Quintessentially British bicycles: Andy visits the Pashley factory

If you asked someone in the street what they would describe as ‘quintessentially British’, you would get a lot of different answers – it’s all about your own life experience and how you define yourself.

I can throw out a few stereotypes: bowler hats, Oasis and Blur, cream teas, Wimbledon, Monty Python, and King Charles… but when it comes to bicycles, it’s hard to nail down a true British marque in a world of Far-Eastern mass production.

There have been attempts to revitalise brands that hark back to the expansion of the bike building industry between the wars of the last century; one of these, BSA, betrays its ordnance heritage in the words that make up its acronym – Birmingham Small Arms (for years I believed my mum who told me it stood for ‘Bloody Sore Arse’).

One brand that has weathered the storm of mass importation cookie-cutter carbon fibre, and the rise and popularity of alloys to retain a fierce reputation for reliability and heritage is the quintessentially British brand Pashley Cycles.

Founded in Birmingham in 1926, Pashley became synonymous with carrier cycles for all kinds of businesses; butchers, bakers, and (probably) candlestick makers relied on Pashley for robust, hard-wearing work-horses to deliver goods to families, ice-creams to seaside day-trippers, and, famously, the letters and parcels carried by the Post Office until the 2010s with the iconic Mailstar.

Pashley has earned its place in British heritage, but the Stratford workshop’s output is now enjoyed by a more leisure-based demographic. They still produce a good number of carrier cycles for the UK market and abroad, but also have a strong range of well-made utility bikes and some vintage-style roadsters that combine 1930s looks with modern technology. Both the Morgan and the Guv’nor enjoy an almost cult following. 

Over the last 12 months something has been brewing at Pashley. Under the stewardship of CEO Andy Smallwood (ex Ribble) and his team, it has been looking into ways to evolve its following to a larger (yet still discerning) market and has come up with a dramatic reimagining of its ‘Finder’ range of cycles. 

Traditional manufacturing methods have been combined with 21st technological innovations, like 3D printing in steel, to deliver a tight range of bikes that meet the modern needs of on- and off-road adventure. Reynolds Tubing arrives at the factory and is fabricated, welded, shot-blasted, powder-coated or painted, and assembled – all on Pashley’s premises in Stratford-Upon-Avon. (And what could be more quintessentially English than Shakespeare country?)

I was offered a tour of the Pashley factory by Andy Smallwood, who is the driving force behind this new direction.

Stepping through the doors, the heritage of nearly 100 years of manufacturing, from cutting and shaping of custom butted tubes, via welding rigs, shot-blasting, and painting hangs in the air and fills your nostrils and the pores of your skin. The essence of bespoke frame-building is unveiled, magnified and ramped up to a commercial level, like a co-op of backstreet industry compressed into single building no larger than your local DIY Superstore.

The tour took in Pashley’s design and prototyping suite, and a sneak peek at some more exciting things arriving to market very soon.

Andy and Blake, Pashey’s UK sales and customer service manager, were keen to show me the level of customisation on offer. Their embrace of innovative technology has allowed them to easily tailor any frame in the Finder range with 3D printed drop-outs, frame fillets, and routing ports, all incorporated into a Finder at the frame-building stage.

Frames can be built with only the routing you need, groupset-specific for wireless or manual, traditional two-by or one-by setups, and cable-operated brakes. They can even offer custom colour schemes and the choice between durable powder-coating or full lacquered, wet gloss painting with stencilled logos.

Test riding the Roadfinder

My appetite well and truly whetted, I was entrusted with a Roadfinder equipped with Shimano Di2 gearing, Parcours carbon wheels, and finishing kit from Zipp and Brookes.

I planned on taking on a spin around Warwickshire and Worcestershire on a cycle sportive out of Purity Brewing in Alcester the next day, but couldn’t resist the temptation to take a ride into Stratford-Upon-Avon itself. Of course, in quintessentially British style, it started hammering down with rain the moment I left my hotel car park. 

My debut spin took me along a combination of bridleways and roads, almost instantly coming head-to-head with a flock of sheep being driven in my direction. Thankfully, the wheels were shod with Panaracer Gravelking Tyres, so a brief sortie into the path less trampled wasn’t at all hairy or sweary.

Forging on through the gloom, the Roadfinder performed admirably, any proud British potholes smoothed by a combination of 35c tyres, a springy rear triangle, and a buzz-cancelling Columbus carbon fork.

By the time I’d reached Stratford, I was too moist to be tolerated in a quintessentially British tea room and had to skip the tea and scones. 

I had time to dry my shoes overnight on the radiator, and the next morning toddled off to Alcester for 50km of beautiful green lanes and punchy climbs. The route was peppered with ‘lenches’ – from the Anglo-Saxon word for ‘hill’ – and the steepest, Church Lench, gave me a chance to practise my Anglo-Saxon before spitting out cyclists into the first feed station.

The Roadfinder was just as much fun in the quintessentially British weak autumnal sunshine as it had been in the lukewarm drizzle of the day before. 

The stops gave me a chance to look properly at the finer details and finish of the beautifully crafted frame. The Roadfinder shares its finesse with its siblings, the Wildfinder and the Pathfinder – and it has the potential to be both a ‘best’ road bike and a gravel whip.

The Columbus forks feature a flip-chip that shifts the position of the front axle to change the rake and wheelbase: choose a slacker head angle for sure-footed trail rides, and tighter for more nimble road adventures. 

There are multiple mounting points for bottles and bags, both on frame and fork, mounts and clearance for mudguards, and no-compromise fixing points on the seat stays for a rear rack.

All the mount bolts have pleasingly rounded heads that add to the smooth lines. The 3D-printed fillets and dropouts are seamlessly incorporated into the frame tubes, with reinforcing struts built in, allowing for thinner, lighter walls without compromising strength.

I weighed the Roadfinder with my Speedplay pedals and bottle cages attached, and it tipped the scales at just over 10kg – which is very impressive for a steel-framed road bike. My Genesis Volare is slightly heavier, albeit with alloy Fulcrum wheels and a one-by SRAM Xplr groupset, Thomson finishing kit and USE carbon bars.

All of this, of course, comes at a price, and budget-conscious cyclists may baulk at the ticket: £2795 for the 105-equipped version with Shimano hubbed alloy wheels. Although, at today’s prices you could argue this is a bargain for what is (quint)essentially a hand-built bike.

The Roadfinder does actually come in lower than other marques like Mason, Standert, and Ritte. A frameset tailored to your specific needs and custom-painted (for £75) from a rainbow of classic colours will set you back around £1600.

The fun doesn’t stop there, though. If your budget and desires run to motorisation, you can get an electric version of all the Finder bikes.

And, should you only want to stay tarmac-based on your sorties, the Roadfinder comes in a refined, sub-10kg SL version. The Roadfinder SL shaves a mighty 400g from the original Roadfinder’s weight, the frame coming in at 1698g, with clearance for up to 32mm tyres.

I believe that Pashley has come up with a modern icon here. The Roadfinder is a head-turner for sure, and a turn of the cranks will convince you that you have a quintessentially British product here with pedigree and heritage stretching back 100 years.

Hitting your own century milestone, in miles or kilometres, has rarely been more carefully crafted, comfortable and better looking.

Find out more about Pashley’s Roadfinder range at www.pashley.co.uk.