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Pedersen
“Perhaps the most remarkable design of machine in the long history of the bicycle.” That’s how Alex Moulton described the original Pedersen bicycle. Its unique feature is the use of small diameter thin-walled tubes in a lightweight triangulated structure to support the comfortable hammock saddle. Mikael Pedersen was a Danish engineer who came to England and spent much of his working life at Dursley, Gloucestershire. He filed the first British patent for his improved bicycle in 1893 and went on to make thousands of beautifully finished Dursley Pedersens. The London to Brighton and back unpaced record was broken on a Pedersen, showing that this smooth-riding bike was no slouch. Production ceased in 1917 but in recent years discerning cyclists have again come to appreciate the special merits of the Pedersen - comfort, lightness and elegance. Enter Copenhagen blacksmith Jesper Sølling. Jesper discovered the Pedersen in the late 1970s and is now the world’s largest manufacturer of these fine machines, having supplied more than 6,000 to 25 different countries. You can buy a solo, tandem or even a triplet. Solos are available in five standard frame sizes and every CrMo tubed frame has more than 50 brazed joints. As Jesper puts it, “There is a full day’s work of my hands in one frame.” The tubes are CrMo by Potte & Pothoff and are paired throughout. This improves the lateral stability of the machine and helps stop the frame flexing under pedal pressure. The hammock saddle is extremely durable and has a very different feel from a conventional seat. Used with the upright Royal handlebars, it offers a particularly comfortable and anatomically beneficial posture for many riders with back problems. But don’t forget that the Pedersen is also a performance machine, as the early record-breakers proved. A century on, and fitted with the latest in triple chainsets and V-brakes, the Pedersen makes a superb tourer.

Sidebar
In Germany, Pedersens of Denmark cost from DM3500, and prices will vary worldwide.


Manufacturer
Jesper's agent for Germany, Switzerland and Austria, Kalle Kalkhoff, and his wife Gaby, have toured extensively on their Pedersen tandem. Kalle's company, KGB, also markets Woodguards, a range of cycle components, hand-crafted from timber by Johannes Resseguier of Bremen. These include mudguards, rims, carrier racks, chainguards, grips and even lights. Wood is a fine material for mudguards: strong, light, and with a timeless elegance. Johannes carefully laminates his from nine layers of Swedish birch. He even makes a double-curved version that follows both the tyre profile and the wheel - no easy matter in wood. Woodguards components are most often seen on Pedersens, but bestow a functional distinction on almost any quality bicycle.

Pedersen of Denmark
c/oKalkhoff, Sølling und Pedersen, Donnerschweerstr.45
Oldenburg
26123
Germany

phone: +49 441 885 0389
fax: +49 441 885 0388
email: kalle@pedersen.info
web: www.pedersen.info


Author
The Editors
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