Most cyclists worldwide have probably never heard of a Moulton bike or, if they have, it’s just a vague awareness. The small-wheeled bike that was supposed to end the dominance of the diamond frame emerged in the early 1960s, burned brightly for a few short years then disappeared without trace. Years later, it was relaunched with similar objectives but with a radically different appearance and construction, this time with no mass-market intentions at all. Hence Moultons are a rare sight, because the volume-produced old ones have been scrapped (or are still mouldering in sheds and gardens) and new ones are a niche and expensive option for anyone contemplating a new bike.
The fundamental difference between a Moulton and a “normal” bike is that the Moulton has rather small wheels and full suspension. The frame is also, to a greater or lesser extent, “step-through”, with no top tube to make mounting and dismounting awkward. They also only come in one size. Well, almost – more of that later.
Moultons were the brainchild of Dr Alex Moulton, an engineer specialising in rubber for automotive uses, most famously in the original Mini car, and heir to the Spencer-Moulton rubber empire. He set out to design a better bicycle, and the original 1962 Moulton was the result. With its “lazy-F” frame and 16″ wheels, it took the world – or at least Britain – by storm, and production had to be quickly stepped up and outsourced to meet demand. The shape looks dated now with its huge rear carrying rack and “all-rounder” handlebar but, at the time, the bike with the mini-wheels was a modernist 60s icon, along with the Mini car and the mini-skirt.
Production wasn’t without its problems: a batch of forks turned out to be insufficiently brazed by a contractor and had to be recalled, the original rear swingarm often cracked, and build quality could be truly appalling. Moultons built in Kirkby -in a factory that normally made washing machines – are often misaligned, poorly brazed and welded and nearly always assembled without grease. Nearly 60 years later, a Kirkby-built bike (identifiable by a “K” and a two-digit year on one side of the seat lug) gives most restorers a shudder. They do come apart, but it can take a lot of time and effort. Moultons built in Bradford-on-Avon, in the shadow of the Moulton ancestral home, tend to be assembled with far more care and attention.
These “series 1” bikes exposed some small weaknesses in the design that were addressed in 1965 with “series 2” bikes. This distinction was never used in marketing, the bikes being branded just as before. However, series 2 bikes are easy to spot as they have a straight (and far stronger) rear swingarm, a seat tube that is wider from side-to-side instead of from front-to-back, and truly horrible white plastic guides for brake and gear cables.
Series 2 Moulton standard, repainted from original Kingfisher Blue colour
By now, sales were on the slide. Dealers didn’t like working on Moultons due to their complexity, and other bike manufacturers had launched their own small-wheeled bikes without any suspension. One of these was the Raleigh RSW and, in 1967, it was to Raleigh that Moulton eventually sold out when the business became unprofitable.
Raleigh retained Alex Moulton as a design consultant, and the “Mk III” Moulton emerged in 1970. This was a substantial redesign with a proper rear triangle instead of a swingarm. Unfortunately, it was also extremely heavy and featured Raleigh’s own dead-end 26tpi thread standard for fork and bottom bracket. You won’t see many, as it was never a big seller, and in 1974, Raleigh pulled the plug on Moultons altogether.
Alex Moulton wanted to continue with his concept but Raleigh owned most of the rights to the design. After working on alternative designs for many years, the AM series (Alex Moulton Limited) emerged, featuring a girder-like “spaceframe” and slightly larger wheels. Most Moultons since have featured this spaceframe, although the exact suspension design varies considerably between models. A joint venture with Pashley Cycles – since merged with Alex Moulton Limited to form the Moulton Bicycle Company – allowed more affordable versions of the spaceframe to be built at the Pashley factory in Stratford-Upon-Avon. These “Pashley Moultons”, such as the APB and TSR, have”hairpin” tubes that wrap around the head and seat tubes, and it is doubtful that they are true spaceframes – but they have the same look, and sometimes that’s what sells a bike.
TSR set up as a 9-speed. Reputedly the last TSR ever sold as a frameset-only, for custom build.
New Moultons range in price from about 2,000 GBP to 20,000 GBP (2021 prices) which is a lot of money for a steel bike. They sell as quickly as they can be made, but production capacity is low and they will never be the mass-market bike that the original F-frame was intended to be.
As one of few truly British bike manufacturers remaining in the 21st century, Moultons are often confused with Brompton folding bikes, especially as both use small wheels. Moultons do not fold, although many can be split in half for easier transport. There is. nevertheless, a symbiotic relationship between the two. The Brompton would not have existed without the Moulton; it derives its 16″/349 wheels and the rear suspension design from the original series. Likewise, the continued sight of F-frame Moultons on the roads owes much to the existence of Brompton, which has secured and expanded the availability of good tyres in the original Moulton wheel size.
In the next blog, I’ll go into some of the pros and cons of owning one of these quirky machines. The bike that was supposed to change the world and didn’t quite make it.
Moultons and other endangered species 