Evans Cycles commission 90th anniversary tourer

You might not realise, but Evans Cycles have been around for absolutely ages. 90 years in fact: it was 1921 when Frederick W. Evans designed his first bicycle. He went on to create a number of innovative frame designs and the brand, and bike chain, has grown from those roots.

And it's those roots that Evans are going back to to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the company. They're releasing a strictly limited edition tourer, hand built in the UK by Pashley Cycles.

"Pashley are one of our favourite cycle brands here at Evans", they told us. "We love their hand-crafted quality and their second-to-none finish. Still painstakingly hand-built by their time-served craftsmen in Stratford-upon-Avon, using traditional lugged and brazed construction methods that F.W. Evans himself would recognise and approve of, the choice seemed a logical one."

The bike is nothing if not traditional, a gate-framed tourer built from lugged Reynolds 531 tubing and finished in a British Racing Green powder coat. The component choices combine a bit of modern functionality with masses of olde-worlde charm. You get a very sensible 52/42/30 Stronglight triple chainset and 11-32T cassette for a wide range of gears, and braking is courtesy of Dia-Compe centre-pull callipers and old-school levers. Add to that a Brooks saddle and bar tape, full mudguards and high-quality touring wheelset and you've got yourself a beautiful and functional machine.

The initial run is limited to 26 bikes, with the maximum number available being 90, natch. They'll be available soon and the asking price is a salty £1,645; you can pretty much guarantee you won't pass anyone else riding one though! Here's the full specs:

Frame: Reynolds 531 with investment-cast cut-away lugs; classic geometry; cast
dropouts with mudguard eyes; bottle cage mounts and pump peg.
Fork: Reynolds taper gauge oval blades; investment-cast crown; classic small radius
bend; cast dropouts with mudguard eyes.
Headset: Tange Levin CrMo (NJS) 1” threaded
Wheels: 36H/36H double wall Rigida sputnik double-walled, double eyeleted, box
section rims, polished aluminium finish; double butted stainless steel spokes; large flange, quick-release alloy hubs (sealed bearings).
Tyres: Panaracer Pasela Tourguard 700x32c.
Crankset: Stronglight impact 52/42/30 Polished silver finish, 170mm crankarms.
Gears: Shimano 5700 105 front & rear derailleur with Sturmey Archer bar-end shifters;
SRAM PG-950 9sp Speed cassette, 11-32 sprockets
Brakes: Dia-Compe DC750 centre-pull calipers; Gran Compe GC202 traditional levers
with gum rubber hoods.
Pedals: VP 337TR sealed bearing, CNC Cr-Mo axle, assembled with toe clips and leather strap.
Saddle: Black Brooks Swift black leather; titanium chassis.
Handlebar: Classic dropped handlebars with Black Brooks leather tape.
Stem: Nitto Technomic Forged alloy quill 1”.
Frame size: 20", 21.5", 23", 24.5" (centre to top); 28.6/28.6/25.4 Down tube/Seat tube/Top tube.
Accessories: Stainless steel mudguards; bottle cages. Limited edition frame number plate (1-90)