4-Speed Moulton TSR Prototype

A prototype 4-speed TSR was shown at Bradford on Avon on saturday, as part of the annual Moulton Bicycle Club event.

The gearing combines a Schlumpf Speed Drive and Fichtel & Sachs Duomatic. This means that gear-shifting and rear braking is done without cables, allowing the bike to be separated, without the need for cable splitters.

Gear changes for both Speed-drive and Duomatic are activated by the feet. Gear change in the Duomatic is effected by pedalling backwards about 1/4 turn. Changing gears on the speed-drive is done by tapping a button on the pedal crank with the heel.

The Fichtel & Sachs Duomatic contains a coaster brake, activated by back-pedalling.

The 4-speed TSR was visually stunning. The bright white paintjob contrasted beautifully with the new Moulton Bicycle Company headbadge, and a Union Jack on the seat tube. It was very similar to Team GB's Olympic colours.

The new headbadge, which will adorn all Moultons in future, depicts a cyclist on a Moulton (probably a TSR) infront of The Hall. Colours are traditional AM Red, with the new blue, on a shiny silver background. A Union Jack silhouette appears underneath, along with the words "Made in England".

The prototype also sported Moustache-style handlebars, and a reverse-action brake lever to operate the front brake.

The Sachs Duomatic has been out of production for many years, but a large number of "New Old Stock" seems to be available from various sources.

Moulton with child seat

My Moulton APB and Mk3 at the beach. The Mk3 is fitted with a Kangaroo Weeride, centre-mounted child seat.

Being centre mounted, it is exceptionally stable, and balance is not affected at all. The WeeRide features a padded headrest, which protects against the child hitting their face/head against the stem, and allows the child to rest their head if they get tired. My daughter derives great amusement from ringing the bell, which she can easily reach.


The Mk3 has a relatively short top-tube length (distance from head tube to seat tube). Riding the Mk3 with the WeeRide fitted, long-legged riders can find their knees need to move outwards a little to clear the child seat. This can be reduced by mounting the Wee Ride at the forward-most extreme of it's range of adjustment. This might become uncomfortable on longer ride - though I find it quite acceptable on leisurely rides of 5 or 6 miles.

I purchased the WeeRide from Seats For Kids in the UK

Sturmey Archer S3X Fixed Gear 3 Speed Hub

Sunrace Sturmey Archer have published details of a new fixed-gear 3-speed hub, which is currently at the prototype stage.

The details are as follows:

  • Overall gear range is 160%.
  • Direct drive is 3rd gear, with reductions of 25% and 37.5%. This translates as gear steps of 20% and 33%.
  • This The hub will feature a "much stronger aluminium hubshell".
  • No details are given about shifters, but a "bar-end style shifter" looks a possibility.

The new S3X is a new interpretation of the Sturmey Archer ASC hub, which was a Fixed Gear 3-speed hub produced from 1946 to the late 1950s.

The S3X has a wider ratio than the ASC, which had an overall ratio of 133% (-25%, -10%, Direct).

Some links for information on the ASC hub:


The Sturmey Archer ASC 3-Speed Fixed-Gear Hub, from Sturmey Archer Heritage

The full Sunrace Sturmey Archer blog post is below.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008
S3X Fixed Gear 3 Speed
So I know there are many of you out there that are very interested in the little bit of info I recently got my paws on.

The first batch of prototype Fixed Gear 3 speeds is finished. The new hub will be called the S3X. The hub will be made using a much stronger aluminum hubshell. Overall gear range will be 160%.

* 1st Gear -37.5%

* 2nd Gear - -25%

* 3rd Gear - Direct Drive

* Gear step gear 1 to gear 2: 20%

* Gear step gear two to gear 3: 33%

Shifters are still up in the air but we have had many requests for a bar end style shifter. Also we are still planning on the possibility of doing some anodized colors with laser etching instead of screen printed graphics. Please comment on what you would like to see in the way of shifters or color choices.

Rusty old bicycle!

From Times Online

A rusty old bicycle expected to raise just £1 for charity was sold on eBay for more than £500 to a collector in Japan who identified it as a rare British classic.

The yellow bicycle was given to Bruce Symes to raise money for Dart Sailability, a charity for disabled sailors. Mr Bruce, of Galmpton, Devon, gave it a guide price of £1 but bids were soon placed from the Far East – including Taiwan and Korea.

Collectors noticed that the bicycle was a Moulton Speedsix – the first six-speed bicycle made in Britain, with only 600 produced in the 1960s. It was sold for £537.

New "Silent" Hubs from Shimano

From VeloVision Online...
Alfine and Nexus 8 hubs get 'smooth' roller clutches instead of pawls...

Shimano have announced a change to their 8-speed internal gear hubs. Previously, like most such hub gears, they used a freewheel-like system of pawls to ensure one-way rotation of various internal parts:

This does of course create a clicking sound...

Now they've moved to roller clutches which are near-silent in operation:

These also offer, they say, quicker engagement, which should make shifting a little faster. This final image shows how the new hub internals use three of the roller clutches:

The 'smooth' hubs have new part numbers:
- for roller brake SG-8R31 (std), SG-8R36 (premium)
- with coaster brake SG-8C31 (std), SG-8C36 (premium)
- Alfine (for disk brake): SG-S501