Combining heritage with contemporary at Pashley Cycles
Walking into the workshop of Pashley Cycles in Stratford-upon-Avon amid craftsmen brazing and welding bike frames was sufficiently exciting to the potential new CEO visiting the site to check out the operation that he joined the business and is now undertaking a rejuvenation of the heritage brand.
Andy Smallwood was CEO of Ribble Cycles and had formerly been MD of Boardman Bikes when the opportunity to take on the running of the Pashley business came his way and he was smitten: “I’d known about Pashley but had forgotten that it was still producing all its bikes. It was not pushing this fact in the market. When I walked into the manufacturing area the hairs [on the back of my neck] went up. I instantly thought I could stay here and push the brand more. Something good was happening but it was a forgotten nook of the British bike industry.”
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The fact it produces the cycles in the UK marks it out as something unusual and special. The typical arrangement with the larger brands is that the designs are undertaken in the UK while all the manufacturing is done in Asia. Some other brands design in the UK and then have the frames manufactured in Asia before they are shipped back to the UK where the bikes are then assembled.
At Pashley the process starts with the steel tubes – predominantly sourced from the Reynolds factory down the road in Birmingham – from which the frames are built. Walking around the workshop floor it is evident that this is a very labour intensive, hands-on process and one that has changed little over the years as lathes and other metal processing kit is used.
“This is true British manufacturing of which there is not much left in the cycle industry. Pashley has been here in the UK for 100 years – which will be celebrated later in the year. There are some smaller makers in sheds with a tiny output. We can design, prototype and produce, all in the one building,” says Smallwood.
Bringing about change
Having joined the business in Summer 2024 with the smell of brazing in his nostrils he set about bringing some change to the company. This has involved focusing on the company’s direct to consumer channels (across digital and physical) combined with significant new product development with the objective of broadening the customer profile.
“Through the introduction of a new diversified product range, designed for the needs of the modern cyclist, based on bespoke and artisan frames hand-crafted by us in our factory using a blend of cutting-edge technology and traditional frame building techniques, we are bringing the Pashley brand to a significantly wider audience,” he explains.
He has certainly not hung around implementing change. The single showroom in the centre of Stratford-upon-Avon was closed because it was too removed from the workshop so did not convey the manufacturing pedigree of the brand. The shop has been shifted to the workshop site thereby providing the opportunity for a rich experiential customer journey.
The conversion rate for such visitors is very high, according to Smallwood, who says customers can buy purely online, they can have a conversation with us when buying online, or they can do it all in the showroom/workshop. “It’s a very considered purchase so people tend to want to visit us and because it’s handcrafted here and there is customisation the physical-to-digital journey is different [to other bike brands],” he says, adding that with the advance of AI the value of the physical experience is becoming more important than ever.
Craftspeople at work
By visiting the workshop customers are close up to the craftspeople building the bikes – currently numbering 24 – who have the expertise to cover multiple skills and at the tolerance levels required for premium cycles. Smallwood suggests there is a big difference TIG welding on 1mm plate versus 5mm involving tubular materials and thin walls: “It takes time to learn these processes… and as the bike range has evolved they have needed more skills.”
It certainly has evolved – at a rapid pace. He has leveraged the capabilities of the business to develop and release new products at pace. When you are doing it via Asia then it is much slower. Atop the core heritage base of cycles he has fused contemporary looks and performance.
First out of the blocks was a re-imagining of the existing Prospero range that sits at around the £1,000 level for the base bike. With customisation the average spend notches up to £1,300-1,400. This could include adding a front rack, mudguards, slicker tyres, and a non-standard paintwork along with myriad other options.
This ability to create a personalised product is one of the key advantages of the in-house manufacturing model: “We try to keep off-the-shelf to a minimum. Build-to-order gives the customer the ability to customise from scratch. It’s really hand-built.”
Releasing new ranges
The first new range to be introduced has been the Pathfinders comprising on and off-road versions as well as E-bike models for both these variants. The introduction of electric bikes came in early 2025 and they now represent a growing part of the business. This was followed by the Roadfinder Collection, the off-road/adventure Wildfinder Collection, and the Skyline Collection along with the Pashley Mini Velo range, which are inspired by the cycles in Japan and across Europe that have full-sized frames but with mini wheels that make ideal urban and commuting bikes.
The introduction of these various ranges has been successfully driving growth at the business and pushed the direct-to-consumer sales participation within the UK consumer business to over 80% of the total mix. Prior to the arrival of Smallwood the business side accounted for around 60% of total sales.
He is keen to highlight the importance of this aspect of Pashley that is still selling the same volumes as when he arrived. It includes a variety of corporate customers such as Jaguar Land Rover and various oil refineries along with other industrial operators who require bikes “designed for longevity and that are bomb-proof”. This is certainly needed for the cycles that Pashley supplies to its major business customer – Transport for London – with its so-called ‘Boris’ bikes that now come in the electric format.
Amid the many changes at Pashley, Smallwood says the exercise has not been about preserving the business’s unique place in the market – with its hand-crafted product – in order to create a “warm feeling” for all those involved. Instead, it is about driving the business forward by aligning its world class heritage product with contemporary performance.
