Pashley Guvnor Build Report
 

I got my Pashley Guvnor in today. Its a really beautiful bike. A few things need to be changed. The seat tube is not a standard 27.2". Its a 27." My LBS mechanic assures me some machine work can tap it out so it can take a standard seatpost. It needs a clamp to hold a Brooks B-73 saddle, which can't be fitted directly on a modern seatpost. The bike is a single speed but I'm thinking of fitting on a Sturmey Archer 8 speed hub for extended gearing range. I'm investigating the possibility of acquiring a full chaincase for it. The handlebars are too low for upright riding and just need to be flipped upright as they are North Road. A stem swap should extend the reach enough for comfortable riding. An impressive bicycle - the only roadster built with moly-manganese Reynolds 531 tubing. The 28" wheels are alloy and come with Schwalbe cream Delta Cruiser tires. That's it for my build report for now.

pics please :)

As soon as its done. For now, this is the bike every one dreams of:

Nitto makes 27.0 seatposts which you can get at Ben's Cycle. So don't go messing with your bike too much!

that's a massive seat post, I don't care who you are.

Nice looking bike.

I think he meant 27.0 mm diameter. Don't mess with the frame, get the correct size seat post. I like the handlebar as is. Reminds me of the flipped Mary bar I have on my commuter.

Pics or it didn't happen! ;)

Lots of 27.0 seatposts at Wallingford
http://www.wallbike.com/components.html
Some as low as $9.00

As the S-A 8 is an all up-ratio design, with those ISO635mm wheels and stock crankset the gear ratios would be something on the order of 54 gear inches to 164 gear inches.

Best,
tcs

My existing Sturmey Archer 8 speed hub is not swappable. Its only disc brake compatible alas. There's an XRD-8 drum brake compatible hub but I can't find it anywhere. My LBS mechanic will contact Sturmey Archer and see if it can be ordered directly from them.

Normally, I agree. But since its damn hard to find a 27.0, its just a question of shaving down those two millimeters so a standard seatpost can fit. A good bike shop has the machine tools on hand to get it done. I'm keeping the North Road. The stem may go for a more upright riding position... and I'm changing the Pashley from from a path racer configuration to a high end roadster commuter. Its does have Reynolds 531 tubing!

I'd love to see this bike. So cool.

I'll take some pictures of it. Its not going to be stock like in the photo but I think every one will like it. Now I just need to wait for the parts to finish the build.

As others have said, why alter the seat tube when there are plenty of 27.0 seatposts? Seems foolish. Just buy the correct part.

I would suspect it's much less expensive to mill down the seatpost than to mill out the seat tube.
If the seatpost gets messed up from the milling it would be easy to replace.
If the seat tube gets messed up from the milling, I suspect you would need a new frame.
I suspect a mail order 27mm seatpost would be the cheapest of all.

Good luck
PS: I seem to be a bit suspicious today.

I'm not doing it. The mechanic will and I trust his skills. If he does mess it up, I'm owed a new frame. But it will come alright, I think. There's a quite a few parts that have to be installed that I have on order.

Geez, man, just tell your mechanic to look in the QBP catalog and order you a 27.0 Nitto seatpost.

Want cheaper than Nitto? Here's a Kalloy Uno for $26.

http://smartbikeparts.com/search_details.php?itm=ST6233

Any bike shop can order you a Kalloy. Silver colored aluminum with a logo you can polish off with some metal polish. Don't let that mechanic monkey with your seat tube. Seriously. Why? It's not like you're looking for something that oddball. A Google shopping search for 27.0 seatpost(no quotes) brings up a page of results.

You only need to buy a seatpost ONCE. You'll never ever have to replace it. Once you buy it, it really doesn't matter if it's 27.0, 27.2, or 26.8.

There's a good reason for remaking the seat tube to accept a standard seatpost. Few 26.8 and 27.0 seatposts are of good quality and easily adjustable. The milling needs to be done only one and its
forever.

Peter White of Peter White Cycles has a few observations about the issue:

You can buy 26.8mm and 27.0mm seatposts. But they are all low quality with only a few fixed tilt angle positions for your saddle. You very often can't get exactly the right tilt for your saddle and your rear end. For that you need a true micro-adjust seatpost, with no click-stops limiting the angle of your saddle. There are plenty of seatposts with a true micro-adjusting clamp, but they aren't being sold in 26.8 and 27.0 sizes, except by Nitto. But Nitto will only make these posts if a customer orders a minimum of fifty posts, in each size. You can't order 25 in one size and 25 in another to make a fifty post minimum order, you must order fifty of any given size. For this reason, not a single distributor in the United States has been willing to order these sizes from Nitto, even though there are plenty of good quality frames out there that require these sizes.

So a little work on the seat tube will allow a high quality seatpost to be installed.

to ream out a seat tube it isnt exactly rocket science.

It looks like QBP will be stocking the new XRD8 (W) hubs starting in April.

As others have said, just have the mechanic reduce the diameter of the seatpost. That is less serious and less permanent than messing with your seat tube. But it's your frame. You'll be lucky if he doesn't heat it up and chip your paint. :-)

Agreed. If the mechanic didn't think he could do it, he wouldn't have said it can be machined. It requires special tools and know how. I would never mess around with the seat tube.

They new hubs have been rare as as a hen's tooth. But I can wait until they are finally stocked.

I trust him. He's done a pretty good job with all my bike builds. I don't expect anything different with my Pashley. And its my bike. :)

Pashley's Guvnor page here