As previously discussed on this site, the life of Dr Alex Moulton will be celebrated at the West Barn in Bradford-on-Avon from April 25th-28th.
While it had been planned to display Dr Moulton's new MDev bicycle at the exhibition, this is no longer the case, as the bicycle is still in the final stages of development.
The new Moulton 60 will be displayed instead.
Photo: John Pierce / PhotoSport International uk usa asia
Last Friday marked the 90th Birthday of one of Britain's most remarkable engineers and although the work of Dr Alex Moulton has been involved for most of those years behind the scenes with suspension in general and cars in particular - most famously on the original and iconic 1959 Mini - it is on bicycles and in cycling that the name of Moulton is most closely associated.
Long before bikes routinely displayed front and rear suspension, Moulton was widely mocked by adherents to the conventional bicycle shape but nonetheless launched his high-pressure-small-wheeled-bikes-with-suspension and proceeded to race them successfully in the early 1960s to prove his point. Time-Trialling legends John Woodburn and David Duffield yes, that David Duffield on the telly won records aplenty on their Moultons to demonstrate that lower rotating mass and smaller aerodynamic profile held benefits for the racing cyclist and some production versions furthermore neatly "demounted" to fit into a Mini boot.
Even in those days the Union Cyclisme International UCI was doing its best to maintain the status quo which put paid to the racing exploits under UCI rules - didn't stop them winning the US coast-to-coast record, though - but by then the bikes were selling in good enough numbers to sell the concept to Raleigh in Nottingham who took over production and immediately cheapened some of the very things that made the design such a success - not least the high-quality, high-pressure tyres which didn't handle half as well when replaced with nasty balloon tyres. In any case, general bike sales in the 70s were in decline and it didn't take long before Raleigh's version of the bike was stopped altogether.
In the early 1980s Dr Moulton reinstated production at his own artisan facility at Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire where he lives and this time concentrating on top-notch quality soon had enthusiasts drooling at his ever-more outrageous cycling sculptures. Buying a Moulton really is now analogous to buying a piece of art and cyclists travel from all over the world to collect their new Moulton bikes. The Japanese have a particular fascination with the exquisite little machined details.
The garden party to mark the 90th birthday was notable for two bicycles. The first - Project Sixty and shown here with Dr Moulton - is a reworking in silver-soldered, Reynolds 953 stainless steel of the original "F" frame from 1962 with added details including tweaked suspension from the latest "Speed" model. Ostensibly, the Project Sixty is a one-off birthday present and no one's confirming it but we can't see why this couldn't be a production bike and if it is, we want the first one.
The other and more mysterious bike is far from production and designated "M Dev90". It has the new-style Moulton space-frame but with its elements made from carbon-fibre rods clamped to a central hub. According to Moulton Developments, "The front suspension system is called the 'slim-line' and is a patented version of Moulton's torsional-shear rubber suspension system. It maintains his long experience in damped anti-dive suspension with rider access for control of suspension movement.
"The particularly radical aspect of the M Dev is that its designer intends for it to be supplied to dealers in kit form - to be assembled by the shop in the customer's presence. M Dev owners will also be able to choose from a range of coloured anodized head and seat tubes. To find out more about what's under that dust sheet try here.
Dr Moulton is looking for a partner to produce the commercialized M Dev90 but presumably based on past experience isn't in a rush to get into bed with the wrong one. But it's fair to say that 50 years down the line from the declining market of the 1960s, there's a very different attitude now to bicycles and where cycling is going not to mention new materials and the kind of things we can successfuly make in the UK.
Many happy returns, Sir.
Alex Moulton is not the only one launching a new Moulton Bicycle today!
From the Moulton Bicycle Company website...
Dr. Alex Moulton was born on April 9th 1920, and, ninety years later, The Moulton Bicycle Company has created a special bicycle to mark the occasion. This bicycle, the first result of 'Project Sixty', was presented by the company to Alex Moulton on his ninetieth birthday, in celebration of his astonishing contribution to the bicycle industry.
This bicycle is an all-stainless steel interpretation of the enduringly popular 'F'-frame design that was pioneered by Alex Moulton in 1962. The bicycle shares some of its features with the latest Moulton Speed, including the use of Reynolds 953 stainless steel and detailed improvements to the legendary Moulton leading link front suspension.
Built by The Moulton Bicycle Company's highly-skilled silver brazers, this is the first 'F'-frame bicycle to be created at the Bradford on Avon factory for over thirty years. It is equipped with a two-speed 'Duomatic' hub gear, original Moulton 17" wheels and a rather special Brooks leather saddle.
After the Saturday morning Bring & Buy sale, during which the club marquee overflowed with both buyers and sellers, Saturday afternoon was spent in typical fashion - sunshine, sitting in the courtyard, listening to Alex Moulton and others talk about the past, present and future of the Moulton bicycle, as well as looking at some superb F-Frames.
Some highlights included:
- an ex Reg Randall racing machine
- a newly built Moulton Mark 4
- Moulton Speedsix
- Moulton Automatic with Duomatic hub.
- Andy Forey's Milliken inspired, fully faired, racing deluxe.
- a Vic Nicholson inspired Mark 3 replica
As usual, some new models were shown
- TSR Tour SR, which is a high spec version of the TSR 30 with Brooks saddle and bar tape
- A high spec TSR 27, with Brooks bar grips, chromed front and rear forks, threaded headset and Nitto stem and flat handlebar.
It was also announced that German publisher Lit Verlag has re-published "The Spaceframe Moultons" by Tony Hadland in hardback, paperback and miniature paperback.
At the Moulton Bicycle Club weekend in Bradford on Avon in September, a newly built Moulton Mark 4 was shown, which is now in the Moulton Museum.
The Mark 4 was an evolution of the Mark 3 which had been produced by Raleigh from 1970 to 1974. The Mark 4 nearly went into production, before Raleigh pulled the plug on the Moulton line altogether.
There were previously only 3 known examples of the Mark 4 in existence, and each has a different spec. This new Mark 4 was built by Arthur Smith, using a frameset found at Bradford on Avon. This new Mark 4 also has a unique spec, but does boast authentic components from the relevant era.
Also featured in the pictures is another of the Mark 4 models in purple.
The Mark 4 was similar to the Mark 3, with additional features such as a stowaway joint for separability, and a swan neck stem.
