Stratford-upon-Avon is best known for its Shakespearean connections but just a short ride away from the Bard’s birthplace there’s another piece of British heritage that deserves a standing ovation—the Pashley Cycles factory. A visit to the factory is a must for anyone who appreciates fine craftsmanship, classic design, and the satisfying smells and sounds of metal being turned into two-wheeled works of art.
When I received an invitation from Andy Smallwood, Pashley’s CEO to come and visit him and have a tour of the factory I leapt at the chance; in my younger days I worked as a draughtsman in a sheet metal works so I looked forward to being in a proper old-school fabrication shop once again.
Pashley recently launched their new Roadfinder range, adding a drop-bar collection to their offerings which perfectly blends modern technologies, innovation and great British craftsmanship but there is so much more to the company and Andy was keen for us to get to know Pashley Cycles better; it’s history, heritage, the varied and world-famous business and bike share machines as well as the innovative and cutting-edge new models and fabrication techniques.
Pashley Cycles Factory Tour
Pashley’s Customer Experience Manager, Blake Lavelle hosted my tour, and took me first to the new showroom/shop upstairs in the HQ.
The shop was previously located a couple of miles away closer to the market town’s centre but the Pashley felt prospective customers would get a better impression of the bikes, the company’s heritage and the manufacturing process by visiting the shop in situ.
This change allows visitors to get even closer to the heart of production, offering an immersive experience where they can not only browse and purchase Pashley’s bikes but also see firsthand how they are crafted, downstairs in the factory.
Blake’s been with Pashley for over ten years and knows everything about the fabrication process – like most of the employees at Pashley he has a thorough understanding of the whole bike design and build process.
Blake provided me with an incredibly detailed and insightful look into the entire manufacturing process, his extensive knowledge and enthusiasm for Pashley’s heritage and craftsmanship made the experience all the more engaging, offering us a true insider’s perspective on what makes these bicycles (and tricycles, as we’ll see later) so special.
Racks of Reynolds
The tour kicked off with a look at the raw materials – racks full of steel tubes, some of them from Reynolds, a name synonymous with high-quality British bicycle manufacturing. I remember reading somewhere that Pashley actually requested from Reynolds that they bring back their famous 531 tubing at one point.
The tubes arrive in their raw form by the box before undergoing meticulous cutting and mitring, ensuring each piece is precisely shaped for its future role.
The first step in the fabrication process involves manipulating the frame tubes into shape using bending machines, if required, to achieve the desired geometry for the particular frame being made.
This allows Pashley to create everything from their classic upright frames such as the Princess, the Briton and the Poppy, to sleek, performance-focused models like the Pathfinder and Roadfinder.
Cod-Mouthing the Tubes
The next step in the frame fabrication process takes place in the machine shop, where the tubes are meticulously mitred (a process known as cod-mouthing). This ensures that each tube fits precisely into the lugs, allowing for a seamless and strong connection when brazed together.
This process is key to maintaining the integrity and durability of the frame. Each mitred tube is inspected for precision, ensuring it meets the exacting standards required for a handcrafted bicycle.
Much of the tooling in the machine shop is a mixture of very modern (the company does use 3D printing in steel) and somewhat older …. not quite hailing from when the factory was located in Hockley, Birmingham 99 years ago, some are 50-60 years old but they’re all well-maintained, still function as well as they always did and perfectly suit the artisan processes and techniques still used, so why change?
The Frames Take Shape
Next, the mitred tubes are hand-assembled to form the frame. Skilled craftsmen carefully position each tube in a model-specific jig ensuring precise alignment before the brazing process begins.
Using brass rods, the tubes are then brazed together in the brazing bay using the traditional oxyacetylene torch, where the controlled heating process ensures strong and long-lasting joints. It’s quite an art and requires great sensitivity to the tubing.
Some frames are still traditionally brazed in the hearth, a time-honoured method that reflects Pashley’s dedication to craftsmanship and heritage.
This approach, while more labour-intensive than welding, provides superior strength and flexibility, making for a frame that can last a lifetime.
Following this, additional braze-ons such as cable guides and rack-mounts are carefully affixed to the frame, ensuring that every detail is accounted for before the next stage of processing.
In fact, everyone at Pashley is involved in quality control and work is carefully checked over at each stage before the pieces move on to the next phase.
Once these elements are in place, the frame returns to the machine shop, where it undergoes precise finishing processes.
This includes slotting the seat tube to accommodate the seat clamp and facing the head tube to prepare it for the headset bearings, ensuring a perfect fit.
With the structural elements complete, the frame moves into the fettling stage, where skilled workers meticulously clean off any surplus brass and remove swarf to ensure a smooth, refined surface.
This is a crucial step as it guarantees that the frame is free from imperfections before moving on to the painting process.
At this point in the tour we were joined by Andy, CEO of Pashley since last June. Before that, Andy was CEO at Ribble Cycles where he led the transformation of the company from a discount parts retailer to a premium British bike brand.
3D Printing – in Steel!
A fascinating aspect of modern Pashley production is their use of 3D-printed steel components.
These precision-engineered parts allow for intricate detailing and reinforcement in key areas of the frame, enhancing durability while maintaining the timeless aesthetic that defines a Pashley bicycle.
Andy explained that the company were already using 3D printed items in some of their cargo bike range before he arrived last summer, and now the technology is being leveraged in various models across the Pashley range – indeed the latest Roadfinder collection uses the technology to great effect in a number of areas, and not just because the parts are nice looking but because there is a beneficial, technical use-case.
Precision Cleaning
To prepare for coating the frame is sandblasted, a process that strips away any residual contaminants and creates a perfect base for paint adhesion, ensuring both aesthetic appeal and long-lasting durability.
The frames are either cleaned up using the auto-sandblasting booth which can take several frames at a time, or are done individually, by hand if they are of a more complex design.
E-Coating: The High-Tech Wafer-Thin Shield
The durability of the finish is further enhanced by a process called Cathodic Electrophoretic Painting, a highly effective, environmentally friendly and cost-efficient wet paint application method for priming metal parts before final painting, ensuring complete and even coverage, improving corrosion resistance and extending the life of the frame.
The metal parts are submerged in a tank containing a water-based paint solution mixed with resin and pigment and an electric current is applied, creating a charge difference between the part and the paint particles.
The charged paint particles migrate to the metal surface and evenly deposit, forming a (very, very) thin uniform layer. The process ensures complete coverage even in hidden recesses and complex geometries, even the inside of the tubes are coated.
This high-tech technique not only strengthens the bicycle’s protection against the elements but also provides a flawless base for the final topcoat.
Once the frame has been thoroughly prepared, it enters the painting phase, beginning with the application of a base coat.
Powder Coating – Durable and Vibrant
Pashley’s paint process is as much about beauty as it is about resilience; each frame undergoes a meticulous painting process to ensure a finish that is both visually stunning and highly durable.
Pashley’s models use various paint finishes, the Roadfinder range uses wet-paint while others use powder coating, which involves electrostatically charging the powdered paint so that it adheres evenly to the metal surface. The frame is placed in an oven and cured at high temperatures, allowing the powder to melt and form a durable, uniform layer. This step provides exceptional resistance to chipping, scratching, and corrosion, ensuring the longevity of the frame’s finish.
Where possible, parts are sub-assembled to aid the building process.
The Wheel Building Area
Historically, Pashley have managed all the aspects of production in-house, including frame building, sheet metal work, polishing, and enamelling.
In recent years, Pashley has continued this tradition by building wheels in-house at their factory in a dedicated workshop area, ensuring meticulous quality control and maintaining the company’s commitment to craftsmanship.
The machine in the right-side of the above photo trues the pre-laced wheels automatically, and once completed sends them down the track to the collection point.
However, if the machine detects that a wheel cannot be trued to within the required tolerances for whatever reason, it sends it down a different track, to be adjusted and trued by hand using a beautiful Holland Mechanics “Villum” jig.
A Legacy of British Bicycle Craftsmanship
Pashley Cycles isn’t just about creating beautiful hand-crafted bicycles, it’s also about building careers and communities too. While so many manufacturers have shipped production overseas, Pashley remains fiercely committed to social responsibility, to keeping jobs in the heart of the UK, ensuring that true craftsmanship doesn’t become a thing of the past.
The company is passionate about nurturing talent, taking on school leavers as apprentices and training them from the ground up as Assemblers and under the guidance of experienced craftsmen, developing their skills and learning about the bike industry, progressing from beginners to highly trained specialists.
This dedication to people as much as to products ensures that the Pashley bicycle is not just a machine but a testament to British heritage, skill, and pride.
Another of the company’s drivers is keeping history alive, as evidenced by their buying of Brooks Saddles in 1999 to keep them out of receivership (later passing ownership to Selle Royal).
Some Famous Pashley Models
Founded in 1926 by William ‘Rath’ Pashley, the company has been building bikes in Britain for nearly a century and over the years they’ve produced some truly iconic machines including 30,000 of the the famous Post Office bike – those sturdy red workhorses that zipped through Britain’s streets delivering letters for over 40 years – and the unmistakable Pashley Princess, a staple of timeless cycling elegance.
Beyond their classic bicycles which have featured in films such as the beloved Paddington, Mary Poppins and 101 Dalmations, Pashley has a really diverse range of product lines catering to a variety of riders and industries.
Bikeshare Bikes
Pashley has made a significant impact on the bikeshare scene with their award-winning hire bikes which have become a key feature of the London and West Midlands bike-share schemes.
These aren’t your run-of-the-mill city bikes. Pashley’s hire bikes are purpose-built for the rigors of urban cycling. Meeting the tricky design brief of comfort, durability and practicality, the bikes have with robust frames, puncture-resistant tyres, and ergonomically designed seating to cater to the everyday commuter.
It’s clear that Pashley isn’t just designing for cyclists – they’re designing for cities, anticipating the wear and tear of daily use and creating a bike that is as tough as the streets it serves.
But it’s not just about the bikes; Pashley has a string of design patents to its name, most recently for a game-changing “lock & dock” system that could redefine how bikeshare schemes operate.
The Pashley Prospect and e-Prospect bikeshare bikes, designed and developed in a very short 18 month period are ‘smart’, whilst the dock itself is basic (not linked), making bike rental and return more secure and user-friendly than ever. No longer will riders have to worry about fiddling with clunky locks or struggling to dock their bikes properly.
Pashley’s innovation makes the entire process simpler, safer, and faster. And for the operators running these schemes, it’s a game-changer too, reducing the risk of theft and vandalism while providing real-time data that improves the efficiency of the entire system.
Business Bikes
Their work bikes, including the famous Pashley Delibike, the Parabike and the cargo bike Pronto, have been trusted by businesses for decades, offering a durable and reliable means of transporting goods, especially in the ‘final-mile’ scenarios. From bakers to florists, countless businesses have relied on Pashley’s business cycles to deliver their products with charm and efficiency.
Pashley also produce a range of leisure and commuter bikes in various categories; Contemporary, Electric, Classic, Cargo and Tricycles. Included in the Classic range are the Britannia and the Guv’nor.
The Britannia is a beautifully styled, upright bicycle that embodies British elegance, available in patriotic colours inspired by the Union Jack.
The Guv’nor, on the other hand, is a true nod to the past, reviving the classic Path Racer design from the 1930s with its unique combination of vintage styling and modern performance components.
Utility and Commercial Two and Three Wheelers
Beyond their consumer models, Pashley is world-renowned for its fleet and contract bicycles, supplying bikes to postal services, police forces, the Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland and Brown’s Hotel in London, and businesses across the globe.
Their commercial trikes and cargo bikes are widely used in logistics and eco-friendly urban transport scenarios, demonstrating the versatility and practicality of their expertly crafted designs.
For years, the Pashley Pronto was a familiar sight across the UK, used by Royal Mail postal workers to deliver mail in towns and cities. However, as postal loads increased and the demand for quicker delivery methods grew, Royal Mail began phasing out bicycles in favor of vans and trolleys (which Pashley also built).
By the late 2000s, most of these bikes were retired but Pashley’s heritage in making practical, durable cycles for working professionals continues to thrive today, blending time-honoured craftsmanship with modern innovation; the company is always evolving to meet new demands and one of their most exciting new ventures is the ALECS Delivery Trike, a robust and beautifully engineered three-wheeler designed for businesses and cargo transport.
Unlike traditional trikes the ALECS rides like a bicycle, the rider leaning slightly to aid turning, but with the added stability of three wheels, which makes it an intuitive and super-easy-to-handle option for couriers, small businesses, and eco-conscious enterprises.
Blake showed me how straightforward the ALECS machine is to maintain; by simply flicking a small handle the trike is set to ‘Maintenance Mode’ and it flips onto its back with a simple one-handed movement, revealing the mechanisms which may need maintenance work. The rear of the delivery box has rubber feet to protect it from any damage or scuffs.
Measuring just 0.8 metres wide the ALECS is tailor-made for navigating cycle lanes, alleyways and other tight urban spaces, making it an incredibly practical solution for modern deliveries.
It features a highly durable and lightweight aluminium cargo platform, allowing businesses to efficiently transport goods without contributing to congestion or pollution.
It is a very thoughtful, clever engineering solution and combines traditional craftsmanship with innovative design, providing a sustainable, stylish, and highly functional alternative to conventional delivery vehicles. Whether carrying parcels, groceries or artisan goods, ALECS is proof that practicality and elegance can go hand-in-hand.
The Contemporary Models
More recently, since Andy’s installation as CEO, Pashley have released a number of new product lines, one of those is intended for people who prefer a more rugged and adaptable machine; the re-borne Pathfinder, Pashley’s answer to the call of adventure.
Pathfinder
Designed for mixed-terrain riding, the Pathfinder features wider tyres, disc brakes, and a comfortable and responsive geometry, making it ideal for gravel trails, bike-packing trips, and all-weather commuting.
This range is built with the same meticulous care as Pashley’s classic bikes but incorporates modern technology (eg. those 3D printed steel joining parts again) to ensure durability and performance across diverse landscapes.
Andy explained that Pashley has a short development cycle, the rapid-prototyping is all done in-house and can very quickly turn a concept into reality, as he said; “within a week, an idea can be on a bike underneath you as you ride to work!“
There are several variants of the Pathfinder such as an “Pathfinder E” model which features a quiet Mahle X30 rear hub motor powered by a 250Wh rechargeable battery discretely positioned within the down tube, an “X” model which takes its inspiration from the purist machines ridden by the mountain bike pioneers and is equally at home cutting through traffic as it is exploring the path less travelled.
There’s even a lovely Pathfinder “X LTD” model, a kind of flat-bar gravel bike, which features Shimano SLX gearing and disc brakes, a Shimano GRX chainset and Panaracer Gravelking tyres, and it’s finished in an exquisite colour-flip paint finish, shimmering with iridescent purple, green and gold hues that shift beautifully in changing light conditions.
Andy made me laugh as he displayed an attention to detail I respect – breaking off our chat for a moment and going in search of an Allen key to raise the height of the seat on a Pathfinder X in the showroom; “it just didn’t look right.“
Roadfinder
As mentioned at the top of this article, the latest collection of bikes to be released by Pashley is the Roadfinder range which Andy has described as the “Swiss army knife of bicycles“, one bike with several uses, but as we’ve seen this definition could apply to a number of Pashley’s machines.
The Roadfinder is a series of meticulously crafted, steel bicycles designed to handle anything from smooth tarmac to rugged gravel trails. The Roadfinder lineup consists of four distinct models: Roadfinder, Roadfinder E, Roadfinder X, and Roadfinder XE, each tailored to different styles of riding.
As I saw during my tour of the Pashley Cycles factory, there are a number of skilled frame builders working with Reynolds 853 double-butted tubing, renowned for its balance of weight and resilience, to create the frames, which are hand-brazed and finished with a T47 bottom bracket shell and a 44mm semi-integrated head tube, ensuring long-term durability and – importantly – modern compatibility.
The Pashley Cycles Roadfinder range seamlessly blends traditional hand-built craftsmanship with the modern 3D printing technology we saw before, utilising stainless steel components to enhance durability and performance. Key 3D printed parts include the seat tube and top tube junction, rear dropouts, front derailleur hanger and internal cable routing guides. By employing stainless steel Pashley ensures superior strength, corrosion resistance, and the very intricate design possibilities that would be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve with conventional manufacturing. This innovative approach allows for a more refined and efficient frame construction while maintaining the classic aesthetics and high-quality standards.
Each Roadfinder is fitted with a Columbus Futura Cross+ carbon fork, giving riders the flexibility to tweak handling and tyre clearance via a “flip-chip” dropout system. The result is a road bike that can run either 700x32c road tyres or up to 45mm gravel tyres.
Customers have a choice of Shimano 105, Ultegra, or electronic Di2 groupsets, while hand-built wheels range from lightweight aluminum rims to Parcours Alta carbon tubeless setups. The final touch is a Brooks Cambium C15 saddle, bringing a blend of traditional craftsmanship and modern comfort.
As in the Pathfinder range, the electric version of the Roadfinder, the Roadfinder E, uses a different tubing mixture for the frame (Reynolds 725, 631 and 525) and employs a Mahle X20 motor system, seamlessly integrated into the rear hub with the battery neatly tucked into the downtube, preserving the bike’s clean aesthetics and traditional steel feel.
The Roadfinder X takes the precision engineering of the standard Roadfinder and tweaks it for off-road exploration. With clearance for 700x45mm tyres, thru-axles, and internal cable routing, this is a bike that’s likely to be as comfortable on gravel trails as it is on country lanes.
Like the road version, the Roadfinder X is built from Reynolds 853 tubing but comes equipped with gravel-focused groupsets like Shimano GRX 610, SRAM Rival AXS, or Campagnolo Ekar. The addition of dropper post compatibility and a Parcours Alta carbon wheelset ensures that this bike is ready for technical descents and challenging terrain.
For riders who want the best of both worlds – gravel capability with electric assist – the Roadfinder XE features the same rugged frame as the Roadfinder X but integrates the Mahle X20 motor, making long climbs and multi-day adventures feel effortless. Whether tackling steep off-road routes or extended bikepacking journeys, the XE offers power when needed while still feeling like a traditional steel adventure bike.
Andy mentioned that wheelsets will be available separately so that customers will be able to easily switch their bike from road-specific to more off-road characteristics and vice-versa. He also said that the bikes will be available to order in any colour the customer wanted (although that isn’t an option on the Pashley website just yet).
Andy told me that the first three months of sales since the launch of the Roadfinder have exceeded expectations; there’s clearly still a big market for hand-built craftsmanship and artisan fabrication, which is great to hear.
I asked Andy about the purchasing options for Pashley bikes, as the company didn’t traditionally use a D2C (Direct to Customer) model, and home delivery in the UK and abroad is now an option when buying a bike on the website, or you can arrange the purchase online for collection at a Pashley dealer – there’s quite a few of them around!
A visit to the Pashley Cycles factory is more than just a look behind the scenes – it’s a wonderful glimpse into the oldest heart of British bicycle-making.
Whether you’re a dedicated cyclist, in the market for a new bike, a lover of fine British engineering or simply a fan of beautifully handmade products, this company is a treat and deserves your attention.
So, if you find yourself in Stratford-upon-Avon, take a break from the Shakespearean sonnets and swap them for the poetry of pedal-powered perfection. Who knows? You might just leave with a new set of wheels.
With thanks to Andy for facilitating the visit and to him and Blake for so generously sharing their knowledge and time throughout the day.
All the information you need can be found on the Pashley Cycles site.
