Tag: boa

Moulton spotted at a fashion show

I'm no fan of fashion shows but Velorution, the trendy London bike shop and Moulton dealer, recently hosted a cycling fashion show called Pret à Rouler.

In the video of the event, shown below, there are several clips of a Pashley Moulton TSR 9. It's nice to the Moulton featured in such a stylish way.

If the show highlights anything, it's how there's hitherto been a serious lack of variety when it comes to cycle clothing, especially for those of us who are not pretending to be racers. Partly inspired by the Grant Petersen interview, I'm beginning to see what a silly practice the wearing of racing clothing is.When a motorist (boy racer for example) puts a spoiler or a body kit on his car, or installs bucket seats, most normal people think he's a twat, and rightly so! Imagine how they'd be viewed if the boy racers started wearing fireproof jump suits and helmets!But we cyclists are expected to wear clothing designed for top class professional cyclists... men who weigh 60kgs, with 5% body fat. Let's face it... lycra does nothing for 95% of cyclists... and it does nothing to encourage non-cyclists onto two wheels.

Part of me thinks that the proposed ban on lycra cycling shorts in Salt Lake City, Utah is not such a bad idea!

I welcome this new focus by clothing designers on cycle clothing. Needless to say, Pret a Rouler was a fashion show, and one rarely sees practical items of clothing at a fashion show of any description. I'm not sure I could ever turn up at work or even at BoA wearing a Dashing Tweeds outfit, however ingenious the weaving of reflective material into the tweed might be.

Cycling Suit by Dashing Tweeds

So let's hope that Pret a Rouler marks the start of a new generation in cycle clothing. Where one does not have to dress up to go for a ride. Where we cyclists can dismount and immediately look like normal people.

While we're waiting for the revolution, the internet must suffice.

For functional cycle clothing that would almost pass for normal clothing, try Swrve, Chrome, Rivendell, Bicycle Fixation or Portland.

Bicycle Fixation Knickers

Or even try the local charity shop, and get stuff altered to suit.

And if you must wear race style clothing, and to be honest it's difficult to avoid it for rides of 50km or over, try it in natural fabrics from the likes of Rapha, Woolistic or Ibex.

Rapha Fixed Shorts

GPS and Mapping

I’ve recently been playing with GPS and mapping with a view to using it on my bikes.

I really like Google Maps, especially since the level of detail for my home and surrounding areas has improved recently. The satellite imagery is impressive where it is available in high resolution, but unfortunately, this doesn’t include my home and main cycling routes. They’ve also got versions for mobile devices, as described below.

What’s really impressive, though, is the proliferation of enhanced 3rd party applications built upon Google Maps.

One of my favourites is http://www.marengo-ltd.com/map/development.html. This allows you to create a route using Google Maps and then export it to GPX format for use on your GPS device. So you can plan your routes in advance, download to your GPS and follow the route. Alternatively, if you upload a track from a GPX device, you can view it on the map.

A really impressive application is HeyWhatsThat. This merges the map data with elevation data, so you can view basic contour lines overlayed on the Google Maps. You can also view a profile for a route, so you can see where the big hills are, and plan your bike rides to hit them (or miss them, if your into that sort of thing). It would be the perfect application if it featured the ability to upload and download routes.

Bikely is a route sharing site. You can search for routes in your area, and download the GPX file for use on your GPS. It has a route profile feature, which I really like. You can of course share your own routes, by uploading a GPX or you can draw it manually. If your route does not contain elevation data, Bikely will automatically populate it from the USGS GISDATA servers, but it can take 24 hours to happen.

GPSBabel is useful for converting between file formats.

Mobile Applications

When you’re out on the road, there are a few applications for mobile devices.

Google have a mobile version of Google Maps which works quite well. It requires a data connection which is fine for urban cycling, but there are lots of places that I ride where there is little or no mobile coverage. And unless you’re on an unlimited / un-metered data plan, it can get expensive if used heavily. A caching feature or an offline mode would be really useful. There’s also no way to get it to talk to your GPS device.

MGMaps is a free 3rd party mobile application which uses Google Maps, as well as some other mapping providers, like Yahoo! and Ask.com. You can define the size of the cache, making you less reliant on the mobile data network. However, I haven’t been able to get it to use my 2 Gb data card as a cache.

AFTrack is quite a nice mobile application for Symbian OS / S60 (Nokia Smartphone among others). You have to pay for it after the free trial (it's about €30 as far as I can remember). It has lots of very useful GPS features like routing and tracking, and you can overlay your own maps.

Maps can be calibrated in the application or can use an external calibration file, and the application can be configured to automatically load the appropriate map for your location. It has a few quirks, and there’s no way to download maps if you’re in a new area, but it really is a superb application, and in my view it’s a keeper.

The Low Down

I’m using a Nokia E61 and a GlobalSat BT338 Bluetooth GPS receiver. I chose the E61 for work reasons (Blackberry email, QWERTY keyboard, etc), so it’s perhaps not the most appropriate choice for leisure activities, especially as it lacks a camera, but it has a nice large screen, and features wifi.

My most used application is AFTrack, and I have created maps for an approx 80 mile radius around my house. So it covers everywhere I’m likely to ride on a regular basis.

As a backup, for example if I find my self in the city, I use MGMaps as it can download maps for areas I don’t have already, or at a new detail level.

But to be honest, I find that using GPS on the road takes from the experience of cycling. It’s a bit too clinical. Most days I leave the GPS receiver at home and just ride where my mood takes me. This can yield some surprising results. One early morning recently, I took a series of random turns, just to see where it took me. I happened to find a really nice deserted road, some of it with grass growing on the centre of the road so it was really a 2 foot wide paved track. After a mile or two the gradient reached 10% (as I verified later by drawing part of the route on http://www.heywhatsthat.com/profiler.html). Soon afterwards the climb eased and the road turned into an exhilarating 60kph descent. When I arrived home I still had a huge grin on my face.

For touring, I think my solution would be the E61, BT338 with AFTrack, backed up by MGMaps for extra downloads. The BT338 can be charged by a Nokia Charger, and has decent battery life, meaning one less item to carry.

New Alex Moulton bicycle from BOA??

Rumours have begun circulating that a new model in the Moulton range is due to be announced.

Details are very sketchy at this point, but it seems that this new bicycle will be of spaceframe construction and with ETRTRO 369 /
17 inch wheels. It is to be built at the Moulton factory in Bradford on Avon.

All the signs are that this new model is designed to replace the AM. The AM is the classic spaceframe Moulton. In continuous production since 1982, the AM is a high-end high-performance bicycle and over the years it has benefited from technology trickle down from the New Series. For example, the flexitor in the rear pivot, the hydrolastic, and the adjustable wishbone stem are features that first appeared in the New Series, but were later introduced to the AM.

However, since the introduction of the TSR, many have questioned the AM's right to exist. The buyer with lots of money can spend a little more and get a New Series, or spend a little less and get a similar specification and weight with the TSR. Plus the AM hasn't really been pushed (at least outside of Japan) in recent years. The framesets have been available to dealers for custom building.

Furthermore, the geometry of the AM is a little outdated. It is the only spaceframe moulton in production without a unified rear triangle. It is also the only Moulton in production with the old style "knuckle shaped" bottom tube, which looked naff on the (separable) APBs and separable New Series', but look rather charming on the AM.

I would be very sorry to see the AM go out of production, especially before I can afford to purchase one! However, I can see the wisdom in updating and evolving the AM concept. I would welcome a straight bottom tube and unified rear triangle at a more affordable price.

Finally, it has been suggested that this new model will be priced below the TSR range. Now this is intriguing, especially as the new bicycle is to be produced at BOA. One has always paid a premium for a Bradford built bicycle. One wonders if they can produce a high quality bicycle in low numbers at a mass production price, but in low quantity. Seems unlikely!

As with many previous models, the new model may be unveiled at the annual Moulton Bicycle Club event at The Hall in Bradford on Avon in September.