Pashley type bikes

[Ontherivet77]

Anyone done any serious mileage on a Pashley type bike? I had to take the Mrs's Pashley Princess out for a short ride the other day (7 miles) and was shocked at how comfortable it was, I particularly liked the old skool handlebars and how relaxed the riding position was. I came home and shook my head at the 2 road bikes in the shed and wondered whether the conventional wisdom of using drop handlebars for serious mileage is indeed wisdom.

[Galloper]

I've seen plenty of people in Germany, France and (obviously) the Netherlands, touring on Dutch bikes. I've also done quite a few day rides on my own Gazelle. They're quite capable of carrying luggage and are comfortable doing so. The only caveats I would make is that this type of bike is quite heavy and often quite highly geared so hills may be a challenge.

[reohn2]

What makes drops comfortable is having them in the correct place for the rider and not in some pseudo racing position that reduces their usefulness.

[pwa]

Some touring bikes are available with drops or "Pashley type" swept back bars, whichever you prefer. Thorn, for example, can put together a bike in that way, but still give you the gear range you want.

[pjclinch]

My Moulton TSR was made by Pashley, does that count?

Drops are comfortable in different ways. In letting take you take a forward crouch they get you out of the wind so you do a lot less work on a longer and/or faster trip. And for a longer trip they let you shift weight around to alternative positions, where a trad roadtser puts pretty much everything on the seat. All on the seat is more immediately comfortable and remains so for shorter trips, but as duration goes up the bum gets number sat upright.

For shorter trips an upright position is more comfortable, easier to ride one handed, easier to look around, easier to breathe, and particularly in town if you're not in a hurry the extra windage tends to be moot compared to all of that.

I find both a bit trying for runs of more than a couple of hours (aching bottom on a roadster, aching neck and/or wrists riding in a crouch) and use a recumbent for those.

Pete.

[Ontherivet77]

My Moulton TSR was made by Pashley, does that count?

Drops are comfortable in different ways. In letting take you take a forward crouch they get you out of the wind so you do a lot less work on a longer and/or faster trip. And for a longer trip they let you shift weight around to alternative positions, where a trad roadtser puts pretty much everything on the seat. All on the seat is more immediately comfortable and remains so for shorter trips, but as duration goes up the bum gets number sat upright.

For shorter trips an upright position is more comfortable, easier to ride one handed, easier to look around, easier to breathe, and particularly in town if you're not in a hurry the extra windage tends to be moot compared to all of that.

I find both a bit trying for runs of more than a couple of hours (aching bottom on a roadster, aching neck and/or wrists riding in a crouch) and use a recumbent for those.

Pete.

Yep, I was thinking that your backside might take a bit of a beating on a longer journey. I might borrow the Pashley again and try it out for a couple of hours to see.

[foxyrider]

Yes people in the Low Countries tour on their SUAB bikes - or do they? I don't think they do actually 'tour' on them as such, from my experience they use the trains to get close to where they are going and only actually ride a short distance, maybe 10km to their destination.

Drop bar tourers are fairly thin on the ground across the Channel, however you will see lots of Trekking bikes which are closer to a tourer than the SUAB's they resemble. But Trekking isn't the same as touring either, only occasionally have I seen them anywhere with more than a nod at a hill or far from civilisation.

I have ridden a Dutch roadster, it does what it's intended to do, the brakes are terrible, handling is terrible, they don't go up hills and I found that after a day covering all of @15km, my bum was killing me!

I never say never, but I can't see me using anything other than drops in the foreseeable future for my riding. Other styles of bar/bike may well suit others needs but not mine (I have tried quite a variety of bikes and bars over the years)

[mjr]

I've ridden centuries on my Dutchie. I've done multi day tours on it. It's very comfortable if you set it up to be so. Great hub brakes, lowered gearing, sprung saddle... weight spread between saddle and feet, just like every other bike set up right. The hatred and insults directed at them on this forum is mystifying and does people a disservice by deterring them from a life of comfort.

[MrsHJ]

Yes people in the Low Countries tour on their SUAB bikes - or do they? I don't think they do actually 'tour' on them as such, from my experience they use the trains to get close to where they are going and only actually ride a short distance, maybe 10km to their destination.

Drop bar tourers are fairly thin on the ground across the Channel, however you will see lots of Trekking bikes which are closer to a tourer than the SUAB's they resemble. But Trekking isn't the same as touring either, only occasionally have I seen them anywhere with more than a nod at a hill or far from civilisation.

I have ridden a Dutch roadster, it does what it's intended to do, the brakes are terrible, handling is terrible, they don't go up hills and I found that after a day covering all of @15km, my bum was killing me!

I never say never, but I can't see me using anything other than drops in the foreseeable future for my riding. Other styles of bar/bike may well suit others needs but not mine (I have tried quite a variety of bikes and bars over the years)

Disagree on the Dutch- I've seen far more than train type touring on traditional Dutch bikes, although I'm guessing that those touring have nicer bikes than some of the rattlers you see leaning against railings on an Amsterdam canal.

I am gradually moving away from drops and towards the swept back style I reckon, on my 20 year old tourer I have drops, my ten year old bike has butterfly bars and my next one will probably have swept back style-I'm all about comfort and long term riding position these days and drops aren't that for me any more (and probably never were-I just accepted the conventional wisdom that they make you go faster). I have concluded that I prefer (as in am more comfortable) to sit in a more upright style so I should stop kidding myself about getting classic tuck positions etc.

[pwa]

You choose the bars that suit you, and that is the end of the matter as far as I am concerned. But I tour on hills and my weapon of choice will always reflect that, with a wide range of gears and a riding position that feels right on a long climb. Yesterday I climbed a single track lane (with dried mud stripe down the middle, you know the type) that went up without a break for over a mile. My natural inclination (literally) is to lean forward when climbing, lowering my head slightly. I feel more balanced that way. My drop bars allow me to use various hand positions, but on a long climb it is the top of the brake hoods that get most use, with me pulling gently on them. On an upright bike I'd feel like I was falling backwards and need to lean forwards in a way that the bars would not allow without contortion. My bar choice has nothing to do with aerodynamics and "speed", and everything to do with ergonomics and what feels right when climbing.https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4679781 ... 6?hl=en-GB
Nice bit of road if you are ever in the area.

[landsurfer]

What makes drops comfortable is having them in the correct place for the rider and not in some pseudo racing position that reduces their usefulness.

+1

The Pashley PO bikes are available at good prices from a charity. Wonder how they ride ?

[Vorpal]

I've seen people touring on town bikes. Considering that in many places on the continent, the main alternatives available for purchase are town/Dutch bikes, full-on road bikes, and mountain bikes, they are a sensible touring choice, as long as it's not too hilly.

I know a few Norwegians who think it's too hilly here for touring. They go to other countries and mostly use hire bikes for cycling holidays. The hire bikes are often Dutch style ones.

[Ontherivet77]

What makes drops comfortable is having them in the correct place for the rider and not in some pseudo racing position that reduces their usefulness.

I prefer drop bars for their multiple hand position option as opposed to straight flat bars. However, whatever the bike I'm always fettling with the set up to make it comfortable. With swept back bars I was immediately in a comfy position at least for the short period I was on the bike without any change to the bike's set up.

[Ontherivet77]

Yes people in the Low Countries tour on their SUAB bikes - or do they? I don't think they do actually 'tour' on them as such, from my experience they use the trains to get close to where they are going and only actually ride a short distance, maybe 10km to their destination.

Drop bar tourers are fairly thin on the ground across the Channel, however you will see lots of Trekking bikes which are closer to a tourer than the SUAB's they resemble. But Trekking isn't the same as touring either, only occasionally have I seen them anywhere with more than a nod at a hill or far from civilisation.

I have ridden a Dutch roadster, it does what it's intended to do, the brakes are terrible, handling is terrible, they don't go up hills and I found that after a day covering all of @15km, my bum was killing me!

I never say never, but I can't see me using anything other than drops in the foreseeable future for my riding. Other styles of bar/bike may well suit others needs but not mine (I have tried quite a variety of bikes and bars over the years)

Here's someone who has actually toured on one :

http://lovelybike.blogspot.com/2010/08/ ... es-on.html

[pjclinch]

I've ridden centuries on my Dutchie. I've done multi day tours on it. It's very comfortable if you set it up to be so. Great hub brakes, lowered gearing, sprung saddle... weight spread between saddle and feet, just like every other bike set up right. The hatred and insults directed at them on this forum is mystifying and does people a disservice by deterring them from a life of comfort.

They're very comfortable (at least in the short term) unless you try and set them up not to be, would be more like it.

Weight spread between seat and pedals is only so much help. On a milking stool my weight is spread between seat and feet, but I'd still much rather be in a decent armchair if it's going to be for any length of time! You actually have to pedal pretty hard to take a significant weight off the seat, or quite deliberately stand on the pedals while free-wheeling. That you can happily do centuries on yours is not indicative of anyone with one "set up right" being able to comfortably do centuries on theirs, or indeed any other sort of bike.

Having said that...

I have ridden a Dutch roadster, it does what it's intended to do, the brakes are terrible, handling is terrible, they don't go up hills and I found that after a day covering all of @15km, my bum was killing me!

The brakes are, like any other bike, as good as you fit. Yes, if I take a Duinrell hire bike with only a rear coaster brake it won't be great, but Gazelle will sell me one with hydraulic discs if I want and they'll be much better than the cantis on a "proper" tourer. Handling counterpoints with a thread on Brompton handling recently, where the way a Brom won't ride for miles with no hands was criticised by some. A roadster will go for miles no-hands, which isn't "terrible" any more than a Brom's turn-on-a-sixpence is "terrible". It is what it is, with good and bad points. Their ability to go up hills depends on the gearing, and again that's down to choice. The hire bike will have one, and it'll be a bit high for my liking, so get a Rohloff... Yes, they're heavy, but so is my cargo-bike and I can get that up hills. And the saddle is another case of fit what you like. I've found hire bikes in NL to have indifferent saddles, but on hire MTBs in the UK I've sometimes felt crippled after 15 meters, never mind km! I have a B66 on the cargo bike and it is one hell of a lot more comfortable than the... things that came on other bikes with sportier aspirations (they now sport B17s).

There's no shortage of people doing proper miles on these bikes. They probably won't be going as fast as people on Super Galaxies or off beaten tracks as capably as Surly LHTs, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Retired friends in NL will happily spend a whole day on theirs (not fast, and on well beaten fietspads), and that is touring, even if not everybody's idea of what they want out of it.

Pete.