Commuting - Coolest commuter I have seen

the bike, not the dude.

So I am approaching the brooklyn bridge this am and am right behind an older guy on a very upright bike. I think nothing of it until I notice he has no seatpost - instead he has two thin seattubes connected directly to the back end of his saddle. as I get closer, I realize the sadlle is strung like a hammock and the bike has this multitude of narrow tubes going in strange directions. kinda reminded me of a big giant moulton. and it had a nexus internal hub and front dynamo. cool!

I can't help but slow to ask him. he is more than happy to tell me it's a current production model Dursley-Pederson. the guy who builds them now is in denmark, but I guess you can order one. I don't know how I can resist, but I also don't know how to explain it to my wife . . ..

http://pedersen-bike.dk/

I can't help but slow to ask him. he is more than happy to tell me it's a current production model Dursley-Pederson. the guy who builds them now is in denmark, but I guess you can order one. I don't know how I can resist.

http://pedersen-bike.dk/
Besides looking different is there any advantage to this design for commuting or any other bicycling purpose? What makes it cool? Price, comfort, speed, handling, durability, appearance, you know - the usual stuff; or is it strictly panache? Without a reason I find it easy to resist cause it looks, IMO, gosh awful.

Besides looking different is there any advantage to this design for commuting or any other bicycling purpose? What makes it cool? Price, comfort, speed, handling, durability, appearance, you know - the usual stuff; or is it strictly panache? Without a reason I find it easy to resist cause it looks, IMO, gosh awful.

what this guy told me was it is one of the most comfortable bikes he's ever ridden. if you're willing to believe what you read, this is due to an extraordinary and unique saddle design (if you think about a brooks saddle, this full hammock idea is a natural progression and logically superior) and a very upright and anatomically correct posture. suppose you'd have to try it to figure out whether it was in fact more comfortable - but that saddle design alone is something I would love to try.
http://www.pedersenbicycles.com/ergonomics.htm

it's also apparently quite light due to frame design. don't imagine there's any penalty for performance vis-a-vis other commuting bikes. as for the looks, I simply love anything that looks a little different. i hate being a slave to the diamond frame "safety" bike (and I have 4 of them!!).

and by the way, panache alone is a valid reason. ask the OCP club members.

Ever since seeing them in Copenhagen, I've wanted to try one out. What I really wonder is whether you can get effective leverage on hills.

what this guy told me was it is one of the most comfortable bikes he's ever ridden. if you're willing to believe what you read, this is due to an extraordinary and unique saddle design (if you think about a brooks saddle, this full hammock idea is a natural progression and logically superior) and a very upright and anatomically correct posture. suppose you'd have to try it to figure out whether it was in fact more comfortable - but that saddle design alone is something I would love to try.
http://www.pedersenbicycles.com/ergonomics.htm

it's also apparently quite light due to frame design. don't imagine there's any penalty for performance vis-a-vis other commuting bikes. as for the looks, I simply love anything that looks a little different. i hate being a slave to the diamond frame "safety" bike (and I have 4 of them!!).
Attached are pictures some other cool bikes you may want to consider; definitely different:

Ever since seeing them in Copenhagen, I've wanted to try one out. What I really wonder is whether you can get effective leverage on hills.

Do they have an "open house" sort of policy at their HQ? I once made a tour of some of the oboe makers in Paris. All were welcoming after a simple call ahead, especially at Rigoutat.

They look great, but why not just get a recumbent already?

Do they have an "open house" sort of policy at their HQ? I once made a tour of some of the oboe makers in Paris. All were welcoming after a simple call ahead, especially at Rigoutat.


All the shops were closed when we were in Christiania (hippy commune in middle of copenhagen). The pedersen bikes were in the window of a bike shop. I'm not sure if they're made in Christiania or elsewhere. I think you can tour the Christiania bike manufacturer.

Attached are pictures some other cool bikes you may want to consider; definitely different:

there's a separate thread dedicated to worst bikes for commuting.

The owner of my LBS rides a Pederson, and was more than happy to explain its selling point(s).

The guy who made it was inspired by suspension bridges. He incorporated cables onto the bike to provide support while allowing for some flex, and also played around with triangles to find the strongest frame. You can see the cables beneath the seat. They aren't metal, looked kind of like rubber to me. The seat itself is suspended by ropes. Looks uncomfortable, but the shop owner swears it rides like a dream. With the seat pointed UP like that I'd imagine it would cause problems.

My dream commuter bike is a Lemond, steel + carbon. I could be dead wrong.

The original Pedersons supposedly weighed about 20 lbs. Not sure whether they've lost any weight over the decades.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=46022

Is that a Gary Fisher 29er?

take a look at this....a guy rides a pedersen at the local cyclocross races...

I'm diggin the brain bucket.

"the eternal dilemma: what to buy for the guy who has everything? try the pedal-powered pub!"

The lightest model weighed 12 lbs, not bad for a bike made over 100 years ago.
More info
http://www.dursley-pedersen.net/dp_history.shtml

I am very dissapointed now that I read this thread. I saw a very old one of these bikes about two months ago here in a bike shop having repairs. I was stoked as I thought it was unique, only to find now they appear to be quite common. Spewin'
Steve.

Attached are pictures some other cool bikes you may want to consider; definitely different:

Where can you find one of those pedal powered bars?

Here's an interesting one

http://www.cycleseven.com/Images%20C7/conferencebike.jpg

the bike, not the dude.

So I am approaching the brooklyn bridge this am and am right behind an older guy on a very upright bike. I think nothing of it until I notice he has no seatpost - instead he has two thin seattubes connected directly to the back end of his saddle. as I get closer, I realize the sadlle is strung like a hammock and the bike has this multitude of narrow tubes going in strange directions. kinda reminded me of a big giant moulton. and it had a nexus internal hub and front dynamo. cool!

I can't help but slow to ask him. he is more than happy to tell me it's a current production model Dursley-Pederson. the guy who builds them now is in denmark, but I guess you can order one. I don't know how I can resist, but I also don't know how to explain it to my wife . . ..

http://pedersen-bike.dk/

I agree with most of what you said but the high cost of production put them out of business. I still wish one of the larger bike manufacturers would take this model into production to bring the cost down. As it stands, this is an expensive vanity bike