Pashley Princess Sovereign

[vonmeow]

Yeahhhhhhh that's right, I damn well bought it!

Pashley Princess Sovereign from Rain City Bikes! I got it for 10% off, haha...perhaps I can convince them to give me a helmet and bike lock for free (even though I have those already).

I studied/researched/looked at/test rode every beautiful lovely bicycle available in Vancouver and finally settled on one with everything I wanted, which was the one I wanted in the first place but wasn't sure how it would ride. <3

Tomorrow I will be picking it up and riding it for the first time, in traffic (on cycling routes), home.

I also liked the Batavus model I rode, which was similar, but didn't have that same 100-year old traditional look, and it was harder for me to lift.
Other "Dutch"-style bicycles

Sweeeeet features:
-it fits my short legs
-step-through frame (I can wear dresses!)
-upright riding position (I can wear heels, haha!)
-handmade lugged and brazed steel frame (heavy, but sturdy, and you can't feel every single bump like lighter bikes will)
-enclosed chain (keeps my clothes clean)
-steel fenders (not plastic or clanky aluminum)
-skirt guard (prevents clothes getting stuck in the spokes)
-rear rack
-wicker basket (for my puppy)
-Sturmey Archer (oooold traditional style) hub brake
-Srurmey Archer 5 speed hub gears
-hub dynamo lights (they're really bright and are powered by cycling!)
-bell (it actually goes "ding-dong" as opposed to "ding-ding")
-sprung Antique Brooks B66 leather saddle
-rear wheel lock
-good for leisurely riding

I HOPE IT DOES NOT GET STOLEN.

Comments

[fatalle424.livejournal.com]

Holy fuck that is a beautiful bike.

..I want one. ):

[galaxychild.livejournal.com]

GET ONE!!!

it's damn heavy though - the driver had to help me get it on the bike rack from holdom station up to hastings. embarassing. actually, i got it up on the rack, but couldn't adjust it because i wasn't tall enough to reach. oh.

[banditprincess.livejournal.com]

I wish I knew how to ride a bike :(

Yes! Careful it doesn't get stolen!

[galaxychild.livejournal.com]

...but you ride tandem!

[lucrezea.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, you have a wicker basket.

That's AWESOME. You need some plastic flowers on that baby. XD

[vibing-v.livejournal.com]

Pretty!! Congrats! :D

Now put a car alarm on that thing. :p

[galaxychild.livejournal.com]

i have a couple of locks :D

[rubyxer.livejournal.com]

Oooh so pretty! :D

[dinospine.livejournal.com]

She's pretty, but how much doesn she weigh and how many speeds does she have? Those are two inportant factors you shouldn't forget. It's way easier to go really fast on a 20lb bike than on a thirty, and hills will be very painful/topspeeds will be very low if it's single speed.
I don't know how likely theft will be. I have a $2000 bike that is obviously very shiny and I have ridden it and left it outside, even in chinatown and it hasn't been stolen yet. The trick is to always bring it inside with you whenever it's going to be for more than five minutes, and have backup bikes, hehe. I've thought about getting gps locater beacons but the monthly fees are quite high.

[galaxychild.livejournal.com]

Ohhh she's really heavy, and only 5 speed, but I knew that going into it. It's not really meant for fast riding, more like cruising around the seawall or something. Hills are pretty painful, but I try very hard and then walk it up hill if I can't go on. I did ride it from Steveston in Richmond to downtown in 2 hours (but I did walk the bike about 10 blocks and get coffee at Main St skytrain!)

I asked the guy at the store how to make it less theft-prone, and he said a good u-lock would be best and not to lock it up in dimly-lit areas. I haven't taken it out enough times yet, but that all sounds like common sense type stuff! also, it has a rear-wheel lock, so whoever it stealing it pretty much has to carry it away (or throw it in a truck, I guess). The storeperson said a customer once brought in their Pashley, and they had their key break inside the wheel lock, and they had a hard time trying to get the lock off without damaging the bike.

I don't think I'd be riding it in situations where I'd be out late at night or leaving it outside overnight or anything, but who knows?