Category: Moulton in the Media

Brit Brands Commit to Domestic Manufacturing

via Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.

One difficulty in handbuilding bikes domestically is finding highly skilled craftsmen to delicately braze frames. What was once a common skill in the 1970s and ’80s is now rare, said Shaun Moulton, who runs his uncle Dr. Alex Moulton’s revered folding bike brand.

“We don’t make things in this country anymore. We don’t have those skills anymore; we don’t teach those skills,” Moulton said. Pashley builds Moulton’s entry-level TSR range, but the high-end frames are made at Moulton’s headquarters at an old English manor in the quaint village of Bradford-on-Avon. There, brazers spend 70 hours on one frame, sometimes working with tubes as thin as a half-millimeter in diameter.

 

Meet the manufacturer: Shaun Moulton of Moulton Bicycles | BIKEMINDED

The Moulton is engineered to give the most comfortable and efficient ride, but structurally we like to think that it is a work of art which can be used for super-long distance we have completed Race Across America, speed events the bicycle holds a world speed record and commuting will soak up pot-holes due to its suspension, whilst being able to out-sprint many large-wheeled alternatives and it separates into two halves in less than a minute to go in the boot of a car or take on a train or plane.

 

 

via BIKEMINDED | Meet the manufacturer: Shaun Moulton of Moulton Bicycles | BIKEMINDED.

Embacher Collection – MOULTON Speed Six

I just received my copy of the Michael Embacher book Cyclepedia: A Tour of Iconic Bicycle Designs. As well as the ONE OFF Titanium Moulton Special, the book also features a lovely Moulton Speedsix.


At the end of the 1960s the 6-speed gear system was an unusual phenomenon, making the Moulton Speedsix twice as exotic. It was ahead of its time in its gear-shift technology, although in its design it was very contemporary. The Moultons from the first years of production were rather unexciting mass-market goods, but with the leap to high-end, small series production in the 1980s their street credentials went up.

The bicycle featured here is one of only 600 or so produced, and is number K65310046.

1965, GBR
Frame: Steel varnished
Bicycle gearing:
Brakes: Rim Side Pull / Rim Side Pull
Tyres: 17“ Wired Tyre / 17“ Wired Tyre
Weight: 29,32 lbs

Also in the collection, but not included in the book are a Mark 3, an AM-16, a New Series.

The book is published by Thames & Hudson and the ISBNs are 0500515581, 9780500515587.

The official launch of Cyclepedia: A Tour of Iconic Bicycle Designs is in London on Wednesday March 16th 2011 AT 18:30 at Look Mum No Hands! 49 Old Street, London ED1V9HX.

Jack Thurston, presenter of The Bike Show will be in conversation with Michael Embacher, looking and talking through their favourite bicycles in the collection. Given that Jack is a Moultoneer himself, you can expect the conversation will cover at least one of the Moultons.

From EMBACHER/COLLECTION - ALEX MOULTON Speed Six.

Sturmey Archer S2C Review

The Sturmey Archer 2 speed, coaster brake hub, as fitted to the Moulton TSR 2, is reviewed in the current issue of Velovision (Issue 40).

The reviewer tested the old F&S Duomatic hub alongside the new Sturmey S2C for a better comparison between the two hubs. Some of the main findings were:

  • The S2C is about 50% heavier than the Duomatic
  • gear ratios are identical
  • the S2C requires less of a back-pedaling action in order to change gears
  • the brake on the S2C is much stronger

The review is very positive, and the main benefits cited are that you get the simplicity of a fixed gear with a "bailout" gear for hills and headwinds, as well as the lack of cables going to the rear, which is particularly useful for separable Moultons.

Issue 40 also includes an article by Moultoneers Keith Hales, where he describes life with a Double Pylon, and includes his visit to the 2009 Moulton Summit in Japan.