Firstly, this isn’t a Speed. It was a very neglected 1964 Standard that I bought for the front rack. However, after stripping it down, it became apparent that underneath was a very good Bradford-on-Avon series 1 frame with neatly brazed, uncracked rear forks.
The frameset was powdercoated in RAL 3001 red by a local powdercoater (Sunbase) with an extra layer of clear lacquer. They also did the rear rack and struts in white. The mudguards are the originals, powdercoated in faux chrome by a different powdercoater (Maldon Shot Blasting and Powdercoating).
The parts are a mix of new and used. The rims are cheap 349 alloy rims with Brompton stainless spokes. The rear wheel is actually from my Brompton, since that bike has been converted to a 2-speed. It has a Sturmey-Archer AM 3-speed medium-ratio mechanism in an alloy SRF3 shell. I did build an FW 4-speed wheel for this bike but it has a weak spring in it and second gear slips. I now have another mechanism to swap into it, which will hopefully cure the problem. The trigger shifter is a 3- or 4-speed type, which is very convenient for swapping wheels.
The brakes are Alhonga dual-pivot and frankly quite disappointing. The rear one needs to go on quite a tall standoff spacer to clear the suspension block and they are not very powerful with the Tektro levers. At least the levers have a quick release mechanism for fixing punctures – a luxury most Moultons don’t have. Brake choice is a bit limited on a Moulton, because you need calipers where the cable pulls on the right. Most new calipers now pull on the left, because they are designed for countries where the cabling and frame cable stops are the wrong way round for countries that drive/ride on the left. Back when Moulton F-frames were being made, there were plenty of British manufacturers making brakes that were correctly “handed” for our right-front, left-rear setup.
Anyway, this was its first serious outing, about three hours around local country lanes. The fork has freed off nicely (it was a bit tight on the splines when reassembled) and the suspension generally works well. There are a lot of rattles on these bikes, some of which are my fault; the front mudflap, for example. Metal mudguards are difficult to hush up, though, and there was a squeak from the Shimano BB-1055 bottom bracket because I adjusted it in a warm room and then cycled in nearly-freezing temperatures. It was fine on a 12 mile test ride earlier in the week, but it was much warmer then!
The bike climbs a little better than my TSR. It is undoubtedly not as stiff a frame, but the fork is less soft due to the extra 3/4″ of preload that I added. There are two sections of “washboard” tarmac near Castle Eaton, and the bike soaked them up pretty well, making a lot of light rattles but not shaking me much. Just before home, I gave it a full-on thrash up a slight hill at 20mph (there was a tailwind) where it picked up its skirts and flew along very well. It is a little heavier than the TSR but I didn’t notice the weight at any point. The AM hub suits any vaguely “sporty” bike well, having 15.55% steps between its three gears, and it is utterly smooth and reliable – I have five or six of them and I believe they are by far the best of all the SA hubs. Unless I’m heading for serious hills, I don’t see any particular rush to reinstall an FW hub.
Something I do need to sort out is the rear bag. I have a small Gilles Berthoud rack bag (bought for 1/3 the new price on eBay; I’m not made of money) but I’m having trouble strapping it on tightly enough with the supplied straps. So, this morning, everything had to go in my pockets, with the little Topeak 16 multitool (old enough to still have the essential 8mm and 10mm spanners) strapped to the saddle. I hear toestraps are good for attaching the GB bag.
The roads weren’t salted this morning as it was about 3 degrees C but I’ve already smeared the irreplaceable chromed steel parts with vaseline to protect them. It looks awful after a few months, being like flypaper for dirt, but you can wipe it off in spring and everything is perfect underneath. One of my dad’s old tips from when he cycled in the 1950s.
Rechroming – I must do a post on that.
Moultons and other endangered species 