My husband and I each own a Pashley: He the Roadster Sovereign in black and I the Princess Sovereign in green. The husband is crazy about his Roadster; it is the bicycle on which he commutes to work year round (including in the recent blizzard!). I am quite happy with mine as well, but its geometry and performance are not as perfect for me as my vintage Raleigh DL-1 Lady’s Tourist.

Also, the trivia/facts-lover in me can’t help but think that it is not quite accurate to say that Pashley has continuously been making these bicycles for the past 80 years. Traditionally, they have specialised in vendor transport bikes. As far as I know, they did not begin making the loop frame bicycle like the Princess until the 1970s.

Still, it is great that the beautiful design of the Princess is seducing people all over the world to embrace the classic lugged loop-frame bicycle. Hopefully the trend is here for the long haul.

Yes, I have a Pashley Sovereign Roadster. I love it! It gets me everywhere in style and comfort.

Right now, here in Toronto, the roads and bike lanes are wet and nasty with the usual layer of winter salt. The full chaincase, fenders and coatguard keeps my nice work clothes clean and protects the chain from the salt.

Maintenance? Zero. The Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres have never, ever got a puncture. Never. Ever. I’ve never had to clean and lube the chain. Love that chainguard.

Internal hub gears and internal hub brakes have also had zero maintenance. The internal front hub dynamo has powered the front light – also zero maintenance.

The bell is at two-tone “ding-dong” bell. Retro, very nice, I’ve had lots of comments on the bell.

And everything I’ve described is standard equipment on the bike. I bought it, got on and rode off.

In the English roadster style, the bottom bracket is rather high and the wheelbase rather long. I like this because it puts me in a nice high riding position with excellent elevated sightlines. I can look over other traffic, “read” what is going to happen and react accordingly. Pashley describes it as “a whale among minnows.” I agree.

Who would want to change it? It is geared for a rather flat city like Toronto. If I lived in a very hilly region I would probably change the sprocket to lower the gear range. But it is just fine for where I live here. Or if I had to haul it up and down stairs, its size and weight would be an issue. But the bike room in the building where I live has level street access so that isn’t an issue for me.

Post-purchase I added 60L Basil panniers. That gave it an impressive load hauling capability. When I’m doing “big” grocery shopping I’ll also put a basket on the rear rack and carry shopping bags on the handlebars.

I got the large frame with the double top tube because I am rather tall at 6′ 8″ (200 cm). This makes it look somewhat like the Chinese “Flying Pidgeon.” But that’s because the FP was designed and patterned after English roadsters.

In short, I love my bike. It came with everything I need as standard equipment and takes me everywhere I want to go in style, comfort and clean.