Lots more to come, and maybe some text too. Here's a few pics to whet the appetite. Includes the new TSR models, the museum's new MK4, a Vic Nicholson MK3 replica, and an unofficial folding mini...
For more see http://www.flickr.com/photos/moultonbuzz/sets/72157622365180448/
Just spent the evening getting the AM7 ready to travel to Bradford on Avon for the weekend. It's 25 years old this year.
He may not have re-invented the wheel, but Alex Moulton took a lot on when he decided to redesign the bicycle 50 years ago. Like them or loathe them, all the small-wheeled city bikes you see today are a bit of an homage to the original Moulton "F frame" design, though few can be as comfortable as the Moulton, which boasts its own unique suspension system. Dr Moulton's family were "in rubber", you see, and Alex also invented various suspension systems for British cars from the Mini to the Metro.
The Moulton was launched in 1962, and soon became almost as much a symbol of the Sixties as the mini-skirt and The Beatles, though it enjoys less resonance today. Anyway, the small wheels make the machine extremely manoeuvrable in traffic, and the racing version proves you can enjoy quite a turn of speed.
In testament to its enduring appeal, a Moulton bike can still be bought new, but it is priced as what it is - a fine piece of British engineering. Sadly, the ultra-simple and elegant Moulton 50 limited-edition has sold out, but many other exciting variants are just waiting for you to mount them.
via Minor British Institutions: The Moulton bicycle - This Britain, UK - The Independent.
Storms Cause Culvert Collapse (from Wiltshire Times)
BICYLCE manufacturers Alex Moulton Bicycles have been left with a hole the size of a Mini at their site after a culvert burst during Monday's storms.
The incident happened at the company's base in Holt Road, Bradford on Avon, at about 4pm following a spell of torrential rain.An overflow of water caused a drain, which runs underneath the Moulton site and into the river Avon, to burst, causing a wave of sewage and debris to surge towards the firm's offices and workshops.
Shaun Moulton, 40, is general manager of Moulton and the great nephew of Dr Alex Moulton, 88, who formed the company in 1962 and designed the suspension for the Mini car in the 1950s.
He said: "It just all piled out of the hole like a mini-tidal wave. I was in a meeting with our accountant at the time and I tried to shut the doors but the water just came hurtling through and straight into the office. It was about four inches deep at one stage.
"It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't sewage but I've been told that the pumping station hasn't got a filter system. The town is built on a drainage system that is so old it cannot cope."
Mr Moulton said even his great uncle helped to mop out the flood, which also affected their home.
He added: "Wessex Water came down and they basically stood around the hole and said it wasn't their responsibility, but West Wiltshire District Council said they were going to investigate the situation."
Ian Drury, a spokesman for Wessex Water, said: "When there is extreme rainfall Wessex Water is able to discharge wastewater into the water course, a process which is strictly monitored by the Environment Agency.
"However, following the intense rainfall on Monday the underground watercourse, which carries surface water and highway drainage for a large area of Bradford on Avon, struggled to cope with the flow and became defective. This resulted in some flooding around a property.
"Work will need to take place to identify who is responsible for the water course to ensure it is maintained and repaired to prevent future flooding.
The Open Bike Computer, or OBiCo is a fascinating new bike computer project.
It can be used as a normal bike computer, of course. But it can also be used as a heart rate monitor (taking input from Polar and Sigma brand chest straps), a music player (it plays OGG as well as MP3) and a GPS receiver. It takes an external memory card (the widely available micro-SD card), has a high quality TFT screen and a USB interface for connection to a PC.
The USB connection can be used to charge the internal lithium ion battery. Alternatively (and this deserves a drum roll) a hub dynamo, such as the Schmidt Original Nabendynamo (SON) can be used to charge as you ride.
You may at this point have noticed that it's very unlike a typical commercial bike computer, lacking proprietary accessories and software... well it gets better, much better.
The Obico will come with a custom API for software development. So if you're not happy with the software that comes with the device, you can write your own.
It will also feature the Embedded Linux operating system to the Obico could be used just like a regular computer, in so far as any Linux computer is regular!
The main features of the Obico are:
- No batteries required! A hub dynamo will be used to charge a li-ion cell.
- Easy to use.
- Audio interface, so you can listen to your favorite music while cycling.
- High quality color tft-display, that adapts automatically to the lighting conditions.
- Visualization of:
- speed
- heart frequency
- odometer
- audio data
- Logging your tour data like GPS coordinates, heart frequency, speed and other parameters to a MicroSD-Card.You can synchronize these data with your PC lateron. The amount of logged data depends on the size of your SD-Card.
- GPS support is planned as an option. Location plans are scheduled.
- New program features for this computer are for free and can be downloaded from this webpage.
The main processor is an ARM9 derivative. It is supported by a second processor, which controls the peripherals and assumes the tasks of the power management. The obico board has the following features:
- 32 / 64 / 128MB Mobile SDRAM
- Micro-SD Interface
- AC97 Audio Interface to play MP3, OGG, ...
- high quality, background lightened TFT-color display
- HRM - Receiver (Pulse band receiver)
- GPS - Receiver (optional)
- 3 axis gravitation sensor
- ambient light sensor
- Lithium Polymerakku, that is loaded per USB or dynamo
It's still at the prototype stage, but if this project were based on genuinely open standards and free software, and received good development community support, this has the potential to be truly groundbreaking and revolutionary.
