The other kind of two wheels

[marcmax]

I have been on two wheels since I was a child. Bicycles progressed to motorcycles but I never gave up bicycles. I raced as a younger man with dreams of one day riding at the national level. I was good but not that good. Still I was always fascinated with the mechanics of bicycles and all the experimenting that went on in the early days.

Flash forward to today and I have time on my hands. Until I find gainful employment again I need to stay occupied. I have a bicycle that has been hanging in the garage for 25 years (it was built in 1964) that I found someone throwing away. I rehabilitated it, laced up some light weight alloy wheels with drums brakes, found some high pressure kevlar belted tires and put a huge chainring on it. I have been having a blast on it.

I'm sure our members across the pond will know what it is.

[BPT]

I have friends of friends overseas who are into the Bromptons, but yours doesn't look to be a fold up one.........

Crazy you've had it that long, it looks like it's in great shape?

How comfortable is it to ride?

[marcmax]

I have always had a thing for older, unusual things, this bike and my R65 are prime examples of that. This is the bike that started the whole small wheel bicycles for adults movement. Bicycles use large wheel to provide a degree of suspension from the spokes but they have more rolling resistance and greater inertial resistance. Small wheels have far less rolling resistance but offer no relief from harsh roads. Sir Alex Moulton designed this bicycle with high pressure tires (currently running 100psi in them) for low rolling resistance but designed full suspension through the head tube and a swing arm suspension in the rear. It is a joy to ride. He designed the suspension in the original Mini Cooper and earned himself a knighthood.

[BPT]

I'd originally thought the small wheel thing was just a product of them needing to be portable but then I read a little about it and realized some of what you just said.
It came about when I'd see those friends I mentioned posting pictures involving a lot of riding and I figured it can't just be for commuting.

I've never been on one so that's why I was wondering about the comfort thing. I like odd things as well, and now you've got me intrigued.

How about working on it and also parts? 

[marcmax]

It was mostly complete when I got it, just missing the handlebars and seat. Original parts are available but pricey. And they are all used. I haven't seen a nos part for one of these bikes in 20 years. But the Moultoneer club and website collects parts and refurbishes them for members purchase.

Just like our R65's purists like to keep them stock but others don't mind necessary changes. My handlebars and seat are modern versions but are similar to the originals just more comfortable. The original wheels were heavy steel rims with caliper brakes. I have modern alloy wheels with drum brakes. Again similar in looks but with modern performance. Although it looks different it is still a bicycle and maintenance is easy. The only hard thing is finding good quality 16" tires that can handle 100 psi. In the US 16" wheels are usually found on toddler bikes and the tires are not suitable. Thank goodness for the internet :-)

[nhmaf]

I saw one of these, missing some pieces in a yard sale once - while I was intrigued about it, I wasn't eager enough to embark on sorting out the missing bits... and I was heavily into mountain biking at the time.

I've seen some people riding these and they do claim that they are surprisingly comfortable & efficient, though not a high speed cycle.

[marcmax]

In stock form they are not very speedy but then again I have never left anything in stock form. Like anything mechanical it is all about the details. A typical road racing bicycle has a large front chain ring of 48-50 teeth, a mountain bike is usually around 44-46 teeth. I have installed a 62 tooth chain ring on the from and a 6 speed cluster on the rear of this bike. On a road racing bicycle even a professional cyclist would have a hard time turning it. Due to the small wheels the gearing equates to almost the same as a racing bicycle. Turning 90 rpm I can maintain 20-22 mph. If I kick it up to 100 rpm I can top 25 mph. Decent enough speed to keep up with most club riders.

[BPT]

So it sounds like none of the drive train is stock?  I noticed the sprocket seemed pretty big but I just thought that was normal for that bike.  How much different is that one from stock? And same with the rear, is that completely different?

I doubt I'll be getting one any time soon. I checked on ebay and the few you see are pricey.  But if I were to see one in a yard sale or being tossed out I'd also be the type to grab it.

Regarding being easy to work on, I was thinking that it might have some unique design features that might be different or more difficult (like the suspension).  And I was also thinking it must have proprietary parts.  But it sounds like it has more "normal" stuff than I expected.  It's nice that you can keep it going with standard parts since the stock pieces can be impossible or expensive to get a hold of.

[marcmax]

These bikes were never meant for fast riding. They were designed to be easy to ride and convenient in town due to the small wheels and short wheel base. They originally had a 48 tooth front chain ring and either a single speed coaster brake wheel (like a beach cruiser bike) of in the case of mine it has a 4 speed internal hub gear. Mine has an entirely different drive train now. 62 tooth in the front and a deraileur with a six speed sprocket set in the rear 10-11-12-13-14-15. Not the most efficient setup but it was small enough to squeeze into the limited space.

The only tricky pieces are the suspension springs up inside the head tube and the swing arm suspension in the rear. It uses a rubber block that is mounted to provide damping when in compression and in shear. Because it is over 50 years old that will probably be the first part to go. The Moultoneer club has repops of them for a reasonable price. The front springs come up fairly regular on eBay and can be had in various compression rates to adjust the ride. Everything else is pretty much standard bicycle parts.

[BPT]

Looks like your bike made it onto Midsomer Murders (British mystery/detective show on public tv).  This episode is "The Glitch".

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear we'll be seeing too much if it past the beginning of the show..........