CONTENTS

DECEMBER 2007

Velo Vision is published quarterly 4 News 32 Short Reviews Technical notes by Velo Vision Ltd. Velo Vision Sample Article A camper trailer, new Rohloff rumours, Subscription details, news and updates can be found on www.velovision.com Drymer trike, Greenspeed’s Snowbeast, 32 Lights fantastic: three battery-free ideas

This Acrobat PDF file should ISSN 1475-4312 a Velo Vision trip to SPEZI and more tested. Reelights, Pedalite and display correctly on almost 3M Sekuclips This PDF is a sample of the material in Velo Vision Magazine any computer. If you encounter The Environmental Centre, St Nicholas 9 Cycle 2007 34 No more neckstrap: a better way to Velo Vision Issue 28, December 2007. The problems the first thing to try is Fields, York, YO10 3EN, UK We report from the UK cycle show in carry an SLR camera by bike? to download the latest version of Tel/Fax +44 1904 438 224 Earl’s Court, London 35 Over the moon: cycling again with the contents page is shown right. (from UK, 01904 438 224) Moonsaddle Acrobat reader from the Adobe Email [email protected] 12 Pedal porters 36 Pitlock vs Pinhead: we test two security website: www.adobe.com Website www.velovision.com Car-free cycling culture on Mackinac quick-release systems EDITOR AND PUBLISHER: Peter Eland Island, Michigan, USA. 37 Books: Velomania, Crap Cycle Lanes, To get an idea of our current output, please If that fails, please send me an ART DIRECTOR: Brian Holt WEB PROGRAMMER: Simon Ward cycling misadventures, the sociology of visit email and I’ll try to sort it out. PRINTER: Stephens & George 15 Bicycling Blind cycling and Practical Pedal magazine Magazines Ltd, Merthyr Tidfil, Wales, Riding with Tandem Israel in the desert UK. Tel 01685 388 888 Small print north of Eilat 40 Readers’ bikes www.velovision.com PUBLISHING SCHEDULE: Issue 29: March 2008 16 Recycle by cycle 40 Ride the Lightning: a P-38 owner reports Issue 30: June 2008 A Canadian couple with a commercial 43 An inventive velocar: visiting a Swedish I don’t much like copy Issue 31: September 2008 where you will find, amongst much else, full Issue 32: December 2008 recycling company – and a big bike trailer pioneer protection and legalese, but a 44 Power and posture: could a new Velo Vision is a member subject/author indices, sample articles to few things need saying: of INK, trade association 18 Just the Tikit position bring benefits? of the alternative press in We review the eagerly-awaited quick folder 47 Big in front: a new take on front wheel download and an online shop where you can the UK. www.ink.uk.com from Bike Friday, the Tikit. drive subscribe. You are free to print the Velo Vision and Velo-Vision document out for your personal We weren’t first with the name. 22 Ride the roughest roads 48 Letters Velo-Vision (note the hyphen) is a Testing the Tout-Terrain Panamericana Triple-decker trailers, the Tour de Fat, progressive HPV-friendly bike shop use, but not for resale or for full-suspension touring bike: a bike for a novel drive system and more If you have any problems or suggestions about in Körten, near Bergisch-Gladbach, anyone else. Please do not Germany, who also make their own the toughest tours the magazine in general, or this PDF article in recumbents. Velo Vision magazine is 53 Subscribe to Velo Vision make it available online without working in friendly harmony with 26 The ’cumbent for children How to subscribe, back issues, and details Velo-Vision in Germany. particular, please email me at permission. A cycling family review the Altena-Bike of our distributors worldwide Velo Vision is printed on paper Estrellita, a new child-sized recumbent produced from sustainable forests 54 Advertisements to Nordic Swan standards. [email protected] To protect the copyright 28 A spirited ride The first place to look for specialist The Moulton Esprit on the road – does it products and services of Velo Vision and of our deliver AM magic at close to TSR price? I hope you enjoy the read. contributors, modification of this document, and copying of BUILDING THE FUTURE details with us, for the feedback of fellow the contents, may have been cyclists and designers. Each stage of the disabled. Ample proof this issue, if any were needed, process requires some determination, some that the instinct for innovation is as strong get-up-and-go, some skill and a certain as ever in the cycling world. We have clever, bravery, and for this alone they deserve our Words and images remain novel and functional solutions in all of congratulations and thanks. our test bikes and accessories, particularly Whether the ideas ‘catch on’ or not, we’re Peter Eland copyright Velo Vision and the perhaps the Bike Friday Tikit with its all richer for the experience. It’s a privilege ingenious cable-actuated folding system. that so many innovative designers have Editor and Publisher, original contributors. Please COVER PHOTOGRAPH: Riding the Esprit. Photo by Peter Eland. Then there are the reader contributions: chosen Velo Vision as the forum to share their Velo Vision don’t reproduce anything people who, having come up with an idea, ideas, and we’ll keep on doing our best to do OPPOSITE: No fare dodging for Velo haven’t just talked the talk, they’ve actually them justice. without express permission. Vision! Waiting for a train, Tikit at the ready (sorry!) at Berwick-upon-Tweed gone and built bikes to put their concept station. Photo by Peter Eland. into practice. And then boldly shared the Peter Eland

ISSUE 28 DECEMBER 2007 VELOVISION 3 PRODUCT REVIEW MOULTON ESPRIT A SPIRITED RIDE

The £2200 Moulton Esprit is the latest evolution of the full-suspension spaceframe bikes which pioneered the idea of performance small-wheelers. But could it make a Moultoneer out of me?

FIRST IMPRESSIONS boss just above the bottom bracket Our review Esprit arrived in the for the rear pannier lower support, customary fairly small Moulton too. Bottle cage mounts are fitted on box, pointing up the space-saving the front of the seat tube. potential of the separating frame Our bike was finished in a (see panel overleaf). Assembly took discreet dark, almost grey green. just a few minutes, mainly taken The dropouts are neatly cut from up by removing the packaging. Our stainless steel, and are unpainted. test bike had done the rounds of The rear suspension pivot is a number of publications before just behind the bottom bracket. A arriving with us, so please ignore any rubber suspension unit (available signs of use visible on the photos. in two hardness grades) provides The trademark Moulton lattice cushioning, and the swingarm frame uses the same small-diameter also supports a neat little stainless steel tubing as their top Double steel chain guide which effectively Pylon model, brazed neatly onto the prevents the chain jumping off the larger tubes which form seat and single front chainring. A mounting head tubes and bottom bracket. The plate for a front derailleur is small ‘edge’ tubes wrap neatly round provided on the main frame, along the head and seat tubes, and close with all necessary cable guides, in by are fitted the mounting points case you decide to upgrade to a for front and rear panniers. There’s a double chainring in future.

A stainless steel chain guide There’s a preload adjuster for the is fitted to the single-chainring front suspension, and also a rubber version of the Esprit. bump stop in case you bottom out.

BACKGROUND bikes (£2700+) but rather more The Moulton spaceframe bikes than a TSR, which range from have for some years been divided around £900 to £1450, or the £1250 between the relatively affordable non-spaceframe , as Pashely-made TSRs (as reviewed reviewed in Issue 16. A version in Issue 21) and the custom-made of the Esprit with drop bars and and considerably more expensive double chainring costs £2400, and a AM and New Series ranges. The frameset is available from £1480. new Esprit model is an evolution A range of accessories is available, of the AM Series, with a somewhat including mudguards, large and wider spaceframe (for extra small racks front and rear, and bags rigidity) and narrower tubes, to match. Our bike was fitted with somewhat simplified suspension the (standard) MKS removable (rubber rather than ‘’ pedals and optional Brooks Swift at the back), redesigned forks, and leather saddle (£169.99) instead of numerous detail changes. the standard Fi’zik model. Esprit The Esprit costs £2200 in the bikes are built to order, so contact version tested, price-wise a little Moulton to make changes to any more affordable than the full ‘AM’ aspect of the specification.

28 VELOVISION ISSUE 28 DECEMBER 2007 ISSUE 28 DECEMBER 2007 VELOVISION 29 PRODUCT REVIEW MOULTON ESPRIT

Both wheels are built with 24 spokes It supports a set of ‘Mosquito’ bars, no less than you’d expect on a bike THE RIDE it’s how my own town bike is set in the Moulton 17" (369) rim size, and quite narrow at around 40 cm, and of this price. The first impression of riding the up. It puts the wrists into a relaxed, Separation are fitted with Schwalbe Stelvio 32 covered in dense Grab-on foam. The seatpost is a long alloy model Moulton is that it’s so light it’s almost straight position, and the fingers fall The Esprit is separable without mm tyres. A nice touch is the offset The brake levers are reverse-pull from Nitto. With a fairly low seat skittish. This is largely down to the naturally onto the brake levers. The tools into two halves: undo the two spoke holes on the rear Velocity rim, ‘200TT’ time-trial models from tube, the Esprit can accommodate narrow ‘Mosquito’ bars; they put brakes didn’t have a super-positive colour-coded cable separators, which reduce the dish required and Cane Creek, with the cables running a wide range of rider heights, and the hands fairly close together, feel on our bike, and it was easy loosen the lower knurled collar, hence make a stronger wheel. neatly concealed under the foam. a number of shorter riders rode it so there’s not much leverage, and enough to squeeze the levers to the and then the knurled end on the The front wheel is supported by a Note also the soft rubber bungs on without difficulty. But without easy any movement you make is very bar. But actually on the bike, even main frame joint. After a few turns leading-link suspension system, with the bar ends, which have a comfy adjustment for reach, many found directly transferred into steering. coming close to that supplied plenty you can release the two halves and almost impossibly delicate-looking little groove into which you can rest themselves uncomfortably stretched Coupled with quick acceleration of well modulated stopping power. unhook the lower joint, splitting tapered tubes running down from your thumb as you ride. Shimano out. A shorter stem would help to from the small wheels and overall On the Esprit, the narrow bars the bike into two. It’s easily done, the fork crown. A bridge then takes 105 callipers do the actual braking. some extent. Moulton do offer an light weight, it almost feels like it’s make it easy, almost natural, to and when reassembled the tapered the load up to the shock-absorbing The gear shifter is a Shimano optional ‘Parallel’ stem, available in running away. drop into a narrow, elbows-in ‘aero’ surfaces wedge together to form a unit within the steerer tube. Here Deore trigger-type, placed at the four lengths. But a few hundred yards later it tuck on the downhills, and this solid joint. The front half, with the steering there’s a choice of soft, medium or centre of the bars, and it controls the One final nice touch is the 5 and 6 falls into place, and your reflexes no doubt helps the bike’s feeling Separating the and handlebars, can feel a bit hard coil springs. Rotating the lower rear derailleur on the 9 to 26 tooth mm Allen keys secured rattle-free in catch up with the Esprit. It’s a bike of speed. Of course, you can also bike takes under unwieldy, but if you turn the stem 90 knurled section adjusts the preload, Capreo rear cassette. With the 53T a soft rubber block under the saddle which reflects your inputs; ride ride with the hands close together a minute and no degrees and fold the bars down flat, and a rubber collar acts as a bump chainring, this gives a gear range of – handy for running adjustments. it with a calm upper body and inside the bars on the ‘flats’, at the tools, leaving two it’s much tidier. Drop the seatpost stop if you bottom out. around 33 to 100". Chainring, cranks Weight as tested was 11.01 kg it’ll track straight and true: twitch loss of some control, or resting relatively compact and the rear is also quite compact. An angle-adjustable stem allows a and bottom bracket are all Shimano including the pedals. A lighter fixed around and it’ll twitch right back. your palms on the bend. It is a little halves to stow. certain amount of latitude when it 105, as are headset, chain and rear frame version (non separating) is The ‘Mosquito’ hand position is annoying sometimes to have to lift It’s certainly easily car-bootable comes to setting the riding position. derailleur – all fine components, if also available, as shown below. actually my personal favourite, and a hand off to change gear: in rolling (the design objective, I believe), but terrain I would often ride with my it’s by no means a folding bike, and left hand on the side of the bars in in any case I’d be concerned about The Shimano Capreo 9-26 Several comfortable hand the ‘normal’ position’, with the right those small tubes in the rough-and- cassette gives a gear range positions are available, but semi-permanently on the flats ready tumble of a public transport luggage of 33 to 96". Note also the you can’t brake and change to change gear. Were it my bike I’d rack. The separable Bridgestone unpainted stainless steel gear at the same time. probably like to try a bar-end shifter. Moulton, as reviewed in Velo Vision dropouts. Gear shifting was, however, very 16, is more appropriate for this sort positive, and I found the range of use, with its more robust frame adequate, even once I’d escaped flat and optional carry bags. York to find some hills. This isn’t the bike to choose for a hilly camping tour, but with just a light day-ride 20" tyres, but also swallows up rough acquitted itself remarkably. any sort of terrain a road cyclist bag under the saddle or on one surfaces with sheer aplomb. Again, that assumed careful riding might encounter – even down to of the optional carriers, a fit rider It’s not intended for the ‘big hits’ at reasonably slow speed to avoid occasional unsurfaced bridleways. should be able to cope with most which something like the Tout- some of the bigger bumps and holes It’s light, rigid and responsive, terrain. The only real limitation Terrain tourer would take in its (which a 26" wheel would ride over pared down to the essentials. A little is at the bottom end, and I often stride, and any sympathetic rider with no harm done). But if you take delicate, perhaps, so not for the found myself wanting to rise out of wouldn’t make it try. But it can and that care, using a bridleway to link heavy-handed rider, but heavy- the saddle as I ran out of gears. But does absorb bumps and potholes up quiet roads becomes much less handedness never sits well with this doesn’t work so well: the front up to an inch or so in height with of a chore and more of a pleasure. fine-tuning. suspension heaves up and down remarkable composure, feeding just £2200 is a lot of money: in cycling and while this can be limited with a gentle push into the handlebars CONCLUSIONS terms it could buy a good (even practice, it can’t be eliminated. A from a sharpish impact, and feeding It seems to me that the Esprit is a lighter) racer or randonneur, and lockout, as fitted to some of the back almost nothing of the usual hedonist’s bike. Yes, it rides superbly a capable MTB, and a very decent other Moulton models, would be harsh vibration from coarse concrete well and, with accessories, could be folding bike, with change left over. welcome. They do say the ‘hard’ surface or broken asphalt. pressed into all sort of roles, limited But if your practical cycling needs spring helps reduce heave, as does When one of our rides took us perhaps only by tyre clearance. Yet are already covered, and you want a choosing the double chainring across an unsurfaced bridleway, as supplied, stripped down and bike for the sheer pleasure of riding version for more gears. But on the the effectiveness of the Moulton’s lightweight, it’s perhaps closest to and ownership, that’s where the bike we tried, riding with ‘roadies’ suspension became absolutely its nature. As one person who rode Moulton magic comes in. who will stand up to sprint or climb apparent. Swapping bikes with a it said ‘it’s like riding a finely-tuned at the drop of a hat can leave you rider on a 26"-wheeled unsuspended musical instrument’. I agree, and Peter Eland suffering to keep pace. machine the difference was night attempting to force it into a utility Then again, the Esprit isn’t built and day: a harsh, tooth-rattling cycling, load-hauling or other role AVAILABILITY as a racer, and in the longer run you ride on one, and smooth, unrattled (and then complaining about its Cycles: Tel 01225 The intricate structure of may end up hurting less than the progress on the Esprit. Of course, the practicality) misses the point. 865895 or see www.alexmoulton.co.uk the rear swingarm. All that roadies. Where the Esprit shines is small wheels with hard tyres bogged This instrument is tuned for They have dealers in a number of brazing no doubt contributes in its suspension, which not only down at a mere hint of mud – but for day-riding for pleasure, offering countries: see website or contact to the Moulton’s £2200 price. takes the edge off the 100psi Stelvio gentle, dry off-roading the Moulton a fast yet comfortable ride over them for details.

30 VELOVISION ISSUE 28 DECEMBER 2007 ISSUE 28 DECEMBER 2007 VELOVISION 31