Forum | My new Guv’nor has arrived!

However, not as I had hoped.  I came this close || to refusing the package altogether.  The Pashley packaging was woefully inadequate and there was quite a bit of minor damage and loose parts when it arrived.  This is what the box looked like when it arrived:

This photo was taken immediately after cutting open the box.  As you can see one of the pedals had torn free of the packaging and was actually sticking out of the corner of the box.  This is visible in the lower right hand corner of the photo.  Also note that none of the cardboard bracing had stayed in place.  The packaging is a total shame and a disaster.  Notice that the handlebar has also come apart from the foam and zip ties and the metal end is now rubbing against the seat post and the Reynolds label:

Pashley should be ashamed to send such a fine bicycle packaged so horribly.  Even the Guv’nor decals have air bubbles under them prior to clear coating and the serial number decal is affixed at approximately a 10degree angle.  This does not speak well for the British quality that I had expected.  There was no tool kit, tin, or tea in the torn packaging as I had been led to believe.  Miraculously, with the exception of the Renyolds decal, the frame sustained no serious damage.  This is not the way to have your dream bicycle arrive, and I am planning to notify both the USA distributor and Pashley of this atrocity.  I have restored enough show winning antique and vintage cars that i will soon have this Guv’nor in perfect condition, but the initial excitement of getting a perfect hand-made bicycle has been dulled by this experience.   I would not, at this point, recommend anyone in America ordering a Pashley Guv’nor as the packaging is not adequate for the voyage.

That being said, I have spent the entire evening buffing out the scratches, filing down the metal on the severely damaged rims (apparently by the loose pedal), and touching up the paint.  As I said, eventually this bike will be perfect as I am a perfectionist, but it is a disgrace to Pashley that I would have to “restore” a brand new (very expensive) bicycle.  My celebratory “Old Speckled Hen” beer has become a drink of consolation tonight.

John

Dear John,

I am very sad to hear about all this. This, however, confirms that I made the right decision when I decided to buy my Guv’nor from a local supplier directly from the store and not to order it from UK, even though I would have been able to save some 200 euros had I ordered it.

It is very sad that Pashley is cutting costs with overseas deliveries. This bicycle is just as much about luxury and image as it is about riding it and this sort of behaviour really undermines their business. It would be more acceptable if this was a bike people chose on the basis of prize or functionality, but as Guv’nor is, as already said, a luxury item, people expect that the service is in accordance with it.

I also did not receive the tool kit. I spoke to the Finnish importer, who told that he has never even seen such tool kits, and I have no reason not to believe him. The importer is an official one, listed on the Pashley site, so the bicycles come directly from Pashley to him. Therefore I must conclude that Pashley does not indeed supply the deliveries outside UK with the tool kit at all, which is also very disappointing considering what I’ve just said about the Guv’nor being a luxury item.

John, I hope you will still be able to find joy in your new bicycle after the initial disappointment has subseded.

Regards,

Miikka

syksy said:

Dear John,

I am very sad to hear about all this. This, however, confirms that I made the right decision when I decided to buy my Guv’nor from a local supplier directly from the store and not to order it from UK, even though I would have been able to save some 200 euros had I ordered it.

Regards,

Miikka

Miikka,

Thanks for your post.  I agree with you about buying the bike from a local supplier.  I would have done the same simply to support my local bike shops, but unfortunately there were none nearby that sells Pashleys.  In the end, things will work out fine after I get a few hundred miles and smiles under the tires.

Thanks,

John

Good afternoon Gentlemen,

Mr TexasGuv, what an ordeal you have been through, good fellow. I would have felt exactly the same had I received my trusty steed in such inappropriate packaging… the sooner Pashley hear about this, the better. As you quite rightly mentioned, it is not your responsibility to ‘restore’ a brand new bicycle. Shameful. Shameful.

Smashing photographs of the vintage MG along with the Guv, you are quite clearly a chap of impeccable taste. I do hope your initial disappointment has now turned into delight after your first ride out.

Kind regards,

Martin

Tex old chap… fantastic to see the old TC and Guv together, what a fine pair of beautiful machines they are indeed… !!!

… as for Pashley packaging, I’m astounded, I think as a club we should have a “whip~round” and get them some bubble wrap for the frames and rims !… its almost embarrasing 

MGcC

Hi Texas Guv — I am appalled about the state your bicycle arrived in — it is an absolute disgrace!

wertie booster, 

Thanks!  The MG is actually a TC.  19″ knock-off wires and straight axles forever!. 

John