Pearson Cycles might be a new brand to you, but it isn’t a new brand in cycling. In fact, Pearson opened its first store back in 1860 and has been recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the worlds oldest cycling business. As well as keeping a couple of shops running, Pearson has a small range of its own-brand bikes.
That range has just been expanded, with the introduction of the All Mod Cons – in Pearson’s words – “a bike designed to be completely versatile“. We like to think that the discerning readers of GritCX already know the drill. It’s on the many reasons we love “gravel” bikes… they do so much more than just gravel. Pearson intends the All Mod Cons to handle many ride disciplines, whether you are riding road, CX, gravel, touring, bike packing or commuting.
Available as a full build only, the triple butted aluminium frame is teamed with an alloy-steered carbon fork. With an eye on keeping the bike as versatile as possible, Pearson has specified a Shimano 105 groupset, with a double compact to give as broad a span of gears as possible – most likely welcomed by those who plan on using the All Mod Cons to do a bit of everything. It uses TRP Spyre cable disc brakes, which while being about as good as cable braking gets in our opinion, still lack a bit of power verses a hydro option.
There’s plenty of clearance for chunky rubber though – it will take up to 700cx46 tyres – or narrower with mudguards of course. There’s full mounting points for said guards and panniers as well. The bike comes specified with Continental 25c tyres as standard though, so you’ll need to swap them out if you are planning on heading off-road straight away.
Pearson has been developing ways of fitting riders to bikes to increase comfort and efficiency for many years. Capitalising on data recorded from its regular “Pearson Precision Bike Fitting” sessions, it has designed a Pearson ‘House’ geometry for this and other models. The aim is to provide maximum efficiency in the riding position whilst retaining comfort, optimising each rider so the fullest potential is realised. This means building bikes around how most riders work best, the right fit for each type of their bike models.
“The bike is designed to allow a more sustainable riding position while still being able to achieve high power output and faster speeds. In line with our in house bike fitting, we optimise the ride by selecting the size parameters of group set and finishing kit to best match rider height at each incremental size of frame”.
With a “hands on” Fitting Service, Pearson Cycles will help the rider build the spec that he or she wants. Drop Pearson Cycles a line and they will be happy to discuss spec options for urban riding, cyclo-cross, and bike packing or riding with your local chain gang.
The All Mod Cons is available now, priced at £1400.
