April 9th 2020 marks one hundred years since the birth of Alex Moulton, one of the most significant design engineers of the twentieth century.

In style and substance, Moulton was regarded as the last of the great Victorian gentleman engineers, following in the footsteps of giants such as Telford, Brunel, Nasmyth and Bazelgette. His works include the innovative rubber cone suspension system for the original Issigonis Mini, and the later Hydrolastic and Hydragas interconnected systems that graced millions of British cars from 1959 to 2002. Perhaps even more notable is the eponymous Moulton bicycle, launched in 1962 to widespread acclaim. The revolutionary Moulton bicycle was to change the cycling world forever – its unique combination of small wheels and full-suspension redefined comfort, handling, luggage carrying and general usability -what Moulton termed “a greater pleasure to own and to use”. It was this talent in designing and engineering products in an emotionally-engaging way that set Alex Moulton apart from the crowd. Nowhere else is his sensitivity to architecture and proportion so apparent than in the Moulton bicycle, described by Lord Foster as “the greatest work of twentieth century British design”.

To mark this centenary, the Moulton Bicycle Company have conceived a new bicycle based on Alex’s designs and refined by developing technologies. Many of these ideas were obscure and idiosyncratic at the time; and yet some of them – as we have seen so often before – have been adopted widely throughout the cycling world. Unlike on Alex’s 90th birthday, when the company built a one-off stainless-steel classic ‘F-frame’ Moulton bicycle as a tribute to their founder, Alex is no longer with us. Hence this new Moulton – again a tribute to Alex – is presented to the Moulton community worldwide, with thanks for making the Moulton Bicycle Company what it is today.

The Moulton Bicycle Company continues to manufacture at their unique bicycle factory (built as a stable block in Scottish Baronial style by John Moulton, Alex’s grandfather) in the grounds of The Hall, Alex Moulton’s Jacobean mansion, in Bradford on Avon.

The Moulton Bicycle Company continues to manufacture in the grounds of The Hall in Bradford on Avon.

Built around Moulton’s revolutionary ‘space-frame’ architecture, the Moulton New Series ‘Century’ incorporates many of Alex’s preferred specifications:

Original Moulton 17” wheels – Moulton introduced the 17” wheel format in 1963 as a ‘clincher’ alternative to the fast but fragile 18” racing tubular tyres that his competition bicycles relied on. Originally made by Dunlop and later by Wolber, today we have high quality 17” tyres available from Schwalbe and Bridgestone.

Single chainring ‘1x’ transmission – Alex preferred the simplicity of a single gear lever and a wide-ratio block (sprocket set), and generally disapproved of the crudity of the front derailleur. Thus all of his own bicycles, after had developed a suitable wide-ratio freewheel for the rear, sported a single chainring. More recent developments in chain retention such as ‘narrow-wide’ teeth and clutched rear derailleurs, would have delighted him in their mechanical simplicity in curing this age-old problem, and ‘1x’ transmissions are now widely used on mountain and gravel bikes. The crankset – specially made for this bicycle - is of classical five-arm pattern and features an integrated hollow axle with external bearings as is the modern practice. Moulton was experimenting with this in the late 1980s and produced his ‘Tubular Crank’ prototype with integrated axle and press-fit bearings (including the very sensible adoption of a large drive-side bearing).

Wide ratio 9 to 36 tooth rear cluster, giving 11 gears and a 400% gear range – Alex Moulton pioneered the use of small-tooth freewheels and in 1967 filed patent number 1202886 for a 9 tooth sprocket. Over fifty years later, other manufacturers are finally catching up!. Moulton’s AM7 in 1983 used a 9 to 28 tooth 7 speed cluster (300% range), the New Series Moulton improved this to 320%, and today we have 400% - ample for most terrains.

Moulton ‘Safari’ handlebars – Moulton’s own bicycles often featured shallow-dropped handlebars, and in latter years he developed his ‘Mosquito’ handlebars. These Mosquito ‘bars were based on the flight controls of the DeHavilland Mosquito aircraft and gave a very natural hand position. Long-distance cyclists lamented the lack of alternative positions and this new ‘Safari’ handlebar combines the ‘Mosquito’ design with the classic English touring bend, giving a variety of hand positions including that of the original Mosquito handlebar.

We’re trying to wrestle a New Series Century from Moulton and will hopefully have it at The Traditional Cycle Shop some time soon. Moulton haven’t released any price or availability details at this point but sign up to our newsletter and we’ll let you know as soon as we do.

Moulton NS Century – A tribute to Alex Moulton