Originally Posted by
werewolf
Evil - But the Moulton, some of their models anyway, looks so complex. Do all those joints require a lot of maintenance? Do they tend to wear out and break - and then with few people in the US knowing how to fix them and parts difficult or impossible to find?
I always thought that the enduring beauty of the bicycle is its inherent simplicity - yet the Moulton has its mystique.
Yes I agree about simplicity being attractive, but the Moulton was a special possession. When people mock my 'cheapskate' reputation vis a vis knock offs, I can quietly laugh, that I did own that bike that Sesamecrunch now has. LOL.
As far as I know the bike is rather well engineered and doesn't need much maintenance. If by 'joints' you mean the suspension joints, the rear frame pivot, needs a squirt of oil or grease from a grease gun maybe once a year. The front system is said to be maintenance free, although, I did apply the odd drop of oil to the small pivots in the leading link - I'm just made that way - If I see a moving part, I oil it every once in a while. That bike I had will need no more service than any other does.
As for breaking, the leading link has a very low unsprung weight, it's just a light weight wheel on a pivot and all the hammer is taken by an adjustable spring. I only rode it about 360 miles, but it was totally solid and it just worked in a most unfussy way. I spent some time that year layed up with a ruptured calf after hurting myself trying to kick start a single cylinder motor cycle and I couldn't justify to myself having that moulton as a peice of artwork, so I let it be known I was thinking of selling it and Sesamecrunch came over here to buy it in person. We had a nice little meet and stayed with Mullleady, who most hospitably put us both up at his house.
I still look at those pictures and think how beautiful a bike it is.