Lust and Nostalgia


The English Roadster is a classic bicycle. It has large wheels, an upright seating position, a well-sprung saddle for bumpy roads, fenders and a covered chain, and an internal Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub. It has been used by policemen, postmen, preachers, and European commuters since the 1920's.

The bike pictured here is the modern equivalent. Pashley Cycles has been making these bikes in Stratford-upon-Avon since 1926. Today's version has the new Sturmey Archer 5-speed hub and updated rims, tires, and brakes, but otherwise this bike is largely unchanged. I WANT this bike.

Perhaps it is a sign of my age that I am now longing for things that are classics. I have tried the newfangled and the cutting edge, and I find now that I prefer the tried and true. Don't get me wrong - I oggle the carbon fiber thingys and the radially spoked doo-hickeys, but when it is time to open up my wallet, I am much more likely to fork out hard earned money for something with thousands of miles in its heritage.

Just as soon as I have the $1037.80 (that's at today's exchange rate) to spare and a way to get it to the States (maybe Katie can find room in her luggage for an additional 30 or so pounds), I'll buy one of these...

4 comments:

Modig said...

I feel your pain man. I bought my mountain bike for $1,300. That may seem expensive, but when you factor in the money I got for donating one of my kidneys as well as some of my "juices," the out of pocket expense was really quite minimal. ;)

Linus said...

Oh no - I understand. I paid about $1000 for my last serious road bike... and that was in 1988 dollars!

Squid said...

Dude that is HAWT! ...We need to fix my bike soon!!

Mayren said...

ok - I concurr. That bike is Hawt.

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