NormanF

The Pashley Countryman:



A graceful nod to the classic Raleigh Sports bike. Equipped with Shimano 8 Alfine hub.

lostarchitect 

If you like that, you'll like this: Clubman Country | Gents Racing Style Bike | Pashley

They are definitely attractive bikes, and they're making them from 531 steel, I see. Interesting. I bet they're very expensive, though.

NormanF

As described by Pashley:

Hand-built from the very best Reynolds 531 steel tubing, the Countryman is a truly versatile and high performance bicycle suitable for all aspects of your life. It is an ideal companion for your daily commute, with wide ratio Shimano Alfine 8 speed gears to tackle even the toughest of hills and full length stainless steel mudguards to keep you dry and clean no matter what the weather.

For weekend jaunts into the great outdoors, the combination of narrow, lightweight Mavic alloy rims and flat, swept handlebars with a slight curve has been specifically designed to give an efficient and comfortable ride quality at whatever pace suits you best. The Countryman is even suited to long distance touring, adorned coming with a classic Brooks B17 leather saddle that naturally shapes to your form, high performance dual pivot brakes and braze-ons for a rear luggage rack.


It is this huge adaptability that makes the Countryman a unique proposition, being both versatile in its design and unrivalled in its quality; a true all-rounder that will give you many years of reliable and pleasurable cycling.

More here:

Countryman | Mens High Performance Bicycle | Pashley

NormanF

Yup. They're beautiful bikes made of classic steel with a timeless design. C&V? Definitely!

lostarchitect 

Yeah, Countryman MSRP: $2,395. Clubman, $2,695. They're nice, but...

NormanF

I know.... a premium price for well-crafted bikes.

No one said a Pashley is cheap. If you have discerning taste and the cash to spare, it could become a much loved bike in your stable, to be passed down, like a treasured heirloom, to the generations...

lostarchitect 

I can certainly see someone wanting to spend the money. On higher end builds I can easily spend $1,500+, and I'm doing all the work myself. Someone with more money and less time could pretty easily justify one of these. And they're still cheaper than a Rivendell.

NormanF

There's definitely a market for classic style bikes without all the modern doodads and whatchamacallits.

Simple is always best.

And Pashley sticks to what works.

arex

I find it frustrating that so many of these "Sports-inspired" bikes are expensive-as-hell boutique bikes, apparently made to impress hipsters, instead of a proper, straightforward (yet modernized) British utility bike that can take whatever is thrown at it, but still look sharp.

3speedslow

Times have changed from when the original utilitarian bikes were made.

Wow ! Those 2 clubman versions check off quite a few things on my list. Wonder if they would sell any of the wingnut sets seperately ?

lostarchitect 

You could always build your own! I bought this bike for $200, built new wheels for around $120, and I'd guess I spent another $50 on it (not counting the value of parts I had lying around), so I got a pretty cool clubman for $370+/-. I guess if you want to count what was lying around, add maybe $100?

The Golden Boy 

How much does Pashley pay you?

NormanF

I am not associated with them or making any claims on their behalf.

It should be noted the reason for the boutique pricing is that this is one of very few independent bike companies still in existence that manufactures domestically in the UK.

You'd be buying a British-made bike in a world in which 90% of the world's bikes are now made in Taiwan.

Sure, they could do it cheaper there but then the heritage that goes along with the Pashley brand would be gone forever.

3speedslow

Lostarchitect,

Certainly, in fact I am in a project planing mode right now for an English clubman style bike. It involves converting a 62 Rudge Rapide 10 speed into a 3 speed.

Trying to see if a donor bike can be found or gather the drivetrain parts one by one. Donor would be easier. I would like to keep the bits close to the 62 year. I have a 72 hub and can use that if I had to. I will lace it into the nice original Dunlop rim and keep the front wheel original.

It's gonna be fun. Did this before but the 85 Raleigh I had converted is now a fixed clubman example.

I have admired the Gran Sport example you have up in the thread.

Cyclosaurus

Nice bike. I think even if I had the $2500 to burn on a bike I'd enjoy building up something like this.

The Golden Boy 

I think that just goes to underscore how much of a bargain quality used bikes are. We're so used to picking up bikes that would have sold for the equivalent of $3,000 for just a few hundred dollars- so when something new is presented- we see it as an overly expensive new knock off, rather than a 531 framed, British made bike, with quality components

lostarchitect 

Sounds like an excellent project!

NormanF

Its like buying a Jaguar or Aston Martin. A very finely tuned, well equipped machine. $2600 isn't excessive at all. Heck, there are custom bikes much more expensive!

nlerner

At that price, I don't see the Raleigh Sports as an antecedent, which was very much a bike built to be affordable to the working class. I appreciate Pashley's commitment to UK manufacturing, but the Raleigh Grand Sports that @lostarchitect shows above was also made in the UK. Here's mine with a 2-speed SRAM rear hub. I'll let it go for the bargain price of $1,000!

The Thin Man 

Pashley makes boutique frames for certain and commands quite a price for them. What I found surprising, is the Pashley I purchased a few years back, the Delibike, had the absolute most low level components on it of all time. The chainring was made out of thing, stamped steel with no brand. The chain was garbage, the pedals were chunky rubber blocks, brake levers were cheap Tektro knock offs and grips were something you'd find on an old Schwinn Stingray (although the Stingray would have had cool glitter flakes). I ended up replacing the entire drivetrain, cockpit and saddle with parts that far exceed what was provided.
After a bit of work, here's what I ended up with.



What I'm trying to say here is watch out with these guys. They provide are some hefty price tags and with it should come a premium piece of equipment all around, not just a bike that looks good.

Chrome Molly

The crank on the Pashley misses the mark completely, otherwise I like it.

iab

It's time versus money.

It takes a long time to be an expert C&V Fred. Most folks just want to ride.

daf1009

While I admire the modern Pashley's...I think building a Clubman up is something that would be cool to do...that might be a good "next" adventure!

The Golden Boy 

How much of that bike is stock, and how much is it your build?

The Golden Boy 

I think my point is- that bike, outfitted like that, with quality componentry- would have been a pricey bike "back in the day."