Moulton Experience

Earlier this year (2005) I

purchased a Moulton APB R18,
see picture. Prior to this I was
riding an Apollo hybrid. The
Hybrid rode quite well, with front
suspension, although if the tyres
are inflated to 80+ psi, the ride
becomes fairly harsh. I was
looking for something with a
comfortable ride, able to carry
reasonable loads for both
commuting and the occasional
longer tour or excursion and
easy to transport between
locations. The APB does a reasonable job of all this with not too many compromises.I did also
consider a Bike-Friday, but after test riding both alternatives, found the Moulton to give a better
ride and more suitable to my purpose. I have made a few minor changes to the bike as
purchased.

What’s that Pannier thing?

Well it’s not actually a pannier. I like to carry tools,

pump, spare tube, patches and wet weather gear
and this bag seems to hold all that plus gloves and
spare batteries etc. I got it from the local camping
shop; I think it is a One Planet “Trash & Treasure”.
I have mounted it below the carrier (I had it in the
same place on the Hybrid) leaving the rack free for
the large work briefcase. In order to keep it stable,
I used a cross brace from the rack mounting point
to the bottom of the bag. It is currently secured
with cable ties. A better option might be a flat bar
with holes in that can be secured using the rack
mounting. It seems to do the trick, and remains
securely in place even with the bike inverted.

The front Rack

I tried a front rack on the hybrid, mounted on the

forks and was not a great fan. So I have cobbled
up something similar to earlier Moulton racks
mounted from the frame which is a much better
way to carry a load without affecting the steering
and handling characteristics. The odd shape of the
front is because I used the support brace from the
hybrid’s front rack, attached to the Moulton where
it was attached to the forks of the hybrid. The
support from the top of the frame is made from
some scrap aluminium. The design aim was to
carry the “day-pack” component of my hiking pack,
with the main pack on the rear carrier. However it
has been used to carry a couple of 5 litre wine casks (10 kg) and is a good support for a freezer
basket for use as a shopping trolley.
What about those Bottle Cages?

Bottle cages usually only take 750ml drink

bottles. Mine have been adapted to take any
size bottle from 600ml to 1.25 litre standard
bottles. They also work for glass wine bottles or
even a bottle of scotch. I opened the base a little
with a small plastic wedge, removed the
moulded wrap around and replaced it with an
elastic/velcro strap. It works for me.

What happened to the drop bars?

I tried the drop bars the bike came with for a

while. They are fine on the flat smooth bitumen,
but the lack of control on downhill rough going
was a problem (especially with that twitchy small
front wheel). So I replaced them with the flat
bars from the hybrid. Much better braking, much
more control downhill on rough going. Fine on
the flat, the bar-ends giving a more forward
position, and tape wrapped for comfort. I am
currently using the bar-end shifters mounted on
the flat bars as “thumb shifters” which works
quite well. I may change to shimano 9 speed
rapid-fire pods one day.

Loaded commuting

My daily commute is about 11km each way which I do in “normal”

work clothes carrying a large soft briefcase on the rear rack. The
briefcase holds a notebook computer and all the other usual work
stuff. It weighs in at over 10kgs some days. On nice days I ride home
along the river paths, but otherwise it is bitumen all the way.

Tyres
The bike came with Scwalbe city jets, which, although pretty much
“slicks”, work pretty well along the river banks. Being narrow and
100psi, they do not like loose gravel very much though.

Where to next ?

I have a few trips in mind, but will see how I get on in shorter ones
before tackling anything major. When travelling by air, I think bikes
travel best in a bike-box (free cardboard one from LBS). I think I will
get or make a soft bag though to make bus and train transport easier.

David Hill, Tasmania ( anydave@gmail.com)