Pashley-Morgan Bicycle

Creating an experience away from the everyday is why exotic cars exist.  There are, of course, better, more utilitarian ways of getting from point A to point B, but in a world chock full of the mundane, if you have the ability to choose between humdrum and oh-my-God, your choice is obvious.

The same is now true for the most personal of transportation, the bicycle.  Once humble, the  bicycle has become anything but in the last decade or so, with the coronavirus  wrestling bikes out of the hands of serious cyclists and thrusting it firmly between the legs of those long unfamiliar with the wind-in-your- hair pedaling of youth.  The designer bicycle has become both an upscale status symbol and a genuine means of commuting.

Pashley-Morgan Bicycle

Automobile manufacturers have long been co-branding their cars with bicycles, and now the venerated firm of Morgan has done the same.

I came across this Morgan bicycle in the window of Mad Dogs & Englishmen, a wonderful bike shop in Carmel, CA.  Shopping for an e-bike, though this one isn’t, the Pashley-Morgan Bicycle caught my eye as something special. Like the cars they produce, some bicycles are ultra-modern, while others, like the Morgan by Pashley just seem timeless.

Like buying an exotic car, ultra-high end bikes cost so much because of the time and materials that go into making them.  And unlike a typical car who’s parts are relatively the same for a number of years, high-end bikes are rapidly evolving in both design and composition.  Think Formula One.

Pashley-Morgan Bicycle

Spending somewhere between $3,000 to $10,000 or more on a bicycle may seem financially less than prudent, but the same could be said of purchasing an exotic car.  Exclusivity, craftsmanship, and the knowledge that many hours of made-by-hand labor went into the bicycle like this more than justify the price, and make ownership a very special experience.  

The Pashley-Morgan 8 features an 8 speed Shimano Nexus internal geared hub and a Shimano Nexus dynamo front hub paired to a classic domed style headlamp, as well as a Brooks Black Cambium C15 vulcanised rubber saddle with organic cotton surface. It will retail in the US for around $2,200.