May 17th, 2008
Gallery: His and Hers Pashley Sovereigns
We’re pretty excited about our new bikes. They’re both Pashley Sovereigns: hers being the Princess, his being the Roadster. They’re what are known as classic English “country bikes”, though they make wonderful “city bikes” as well. They have lugged-steel frames and they’re still hand-built in Stratford-upon-Avon England as they have been since 1926. Most of the current crop of Dutch city bikes are patterned after these bikes. They’re heavy as a brick, decidedly not fast, but supremely smooth and comfortable, and you absolutely cannot beat their bolt upright riding position for navigating the city grid with confidence. We’ll use them mostly for running errands, grocery hauling, and taking outings to the coffee shop and farmer’s market. —Alan & Michael
Our Pashleys were purchased at Gold Country Cyclery in Shingle Springs, CA.
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14 Responses to “Gallery: His and Hers Pashley Sovereigns”
There’s just one thing missing for a real Dutch style utility bike:
and that’s (in Dutch) a canvas ‘dubbele fietstas’ (double cycling bag).
Most utility bikes here have them strapped permanently to the luggage rack. See e.g. http://www.fietspunt.nl/shop/search.php?refine=results&catid=574&25=91
They’re eminently usable around town, giving you up to 60 liters of luggage space.
I, too, have admired the Pashley bikes. Perfect for the bike-equivalent of a stroll around town, or down to the local farm. I’m curious as to how heavy they actually are however. Are they 40 lbs heavy, or 60 lbs heavy? I could deal with the former, but I think a 60 lb bike in any even slightly hilly area might push someone to revert back to their old trusty mtn/road/’bent bike of 25-35 lbs.
Hi Kevin,
I haven’t bothered to weigh them. I suspect they fall somewhere within the 40-60 pound range, with the Princess being toward the low side and the Roadster being toward the high side. Like you intimated, they really are meant for taking it easy, and as long as you don’t try to make them do something they’re not meant to do (go fast), they’re wonderful.
Regards,
Alan
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I do wish the weight was published somewhere. It would be nice to know if I can meet the 23Kg/51lbs weight max for flights. I would definitely take this bike around the world and would be nice to know if I could save some costs.
I’m also very curious about which model Sturmey Archer 5 speed is on the Roadster Sovereign.
The pics are wonderful! Thanks so much! The Pashley PDFs are not the best resolution.
Hi Adam,
I’ll see if I can get the weight and model number of the hub for you (it’ll be later this evening). I’ll drop you another note when I have the information.
Regards,
Alan
Thanks Alan, but don’t go out of your way! Then again, this would be the ONLY place on the web which had his information. Also, I bit the bullet and put a deposit on one. I’m pretty sure it’s close enough to 23 Kg that I’ll be OK.
Hi Adam,
The rear hub on the Roadster Sovereign is a Sturmey-Archer X-RD5:
http://www.sturmey-archer.com/hubs_5spd_XRD5.php
I’ll try to weigh the bike tomorrow.
Alan
PS – You’re going to love the bike…
Trust me, I expect to love it!!! I test rode the Batavus Favoriet and loved the feel of the ride, but didn’t like the coaster brakes. So Mr. Bike-store-guy suggested the Pashley Roadster Classic, but they didn’t have my size. But I was assured the ride would be the same, quality was possibly better and the seat would be even MORE cushy than the Favoriet, which I just could not believe, but was convinced after an explanation of the saddle makers’ histories. Upon researching, I thought the small investment to upgrade to the Sovereign was worth it. 5 gears versus 3, lights in back and front and wheel lock seems worth the $150 price difference at my bike store!
Thanks for the feedback!!!
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Hi Alan,
Will you publish a review about the Pashley Soverign ?
It would be great to have reviewed your 7 months experiences with the PS .
Cheers
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