It is said that one can never have only one Moulton. My first Moulton (a 1964 Deluxe) was my only Moulton for a while, but it soon found itself sharing the bike shed with other Moulton siblings. I now have 2 Mark 3's from the 1970s, of which one is a town bike, and the other is still being restored.
So I really only have one touring and day ride bike, and that is an APB Fx8. And last night, I finally decided that summer had arrived, and it was time to put it into summer mode.
Firstly I removed the rack and mudguards. If it's wet I tend to take my Mk3 which has mudguards, and these SKS mudguards are pretty much shot at this stage, so off they go. The rack is very easy to remove and reinstall, so I'll put it back on next time I need it. In the meantime, I'll leave it off to save some weight.
In winter I use a SON dynohub with a B+M Lumotec front light. This lights up the road superbly and I've been known to go for a joyride through the backroads of north Meath in total darkness. This has been replaced with an Ultegra front hub, with Rigida Xplorer 24 hole rim.
At the back I'm now running a Shimano Capreo 24 hole and another Rigida Xplorer rim. The Capreo is a 9-26 cassette which gives a great range, and a nice top gear, which is important on a small wheel bike.
On my winter wheels, I'm using Schwalbe City Jet tyres (sadly no longer available in 406 size). These are relatively narrow at 32mm, but are good and sturdy, and have protected me from the puncture fairy for quite a while. For the summer, I am using Continental Grand Prix tyres, which are nice and light weight. I'm tempted to try Schwalbe Stelvios on the APB, but the Contis have plenty of miles left in them, and I also have a few spares, that I really should use first.
Of course, it has been raining all day today, but the forecast is good, so hopefully I'll go for a nice 50km ride later this evening or tomorrow morning... tomorrow is a bank holiday here.
