A new bicycle from Alex Moulton is a rare event. Thirty-six years have passed since he launched his first design. It was mass produced until 1974 and over 150,000 were sold. In 1983 the lightweight but expensive AM spaceframe bikes were launched. And in 1992 Pashley were licensed to produce cheaper versions - the 20-inch-wheeled APB range (APB as in 'All Purpose Bicycle').

All Moulton road bicycles have small wheels with high-pressure tyres, full suspension, step-through 'one-size-fits-all' frames and optional large luggage racks. Spaceframe Moultons divide for easy stowage.

Dr Moulton, now aged 78, is a suspension expert whose acclaimed designs are found in vehicles from the Mini to the new MG-F sports car. Disagree with him if you will, but don't try to tell him about bicycle design until, like him, you have made and sold thousands of bikes. And then base your comments on good engineering and obsessive testing - not merely opinion, fashion or style. He calls the New Moulton the 'Ultimate Bicycle'. The Brompton, he readily agrees, is a better folding bike, and many very good bikes are cheaper. But nothing, he says, compares with his overall package for lightweight comfort, speed and versatility. We borrowed one for a while to find out.

Frame

The frame is hand brazed Reynolds 531 tubing; the vertical dropouts, and other small parts, are stainless steel. The bikes are jig-built so it was no surprise to find the alignment perfect or near perfect throughout. Braze-ons include bottle cage bosses, but no chain peg. Seat and steering tubes are parallel 71 degrees. With small wheels and 64 mm of trail the front end feels just right. Ten colours are available and the enamelling was faultless. The bike divides into two parts in seconds, or using a 5mm Allen key it easily separates into five major assemblies that fit in an ordinary suitcase.

The rear suspension is a Unified Rear Triangle design with an excellent new Hydrolastic spring/damper unit. This is the fluid and rubber system Moulton originally designed for Austin cars. The straight front forks fix to a suspension 'parallelogram' that isn't actually parallel in order to eliminate nose-diving while braking; this is a major improvement on previous Moultons. The front springs are four Flexitor bushings which have a bit of an industrial look. These little elastomer torsion units are low friction and self-damping and the result is excellent shock absorption and a wide load range. The only adjustment for different riders is the bump stop, and there is a 'Soft Lock-out' feature which stops the wheel going so far down when unloaded; it usefully reduces rebound travel on smooth roads.

Frame 4.5

Handling

The small lightweight wheels significantly reduce inertia; combined with the low frame weight they give this bike outstanding acceleration and a brisk feel. The Continental tyres are rated 120 psi and roll freely and corner well; roadholding is excellent. The steering is lighter than a large-wheel bike but has no tendency to tuck on tight curves. However, the narrow handlebars definitely take a bit of getting used to.

The New Moulton basically goes where you point it at any speed on hard surfaces even if they are quite rough. Side by side comparisons with an AM series showed huge improvements have been made at the front end - the twitchy feel and the tendency to tramline along the edge of drain covers have been eliminated.

For many riders the biggest problem (apart from finance, that is) will be learning to ride uphill smoothly without pulling on the handlebars. On the Moulton you have to ride from the saddle; you simply can't pull on the bars while climbing or the front end bounces uselessly up and down.

Handling 4.5

Wheels

The Sun rims, specially drilled with 20 holes, are BMX size; overall wheel diameter is about 18.5 inches with the 28 mm tyres. The custom Goldtech hubs are 70 mm wide front, and 120 mm wide rear, which looks right with the small wheels. The rear hub has an oil injection port in the middle - this is because the freewheel has a load-spreading plain bearing. The main wheel bearings are all sealed ball races, but the cassette runs on a hard nitrided steel sleeve lubricated by injected oil. The result is a very strong and durable rear wheel that weighs only just over 1kg. The front wheel is radially spoked with 14g stainless spokes and the rear is two cross. Both were supplied completely true and well built with good tension.

Wheels 5

Gears

Dr Moulton is not a component designer so he uses Shimano's top Dura-Ace racing groupset, choosing to modify the 9-speed cassette for wider range (10 to 32 teeth) with a single chainwheel. The gear change is excellent, even on the biggest cogs. The Moulton special 10-11-12 cogs for the top end of the cassette run cleanly. And everyone liked the location of the gear lever on a special bracket on the handlebars, giving easy access for both up and down shifts.

However, Dura-Ace cogs are only available in certain combinations and the resulting percentage changes as you go down the gears from top to bottom are:10%-9%-8%-15%-27%-10%-19%-28%. That 27% gap in the middle is over-wide and gives you nothing from under 52 inches to over 65 inches. Since the Dura-Ace width is not compatible with other Shimano groups there aren't a lot of upgrade options. A single chainwheel is great for leisure cyclists, but many long-distance riders will want closer gear ratios and a higher top gear than 98 inches on such a fast bike. Retro-fitting a front changer would be high on my personal list of priorities.

Gears 3.5

Comfort

Don't expect a soft armchair ride; this isn't the same sort of energy-absorbing suspension as a downhill MTB. The Moulton efficiently reduces shock and vibration. The end result is not particularly soft but is very comfortable, even after many miles, and will be especially good for tourists, audax riders and triathletes.

The Mosquito handlebars are very narrow at 34.5 cm. I liked the overall shape but they are so narrow that you get only one useful hand position and you can't move your hands around to relax them and change the pressure point like on conventional bars. I also found it difficult to adjust the bars for a comfortable reach. The custom stem swings through a large angle to offer a range of adjustment, but doesn't allow a low but not over-stretched position for a rider about 5' 6 1/2" tall like me. In the end I had the bars a lot higher than my usual position to reduce the reach. The saddle is cut-away leather on a 531 frame, made by Lepper to Moulton's design and it's one of the best saddles I have ridden.

Comfort 4.5

Equipment

The brakes are smooth, progressive and powerful, but being Dura-Ace (racing) they don't really leave enough room for mudguards even with the narrow section tyres. Squeezing a plastic guard into the small gap is really not good safety practice. The brake levers are an unusual design, and give a very neat cable location though they pivot on the edge of the base and this lacks the silky-smoothness of many levers. A neat trick is to twist the whole lever round as this pulls the cable tight enough to use as a parking brake - very useful on small-wheel bikes.

The large diameter seatpost is titanium and has a pump fitted inside, with a Dura-Ace seat clamp bonded on at the top.

Equipment 4

It's difficult to give this bike a 'Value for Money' rating. If you buy a Picasso you pay more than the cost of the artist's materials. When you buy a New Moulton you pay for the concept and the innovative engineering design. You get an heirloom, first class after sales service and a way to display your discerning taste. You also get an undoubtedly outstanding bike: it's lightweight and packs into a tiny box, it's fast, comfortable, fun to ride and highly versatile. Points against are the uneven gear spacing, the handlebar adjustment and mudguard clearances. If you are wealthy enough it would be just right for audax, triathlons, long commuter rides, or even going shopping at Tesco. Is it really 'The Ultimate Bicycle'? Definitely not: I am confident that the future will bring something even better.

Performance 4.5

Value for money 3.5

© 1998 - Cycling Plus

Our thanks to Cycling Plus for allowing us to reproduce their review of the New Series Moulton. Special thanks to Dave Atkinson, Art Editor, for supplying the text and images.

Incidently, the bike reviewed is the 531 model, but the bike photographed is the Stainless Steel version