Moulton Bicycle

Moulton is an English bicycle manufacturer based in Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire. The company was founded in 1962 by Dr Alex Moulton, who designed the "Hydrolastic" and rubber cone suspension systems for the BMC Mini motorcar, and the later "Hydragas" system used by its successor companies.

Moulton bicycles are noted for unconventional frame design, small wheels, and front and rear suspension.

A misconception about Moultons is that they fold in the manner of more recent designs by manufacturers such as Brompton or Dahon. This is not true, though the Moulton design paved the way for such designs and various Moultons over the years have been made in separable versions allowing relatively easy dismantling for transportation or storage. Mass-appeal versions such as the Standard and Deluxe were complemented by Speed versions used in competition.

Thus although Moultons are often included in the folding bicycle category along with small wheel folders, small wheel bicycles would be a more technically correct term covering all such bicycles.

In August, 2008, Alex Moulton announced the creation of a new company called Moulton Bicycle, in collaboration with British bicycle manufacturer Pashley Cycles which had manufactured certain Moulton designs under licence since 1992.

In the late 1950s, disillusioned with the design of the classic bicycle, Alex Moulton set about creating a new design. He thought the classic diamond frame was inconvenient to mount, difficult to adjust for size and not suitable for both sexes. That 'Ladies' open frame bicycles without the top tube of the diamond frame were structurally compromised for ease of use. He believed that classic bicycles (especially with small frames and smaller wheels known as 'shopper' bicycles) were uncomfortable to ride without the use of wide, low-pressure tyres which increased rolling resistance. He also thought large wheels made a bicycle slow and cumbersome to store, and did not easily fit emerging societal commuting patterns in the developed world, which often combined more than one form of transport.

...
Wikipedia