Tag: racing

Vic (on a Moulton) knocks 18 min. off

2007 is a year for anniversaries. The Y-frame, Tom Simpson's death and the Raleigh takeover of Moulton have been covered here previously.

In September 1967, Vic Nicholson broke the Cardiff-London record on a Moulton.

In 1962, John Woodburn had broken the record on a specially built Moulton Speed. After the opening of the Severn Bridge, Brian Catt took the record over the new shorter route.

However, Moulton would soon retake the record.

This post on the Phil Bikes blog contains a copy of the report in the September 1967 edition of Cycling.

Making good use of Sunday's strong wind Vic Nicholson regained for Moulton Bicycles the London to Cardiff record.

His time for the 151 miles was 6-14-54 seconds, beating Brian Catt's three-months-old record by nearly 18 minutes.

Both Nicholson and Catt used the newly-opened Severn Bridge which chopped 10 miles off the route used by previous record breakers including John Woodburn's December 1962 epic on a Moulton.

...

With 20 miles to go timekeeper Eric Wilkinson drove past Vic for the finish and traffic congestion was such that he got to Marble Arch with only two minutes to spare before Vic Nicholson weaved his way through to finish there.

Not so fortunate was organizer David Duffield, who lost sight of his man in a traffic-jam with one mile to go.

Visit the original post to read a full size scan of the report in Cycling, September 1967.

Aerodynamic research using the Moulton small-wheeled bicycle

The IMechE Journal of Energy and Power, Volume 20 No 3, 2006 featured an article on Aerodynamic research using the Moulton small-wheeled bicycle.

The abstract reads as follows: "This short article describes aerodynamic research carried out using the Moulton small-wheeled bicycle. Alex Moulton's initial research, applying streamlined cowlings to his early small-wheeled bicycles, is briefly described. His later collaboration with Douglas Milliken is covered in greater detail. Milliken's many experiments with fairings included wind tunnel tests in crosswinds, an aspect of bicycle science rarely investigated hitherto. An important finding was the ability for a streamlined bicycle under certain conditions to sail. The Moulton–Milliken collaboration led to the development of fully streamlined bicycles, using the conventional riding position, which twice broke a speed record."

The record mentioned is of course the world unpaced cycling record over 200m (conventional riding position) in 1985. The speed attained was 50.21mph (80.79kph), the bicycle was an Alex Moulton AM.

Jim Glover, broke the record again in 1986, on a new improved Moulton Liner. The new record, 51.29mph (82.53kph), still stands.

Moulton record breaking Liner

More details on the bike and the record can be found on Doug Millken's site, and pictures can be seen in Tony Hadland's pictures from the Moulton Museum.

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

Anniversary of Tom Simpson's death

Forty years ago today Tom Simpson died on Mont Ventoux, while competing in the Tour De France. Aged 29, he had been an Olympic silver medalist, World Champion, and the first British rider to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour De France.

On the cover of Tony Hadland's excellent book The Moulton Bicycle, Simpson is photographed test riding a Moulton Speed at Herne Hill.

On an external wall of the Hall, Alex Moulton's home in Bradford on Avon, there is a memorial plaque depicting the same scene.

Today, the spot where Mr Tom died on Mont Ventoux is marked by a memorial, where cyclists still leave water bottles, hats, inner tubes or whatever they have spare, as a mark of respect to the legend. The British cyclist David Millar threw his hat to the monument while competing in the Tour a few years back, showing whose wheels he was following.

Does anyone have any further details on Simpson's Moulton connections? If so I'd love to hear them.

The original Moulton Bicycle

Twenty years before the first spaceframe Moulton bicycle, the original F-frame Moulton bicycle was launched. Alex Moulton, an engineer with experience in the automotive industry, and a recreational cyclist, decided to go back to first principles and question every aspect of the design of bicycles.

Questions such as :
Why had the design of the bicycle not changed in any fundamental sense since the "safety bicycle" was developed, replacing the Penny Farthing in the 1880s.
Why, when the wheel sizes of most road going vehicles had reduced with the improvement in road surfaces, had the bicycle wheel remained so large?

After 5 years of development, the original Moulton Bicycle was launched and it was a revolutionary design. The concept consisted of a number of key principles :

  • Small wheels were found to be stronger and lighter than large wheels. They produced less wind resistance, could be more easily accelarated.
  • Small wheels provided no more rolling resistance than large wheels, provided that high pressure tyres (which in 1962 meant 60 psi) were used. The optimum wheel size was found to be 16-17 inches.
  • Small wheels provided a more bumpy ride on paved roads, so the use of suspension was essential.

Additionally, the following features are common to the Moulton bicycle range:

  • The low stepover height compared to the standard bicycle was safer for men, and more convenient for women. It was also safer in the event of a crash insofar as the rider was not "trapped" with one leg either side of the top tube.
  • The ability to carry luggage low down on the centre line of the bicycle, providing more stability.
  • The separable frame, which does not compromise stiffness or stability compared with the non-separable frame, and featured in the f-frame Stowaway model (and in most of the spaceframe models) allows for easy transportation and storage.

    The new bicycle was a revolutionary design, and for a while Moulton was the largest bicycle manufacturer in Britain. The following video dates from the time of the launch of the Moulton bicycle.

    These principles are the core of the Moulton concept, and have remained so through to the very latest spaceframe models.

    The Moulton Range

    The Basic Range

    Continental – the cheapest Moulton with a single speed hub and back pedal brake.
    Automatic – replaced the Continental, had a two speed hub and back pedal brake.
    Standard – the basic model, 4 speed hub.


    Deluxe – a higher spec model, 4 speed hub
    Speed – similar to a standard but with a sportier riding position, 4 speed hub
    Stowaway – the first separable moulton, 2 speed hub with back pedal brake.
    Safari – a fully equipped model for touring. 4 speed hub with optional 2 speed derailleur.
    Speedsix – a racing model with 6 speed derailleur gears.

    The Standard and Deluxe are the most common models by far, and are quite inexpensive to buy. The other models vary in terms of rarity, desirability, and price.

    The S Range

    The S range is very rare, and very collectable. Each model is a higher spec version of the original Deluxe, Safari and Stowaway with slightly larger 17inch wheels, lighter components, and optional chrome finish.

    The picture below is a Moulton S Safari in chrome finish, from Ken Butterfield's photos on Flickr

    Only around 10 S Speeds were produced and the location of most of them is known. However, it looks like there may be a few still unaccounted for. Most F-frame collectors dream of finding an S Speed in a skip or a garage somewhere!

    After the Raleigh takeover the following models were produced:
    Moulton Major – an updated Standard
    Moulton Major Deluxe – an updated Deluxe

    The Mark 3 / Mark III / Mk 3
    This was a new departure in design, with the most recognisable feature being the rear triangle and squashball suspension. This model has a shorter wheelbase than the older Series 1 and 2 models and was fitted with a 3 speed hub with drum brake.

    • There were also a number of other models produced - smaller wheel versions for children/teenagers, export models, and models made abroad under licence. These will be the subject of a post on another day!