[CR] "Original" Pedersen bicycles.

(Example: Events:Cirque du Cyclisme)

From: "Bob Hanson" <theonetrueBob@webtv.net>
Date: Fri, 27 Oct 2006 00:36:42 -0600
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR] "Original" Pedersen bicycles.


Actually, to claim that the fine Danish current production bikes are more original than the British bikes of a couple decades ago would not be quite right.

The truly "original" bikes dated from around 1897 and several thousand had been produced in Dursley, Gloucestershire, England, until production ceased in 1914. This was after inventor Mikael Pedersen could not get backing in his native Denmark and had emigrated to the UK where he set up his first cycle factory. He remained in England until around 1920 and died in 1929.

For a while during the mid-1980s a British company named Individual Bicycles had marketed the Cheltenham Pedersen bicycles - which they called simply "The Pedersen." This modern factory was located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, only 30 miles from the site of the original Dursley-Pedersen works. Those were very nice bikes and I would think not inferior to the Danish models. I believe they ceased production after only a few years. These bikes were distributed by an agent in Venice, CA, USA. I have a small brochure which shows January 1986 prices listed as... Suggested Retail: $1,175 and Wholesale: $870. These prices were for essentially complete bicycles made with specially produced Reynolds 531 tubing and equipped with modern 5 or 10 speed components from Europe and Japan (specifics undisclosed).

It was also during the 1980s that Jesper Solling of Denmark had independently "re-discovered" the bikes and began production of his particular version which remains the most successful of the modern hand crafted bikes inspired by the first ones built over 100 years ago.

There may in fact be other versions currently available as well. I've heard of one company in Germany and another in Holland, but these may simply be distributors for the successful and now greatly expanded Danish made bikes.

Bob Hanson, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA