Moulton and Pashley to merge under Alex Moulton name

Alex Moulton Bicycles and Pashley are expected to announce that they are to combine their capital, administration and brands into a single company for the production of Moulton Bicycles. The combined company will use the Alex Moulton name. This probably means that there will no longer be a distinction between "Pashley Moulton" and "Alex Moulton".

Production of the bicycles will initially remain unchanged, so the TSR will continue to be made in Stratford-upon-Avon, while the Esprit, New Series and Double Pylon models will continue to be made at Bradford-on-Avon.

A single website will feature the combined range.

Many questions remain, such as:

  • does this mean that one can order any Alex Moulton bicycle throughany Pashley dealer.
  • will there be any staff redundancies?
  • will there be a clean split between the company producing the traditional Pashley range, and the new combined Pashley Moulton/Alex Moulton entity?
  • will the premises in Stratford continue to be shared?
  • where will new design and development work be done?

Let's hope the official announcement comes soon and we get lots of answers!

EcoVelo » Pashley-Moulton TSR8 Impressions

EcoVelo » Blog Archive » Pashley-Moulton TSR8 Impressions
The TSR is a unique design that is beautifully executed. I see it as a replacement for a traditional club racer, but with the added bonus of breaking down for storage or transport inside a small vehicle. With the addition of racks it could be used as a commuter, but because it doesn’t break down small enough to take on a city bus and the wheels are too small to fit most transit bus racks, it’s limited to point-to-point commutes. It’s such a beautiful, delicate bike, I can’t imagine locking it up outside or dragging it through a bustling train station anyway.

Exciting Moulton Announcement This Week?

Alex Moulton Bicycles and Pashley are being very tight lipped, but both confirmed that they will make a big announcement, probably later this week.

The announcement is expected to define how the two companies will work together in the future.

Frame brazing at Alex Moulton Bicycles in Bradford-on-Avon. Photo by Ben Wilson

It is unclear, at this point, whether this means some kind of merger, a joint venture by both companies, or simply, a manufacture under licence agreement.

The APB was the first bicycle produced in cooperation between the two companies. The bicycle was designed by Alex Moulton, who then sought a manufacturer to produce the bicycle under licence using Moulton's tooling. While Raleigh was considered at first, thankfully it was WR Pashley who eventually manufactured the APB at its premises in Stratford-upon-Avon.


Picture: Pashley

The TSR was designed and manufactured by Pashley.

So what is this new partnership likely to involve?

One possibility is that the Esprit could be manufactured by Pashley. From day one, the Esprit was manufactured in a separate unit to the New Series/Pylons and by separate staff, so this could be moved to a different site relatively easily. Also, the hairpin design is more like the APB/TSR and this lends itself to slightly higher volume, lower cost manufacture. Such a deal would be likely to see the Esprit being marketed more agressively than any Bradford built bike, as we have seen with the TSR since it's introduction.

Whatever the announcement, it is likely that we will see more Moulton bicycles rolling out of Pashley's doors in the near future.


Picture: Pashley

Obico: The Ultimate Bike Computer?

The Open Bike Computer, or OBiCo is a fascinating new bike computer project.

It can be used as a normal bike computer, of course. But it can also be used as a heart rate monitor (taking input from Polar and Sigma brand chest straps), a music player (it plays OGG as well as MP3) and a GPS receiver. It takes an external memory card (the widely available micro-SD card), has a high quality TFT screen and a USB interface for connection to a PC.

The USB connection can be used to charge the internal lithium ion battery. Alternatively (and this deserves a drum roll) a hub dynamo, such as the Schmidt Original Nabendynamo (SON) can be used to charge as you ride.

You may at this point have noticed that it's very unlike a typical commercial bike computer, lacking proprietary accessories and software... well it gets better, much better.

The Obico will come with a custom API for software development. So if you're not happy with the software that comes with the device, you can write your own.

It will also feature the Embedded Linux operating system to the Obico could be used just like a regular computer, in so far as any Linux computer is regular!

The main features of the Obico are:

  • No batteries required! A hub dynamo will be used to charge a li-ion cell.
  • Easy to use.
  • Audio interface, so you can listen to your favorite music while cycling.
  • High quality color tft-display, that adapts automatically to the lighting conditions.
  • Visualization of:
    • speed
    • heart frequency
    • odometer
    • audio data
  • Logging your tour data like GPS coordinates, heart frequency, speed and other parameters to a MicroSD-Card.You can synchronize these data with your PC lateron. The amount of logged data depends on the size of your SD-Card.
  • GPS support is planned as an option. Location plans are scheduled.
  • New program features for this computer are for free and can be downloaded from this webpage.

The main processor is an ARM9 derivative. It is supported by a second processor, which controls the peripherals and assumes the tasks of the power management. The obico board has the following features:

  • 32 / 64 / 128MB Mobile SDRAM
  • Micro-SD Interface
  • AC97 Audio Interface to play MP3, OGG, ...
  • high quality, background lightened TFT-color display
  • HRM - Receiver (Pulse band receiver)
  • GPS - Receiver (optional)
  • 3 axis gravitation sensor
  • ambient light sensor
  • Lithium Polymerakku, that is loaded per USB or dynamo

It's still at the prototype stage, but if this project were based on genuinely open standards and free software, and received good development community support, this has the potential to be truly groundbreaking and revolutionary.

http://www.obico.de/

Holy Versatile, Batman

The following are short clips from the 1960's TV show, Batman.

All feature a Moulton Stowaway model which Alfred, the butler has styled the "Alfcycle".

In "The Jokers Provokers", we see the Stowaway with original front and rear racks and bags. Alfred demonstrates that he has created a two way radio for communication with the Batmobile. Batman is impressed!

Later in the same episode, Alfred uses the Alfradio on his Alfcycle to make contact with Batman. The Stowaway survives the mayhem without a scratch!.

In "Come Back Shame", the portability of the Stowaway is showcased when it is transported, separated, in the sidecar of the Batbike. Batman helps Alfred reassemble the Alfbike, and takes off, a little less gracefully than in the previous clip.

In "The Catwoman Goeth", Batman has some transportation issues, and in so solving, Alfred demonstrates the load carrying capability of the Stowaway.