Introducing the new Pearson 1860 Urban Range

Pearson has always prided itself on being adaptable. That’s why the new Pearson 1860 range reflects the changes we’ve seen over time to various boundaries. As the world’s oldest cycling company, we’ve witnessed Sutton, home to our original store when it opened in 1860, slowly change from a country village to a small town; it was finally absorbed by the growing metropolis of London to become an outlying suburb of the city.

We’ve seen our customers change, too. The carriage drivers, who once plied their trade between London and England’s south coast, utilising Tom Pearson’s blacksmith skills on the way, eventually gave way to cyclists. As far back as the 1890s, weekend warriors were riding out to escape the confines of the ever-creeping city.

Today, you might be forgiven for thinking things are going in the opposite direction. Consider our current venue in Sheen, London and the nearby cycling mecca of Richmond Park. At 2,360 acres, it may be only Europe’s eighth-largest city park but it’s one of the few home to rutting stags and abundant wildlife. And which seems to bring the sights and sounds of the country to the heart of the city.

Perhaps, then, it’s not so much that boundaries are changing, just that they’re less relevant. Pearson 1860 is our exciting new direction that extends Pearson’s reputation for bike-building into dedicated collections of clothing, accessories and bikes. It’s certainly true that each collection is designed for a different kind of riding; a Road collection for training and sportives; Adventure products for gravel grinding and bike-packing; and our Urban collection, for city riding. But in our (long) experience, riders are rarely one thing or another. So, while each collection will perform superbly in the environment for which it's intended, our products are versatile enough to cope with a range of conditions.

The Urban collection is a case in point. Over the coming seasons, we’re creating clothing for those who want to ride around town without carrying a separate wardrobe. Designed for the daily commute, the ride to the pub (or park), but also for life when you get there. Allow the Merino Zip Top, the first piece in the Urban collection, to demonstrate. Made from an ethically sourced merino fabric, the top is highly breathable, to regulate body temperature, and also provides excellent moisture transfer. And the smart, tailored fit ensures nobody will think you’ve forgotten your shirt and tie; to paraphrase Henry James, that great champion of London life, this is a piece designed for ‘most possible forms of livin'. And because Pearson is committed to responsible manufacturing, we’ve added elbow pads for durability, to ensure the top goes on living as long as possible.

Practical style also underpins the bikes in our Urban collection, a brigade of classic machines perfect for negotiating the Big Smoke. The emphasis is on simplicity, from steel frames that effortlessly soak up city potholes, to the agile, lightweight speed provided by aluminium and carbon fabrications. We haven’t forgotten you single-speeders either, and flip-flop hubs allow easy conversion of single-speeds to fixed rigs. And while these machines are definitely urban operators, they also provide superb performance on weekend training rides. Work or home, town or country, park or pub.

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