Framebuilders - Dave Moulton

I hadn't thought of this guy in years, He was a well known west coast builder back in the 80's. His frames were well crafted and beautiful.
These days he is writing books and playing music. I happened across his website a couple of days ago. He has an very interesting and entertaining section on his years of framebuilding and the bikes he built.
http://www.prodigalchild.net/Bicycle.htm

Hmmm. When I saw the thread title I thought it was the guy who built a bunch of insane 20"-wheel tig-welded space-framed road bikes in the late 80's and early 90's. He might have been British.

he used to post here daily. kinda drifted off though after a while. search for his name on here and i'm sure you'll see some of his posts...

I think he was a little upset with some postings, seemed a really nice guy.

Pinkrobe - You're thinking of Dr Alex Moulton! ;)

Pinkrobe - You're thinking of Dr Alex Moulton! ;)

When I first saw Dave Moulton's website it took me a couple of minutes to seperate Dave from Dr Alex, I was also surprised to find that Alex Moulton is still alive. Looks like his son is running the company now.


I didn't know Dave Moulton was a BikeForums poster. I don't go near the roadie forums they play rough :D

Joe Breeze posted once that I saw.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=871252#post871252
3 posts total.

Innovative builder . . . sorry he hung up the torch!

he used to post here daily. kinda drifted off though after a while. search for his name on here and i'm sure you'll see some of his posts...

Yes, he posted some very helpful ideas on bike "fit" and bike design. Then, some guys who have never built a bike and have been riding for maybe a year or two began idiotic attempts to "debate" Dave on those subjects. He decided life was too short to argue with morons and left the Forums.

I saw a post by him about 2 weeks ago. Someone posted a question about the origins of an old California Masi and he responded. The present sales manager from Masi then made this hero worship post. It was rather humorous.

He's a seriously cool guy. I still hope he will come back one day...

Koffee

Pinkrobe - You're thinking of Dr Alex Moulton! ;)
Bingo! http://www.alexmoulton.co.uk/ I was in love with those bikes when I was a youth. So cool.

True, I saw Dave's comment before and flung out a mighty dose of hero worship. Why not? The man is a genius builder and his frames are very highly regarded. Not knowing him well enough to comment on his behalf, I can easily see how he might leave the forums based on some of the comments that occasionally pop up. Dave's an incredible man though. Not to promote my own agenda, but for those interested in a little more info on the man, I was lucky enough to do an interview with him on my site;
http://masiguy.blogspot.com/2006/01/masiguy-exclusive-interview-with-dave.html

If you get the chance, check out his sites and read him. I can fairly safely promise that you won't regret it.

Masiguy

this is why i liked dave. it's a snip from his website:

"Which brings me to another theory I have: If something is designed correctly from a purely functional point of view, then it will look right from an aesthetic point of view. This is true of a boat, a building or a bridge, or any form of what I call functional art."

i like this way of thinking.

While it is true that he was a builder in California and therefore a "west coast" builder he was in fact a highly regarded and justifiably sought after frame builder in England before he ever moved to the US.

His pedigree stretches back over many years and I think to refer to him simply as a "westcoast" builder does him a dis-service. He is really one of the legends in the business.

One of the reasons I was so thrilled recently when I picked up an early Moulton which I will be restoring.

Even better - the man himself has been very helpful in directing me to solid info on restoring as well as providing original build info on my new bike which was from England, before he ever became a "west coast" builder.

True, I saw Dave's comment before and flung out a mighty dose of hero worship. Why not? The man is a genius builder and his frames are very highly regarded. Not knowing him well enough to comment on his behalf, I can easily see how he might leave the forums based on some of the comments that occasionally pop up. Dave's an incredible man though. Not to promote my own agenda, but for those interested in a little more info on the man, I was lucky enough to do an interview with him on my site;
http://masiguy.blogspot.com/2006/01/masiguy-exclusive-interview-with-dave.html

If you get the chance, check out his sites and read him. I can fairly safely promise that you won't regret it.

Masiguy
I'm sorry, that did kind of sound insulting. It wasn't meant that way.

While it is true that he was a builder in California and therefore a "west coast" builder he was in fact a highly regarded and justifiably sought after frame builder in England before he ever moved to the US.

His pedigree stretches back over many years and I think to refer to him simply as a "westcoast" builder does him a dis-service. He is really one of the legends in the business.

One of the reasons I was so thrilled recently when I picked up an early Moulton which I will be restoring.

Even better - the man himself has been very helpful in directing me to solid info on restoring as well as providing original build info on my new bike which was from England, before he ever became a "west coast" builder.

No "Dis" on Dave meant, When I wrote the post I intentionaly didn't mention his previous years building in England so as not to confuse him with Alex Moulton. I have to admit, that though I knew he moved to states from England I didn't know until I read his website that he had been building that long prior to coming to the US.

I just want to say thank you for the kind comments on this thread.

I do still lurk around on Bike Forums but don’t post that often. I mostly look at the type of questions being asked to give me ideas for articles on my own website: http://www.prodigalchild.net/Bicycle.htm You can always contact me from the site and you are welcome to do so.

BTW I’ve just signed on as a speaker at Le Cirque du Cyclisme, June 9,10,11 in Greensboro, NC Go to: http://www.classicrendezvous.com/ for more info. Looking forward to meeting with some old friends and some new people I know only through my email list.

Dood, if you come to DC...

Koff

Dood, if you come to DC...

Koff
Meet me half-way in Greensboro.
Dave

Well, how about hooking up with Peak Coaching in Bedford sometime perhaps this summer?

Drop me an email. We'll chat.

Koffee

We should be thankful that a few good British builders decided to come ashore in the USA! Along with Dave Moulton, Colin Laing also comes to mind.
A few Americans did cross the pond to learn how to do things properly before coming back to the US to wield a torch, including Matt Assenmacher of Michigan.
We are fortunate to have in Tucson, AZ a couple great custom frame builders: Andy Gilmour of Gilmour Bicycles and David Bohm who builds under the Bohemian name.
Andy will build to the latest specs/trends/materials, while Bohm is more the classic style builder, including very ornate handmade lugs.
Nice to still have a choice!

Dave is a super cool guy! When I worked for him in the early 80's he came to my wedding and he brazed me this little art piece. It's an old bicycle leaning against a gas lamp street light with a long pole next to it. It came with a little story he wrote about how back in the day, the 'lamp lighters' would ride the streets, turning on the streetlamps before they were electric.

It still sits on my mantle and is one of my favorite things.

A bit of a bump, but I won't fault you for it... as long as you post a picture of said sculpture. ;)

Will do shortly

I talked to Dave back in the early '90s when I got into bike-racing. It was at one of the trade-shows, CABDA or Interbike or some such. He really helped me with positioning on my bike. I was sitting way too low and his fit-ideas helped me reduce knee-pain and back problems by raising my seat about 1". Having come from a recreational biker arena, I never knew the kinds of issues you'd have if you carry over "comfort" fittings into racing training.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i172/High_Ram/moulton3.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i172/High_Ram/moulton4.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i172/High_Ram/IMG_1129.jpg

I picked up a Moulton a couple years ago. I like it!

That bike is wonderful.

Dave is/was a nice guy. I meet him in the 80's when he repaired a Liotto frame for me...very down to earth guy. He made Fuso frame and John Howard frames back then, I think he shared a building with the Masi folks. A friend of mine's first good road bike was a John Howard made by Dave. Pretty bike...