Michael Pearsall has been part of the Pashley family for more than a decade. The face of many a Pashley campaign, he’s also the man behind this stunning emerald Roadfinder XE. The perfect opportunity to tell you more about the bike, and the framemaker.
You’ve been part of the Pashley family for 10 years and are passionate about cycling – how did you get into it?
I got into cycling as a teenager when my friends and I, spurred on by a sense of adventure and a desire to get out of the house, would attempt to ride our bikes to far flung towns or up especially steep hills. It also provided an excuse to consume vast quantities of chocolate and fizzy drinks. These adventures became more and more ambitious, eventually involving overnight stops and several short touring trips in the UK. Alongside this, I developed an interest in the Tour de France and the seemingly impossible feats those riders achieved, which in turn culminated in a solo cycling trip around France for two months when I was 17. My knowledge of bikes and cycling slowly grew over the years until it became my main interest, and eventually my job when I joined Pashley.
Cycling provides so much for me: friendship, travel, fitness, competition, entertainment and a huge scope for technical geekery on the bikes themselves.
Which discipline do you prefer and why?
Since 2020, it’s definitely gravel riding for me. I love nothing more than to head out from Stratford on a 5 or 6-hour ride in the Cotswolds with some friends, to rip along some old farm track or bridleway away from the cars and amongst the greenery. Such a simple pleasure, but so rewarding.
Your craftmanship is masterful and you’ve made so many exquisite Pashley frames and bicycles. What would be your favourite Pashley, and why?
A difficult question for sure, we’ve produced a lot of really interesting bikes in recent years, but the one that stands out for me would be the Wildfinder created for Rouleur Live. It was a challenging frame to build with its offset seat tube, mixture of steel and 3D-printed parts and extreme chainstay arrangement. Many hours of tacking, checking, adjusting and checking again. The setup was by far the most time-consuming part of this build - after that the welding goes quite quickly!
When I saw the paint job, suspension fork, monster tyres and overall ‘90s mountain bike style it looked so wacky and unlike any Pashley I’d seen before - I immediately loved it. It also made me hyped about the direction we’re heading as a company and the fact we can combine the classic styling we’re well known for with the bold, new and exciting.
You originally honed your skills in manufacturing before combining them with your passion for cycling at Pashley. Tell us more about your journey in craftsmanship?
I started my career aged 18 with a 4-year apprenticeship in pipe welding. The first year of which was spent in the welding school just practicing solidly every day. It was effective at making me a perfectionist and skilled in my craft. I then spent many years constantly moving around working at places like oil refineries and nuclear power stations, and on pipelines all over the world.
Pashley provided the perfect fit of combining my skills and passion, but it did take time to further hone my skills in building bike frames. There are so many little tricks and nuances. When I first arrived, I hadn’t done a great deal of brazing or silver soldering but luckily my skills transferred well.
An important part of frame building is to consider every aspect of what is going to happen to that frame – will this joint look good when painted? Will the bottom bracket thread easily? And with the recent introduction of new technologies and 3D printed parts, will this technique create the perfect, seamless joint and be structurally superior - all without the customer even knowing?
My philosophy is to simply build every frame as if it were going to be my own.
You designed this stunning Roadfinder XE – please talk us through the inspiration…
The inspiration came from my father. In late 2024 he unfortunately suffered a serious stroke while he was out cycling and spent a week in intensive care and several more months in hospital. I’m pleased to say he made a very good recovery - and he told me that despite this setback he was keen to get out on the bike again! We thought it would be a great idea for me to produce an e-bike to help take the sting out of the many hills that surround his house in rural Worcestershire.
I wanted to use this opportunity to showcase the best of what I, and Pashley, can do, so the Roadfinder XE was the perfect choice. He largely left the specifications and components choices up to me and even asked me to choose the colour and leave it as a surprise for him (no pressure then!).
I made a few customisations to the frame to account for the fact that this would be based around a SRAM Rival AXS groupset with no requirement for mechanical cable routing. I also added a somewhat hidden personal touch that I’ll keep to myself!
Regarding the custom colour – I must have changed my mind about the colour 50 times but eventually landed on a bold, metallic green with a black marble effect combined with black Pashley decals. I wanted something completely unique and bold and I’m absolutely thrilled with how the bike came out. Thankfully my dad loves it too! I know he will enjoy the eye-catching attention of the design, and the chance to chat about it all with friends and the people he meets out on the roads and trails.
And lastly, you were the face of Pashley in numerous campaigns last year, including during ITV’s Tour de France coverage – have you been recognised, and how has life changed?
It’s a lot of fun! It’s also really rewarding to be out on a Pashley that I’ve personally had a hand in, showing it off with some beautiful photography and video to a big audience. The Pashley tie-in with ITV’s TdF coverage last year was the most high profile, and I did get a few surprised messages from my club riders alongside some light-hearted ribbing from my friends! Sadly, that is about the extent of my celebrity...
