Thursday, October 23, 2008

G'day Guv'nor - Resurgence of the Path Racer





Pashley Cycles of England has been in the game since the 1920's. They have an impressive offering of bikes that transcend generations. Like the Brooks company, whose saddle is used on many of their bikes, they have been making quality products for years without fail - why mess with a good thing?

Now, more than any other time in the history of cycling, many riders desire the look, feel, and simplicity of a vintage design. Fixed gear bikes are more popular than ever and now the path racer is making its way back into the mix. In 2007, Fixed Gear Gallery even held a design contest embracing these regal machines.

Well, the Guv'nor takes all the design characteristics of a classic path racer and can be much more of a bike than just a 3-speed cruiser. This was proven by Bryce and David, two gentlemen who rode Guv'nors in L'Eroica, a 127 mile race through the Italian countryside. If it weren't for modern day photography and cinematography (...and clipless pedals), you'd think that these guys were right out of the days of yore:


7 comments:

-p said...

Look at the angles on that thing. I wonder how it rides? I've always wanted to do L'Eroica but thought about how much work it would be to make a period specific bike scrounged from swap meet parts. I mean, what if you can't find a 1952 Campy shifter? Going fixed gear solves some of that. Of course, it doesn't solve the problem of flying your ass to Italy.

-d said...

Yeah, all these performance mountain bikes with their aggressive 74 degrees of head tube angle... Put on an old leather football helmet, some motorcycle goggles and bomb down the boulevard with cool 68 degree smooveness. That's right... "smooveness".

-p said...

I watched the video. He sure coasts a lot for a fixed gear rider.

-p said...

Perhaps he was rocking the 3 speed model.

LordOnOne said...

Wow, the head angle is only 68degrees, looks more like 64 but where on earth have you found a 74degree head angle?

That bike looks really nice in real life!

-d said...

Intense cycles offers some pretty steep head tube angles... I thought the Spider 29 had 74 degree, but it looks like it's only 73. Good catch!

LordOnOne said...

Oh yeah, I forgot there are some pretty steep head angles on 29ers…