Author: admin

North West Ride Report April 2012

Five Moultoneers met up on a fairly non-descript road of semi-detached houses in a suburb of Chester with the threat of heavy showers literally hanging over us. At about 10:50 a shower started, punctuated with hailstones, some of us sought shelter in the doorway of a “house to let” but as all 5 couldn’t get shelter and 11 o’clock had now come and gone, we set off into the rain.

[flickr size="medium" float="right"]http://www.flickr.com/photos/moultonbuzz/7112996723/[/flickr] After about 30 meters of road we dropped onto national route 5, a beautifully smooth track based on the old rail line from Chester to Shotton steel works. After about 5 minutes the rain stopped and that was the last time it inconvenienced us for the rest of the day. Making good progress along the track, into a slight head wind, we travelled down this straight track passing numerous cyclists, dog walkers and ramblers. The tarmac was truly smooth, not damaged by tree roots or dug up & patched by utility companies etc, a real pleasure to ride along. We crossed the pedestrian bridge over the main A55 coast road by the ever-shrinking RAF Sealand facility. We continued on the national route 5 riding over the river Dee bridge, along the platforms of Shotton railway station and down onto the Chester Road for a café stop at the Corner Kitchen, with a great bike stand outside!

[flickr size="medium" float="left"]http://www.flickr.com/photos/moultonbuzz/6966919860/[/flickr]Suitably rested, fed & watered we set off taking a slightly different route back to the Dee bridge, crossed it once again and rode along the river side path with the strengthening wind now behind us. We passed the beautiful John Summers building, the old reception & management offices for the Shotton steel works – now sadly a boarded up listed building; I have visited the reception in the past when it was a fabulously appointed building, well worth preserving and using again in some form. The miles sped by on this smooth tarmced pathway as we passed the shooting school on the left then BA and its A380 Airbus wing facility on the right.

[flickr size="medium" float="right"]http://www.flickr.com/photos/moultonbuzz/6966920774/[/flickr]Shortly after we passed the water treatment works we turned off the riverside path and up Tower Road, turning right at Telford’s Warehouse to join the Shropshire Union Canal and up a flight of locks (the biggest climb of the day!). Once on the top of the locks we followed the canal through a deep & damp sandstone cutting topped with houses, along a cobbled section (love the suspension on Moulton’s) and out into a nicely re-developed area of Chester. We passed numerous renovated warehouses with bars & cafes, moored up canal houseboats, pedestrians – a really well manicured cosmopolitan area. After we passed the old shot tower, used for the manufacture of lead shot for shooting and an area about to be re-developed, we turned off the canal and re-joined the road network again. Taking a back road route passed the site of the old Chester hospital we returned to our cars in a few minutes.

All in all a pleasant day out, good company, 17 miles of mostly flat terrain, nearly all the route was free from internal combustion engines – just a pity about the rain at the start.
[flickr size="large"]http://www.flickr.com/photos/moultonbuzz/6966920846/[/flickr]

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Is this the perfect hand-built bike?

Moulton makes cycles unlike any other, with the small-wheeled stance of a fold-up bike, but with a unique stainless steel frame and quality and performance to put most modern rivals to shame. Despite first appearances, the latest line of Moulton bikes don’t actually fold up, but they do have a neat party trick. They also offer some of the most innovative designs currently on sale.

The latest line of bikes from the high-end cycle manufacturer all boast several distinctive features in common. The Moulton Double Pylon, the Moulton Speed and the Moulton SS stand out from regular bikes by virtue of their relatively small (at 20 inches) wheels – a concept close to the heart of the manufacturer, and one that Moulton claims leads to better performance.

According to Moulton, the more compact wheel size results in a “low moment of inertia, so acceleration is quicker and handling is nimble and fast”. Moulton goes on to say that “cycling requires less effort thanks to the low aerodynamic drag of the small wheels”.

The small wheels gives Moulton’s cycles the look of a fold-up bike – almost like a larger and less compromised Brompton. The latticework of stainless steel tubing that comprises the bike’s frame also sets the latest models apart from rivals, and although the bikes don’t actually fold, the frame is designed to split in the middle.

This won’t benefit you on the daily commute, but it does make the Moulton a lot more versatile, making it easy to pack in the boot of a car in seconds, without having to remove the wheels or seat.

The innovation doesn’t stop there, as Moulton has also used Hydrolastic suspension – a fluid filled rubber mount that’s more similar to a car engine mount than regular cycle suspension, giving better damping without sapping forward momentum. Innovative anti-dive rubber damping at the front, along with those smaller than average wheels, help to create a ride that most cycle manufacturers would kill for.

Features include custom CNC-made brakes and Campagnolo gearing, with a range of different handlebar styles. Moulton will also sell you an array of hand-made luggage bags and carriers to go with the bike, making it practical as well as distinctive.

The cycles are hand-finished with an impressive amount of quality and attention to detail, with the intricate and slender polished stainless steel frame worthy of a place in the Tate Modern. Can you imagine buying a Moulton, however, or do you prefer a more conventional big-wheeled bike?

From: Humans Invent | Innovation, Craftsmanship & Design

The New Website

The Moulton Bicycle Club recently entered an exciting new phase with the upgrade of our website, featuring Paypal integration and our online Community.

The following is a brief overview of what has changed, and how it may impact you as a current, future, lapsed or frustrated member.

Club Membership

The website now allows members to join the club and renew their membership online using Paypal. Current Members will be able to update their address details. Another useful feature are Paypal subscriptions, which allow a membership to be automatically renewed each year.

Memberships now run for 1 year from the date on which you join. Previously, all memberships expired on 31st August regardless of the joining date.

These changes should reduce the excessive strain on the Membership Secretary, a position which is voluntary and quite hard work!

Getting Registered

If you had an account on the old members website, these account details will no longer work. Sorry, but this due to technical considerations. You will need to register a new account on this website.

The registration process involves three steps:

1: Register an account

You will be asked for your name, email address, a password (make it a good one) and a unique username. The username should contain no spaces, punctuation or special characters. If your name is Joe Bloggs, then jbloggs or joebloggs would be good usernames.

You will then receive an Activation Email. The activation email will contain a hyperlink, which you will need to click on to activate your account. This verifies that the email address is correct and prevents someone from maliciously using your email address.

If you do not receive the activation email, it may be in your spam folder.

2: Tell us your Membership Number

Ok, so you have now registered, but we may not recognise that you are, or were previously, a member. You have two options:
You can email the webmaster and ask him to do this step for you. The webmaster will link your details to your existing membership details in an instant.

In fact, if you have registered using the email address that you used on the old members site, then the webmaster will probably do this for you automatically!

Alternatively you can select My Account > MBC Membership Details from the Menu at the top of the screen. There are a few things to note:
- Enter your current or old Membership Number (you probably got a letter from the Membership Secretary with a cutout Membership Card containing the number). If you can't remember the number, email the Webmaster, or the Membership Secretary.
- Enter your first and last names. These will need to match exactly those details that were in the Membership database previously. If you used joint names, or use an initial or an an abbreviation in your name, this may get tricky. Don't suffer in silence! Email the webmaster or the Membership Secretary.

3: Renewal Details

So now, if everything has gone ok, you should see your Membership Number and Renewal Date on your MBC Membership Details page (under the My Account menu).

There are a number of possibilities here:
- you had already sent your membership renewal and payment to the Membership Secretary (perhaps by cheque, standing order or he sent you a Paypal request for payment). The renewal date should be in the future, and you should see your full address details on the MBC Membership Details page. Everything is in order, go and enjoy the website!
- you may have sent a payment to the Membership Secretary, but the renewal date shown is in the past. Well, the Membership Secretary has been snowed under with renewals, and these are taking some time to process. So your renewal is probably in a big pile waiting to be processed. If you are concerned, send the Membership Secretary an email. We do apologise for the delay. This, however, is a great reason to renew by Paypal next year.
- your membership expired in September 2011, or any year in the past for that matter. No problem at all! You can use the Paypal buttons to bring your membership bang up to date.

New Members

If you have never been a member, then joining the club is a simple 3 step process.

1: Go to the Paypal page and make the relevant payment.
2: Register an account (if you have not done this already)
3: Fill in your address details and get your membership number. Welcome to the Club!

Lapsed Members

As outlined above, you can simply register, enter your old Membership Number and renew using Paypal.

The Community

The Community brings the world of social media to Moultoneering.
Members can update their profile, add friends and interact privately or publicly. Members can join Groups. There is a group limited to MBC Members, and an Open group. Members can ask to create their own groups, for example based on location (city, country, etc) or based on Special Interest.

Groups can be Public (anyone can join), Private (anyone can view but participation is by invitation only), Hidden (only members of the group can see the group). We can also limit groups to current MBC Members, or leave them open to everyone.

Getting in contact

The Membership Secretary can be contacted at mbc.membership.secretary@gmail.com.
The Webmaster can be contacted at webmaster@moultonbuzz.com