It is a lighter but still strong and agile bike for active people who value flexibility and speed over strength and stability. It is timeless, pure and classical in design and suitable for both weekend and workdays.
Pilen Sport is inspired by the indestructible and hearty sport bikes from the Swedish 70s that many remember with delight and not so few have left in the garage. It is a sporty classic bike – no extreme stripped down racing bike.
Classic bicycle with spirit and personality
If Pilen Lyx is the strong, resilient and reliable classic bike then Pilen Sport is the playful, agile and fast classic bike from the Pilen factory. And a Pilen is always a Pilen. You'll recognize the feeling of quality when you take it for a spin. With an Pilen Sport, commuting to work gets a pleasure and you arrive dry and clean even if you should be surprised by a rain shower. The bike has a stylish slim carrier and narrow mudguards – both of course in stainless steel.
Pilen's famous quality and longevity
Pilen Sport, like its sister model, has a frame and fork welded from chromium-molybdenum steel but with thinner tubes and sleeker lines compared to the Lyx. Seatpost, stem and handlebars are aluminium to reduce weight. The carrier is a thread model and designed by Mr Pilen: Martin Avander. It is delightful in its simplicity and its classic lines. The fork deserves some extra attention. It is not a "unihead crown" that you find on simple cycles. Pilen Sport got a fork with cast fork crown brazed fork legs and a feeling that only this type of fork offers. Can you feel the difference riding the bike? Yes you can. Take the Sport for spin, get up to speed and make some turns. It is precise and responsive, and feels both smooth and safe. The fork is really too exclusive for a bike like the Pilen. But we could not resist. It is so darned beautiful.
Stainless steel mudguard and carrier
The tyres are Schwalbe Marathon Racer – low rolling resistance and puncture resistant tyres that can handle high pressure and is also suitable for the larger rider. The rims are anodized double-bottomed aluminium wheels with silver finish or matte black.
Those who are sporty-minded will find that Pilen Sport is more suitable than a Pilen Lyx. You or your bicycle dealer can remove parts if you feel like traveling extra-light or want to use your Sport for fitness or touring. Rack, mudguards and locks are easy to remove, high quality and well worth saving. You decide how sporty your Pilen Sport should be.
Do you want disc brakes you should take a look at Pilen Supersport. It's basically the same outstanding frame as Pilen Sport, but the frame has vertical dropouts (brackets for the wheels) which is a requirement when brake pads what are attached to the frame and fork.
Pilen Sport comes in two varieties: 1. With hub dynamo in the front hub and strong LED bulb and 2. Without hub dynamo and a small flexible battery head light.
This hub dynamo variant is the brightest solution and is suitable for bike commuters and urban cyclists who travel much in the evening and really want a light beam that illuminates the road. Hub dynamos obviously rolls slightly worse (a few percent) than a front hub without built-in generator.
1. Pilen Sport with hub dynamo
Pilen Sport with hub dynamo comes with a hub Shimano DH-2R35-E h a sharp bright LED front light of model Busch & Müller Lymotec Lyt with integrated reflector and 25 lux brightness. The lamp lights when you stop in traffic and automatically detects when it gets dark. It illuminates the absolute best and suitable for bike commuter and urban rider who travels a lot in the evening and really want a beam of light that illuminates the path. Hub Dynamo obviously rolls a tad worse (a few percent) than a front hub without built-in generator. But it may be worthwhile if you always want to be sure to have legal and safe lighting without have to worry about batteries.
2. Pilen Sport without hub dynamo
Pilen Sport without hub dynamo has a Shimano Nexus HB-IM40 hub and roller brake BR-IM45. This is quality components from Shimano sporting low friction and very reliable. The lamp is Axa Basta Microscope with built-in reflectors and LED lamp with an estimated life span of 100,000 hours.
Pilen Sport with roller brake hub for is for you who rarely go riding in the dark, or do not care about having to change batteries in the lights occasionally. It's is bit faster bike than the Sport with hub dynamo.
Handlebars: Sport or Roadster
The Sport handlebar is shaped like the new moon. It is slighly wider (605 mm) than the Sportster and is exactly horizontal (0 mm) in relation to the stem attachment point. With a Sport handlebar you ride more leaning forward as the handlebar sweeps back only 23°, and you have your knuckles more in the direction of travel. The Sport handlebar feels sporty and modern and reduces wind resistance. The Roadster handlebar is slightly narrower (595 mm) than Sport handlebar and the grips is 35 mm above the stem attachment point. You get a more upright riding position as the handlebar sweeps back 47° and the body weighs less on your arms and hands. The Roadster handlebar feels more relaxed and have a more classic look.
Butted frame tubes in chrome molybdenum steel
Pilen Supersport and Sport has a frame with butted tubes of chrome molybdenum steel in the top pipe and down tube – thicker materials (1.2 mm) near the frame angles and welds and thinner materials (0.9 mm) in the middle of the tubes. It provides an improved relationship between weight and performance. Butted steel tubes was used in the classic racing bicycles era when the steel frames were dominant. No other manufacturer of classic utility and sport bikes in Sweden, Scandinavia or Europe uses butted frame tubes in chrome molybdenum steel.
Worth noticing about Pilen sport
- Sports frame in chromium-molybdenum steel with TIG-welded joints and brazed details. Expensive, strong and very resilient.
- Sleek and strong sports fork in chromium-molybdenum steel with cast crown and brazed legs. Direction stable, responsive and wonderfully comfortable on the road.