Pashley Cycles
Encyclopedia
Pashley Cycles is an English
bicycle
manufacturer in Stratford-upon-Avon
in Warwickshire, England, established in 1926. The company has been making bicycles for more than 80 years.
and an engineering apprentice with Austin Motors
. The company was originally Pashley and Barber (his wife's maiden name). It manufactured all manner of bikes, but carrier cycles made the Pashley name.
The first premises were in Digbeth
in Birmingham
, but increasing demand led to larger premises in Aston
. In 1936 Pashley Carrier Cycles became WR Pashley Ltd. Every component was made in-house except the tubing and lugs. This allowed constant development and quality control
.
After the depression, Pashley supplied Wall's ice cream
Stop Me and Buy One tricycles, with two wheels at the front. Two-wheeled load carriers like the small front wheeled 'Deli Bike' became favourites with butchers, milkmen and vintners.
With World War II
, production turned to munitions. Coach-building converted Rolls-Royce
s and Daimler
s into ambulances for civil defence. After the war the company made small motorised vehicles. The Pashley Pelican was a rickshaw
transporter using Royal Enfield
or BSA
motorcycle front ends. These, with standard carrier cycles, proved popular in Denmark
, the Netherlands
, South Africa
and Argentina
. Canadian Police used the motor rickshaw to collect money from parking meter
s.
In the 1960s Pashley supplied the Post Office after the previous supplier, the Co-op, closed. The initial contract was split between Pashley, Wearwell and Harmanco. Eventually Pashley took the entire contract and so it remains. With 37,000 bikes, Royal Mail
remains Pashley's largest customer. When tendering recently Pashley produced the Mailstar bike.
Domestic demand for industrial and carrier cycles waned in the 1960s and Pashley's main production was car trailers for Freeman and other catalogue companies. With a move to Masons Road in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1963 came a shift back to cycle production.
William Pashley's son Richard realised that the load-carrying tricycle could be converted for those who unwilling to ride a bicycle. The result was the Pashley Picador. It was shorter and lighter than its industrial counterpart, and used round tubing instead of box-section frame. Pashley continued to adapt carrier bikes for the public. The front carrier was removed and the lugs replaced on an even-wheeled work bike. Pashley also produce an old-fashioned roadster. In the middle of 1970s Pashley started to produce the Pickle child's tricycle, based on the Raleigh
Winkie of the 1950s.
Pashley continued to supply the Post Office through the 1970s and 80s. It also acquired Gundles in 1974, the other manufacturer of work bikes. Pashley started to make tandems, and adapted tricycles for special needs. Eventually the ladies' Classic Princess emerged with a low step-through frame and wicker basket.
chose the company to make an all-purpose bike, launched in spring 1992.
In 1994 a management buy-out led to Adrian Williams becoming the main shareholder
and Managing Director. A licensing deal followed and in the autumn the following year Pashley and Land Rover
teamed to produce a Moulton Bicycle
.
Pashley continued to develop throughout the 1990s, through acquisition and in-house. The absorption of Creswell Cycles in 1997 brought folding bikes and tag-along trailers while a double-looped frame based on a 1940's folding BSA 'Airborne' design for paratroopers was developed into the non-folding Pashley Tube Rider and Paramount. Since the 1990s, Pashley also developed BMX
and trials bikes, now both discontinued. Pashley also offers a range of customised company bicycles and work bikes. Famously, Pashley made bicycles for the Royal Mail
(the Mailstar) up until 2010 when Royal Mail announced that they are to be gradually phased out.
All Pashley bikes are still hand built in their factory in Stratford-upon-Avon
, England. The bikes use steel tubes supplied by Reynolds Cycle Technology
and saddles by Brooks
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
manufacturer in Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
in Warwickshire, England, established in 1926. The company has been making bicycles for more than 80 years.
History
Pashley Cycles was formed by William 'Rath' Pashley in 1926. He had been a dispatch rider in the First World WarWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and an engineering apprentice with Austin Motors
Austin Motor Company
The Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...
. The company was originally Pashley and Barber (his wife's maiden name). It manufactured all manner of bikes, but carrier cycles made the Pashley name.
The first premises were in Digbeth
Digbeth
Digbeth is an area of Birmingham, England. Following the destruction of the Inner Ring Road, Digbeth is now considered a district within Birmingham City Centre. As part of the Big City Plan, Digbeth is undergoing a large redevelopment scheme that will regenerate the old industrial buildings into...
in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, but increasing demand led to larger premises in Aston
Aston
Aston is an area of the City of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Lying to the north-east of the Birmingham city centre, Aston constitutes an electoral ward within the council constituency of Ladywood.-History:...
. In 1936 Pashley Carrier Cycles became WR Pashley Ltd. Every component was made in-house except the tubing and lugs. This allowed constant development and quality control
Quality control
Quality control, or QC for short, is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. This approach places an emphasis on three aspects:...
.
After the depression, Pashley supplied Wall's ice cream
Wall's ice cream
Wall's is a United Kingdom-originated food brand, covering both meat products and ice cream, owned by Unilever. Founded in London in 1786 by butcher Richard Wall, it was acquired in 1922 by Lever Brothers, which became a part of Unilever in 1930. To avoid summer lay-offs due to the down turn in its...
Stop Me and Buy One tricycles, with two wheels at the front. Two-wheeled load carriers like the small front wheeled 'Deli Bike' became favourites with butchers, milkmen and vintners.
With World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, production turned to munitions. Coach-building converted Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
s and Daimler
Daimler Motor Company
The Daimler Motor Company Limited was an independent British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in London by H J Lawson in 1896, which set up its manufacturing base in Coventry. The right to the use of the name Daimler had been purchased simultaneously from Gottlieb Daimler and Daimler Motoren...
s into ambulances for civil defence. After the war the company made small motorised vehicles. The Pashley Pelican was a rickshaw
Auto rickshaw
An auto rickshaw or three-wheeler is a usually three-wheeled cabin cycle for private use and as a vehicle for hire. It is a motorized version of the traditional pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw...
transporter using Royal Enfield
Royal Enfield
Royal Enfield was the name under which the Enfield Cycle Company made motorcycles, bicycles, lawnmowers and stationary engines. This legacy of weapons manufacture is reflected in the logo, a cannon, and their motto "Made like a gun, goes like a bullet". Use of the brand name Royal Enfield was...
or BSA
Birmingham Small Arms Company
This article is not about Gamo subsidiary BSA Guns Limited of Armoury Road, Small Heath, Birmingham B11 2PP or BSA Company or its successors....
motorcycle front ends. These, with standard carrier cycles, proved popular in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. Canadian Police used the motor rickshaw to collect money from parking meter
Parking meter
A parking meter is a device used to collect money in exchange for the right to park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time. Parking meters can be used by municipalities as a tool for enforcing their integrated on-street parking policy, usually related to their traffic and...
s.
In the 1960s Pashley supplied the Post Office after the previous supplier, the Co-op, closed. The initial contract was split between Pashley, Wearwell and Harmanco. Eventually Pashley took the entire contract and so it remains. With 37,000 bikes, Royal Mail
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
remains Pashley's largest customer. When tendering recently Pashley produced the Mailstar bike.
Domestic demand for industrial and carrier cycles waned in the 1960s and Pashley's main production was car trailers for Freeman and other catalogue companies. With a move to Masons Road in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1963 came a shift back to cycle production.
William Pashley's son Richard realised that the load-carrying tricycle could be converted for those who unwilling to ride a bicycle. The result was the Pashley Picador. It was shorter and lighter than its industrial counterpart, and used round tubing instead of box-section frame. Pashley continued to adapt carrier bikes for the public. The front carrier was removed and the lugs replaced on an even-wheeled work bike. Pashley also produce an old-fashioned roadster. In the middle of 1970s Pashley started to produce the Pickle child's tricycle, based on the Raleigh
Raleigh Bicycle Company
The Raleigh Bicycle Company is a bicycle manufacturer originally based in Nottingham, UK. It is one of the oldest bicycle companies in the world. From 1921 to 1935 Raleigh also produced motorcycles and three-wheel cars, leading to the formation of the Reliant Company.-Early years:Raleigh's history...
Winkie of the 1950s.
Pashley continued to supply the Post Office through the 1970s and 80s. It also acquired Gundles in 1974, the other manufacturer of work bikes. Pashley started to make tandems, and adapted tricycles for special needs. Eventually the ladies' Classic Princess emerged with a low step-through frame and wicker basket.
Modern models
In 1991 Alex MoultonAlex Moulton
Dr. Alexander Eric Moulton CBE is an English engineer and inventor, specialising in suspension design.Moulton is the great-grandson of the rubber pioneer Stephen Moulton, the founder of the family business George Spencer Moulton & Co...
chose the company to make an all-purpose bike, launched in spring 1992.
In 1994 a management buy-out led to Adrian Williams becoming the main shareholder
Shareholder
A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders own the stock, but not the corporation itself ....
and Managing Director. A licensing deal followed and in the autumn the following year Pashley and Land Rover
Land Rover
Land Rover is a British car manufacturer with its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom which specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles. It is owned by the Indian company Tata Motors, forming part of their Jaguar Land Rover group...
teamed to produce a Moulton Bicycle
Moulton Bicycle
Moulton is an English bicycle manufacturer. The company was founded in 1962 by Dr Alex Moulton, who designed the "Hydrolastic" and rubber cone suspension systems for the BMC Mini motorcar, and the later "Hydragas" system used by its successor companies....
.
Pashley continued to develop throughout the 1990s, through acquisition and in-house. The absorption of Creswell Cycles in 1997 brought folding bikes and tag-along trailers while a double-looped frame based on a 1940's folding BSA 'Airborne' design for paratroopers was developed into the non-folding Pashley Tube Rider and Paramount. Since the 1990s, Pashley also developed BMX
BMX
Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...
and trials bikes, now both discontinued. Pashley also offers a range of customised company bicycles and work bikes. Famously, Pashley made bicycles for the Royal Mail
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
(the Mailstar) up until 2010 when Royal Mail announced that they are to be gradually phased out.
All Pashley bikes are still hand built in their factory in Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
, England. The bikes use steel tubes supplied by Reynolds Cycle Technology
Reynolds Cycle Technology
Reynolds Cycle Technology is a manufacturer of tubing for bicycle frames and other bicycle components based in Birmingham, England established in 1898.-History:...
and saddles by Brooks
Brooks England
Brooks England is a bicycle saddle manufacturer in Smethwick, Birmingham, England. It has been making leather bicycle saddles since 1866, when it was founded in Hockley, Birmingham....
.
Vídeos
- www.youtube.com Video Pashley Bicycles @ Interbike 2010 Part 1
- www.youtube.com Video Pashley Bicycles @ Interbike 2010 Part 2
- www.vimeo.com Video How Pashley Cycles are Made and Why
- www.flickr.com Video elegance in motion