[Closed] Show me your... Moulton

I've had two - both main beams had weld failures.
If you ride smooth then they're great, if you have a bouncy thrungy pedal stroke then you'll hate it.
I am tempted by a pylon AM, but that'll have to wait until the kitchen and lounge are done.

I had a classic F frame Moulton Deluxe, 1960's. Absolutely standard apart from the Brompton tyres I upgraded from the Raleighs. Lovely Harlequin paint scheme as well. I always wanted one. I rode it up to 10 miles or so into work. The fork snapped and I went OTB. I scrapped it and donated the parts to the Moulton owners club. They now sell for about £300, but I paid £75 for mine (and it came with a second for spares!) I'd consider a new one, but they are not cheap and not foldable. I've never been a fan of the more recent offerings, particularly the 406 sized wheels (you don't but a Moulton for a standard sized wheel 😉 ).

You don't want a Mini, plenty of those for sale. They are too small.

Just don't call it a folding bike 😉

Being a bit of a lump myself, am I putting my life at considerable risk if riding one? I've read a few 'welding failure' stories so far..

I bought a crappy looking example for a tenner at York Cycle Rally a couple of years ago. I toyed with the idea of restoring it but it wasn't one of the more collectible examples (it was a 14" wheeler) so then I thought I'd have it for a pub bike and stick some drops on it. That came to nothing too so I then stuck it on eBay. Got some silly buy it now offers which I refused and ended up selling it to a Japanese collector who was in the Uk on holiday. Got £100 for it. Result!

but it wasn't one of the more collectible examples (it was a 14" wheeler)

That will be the Mini, I can see why someone from Japan might be interested. They are obsessed by Moultons. I'm not sure I feel like taking the risk again with a 40-year old fork, but the F frames are a nice ride, and now they have alloy rims (so can stop). The Bridgestone Moultons are lovely and alloy not steel.

[img] [/img]

Io do like the look of the Bridgestone.

so how does that front fork work? I havent found a resource yet. Some sort of rubber/elastomer sandwich?

Actually the rear 'suspension' is like that. Think the front was a bit more involved.

I seem to remember that my front suspension was rubber +coil spring - it had limited damping!
Remember that Alex was a rubber engineer. OOh-err!

Anyone experienced the 'rival' Raleigh RSW ?

The 16s look fun, but from what I can source the 20 is a far better bike.

Anyone experienced the 'rival' Raleigh RSW ?

As ANY Moulton aficionado worth their elastomer will tell you, the RSW should never be mentioned in the same breath. Moulton laid the foundations and in part acceptance of small wheeled bikes with suspension. [url= http://www.moultonbuzz.com/alex-moulton/raleigh-and-moulton/ ] Raleigh were offered manufacturing rights and turned them down[/url], then they launched their rival. Except it left off the vital (and obviously expensive) component; suspension. In truth, they'll be more robust (no moving parts), heavier and cheaper.

[url= https://www.sheldonbrown.com/raleigh-twenty.html ]Sheldon Brown[/url] loved the Raleigh 20's. but the RSW 16 has little love. That makes it a reasonable buy. But is is not a Moulton.

And with that, I've just outed myself again as an even bigger bike geek than people may have previously realised!

fortunately I am not a moultaineer (yet), so I am immune to the bitter rivalry. You geek.

The stow-away Twenty is looking like a fine 'what the heck' choice for N+1 - but ill be darned if ill pass up a cheap RSW16 or Moulton Classic in the meantime..

I always fancied building up a fixed Twenty as per Sheldon. You need the bigger wheels to offset the lackl of suspension (unless you ride a Brompton, obviously). I'd source the cheapest RSW you can to start. People seemed to have noticed that Moulton's have a value they simply did not 20 years ago.

Happy hunting. And check the fork crown carefully 😉

I have a TSR. One of the Pashley built ones. It's a fantastic bit of design and rides as well as I expected it to. Very versatile, comfortable, practical, fast and in it's own way makes standard double diamond bikes seem a bit daft.

The componentry specs on the full builds are bonkers, and I've had a couple of build quality niggles, but the fundamental design is fantastic and I respect it immensely.

Only one pic of a moulton, so far???!!!???

Yeah this pic thread is running on fumes. Have I gone a niche too far?

Solo - Member
Only one pic of a moulton, so far???!!!???

No digital pics of my F frame. I have a Moulton story though.

When I was a lad I had a job in the local bike shop after school. One day the rep came round with this strange new bike - I think it was actually before they had been released because we'd never heard of it.

The rep was full of the wonders of the suspension and how it could smooth out any surface, including steps. He tried to get the shop owner to take it for a trot, but he was elderly so designated me as the test pilot. "Take it over a few bumps" was the instruction.

Silly thing to say to a teenage boy really. For those who know Inverness, the shop was in Bridge St beside the infamous (then) Gellion's pub. I whipped it through the town to the back of the station where there was a cobbled street and was quite impressed at how it soaked them up. On the way back I remembered about how it could handle steps so I rode it down the stairs just off Bridge St beside where Primark is now, but back then I think the stairs were steeper.

Surprisingly it handled them pretty well, so I rode it back to the shop to give my positive verdict.

Unfortunately for me, the rep went apoplectic. I'd passed the shop on way to the stairs and he'd seen me go down them.

When he said step, he'd meant riding it off a kerb or the like, and seeing as the front wheel was now about an inch further back than when I started* he was even more unamused.

Much was made of his inability to get another demo bike and he only cooled down when the bike shop owner gave a firm order for a couple.

If you have never ridden an F-frame Moulton, don't dismiss it. They are exceeding capable good handling fast bikes, and they have an enormous luggage capacity. One was ridden from the UK to Australia by a person who lived in my hometown in Queensland.
.
.
.
*Strangely the Moulton I have in my attic has the same problem. 🙂

Yes the thread is light on pics, I shall post some of my Moulton when I get home

I'm enjoying the stories, alas, i'm also concerned about the regular mentioning of fork strength issues - imagine doing the stairs test 40 years later, weighing twice as much.
Visions of swallows and amazons whilst freewheeling along a sunny stretch of river - before my front teeth and face suddenly interface with the gravel path.
Shudders.

slimjim78 - Member
... alas, i'm also concerned about the regular mentioning of fork strength issues - imagine doing the stairs test 40 years later, weighing twice as much.

I've never heard of one breaking. They do bend, but once bent more or less stay like that and the bike is perfectly rideable. I would be confident to ride mine even with the bend.

Maybe the ones that break have been straightened improperly?

If we're having a real geek-off: If you're not looking for a folder (when frankly a brompton is so very good then) or a space-frame then what you want is a dawes kingpin. Folding or non folding.
Dawes took the R20 and added a number of improvements eg. Better bearing headset, reinforcing, better tubing.

If you want a spaceframe but are worried aboit strength then there are some pashley ams around which was an "all road" version of the spaceframe built under licence. Theyre heavier and ive seen them much abused.

<geek>

The earlier Pashley version was the APB, and they also made one with knobbly tyres called the Land Rover special edition. The APBs are god, but a bit chunky.

The F-frame forks are sometimes a bit delicate - I've seen a few bent and broken ones, it's basically a Headshok-like design, and the weak point is the small slider at the crown. The leading-link forks on the APB, AM, TSR etc are much stiffer and stronger. The F-frame rear forks also can be a bit delicate.

The TSR is the best not-silly-money version to get. The older AMs are nice, but they've got 17" wheels which are really hard to get tyres for and use an odd sprocket system.

</geek>

ontor - I meant to check the Dawes Kingpin out - they really are close to the Twenty design arent they - what was different about the tubing?
Also, the folding mechanism is much smaller - do you know if it is as rigid an interface as the Raleigh version?

I feel a collection coming on.

So, without hanging around im collecting a local Kingpin this evening after work, and a Twenty tomorrow morning.
Pocket money biking, and smart old bikes to boot. Will be used for family and friends as a great retro scenic tourer for sunny rides to the local brewery/sea front.

Just need a RSW16 and Moulton F to finish the collection..

Never 'got' the Moulton thing, but have had a Twenty and a Stowaway. Solid, bijou, charming. For an old steel bike there seem still to be some remarkably well-preserved examples about. Look fwd to seeing pics 🙂

Rescued from a skip

[img] [/img]

Hurrah!
Nice find, front suspension looks in good order, and is that an original pump fitted?

I had a Super 4, the SA hub was hard to keep in trim, the joy of missing gears.... Good fun to ride, nice and smooth, although good tyres were hard to find.
Finally it succumbed to a weld failure at the base of the seat mast. That was in 1988. Then in the mid 90s I got another, this time with front rack. That one got T-boned. Which did hurt.

I had a Super 4. Identical to the one up there. Used to whiz around Peterborough on it in the 90's. Great fun to ride. Sadly i had to leave it behind when i moved 🙁

bencooper - Member
...The F-frame forks are sometimes a bit delicate - I've seen a few bent and broken ones, it's basically a Headshok-like design, and the weak point is the small slider at the crown...

Is there anyone offering a reconditioning parts for the forks these days. I know there was about 15-20 years ago. (Thought I'd ask an expert before googling 🙂 )

All this talk has encouraged me to drag mine out of the attic. 🙂

Alex Moulton use to be a life member of my old club and he often used to hold open days where we could test ride an array of different machines. They were surprisingly fun to ride.

Rich Grigsby used to make them go blisteringly fast.

[img] [/img]

(cut and paste from a post of mine on this thread 2 years ago!):

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/anyone-on-here-ride-a-moulton

Behold!! 'KINGPIN'!

[URL= http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae168/keepitsteel/9EFA181E-FC0F-408D-8421-F5BA0BEF6554_zpsygf3vxld.jp g" target="_blank">http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae168/keepitsteel/9EFA181E-FC0F-408D-8421-F5BA0BEF6554_zpsygf3vxld.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

I have a pair of Kingpins! Planning to TT one of them.
Also an F frame Moulton that my aunt bought in the first year of production. Stem is seized in. How long is it?

Awesome! Kingpin fold is fine. It simmiler to the Brompton. never had an issue with mine and they're less prone to damage during the fold.

Ill hunt out the specs later if i get a mo.

Is there anyone offering a reconditioning parts for the forks these days. I know there was about 15-20 years ago. (Thought I'd ask an expert before googling )

Not that I know of - but just stripping and greasing the things can make a big difference.

mine is well on the way to being a 2 speed automatic hub, pedal-brake version of[url= http://raleightwenty.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=177553646 ] this:[/url]

[img] http://memberfiles.freewebs.com/70/03/103930370/photos/Dawes-Kingpin-Mega-modded/Kingpin Completed 003.JPG[/img]

bencooper - Member
'Is there anyone offering a reconditioning parts for the forks these days. I know there was about 15-20 years ago. (Thought I'd ask an expert before googling )
Not that I know of - but just stripping and greasing the things can make a big difference.'

I had one of the Landrover APBs, which I bought reasonably cheaply off the CTC (as it was then) forum.
It was quite a nice ride but really quite agricultural and so heavy it had its own gravitational field - about 30lbs, including the 3x7 rear hub gear.

I took it down some bridleways but the suspension bottomed out quite often so I stopped doing that!
I put Magura hydraulic rim brakes on it which massively improved the braking, at the expense of the separability (I had to remove the rear caliper to separate).

[img] [/img]

It as very good at carrying loads due to the low centre of gravity:

[img] [/img]

I'm now looking at my tyres - somewhat past it, and I always hated those steel rims. Need to sort out the wheels.

What's the best setup for an F-frame these days? 16" wheels or go up to 17"?

16" brompton superlight wheels.

Is there anyone offering a reconditioning parts for the forks these days. I know there was about 15-20 years ago. (Thought I'd ask an expert before googling )

Yes, Michael Woolfe runs Moulton Preservation and has been supporting the F frame Moultons for many years.
I don't think he doesn't do the internet thing though!

Defender - Member

Yes, Michael Woolfe runs Moulton Preservation ...

Thanks. I remember that name now.

This just turned up in my youtube feed:

Nice paint job on that APB.

Just picked up a Raleigh RSW Compact - their daft little folding answer to the Moulton, looking forward to first ride on 2" 'balloon tyres', and clown bike comments from members of public.

Still, if its good enough for Ringo, its good enough for me

[URL= http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae168/keepitsteel/Ringo_zpsufvmvmrq.jp g" target="_blank">http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae168/keepitsteel/Ringo_zpsufvmvmrq.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

My mate has one of the truss frame ones and won't shut up about it. He's quite tall though and struggled to source long enough parts for it to set it up like a road bike. He's also rather quick so has had to bodge a gigantic chainring onto it (56T is the biggest he could fit I think).

He let me ride it a bit. It was like a road bike but very bouncy and weighed 27lbs. Picked up quickly but that's about it.

As MTBers know, suspension isn't the same thing as bigger wheels!

As promised, pics of mine a bit latter than i thought.

1968 moulton with 4 speed sturmey archer hub

from this

[URL= http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn298/Turner5spot20/Moulton/IMG_0527.jp g" target="_blank">http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn298/Turner5spot20/Moulton/IMG_0527.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

to this
[URL= http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn298/Turner5spot20/Moulton/IMG_0662.jp g" target="_blank">http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn298/Turner5spot20/Moulton/IMG_0662.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

to this
[URL= http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn298/Turner5spot20/Moulton/IMG_0667.jp g" target="_blank">http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn298/Turner5spot20/Moulton/IMG_0667.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

mostly finished

[URL= http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn298/Turner5spot20/Moulton/IMG_0672_zpsrk1exd7g.jp g" target="_blank">http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn298/Turner5spot20/Moulton/IMG_0672_zpsrk1exd7g.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

[URL= http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn298/Turner5spot20/Moulton/IMG_0674_zpsucws1evm.jp g" target="_blank">http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn298/Turner5spot20/Moulton/IMG_0674_zpsucws1evm.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

NorthCountryBoy - Member
As promised, pics of mine a bit latter than i thought...

Good work. 🙂

Yes, tasteful refurb there