Here in Australia, because of the total dominance of the car for even the shortest trip, people have a lot of trouble imaging themselves on a bike as transport.

This is exacerbated by the cycling images they do see daily which are of hunched over riders in Lycra, weaving dangerously through traffic, not a group one feel easily part of.

I made this this portrait of cycling in Amsterdam on a sunny day, expressly to help people re- imagine themselves on bikes.

I hope you like it. Here is The Waltz of the bikes on Copenhagen Cycle chic

http://www.copenhagencyclechic.com/2009/12/bicycle-waltz.html

More on what we face in Australia at my blog http:// situp-cycle.com.

Cheers,

Mike rubbo

They are made by hand in american, out of american steele using solar power and they only cost $595.

I go to work every day on my Pashley. I put on 60L Basil panniers and have a wire basket that fits perfectly on the rear rack and is held in place by the “rat-trap” rear rack spring.

All my work stuff is carried easily, with plenty of room left over for picking up groceries on the way home.

What I like the most is the fenders, coatguard and full chaincase. The City of Toronto does a fairly good job of keeping the bike lanes clear of ice and snow in winter. Even after an 8-12 cm snowfall the City knows that everyone has to be at work the next morning, so things are usually pretty good when morning rolls around.

The downside is that a key part of their strategy is using vast amounts of salt in the bike lanes. The fenders, coatguard and chaincase do an excellent job of keeping all the crap off of my clothes and chain. Clean clothes, clean chain and happy biking all winter.

What could be better?

Yeah, I have to chuckle because as a kid I didn’t want that bike, I wanted a Schwinn Stingray. My parents couldn’t afford it, and I remember being ribbed by my friends who had Stingrays and Phantoms about the fact that little chrome ornament was about the ONLY chrome my bike had on it.

NOW, of course, that “English racer” bike would be ridden a couple times a week, sharing commuting duties with my MTB and my recumbent, and the Stingray would be a wall decoration!

Yes, there is a little front fender chrome ornament. I had not really noticed it before now. I don’t know what other bikes have that sort of thing. Its not the sort of thing I notice. Sorry.

I’m intrigued because I remember a black, 3-speed Sturmey-Archer hub bike I had as a kid had the exact same fender and little chrome button hood ornament. I remember my parents saying it was “an English bike” and all of the kids in the neighborhood called it “The English Racer.” I don’t know if it was a Pashley or not.

Kevin’s answer:
It is quite common on English style bikes. The most common bike in the entire world is the Chinese “Flying Pigeon.” Compare the photo of a FP at:

http://lamaneta.com/flying/images/Bicicleta%20Flying%20Pigeon%20PA02%20IMG_2222.jpg

with the Pashley at:

http://www.pashley.co.uk/products/roadster-sovereign.html

Classic Raleigh roadsters also look the same.

There is an estimated 1/2 billion FPs on the road today with current production at 800,000 bikes per year.

Other light weight candidate frames for this build are the Handsome Devil/She-devil, The Redline Metro9, and the Surly Long Haul Trucker (although the Trucker will be heavier). Beyond relative light weight, what these frames have in common is a more sensible geometry (especially a lower bottom bracket) than the typical “hybrid” bike sold in the U.S. With the proper bar/stem combo to get a truly upright position, they will give a smooth and stable ride mimicking the Dutch style pretty well.

Double wow: The offices for Belmont Distribution, a distributor for Pashley, is less than a mile from my office!

Tell me something, Kevin, do you know if that front fender I see on the Roadster and Sovereign are an exclusive to Pashley, or do other English bikes have it?