Moulton isn't it.

I used to work with a guy who had one. Borrowed it to go to shops, maybe 2 or 3 miles each way. Ride better than bromptons.
His was flat bared

I've worked on one of these and ridden one. They're very impressive for their age. They have front and rear suspension (which still worked smoothly on the one I had in). Very hard to find original parts for though and mechanically a bit odd in terms of cable routing. Other than that they're lovely bikes.

That looks well thought out & engineered.

But have you seen the modern equivalent?-
http://www.everestbikes.co.uk/cart/products.php?catid=8

Think he's looking for Monster Shopper ideas :)

There was an old dude I used to see in edinburgh when commuting who had one - he went plenty fast, and he was pretty old! He also had a fairing he'd attach on windy days, looked well odd, but seemed to keep him just as fast.

Yes it's a Moulton. They still make, some of the new ones are stainless but very expensive. I just think they look fantastic, surely the ultimate 20" wheeled bike

they look ace dont they. 16.5K though

Moulton MTB, 1988. I remember reading a write up in some bike mag on this. Generally a good review but the wheel size was slated even with the full suspension.
http://www.moultonbicycles.co.uk/images/AM_ATB_BW.gif
All sorts of weird and wonderful MTB designs where coming out at this time. I remember some builder in the Lake District making a frame that had the down tube exiting the headtube at almost the same angle as the top tube, halfway along it's length it then curved down to meet the bottom bracket. The reason, so less mud would collect on the down tube which would add weight to the bike, I kid you not. Canondale experimented briefly with 24" wheels and their first full suss bike was atrocious, definatly a case of get something out quick because everyone else is doing it.

s8tannorm wrote:surely the ultimate 20" wheeled bike

That is until you finish yours

I remember that 'dale. Black and green with the most pathetic flexy pivots on the back and a flex stem on the front. Yuck.

Here's me riding a delivery bike. It's been in use since it was made.

And here's another - an original bikepacking family's bike arrangement. It belonged to my neighbour's Granny and Grandad. His mum is the wee babe in the middle.

s8tannorm wrote:Yes it's a Moulton. They still make, some of the new ones are stainless but very expensive. I just think they look fantastic, surely the ultimate 20" wheeled bike

I like 20" wheels on a road bike. My Dahon Speed TR rides as well as the Hewitt I had built and is less aggro on a train.
I met a girl at a Folding Society Origami meeting who does the very long distance randonees (sp?) all over the world on her Moulton. The factory built her a special one off but it cost her several thousands of pounds.

I've often thought about having this frame made:
http://www.foldingcyclist.com/TOBike-folding-bike.html
It seems to be very well thought out.

Stu - seen this?

The humble GIANT Halfway - looks like a shopper, but only because GIANT in their ineffable Taiwanese wisdom saw it as such. Despite having been designed by Mike Burrows as superfast small-wheeler (his prototype had the fattest carbon seat tube I have ever seen to resist fore - aft flex), they reckoned it would would be a good 'boot bike' for canal boats & shopping trips to the mall

So, put on some narrow rims, high pressure, narrow tyres (easy with monostay frame/fork) & drops/cowhorns and (apart from the above-mentioned flex when you put the power down) it'll go like a sh**t off a shovel. I have 2 - SS & geared for shooting round London. Beats a Brompton hands down for a fraction of the cost. Have also done some pretty long rides on them with no ill effects - and easy to get on the train for the trip home. They've also got a pretty strong rack ...

end of commercial

I met a girl at a Folding Society Origami meeting who does the very long distance randonees (sp?) all over the world on her Moulton.

Am I the only one who sees the humour in an Origami enthusiast riding a Moulton?

just the word moulton makes me shudder and my mind go back to the early 80's. . .

my bicycle had just been stolen, my brother had destroyed yet another one - to sort the situation out my dad was offered two bikes from a guy at work. . . .

imagine the reaction of a 13 year old girl who has just lost her pride and joy of a road bike ..... when presented with a slightly rusty old moulton.

I was gutted but as children were trained to do in the old days i smiled sweetly said thank you very much and rode it anyway. it was ok and it got me from a - b but i never liked it! mortal embarassment riding to school on it but i wouldn't walk so i dealt with it.

Someone once stole the incredibly cheap and flimsy combination lock i had locked it up with in the bike sheds - but left the bike. you couldn't get a bike with less street cred as a teenager

Maybe if i had a beard and lived in the hills in my own little world things would have been different - very confusing but different!!

(my brothers reaction was - oh!! lets pull it apart and try and modify it - same as what happened to his other bike above. boys will be boys after all!)

Ian wrote:

I met a girl at a Folding Society Origami meeting who does the very long distance randonees (sp?) all over the world on her Moulton.

Am I the only one who sees the humour in an Origami enthusiast riding a Moulton?

I hope not, you need a sense of humour to be a cyclist nowadays :)
All the Folding Society monthly rides are Origami meetings.

Or this, the mighty Airnimal Rhino. If I could afford it, I'd have one in a second.

The cheapest version sells for just shy of a grand (C to W maybe) and if you look at the spec there's a few bits that you'd possibly want to change. I imagine much of that cost is tied up in the frame / forks so some lower spec items must be expected I suppose. I'd love to drop on a frame though.

Was in the alps suffering on mtb once and this wierd thing rode past easily. It was a bikefriday. http://www.bikefriday.com/bicycles/road

It had bonkers drop bars and a dinner plate 60 tooth front ring and I wasn't having something that looked like that leaving me for dead caught the guy at the summit and had a chat.
He was from the USA following the tour, then freakily another one appeared from the other direction towing a trailer.
The trailer was a plastic shell with wheels. This other American was touring Europe and the bike folded into the trailer to become hand luggage for the trains and planes he was using, just brilliant.

I then had to take many photos of them together with their cameras and off they went talking nonstop amongst themselves, end of my questions.

Almost like the look of the orange one stu - I think because at quick glance the frane looks like the bicycle equivalent of a ducati

Almost like the look of the orange one stu - I think because at quick glance the frane looks like the bicycle equivalent of a ducati

Similar design principle to Ducati ... except a Ducati turns into a limp, noodly mess once you take the motor out

And I imagine id turn into a limp noodly mess if I rode a moulton with a ducati motor fitted