One of my reasons for going to Sin City this year was to ID bicycles that want reviewing in the pages of Adventure Cyclist, and did I come home with a beauty — a Pashley Clubman.
The folks at Pashley have been making bikes for the better part of quite some time — since 1926, to be precise — and they seem to have it more or less dialed in at this point. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a bike draw as many eyeballs as this one has in the short time we’ve spent together. Everybody notices it, even people who couldn’t care less about bicycles. It’s that sharp.
The Clubman reminds me of the bikes I bought when I got back into cycling in the early Eighties: steel frameset, non-aero brake levers, quill stem, eight-speed downtube shifting, 36-spoke wheels, toeclips and straps; a real blast from the past, and clad all in shiny black and silver, too.
I have to swap out the stem before I can put any serious miles on it — I need to get up and out quite a piece to accommodate my geriatric spinal column — and frankly, I can’t wait.
Meanwhile, at least we can gaze fondly upon it. Here are a few pix.
Mad Blog Media 
Looks like some sort of time machine. Very elegant. I’d hate to ride it and get it dirty. What sort of coinage does it fetch?
Y’know what, Boz? It’s reasonably priced. Under three Gs, which I consider a deal for anything handmade by someone who knows what he’s doing.
Holy shit! They gave you a Pashley to review?
Well Boz….to put it mildly, it’ll probably set you back a bit more than the last bicycle you might have bought. Hell, it might even outdo a used car or two that you may or may not have bought lately. Suffice to say a premium bicycle with a premium pedigree commands a premium price.
Good on you Patrick! I for one am quite jealous…they make a gorgeous machine over there.
Barry, this bike is both better traveled and a cheaper date than I am. It went from Britain to Eurobike, then to Interbike, then to Bibleburg. And I got to roll the bugger off the show floor and ride it home to my Sin City hotel before carefully stowing it in the Subie for the drive home.
I’m looking forward to a stem swap so I can spend a few pleasant hours getting acquainted with the Clubman. I have an old pair of Sidi cyclo-cross shoes that fit the pedals just fine. Maybe I need to borrow some tweeds off m’man Gary Fisher.
now that is really nice,brings back alot of memories of my early bikes.
A gorgeous and useful bicycle – one that does not require a follow-car full of spares to enjoy. Imagine that. There were a few other ferrous frames to be seen at Interbike too, Fondriest had one that looked pretty nice in fact. The pendulum is finally swinging back a bit from “newest, lightest, stiffest, disposable” plastic bikes and I couldn’t be happier about it. I hope the bike’s as much fun to ride as it is to look at.
But those Dia-Compe long reach centerpulls. That’s a blast from the past.
Man, I recall some centerpulls from the 1980’s (Weinman? Dia-Compe?) that were pretty weak. Will be looking forward to your comments. Especially on those downhills.
Come to think of it, those were on two bikes we bought in 1979. A Motobecane and a Peugeot.
K, I recall both Weinmann and Dia-Compe centerpulls from back in the day (my first real cyclo-cross cantis were the Weinmann knockoffs of the original Mafac stoppers).
I’m looking forward to seeing how they work, too (and how they’re adjusted). The folks at Rivendell seem to like them just fine, and they like the Paul’s version even better. Anyone want to loan me $270 so I can try a pair?
My wife and I stopped by the Pashley booth (just down from the Rohloff fellows) and spoke with a very nice gentleman for a while. My wife also often misses the beauty in bikes, but these stopped her dead in her tracks. Truly gorgeous.
That is really nice Patrick. I wish my old Trek was a steel. I’m selling the Kona mtb and going to pick up a CX of some sort. Been looking at a Fuji. But the Pashly is drop dead gorgeous, bike porn indeed!
WOW! That is a beauty! looking forward to your review but I think I have a new favorite for the ever growing retro wishlist. For now I will content myself with the ’79 Miyata 912 I rescued from a garage sale.
Adventure Cyclist mentioned the Clubman back in the Dec/Jan 2010 issue. Looking forward to your review. Watch the downhill. The Dia-comp center pulls on the 1980 Fuji Tourer were a tad ineffective.
“pip, pip, cheerio, wot?”
Wot is your pick for the WC on Sunday (and I don’t mean water closet)?
Fasten your seatbelt Patrick, you’re in for a bumpy weekend full of pavement, sand and lots of manmade barriers – all puns intended.
Good luck!