Pashley Sovereign in the USA?

Hello everyone.

Can any of you relate to shopping around for three months for your
wife who wants a bicycle "like the one she saw in the movies " ?

I finally found the exact bicycle my wife is looking for, the Pashley
Sovereign. Its going to be a huge purchase for us, but everything
down to the 5-speed hub gearing, the current specs, the rack, the
color, the basket and the skirt guard are perfect.

I could easily and much cheaper refurbish an old bicycle to look like
the Pashley, but I want something that is new and safe enough to carry
my one year old son on the back without me worrying if the back wheel
is going to slide off while my wife is heading downhill or taking a
tight turn.

Is there ANYTHING else available in the USA that even comes close to
the Pashely in terms of design and function?

AndrewG wrote:

I finally found the exact bicycle my wife is looking for, the Pashley
Sovereign. Its going to be a huge purchase for us, but everything
down to the 5-speed hub gearing, the current specs, the rack, the
color, the basket and the skirt guard are perfect.


I know nothing about this bike, but your post made me want to find out,
so I Googled it, and found a rather "funny" description of the S.-A.
hub brakes (which, conincidentally, I had many years ago on a home-assembled
hybrid). The ad in question said:

"Sturmey Archer hub brakes are fitted front and rear to provide reliable
stopping in the majority of situations."

You might want to inquire about the particulars of the "minority of situations"
where the brakes (apparently) do not provide reliable stopping...


Joe


N.b. Above quotation is take from

http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/...-sovereign.asp

Tue, 07 Sep 2004 13:02:14 -0700,
, joe wrote:


You might want to inquire about the particulars of the "minority of situations"
where the brakes (apparently) do not provide reliable stopping...

Heat fading on long descents.
--
zk

Tue, 07 Sep 2004 13:02:14 -0700,
, joe wrote:


You might want to inquire about the particulars of the "minority of situations"
where the brakes (apparently) do not provide reliable stopping...

Heat fading on long descents.
--
zk

AndrewG wrote:

I finally found the exact bicycle my wife is looking for, the Pashley
Sovereign. Its going to be a huge purchase for us, but everything
down to the 5-speed hub gearing, the current specs, the rack, the
color, the basket and the skirt guard are perfect.


I know nothing about this bike, but your post made me want to find out,
so I Googled it, and found a rather "funny" description of the S.-A.
hub brakes (which, conincidentally, I had many years ago on a home-assembled
hybrid). The ad in question said:

"Sturmey Archer hub brakes are fitted front and rear to provide reliable
stopping in the majority of situations."

You might want to inquire about the particulars of the "minority of situations"
where the brakes (apparently) do not provide reliable stopping...


Joe


N.b. Above quotation is take from

http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/...-sovereign.asp

AndrewG wrote:

Hello everyone.

Can any of you relate to shopping around for three months for your
wife who wants a bicycle "like the one she saw in the movies " ?

I finally found the exact bicycle my wife is looking for, the Pashley
Sovereign. Its going to be a huge purchase for us, but everything
down to the 5-speed hub gearing, the current specs, the rack, the
color, the basket and the skirt guard are perfect.

I could easily and much cheaper refurbish an old bicycle to look like
the Pashley, but I want something that is new and safe enough to carry
my one year old son on the back without me worrying if the back wheel
is going to slide off while my wife is heading downhill or taking a
tight turn.

Is there ANYTHING else available in the USA that even comes close to
the Pashely in terms of design and function?

You don't quote the US price. I suggest you find one on eBay. I saw
evidence of them going there for much less than the 500 sterling I found
them for at UK sites.

I don't see anything special about this bike. Try searching sites for
'comfort bikes' and see if you can use one of those to use on your wife.

Tue, 07 Sep 2004 15:18:04 -0600, , Paul
Cassel wrote:

I don't see anything special about this bike.

I've seen them, they're classics. They're beautiful. They're sturdy.
They're stable. They're hand built. They're trouble free. They come
ready to ride with lights, rack, fenders, basket and bell. They're one
of the very few step-through bikes available with a skirt protector.
They're heavy but lighter than many other roadsters or classic
European built city bikes. They hold their resale value well.

The Indian made "Hero" brand roadsters are imitations of these of
bikes. I've seen those too and they don't compare favourably.

The Pashley's were in a local shop that builds bents and buzz bikes.
Used, clean but with a touch of rust - $500 CND each - one mens and a
ladies with rod actuated brakes, steel rims and SA 3 spd hubs. They
were marked "sold".

The specs on the new Princess Sovereign with its alloy bits and hub
brakes are a big improvement. One possible upgrade would be a
combined internal brake and dynamo front hub. That's only if you plan
to do much night riding in rain, which the majority of cyclists don't.

Try searching sites for
'comfort bikes' and see if you can use one of those to use on your wife.

You missed the part where she said that she wants a bicycle "like the
one in the movies ". There is not substitute for that, but I have to
ask: Does she ride a bike now?

I hope she's not expecting to suddenly be riding on movie sets once
she gets just the "perfect" bicycle.
--
zk

Zoot Katz wrote in message ...

I've seen them, they're classics. They're beautiful. They're sturdy.
They're stable. They're hand built. They're trouble free. They come
ready to ride with lights, rack, fenders, basket and bell. They're one
of the very few step-through bikes available with a skirt protector.
They're heavy but lighter than many other roadsters or classic
European built city bikes. They hold their resale value well.


Zoot: Thanks for the help, and a thanks to others in here as well.

In as few words as possible, I can say this bicycle has a "definitive
classic style" More importantly, it represents a era in bicycles that
many, if not all, of the US based manufacturers fail to recognize
today.

I am sure the market is there, its just much easier for the big names
today to slap on some fenders and a basket and say a women's bike is a
"commuter" style or "city" style.

What it comes down to is building a spec where a market currently does
not exist, but in the hopes that it will, once the supply is created.

On 8 Sep 2004 12:06:32 -0700, (AndrewG)
wrote:

Zoot Katz wrote in message ...

I've seen them, they're classics. They're beautiful. They're sturdy.
They're stable. They're hand built. They're trouble free. They come
ready to ride with lights, rack, fenders, basket and bell. They're one
of the very few step-through bikes available with a skirt protector.
They're heavy but lighter than many other roadsters or classic
European built city bikes. They hold their resale value well.


Zoot: Thanks for the help, and a thanks to others in here as well.

In as few words as possible, I can say this bicycle has a "definitive
classic style" More importantly, it represents a era in bicycles that
many, if not all, of the US based manufacturers fail to recognize
today.

It is because during the equivalent period, the American bicycle scene
was dominated by the "cruiser" type, which is nowhere near as elegant,
efficient, or practical. But it has chrome. Lots and lots of chrome.
And whitewalls. So obviously, it was going to be a hit in America.

I should mention here that the Raleighs and such of the 1950's were
produced in a Britain that was still reconstructing from the
war...Rationing there ended in 1949, and currency controls continued
for much longer. British consumer tastes adjusted accordingly.

The story is much the same on the Continent. There is a reason that
"Bicycle Thieves" is a masterpiece of Italian Realist cinema--because
it reflected a real need for bicycles as transport in the immediate
aftermath of war and reconstruction.

At the same time, American prosperity was at an all-time high.
Automobile ownership increased. And the pent-up demand for consumer
goods was satisfied by enthusiastic industries.


I am sure the market is there, its just much easier for the big names
today to slap on some fenders and a basket and say a women's bike is a
"commuter" style or "city" style.

The market is there, but obviously not in sufficient volume in the
United States for the major manufacturers to crank out roadsters for
town use at attractive prices.

The people who would benefit most from modern roadsters are laborers,
for whom transport costs are a significant slice of their budget. In
my town, laborers either arrive in work crews, four or five to a
pickup (construction) or individually, on cheap ($50, US) bicycles.
Those cheap bikes are horrid, sure, but they're affordable and
dependable enough to get these guys to work--so where's the market for
your roadster?

I will surmise that the market segment you're thinking of is busy
being nostalgic for the fat, chrome-encrusted sidewalk behemoths of
its youth and is buying the new cruisers which I see at my bikeshop.
The ones who aren't have been convinced that maybe they get better
value from a hybrid or comfort bike, which has more gears, more
technology, and more...bike, really...at the same or lower cost.

Roadsters for laborers do exist--Flying Pigeon and Hero cycles, for
instance, built in China and India--and I suppose with sufficient
volume, it would be possible for them to be sold at rock-bottom
prices. The trouble is, they look so dowdy next to the latest
gee-whiz X*mart double-boinger....how do you convince someone he's
getting better value for money from a Flying Pigeon than a
dual-suspension "Honda Racing" bicycle?

For the record, I am a big fan of the old roadsters, and think them
excellent, useful machines. I'm just under no illusions regarding a
roadster renaissance in North America.

-Luigi

Luigi de Guzman wrote:

It is because during the equivalent period, the American bicycle scene
was dominated by the "cruiser" type, which is nowhere near as elegant,
efficient, or practical.

Nonsense. The only thing the typical roadster might have to make it
more capable than a balloon-tire cruiser is hub gearing (and not all
roadsters have it) or front brakes (and not all Amercan cruisers lack
those). Both kinds of bike are exceedingly rugged and comfortable,
they both weigh tons/tonnes, and they have both maintained some sort
of following ever since their heyday.

Remember that balloon-tire cruisers evolved into mountain bikes, which
looks to me like a favorable reflection upon their durability,
relative comfort, and utility. I doubt that roadsters would have done
the same if the geographic circumstances had been reversed. Pounding
down Mt. Tamalpais on a rod-braked bike with ridiculously high
standover sounds like a self-punishing mistake.

Roadsters are adequately stylish the way they are, which is why the
new ones look exactly like the old ones. But they are clearly not
compelling enough to arouse the imagination of bike customizers, be
they hot rodders, lowriders, or OEMs. Compared to a
cantilever-framed, fat-tired tanker they look, well, Amish.

I will surmise that the market segment you're thinking of is busy
being nostalgic for the fat, chrome-encrusted sidewalk behemoths of
its youth and is buying the new cruisers which I see at my bikeshop.

So what makes a 50lb cruiser a "behemoth" when a 50lb roadster isn't?
They are similar in wheelbase, and the roadster is taller and has
bigger wheels. Maybe the Euro bike is a "leviathan" or a
"juggernaut"?

The few features that functionally distinguish a roadster from a
cruiser are the full chaincase and pump/generator/lighting furniture--
things that lend themselves to allowing some poor schmuck (make that
*bloke*) to slog to work in the rain and dark at 55 degrees latitude.
In that respect such a bike is completely appropriate. For the
intended use of a ballon tire cruiser (that is, carrying a youngster
on short trips around the neighborhood, campus, or newspaper route)
those features are superfluous.

Chalo Colina