[Chris Harrison]

Afternoon all,
A couple of years ago I was out on my ‘big wheel’ road bike, probably on a triathlon training ride, when this (older) guy came flying past on a interesting looking bike. I caught him up and as we were on quiet country roads we rode side by side for a couple of miles. In that time I was treated to a brief history of the Moulton bicycle and in particular his AM7. Within a couple of weeks an AM7 arrived in a big box at work, eBay is a wonderful thing.
To be honest I found my AM7 quite difficult to ride, the bike was completely standard with narrow drop bars and ‘remote’ gear change, this made changing gear a hazardous task if you were unlucky enough to hit a bump mid process. I suppose modern bikes have made me soft? Anyway I added flat bars and grip shift and the bike is now a joy, even if the gears are too widely space for the typical riding.
However, following an unpleasant ride on my mountain bike along a local canal where the path has worn to reveal a very harsh surface in places, I decide I needed a suspension bike that could handle off road conditions, the AM7 would not be suitable. I started looking at ABPs but in the end opted for a TSR27, for the extra money I hoped to get a better (newer) bike. My TSR is about 3 years old and in what I’d describe as ‘as new’ condition.
So, comparing the two……
It’s probably wrong to even start to compare what are quite different machines. The AM7 is light, responsive and ‘feels’ like a thoroughbred, but the 7 speed drive train lets it down. The TSR is heavy, by comparison, but the drive train is wonderful, if the 3 speed hub continues to perform at the same level I will be more than happy. I find the TSR to be a very, very comfortable bicycle, I suspect I could ride all day, loaded up, and not be hanging by the end of the ride.
Happy riding :o)

[Alexander Johnston]

I find the TSR 27 offers the most comfortable ride of all my Moultons. The rear mech hangs low (about two inches off the ground) so I avoid riding it on very rough surfaces.

[George White]

I only wish that I had known about the TSR27 during my touring days as I just can’t think of anything more suitable for touring/camping….and I say this with experience of a Mercian Vincitori custom-built and numerous other traditional tourers. The combination of low centre of gravity and the dual gear system offering a huge range of gears would have made an ideal tourer.

[Alexander Johnston]

I have a TSR 27 and a TST 30 tour SR.
I love riding both of them. The TSR 30 is slightly lighter, slightly faster, has drop bars and lovely Campag silver bits on it as well as a Swift titanium saddle. It attracts lots of interest and many cyclists I meet think it’s gorgeous.
I agree with them.
The 27 also attracts lots of interest.
The TSR 27 definitely offers the smoother and more direct ride IMO. I think this must be due to the thicker wheels and tyres. I have Marathon Slicks on it (no longer available) which are 35-406 compared with the 28-406 Duranos on the TSR 30.
I find the dual drive gearing excellent although I have heard reports about reliability and difficulty over spares. So far the only issue I’ve had was a broken jockey wheel which was easily replaced.
You never miss a gear, the chain never comes off, you have 27 usable gears and a gear range of about 20 to 108 inches which is optimum IMHO.

[George White]

I can’t say that I’ve heard of reliability issues with the Dual-drive set-up and in fact I’ve only heard of how easy the hub is to service. The gearing set-up I agree is great though and the only criticism I can think of is the added weight at the rear.
I also own a AM Esprit which of course is lighter and with a completely different feel. The contrast between the two models is striking….the smoothness and comforting stability of the TSR27 and the light and agile responsiveness of the Esprit. Being an old codger I’ve had to modify the gears on the Esprit to give me a greater range with the double chain-set. I split the Capreo cassette and added larger sprockets from another cassette in order to give lower gears and now the range suits my aged legs. I’ve now tuned the suspension to my satisfaction as well and with Kojak tyres the bike is running to perfection.

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