Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Pashley Guv'nor accessories

The long awaited accessories for the Pashley Guv'nor bicycle may, or may not,  ever arrive.

Guv'nor owners have eagerly anticipated the arrival of the accessories for a long time now.......in fact, since the posting of an article in April 2010 about the mythical accessories at:
and information contained at:

Guv'nor owners have been, to say the least, a little disappointed by their non-appearance. The image below is from one of the sites that showcases the beautifully designed accessories:


Pashley Guv'nor accessories.

As a result of the accessories not making an appearance, some Guv'nor owners like myself have made efforts to fit our own accessories to the bicycle whilst trying not to interrupt the feel and style of the bike......below are a couple of little bits and pieces that Guv'nor owners may find interesting.

Every bike needs a pump.....so I've fitted pump pegs to the down tube as pictured below. There are a range of pump pegs available, but in keeping with the vintage design of the bike I managed to source some British made "Cyclo" pump pegs from the UK.

Cyclo pump peg.

Pump pegs and pump on the down tube.

...and I also managed to find an old English made "Bluemels Lightweight" mini pump to fit. It is a personal choice on which frame tube to fit your pegs and pump. They also look good fitted to the seat tube.

These pegs are available at H Lloyd Cycles - better known for their large range of vintage bicycle decals - and for a very reasonable price. The pegs are chromed steel with the "Cyclo" and "British Made" branding. You can contact Lloyds via:  nick_at_lloyds@compuserve.com or alternatively go to their website http://www.hlloydcycles.com/ and place an order. Staff at Lloyds are very friendly and buying any of their products is always a pleasure.

A bicycle of this quality should always have stainless steel valve caps - and not cheap and nasty plastic ones as is usually the case. I fitted stainless steel valve caps to my Guv'nor some time ago, in fact I have fitted them to all of my vintage bikes that have schrader valves.

They have a rubber insert that when tightened onto the valve provides a seal to protect the valve from air loss, and prevents the valve from being clogged with dirt, sand, and grease, etc. I have found that when fitted to the valves the tyre pressure remains higher for a longer period of time.....so not only do they look good, they are practical as well.

Valve caps can be obtained anywhere, however eBay usually offers a large variety that will suit any taste.

Knurled valve cap.

...so these mythical Guv'nor accessories (if ever produced!!) include a fantastic rear reflector designed by Peter Whitehouse as pictured below:


Rear reflector designed by Peter Whitehouse.

......hunt as I may, I have not been able to locate anything as nice as this. Please get your act together Pashley so I can get one!!

Road Traffic Regulations in Western Australia require that my bicycle has a rear reflector so, in the meantime, I have come up with this little beauty pictured below.


Rear facing reflector.
...it's not quite as nice as the much anticipated Pashley design, but for now it'll do the trick! I got the reflector on eBay where there is a large range of vintage bicycle reflectors available.

I'm certainly not going to point out the advantage of fitting Brooks accessories to your vintage bike, or any bike for that matter....we all know how beautiful, practical, and long lasting they are.....and once you start talking about Brooks accessories, where do you stop?!?

I would like to show you a couple of very short videos I recently took of my beloved Guv'nor whilst cycling through the Graham Farmer Freeway Tunnel in Perth during a fund raising ride for asthma a couple of weeks ago, I hope you enjoy them!

TUNNEL ENTRY


TUNNEL EXIT




So until next time.......... ride safe.

James