Back in the 50's Alex Moulton a British engineer thought the traditional bicycle frame was long overdue for a rethink. I remember them, totally different from anything else on the road at the time.
Well I decided to purchase one of these classics and restore it, upgrading to modern components. I needed a frame so started to research online for a suitable donor.
I thought Ebay was a good place to start and soon I found this:
What I wanted to do was to convert this "shopper" into something with a little more performance.
I won the auction and hoping that I'd not bought a "pup" went up to North London to make the purchase.
As soon as I saw this 40 year old bicycle I knew that I'd been very lucky indeed, not only with the price, but also with the condition of the machine.
The paintwork was good, and the components (some of them) had already been upgraded.
The first thing I did upon getting the bike into my garage was to remove the mudguards and rear rack.
I found some of the spokes were loose, the twist grip gear changer was in bits in a bag and the cable was missing. Unfortunately some essential parts were missing from the twist grip so I ordered a standard Sturmey Archer trigger changer and a new cable.
When these arrived I fitted them and took the bike out for a spin. I found that everything I'd heard about the Moulton was true. They are responsive, easy to pedal and FAST! Already having a Brompton, I knew that the myth that small wheel bikes were slow and hard to pedal was just that, a myth. The Moulton was astounding and very smooth to ride with the front and aft suspension.
So, now having a good bike to start with I wanted to make it look something like this:
A stripped down speed machine, equally happy on the open road and a street fighter around town.
With the mudguards and rack removed it was already starting to look quite good.I made a list of required components:
A Brooks saddle
New handlebars
A new stem
Brake levers
Toe clips and straps
Brooks hand grips
Lights
Cycle computer
New wheels
A 5 speed hub with hub brake
Frame transfers
Most parts were sourced from Ebay, some I already had. I set to work, very soon I had it looking like this:
I thought that the frame transfers would be a real problem, but I found that there exists waterslide transfers that you can use with an inkjet printer. You simply print your design, spray it with lacquer to seal the ink in then soak in water to slide it off the backing paper and apply. Very simple and they look original!
Very soon the rest of the parts started to arrive. These were fitted and with each upgrade the bike got better and better. The matched Brooks saddle and handlebar grips seem to set it off very nicely:
The leather and cast alloy grips are a bit heavy it has to be said, but they are lovely to handle and suit the bike so well.
A cycle computer and LED lights have been fitted along with the toe clips. The handlebars were from my S type Brompton after I had converted it to a "P" type (see my Brompton blog)
Riding around, so many people comment on the bicycle, usually because they remember them from their youth, this one is in fact 40 years old! Others state "knowledgeably" that small wheel bikes are SO hard to pedal which is what caused their downfall. What?!? I have some educating and convincing ahead of me I think. The unpaced bicycle world speed record is still held by a Moulton!
The bike now looks like this:
I need to get the new 5 speed hub laced into a new rim soon to enjoy a wider gear range.
