Unique Moulton Speedsix

The story of Peter Lea is quite an amazing one. During his cycling career, he averaged over 17,000 miles per year and over 187,000 miles in total.

Peter ordered a Moulton S Safari in 1965, with a massive 68t chainring, close ratio block and completed a hugely impressive mileage on it.

The photo above shows Peter on the record breaking S Safari.

Peter completed over 75,000 miles on the S Safari, including a record breaking 30,108 in one year, all while holding down a full time job. When Alex Moulton heard of the record, he put the S Safari in his museum, and gave Peter a custom Moulton Speedsix as a replacement.

Ken Butterfield has since acquired the tangerine Speedsix for his collection.

Ken says...

I knew that in exchange for their new high mileage exhibit, Moulton bicycles had built Peter Lea a replacement and that this was a tangerine orange speedsix which was assembled at Bradford on Avon in 1970. This is remarkably late for a series two, as the Mk3 was in full production over in Nottingham and development work at the Hall was taken up with this latest frameset. Other speedsix specials are known to have been built in this period though, including ones built by Jack Lauterwasser himself. Peter Lea’s experience must have been considered valuable, as Alex Moulton wrote to him asking if he had any advice for a young rider who was going to ride to Australia on a cycle that he was making for him. This was of course the Marathon, and the young man was Colin Martin!

The pictures show Alex Moulton studying the unique Speedsix, at the Moulton Bicycle Club weekend at Bradforn on Avon in September 2006.

You can read more about Peter's unique history in issues 48 and 78 of the Moultoneer, which is the magazine of the Moulton Bicycle Club, and in Tony Hadland's excellent book, The Moulton Bicycle.

This is a stunning and unique bike, as the pictures show. Thanks to Ken for sharing.