, didn't like it's build quality and bought a 70's Gazelle soon after. That one has never disappointed me, just like all the other old Gazelle's before (just put a picture of mine in the Dutch bike topic on C&V). A 40 year old Gazelle is usually a better bike than a 10-year old Gazelle, consensus is that around halfway the 80's build quality decreased a lot.

Azor noticed too, and jumped in to make reliable and durable bikes again. I believe they are surprisingly cheap but it won't be easy to get one to the USA for 1200 dollars. This guy understands at least partly of what it is about:

jamesdak 

Bringing this back from the dead for anybody researching Pashley.

I've added a new Guv'nor to the stable of road bikes. Bought the 3 speed version from British Bikes for $1595 shipped to my door 85% built. Took me maybe a leisurely 30 minutes to put it together and tune it.

Build quality seems exceptional. Weight is up there, mine came in a few ounces under 33 lbs. Now here's what's weird. I feel the weight carrying it up and down the front stairs of my house but not out on the road. I've had it on hills and long upgrades and it just seems to keep rolling effortlessly. I expected to feel like I needed more gearing and that I was fighting to keep speed on the upgrades. Just not the case, I just keep spinning and this beauty cruises right along.

Now this is a long wheelbase and relaxed frame compared to my road bikes. Compared it again my De Rosa Neo Pro and the Guv'nor's wheelbase was more than 5 inches longer. This is also the first bike I've used a Brooks on that I haven't had an issue with getting enough setback. In fact on this one I could use a straight seatpost and be fine. I have a love/hate relationship with the B17 Brooks saddle. I usually prefer the racier Swallow and Swift styles. That said, this Ti framed saddle is noticeably lighter than all my other leather saddles. Not that it really matters on a 33 lb bike, LOL!

This bike was mainly bought for rec riding and such. I normally put 25+ miles on a road bike for a workout right after work then break this out after dinner for another 10 miles or so of just cruising around the valley. But I have taken this on my base daily route for 27 miles. Perfectly comfortable and handled all the hills and upgrades beautifully as mentioned above. My avg speed was down 4 mph but in all honestiy I was just cruising it that ride, no helmet, stopping a lot to take pictures, etc. One day soon I'm going to attach the same course with a workout mindset and see what pace this ol' beauty will run. The 3 speed seems to give me the gears I need for everything I encounter. I've also had it out on a dirt road with some rough washboard sections. The bike handled just fine and pretty much absorbed all the rough stuff. Only once did the bell go off from a rough jolt on the dirt.

The brakes seem to be working just fine. I've purposely not adjusted them as "tight" as they are supposed to be run yet I've got plenty of brake to slow down or even stop quickly with.

Anyway, if you are considering a Pashley I'd say they are well worth the money. Oh and these are still handbuilt in Britain. The bike will be well packed for shipment. Mine arrived well secured in the largest bike box I've ever seen. Interior cardboard supports kept the bike in place and the box from being crushed. It was also on a cardboard pallet of sorts. Loose parts (saddle, seatpost, pedals, etc) protected in a separate box. Frame protected with foam and such and everything zip-tied securely so there was nothing loose to damage anything.

The only mod was to mount water bottle cage carefully and then I did swap the nice stock MKS pedals for some larger, shinier MKS Touring Next pedals to which I added some MKS leather wrapped half clips.

Some pics:


No denying it, this thing is HOT looking!!!!!


Totally cool name!


Hand painted pinstriping on the wheels, classy!


Beautiful leather bits.


Upgraded the still nice stock pedals with larger even nicer Sylvan Touring Next pedals. These babies shine like jewelry!


Nice clips, super easy to use and to get out of.

Erzulis Boat 

Wowza!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Snotrub

That is a GOOD lookin' bike. I'd ride it.

Charliekeet

Lovely. But uh, you canNOT be serious about putting a frame lock on that thing!

GamblerGORD53

I love this Pashley Guvnor video made in 2014. >>
youtube.com/watch?v=CqvkVjRObf4
10 years ago the Canadian dollar was flying high and so was Pashley popularity. Dozens of them flew out the doors of the variety city bike LBS here. Princess was the leader for sure. One summer day I saw 3 teen boys out riding, one had a Pashley.
I just couldn't like everything about them. I have a similar Simcoe roadster this year, now with my 8 year old SA XL-RD5w drum wheels. Awesome. It's over 38 lbs now, it was 36 with Nexus 7i with roller brakes.

Lazyass

jamesdak How is the sizing? I've read that it's kind of weird and you have to size down. What size would you recommend for someone who usually rides a 54-56?

jamesdak 

Well that's me. I'll ride from 53 to 56 but do prefer the 55/56 range mostly. Doing my research on this found the general consensus was actually to go larger. So I went with the 22.5 over the 20. The top tube really is 22.5 CTC but with my 23" biking inseam it is tall for me compared to the rest of my rides. But still works fine. The issue I have with the fit right now is I have bad knees and usually need a pretty specific setback for the center of the saddle from center of the BB. With the stock setback seatpost and that Brooks it's actually about an inch too long due to those slack angles on the frame. Hasn't aggravated my knees yet but I'm trying to find a nice 27.0 silver seatpost with no setback to move the saddle forward a bit more. Pretty funny in away because on a lot of my bikes I either have to use Gyes saddles with their longer rails to get my needed setback or find a seatpost with around 30mm of setback to run a Brooks. Complete opposite in this case.

On this bike riding it the fit feels just fine and the bike feels quite natural under me. I've had two 57cm bikes over the years (CIOCC, Fuji S12-s). I loved the Ciocc's ride but it always just felt too big and the Fuji I converted to 650B to combat the height. This beauty just feels right to me.

chaadster

jamesdak Congrats! Cool looking bike, for sure, and I’m sure the ride experience is quite fun, owing to the Pashy being pretty much unique among modern bikes in the US.

Regarding your seatpost, it would not have been unusual for ‘30s roadsters and path racers to have had the rail clamp mech forward of the post or to have a “set-forward” post, so it might be a more period-correct looking possibility to flip a modern setback post forward. I think a zero setback post would look well out of place; I’d even consider an old school post with a clamp-on head facing forward, you know the type, with the round clamp plates that take two boxes wrenches to adjust. That’d look “period.”

Have fun riding it! It’s wonderful having a bike you can jump on anytime, in whatever clothes, and just feel at ease having a blast riding around, like when you were a kid!

jamesdak 

Yep, I actually did try to reverse the seatpost yesteday but it was a no go. The slot the clamp bolt passes through doesn't let me get a proper angle on the saddle and no room to elongate the slot. I did a quick search last night for the old school style but struck out. I do have the clamping mechanism you are talking about. Got one of those out last night to make sure it will fit the Brooks rails. That will be the simple solution at I can easily find a straight post in 27.0 for that. Just trying to find a more elegant solution before I go that way.

It is nice just having this to jump on. What's been happening is I get home from work and do 25-30 miles right away on one of my road bikes. Then I'll eat dinner and go hop on this for a 8-10 mile cruise around the area just enjoying the weather and the views.

We have a paved path that goes across the valley and around the lake. It's in bad shape in most areas and too rough and dangerous to ride fast on a road bike. But it's perfect for the Guv'nor to cruise on.

This is about the only decent section of the bike path.

Bill in VA

I like the Aurora because I like traditional mixte frames.(and Reynolds 531 at that), but the rest..., meh for me. IGHs intrigue me, but that Aurora really cries out for a nice silver rear derailleur.

Sylvan Touring Next pedals, are really, really nice. Smoothest pedal bearings I have ever felt, and lighter that many SPD pedals, even with toe clips.

hotbike

My own market research showed us that people are willing to pay $1,200.00 for their girlfriends or daughters bike.

Hiro11

(Asked for) opinion ahead:

The cutesy name, cornball retro design and no-name/garbage componentry indicate to me that we are looking at a triumph of (questionable) style over substance here. If you are looking for a bike like this, get something like a Marin Larkspur or any of the 50,000 hybrids available. All will be better made and 10x more usable.

GamblerGORD53

WTF. The Gov'nor design and name is ORIGINAL, the same since 1926. This was designed as a weekend race bike, the CF-er of it's day. It would be nice to at least upgrade with a bottle holder. Other new bikes in this class have made this lame shortcoming as well, pretending that they are not capable of long distance. LOL. What a farce thinking this. I've had a SA 3 speed on a 1973 CCM for 4,200 miles, yah it's not a steep hill climber, but that doesn't stop me from doing 85 hilly miles or centuries. My SA XL-RD5w does fix this shortcoming.

And anyway, that Larkspur is pathetic with any drive, especially a defaileur. NOBODY will try to ride that on the highway. LOL. Shi!mano components with 4 groupo levels of garBaGe are better?? LOL. Yet again last night, I was behind a 1x MTB on a MUP, he was in HIGH gears going 17 MPH. Hilariously useless technology.

Dewey101

The Guvnor looks great, but I like the traditional loop frame step through of the Britannia. I’d get the optional Nexus 8 IGH, presumably they fit a Shimano rollerbrake to that, but wonder if they keep the Sturmey front drum dynohub?

jamesdak 

I'm totally cool with the practicality of a step through frame, just see it as a bike with a different purpose. Hence why I also have this on order, LOL!


8 speed IGH, upgraded roller brakes, dynamo hubs and lights, and one heck of a carrying capacity.


Down sizing the bike cave of about 20 bikes has freed up the money to buy both the Guv'nor and this Azor. The Azor will replace the old Hercules 3 speed I used for many years that I sold and tried to replace with a Mars Trekking bike. That just isn't working out for running errands and carrying stuff. The Azor will do that nicely and give a bike that I can grow old on and still keep riding.

GamblerGORD53

Hell NO to roller brakes, in the front at least. It may be different on the road, but just spinning them they die faster than my SA dyno hub and Rohloff14. LOL. And they have a bad rep for that. They look goofy anyway and are horrible to clean and maintain and adjust. Very fine line between braking feel and spinning reasonably. They heat up like dragging sandpaper too. Get the SA XL-FDD, fit and forget for 25,000 miles.
.

jamesdak 

So that's a "not" for you, cool!

But to clarify a few things. The name is original to the 1930's as is the frame design. This was the rocketship of the past. Component wise, S/A IGH's are old school yes but also still being made because they are so good. And I don't know of anyone who considers Brooks saddles, garbage, much less a $300 ti framed one. This saddle will outlive both of use, LOL! Nitto stems are one of my main go to's on my road bikes and certainly not junk, nor are Sylvan pedals. Reynolds 531 was the premier tubeset for many, many, years and was still being used for high end road bikes well into the 80's. Sugino makes the crank and here again, those that understand know how good Sugino cranks are.

jamesdak 

Time will tell on the brakes. I did a lot of research based on the love/hate and I'm perfectly fine with the decision. The real issue seems to be proper setup and proper lubrication. Digging deep in the world of the Dutch shows they have them figured out and get years and years out of them with no real maintenance. Of course, I've been known to be wrong, LOL!

Oh and I did go with an upgrade on them for more cooling. I do believe they will be fine on this bike for it's purpose.

Dewey101

Pashley customer service replied to my question, when they fit the Nexus 8 IGH option they do fit Shimano roller brakes both on the rear and front and use a Shimano dynamo hub. The 22” Pashley Britannia frame size has 28” wheels, so it’s very much like jamesdak’s Azor. I already converted my current 28” wheel Breezer Downtown with a Sturmey 90mm Xl-fd front drum brake, so I guess it would be a relatively simple job to swap the wheel, brake lever, and cable over, I’m guessing the fork would be the same for either brake option with a tab for the brake reaction arm. I do appreciate the consistent stopping power when I’m riding in the rain.

Hiro11

None of that justifies the pricing here. You're paying for the style. Also, the whole "frame was designed in 1930" thing isn't exactly a selling point to me.

My $450 Mercier Kilo WT came with the same Sugino XD-2 crank. It's fine but it's hardly top-end.

The cheap-o Mercier also has a Reynolds 520 frame, which has extremely similar mechanical properties to obsolete 531 but has the added advantage of being weldable... which is why Reynolds doesn't really sell 531 any more except to special order. 531 is yet another "deliberately retro" choice here.

The MKS pedals are $28 online if you want them. if you insist on flat pedals, modern pinned pedals like a VP Vice are much better anyway.

The B-17 is indeed a quality item, but you can get one for $120 if you really want one. Brooks leather saddles are also kinda a pain to deal with and are yet another style-forward decision here.

Maybe some like S-A 3 speeds and drum brakes, but there's a reason most bikes use more modern stuff. Because it's better. Much better. And yes, low tier Shimano derailleurs and brakes are much better than what's on this bike.

Also, I've searched and there's no evidence I can find that the bike was originally called the "Guv-nor", it appears to have originally been called the Path Racer... which is a much cooler name. The Guv'nor name (which IS cloyingly cutesy) is from 2008. I'm likely wrong but I feel like arguing.

So, my opinion remains completely unswayed.

jamesdak 

LOL, argue all you want.

My responses were mainly meant for anyone researching these. I'll stand by my comments too.

Enjoy your bikes, I dang sure enjoy mine.

Well except for maybe this morning. 40 cold windy miles on the Duell sorta sucked yet didn't in a good way.



And this evening I'll head back out on my over priced, GUV'NOR and enjoy the heck out of it too. That is if those low budget parts don't fall off along the way, LOL!




Oh and I actually think your right on the name thing, sorta. This bike is what is known as a Path Racer, Not sure what if any model name it had back in the day. But dang, it does sound so cool saying I'm heading out for a ride on the Guv'nor. I try and do my best Eggsy impression when I say it. LOL!!!

Dewey101

Pashley Customer service got back to me and confirmed they use the same fork for both brake types, and the difference in cable pull ratio between Shimano roller brakes and Sturmey drum brakes requires replacing the brake lever and cable.

I do like my current bike though, a Pashley would be a hypothetical future purchase if I got a windfall or if anything happened to the Breezer. Having converted my front rim brake to drum brake, the rim brake lugs do stand proud and are unpainted and greased, so I’ve also looked at replacing the fork with the 28” one David Hembrow sells that has the drum brake tab, also maybe replacing the rear rim brake that is grabby and tends to lock up the wheel with a Shimano rollerbrake to bolt on the Nexus 8 IGH.