Moulton Deluxe F frame restoration.

thanks to all of you, I couldn't recommend an old moulton enough, if you have one or are considering one get it out and ride it. they're great to ride and fun to mess around with. Happy to give advice on restoring if needed...

Bit of a setback. riding home on Friday and the rear fork collapsed. turns out that the rust had had more of an effect than i thought. need to find a replacement strengthened rear fork asap. I've got in touch with the Moulton club who hopefully will help. replacement forks are few and far between...

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Bugger

It's back!

After a rather futile search on ebay for a replacement rear fork I found myself writing to Michael Woolf of Moulton Preservation who, by return post, informed me that he could supply me with a rebrazed and strengthened rear fork for just £50. After a happy jaunt down to his place in Chelsea I was the proud owner of a perfect rear fork and a brand new stainless steel rear pivot bolt. At the same time I was able to check out his rather excellent collection of moultons which included a rather lovely chrome plated Deluxe and a very rare Bridgestone stainless steel F frame from the early '90's signed by the great man himself.

Anyway, after a quick respray and a bit of basic metalwork I was able to refit it and am back on the road again. As you can see it's putting in excellent work as a cargo bike.

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Oh did I possibly see you in Kentish town the other day?

Yup, that would be me

Just letting you guys know if you have facebook i run "The Moulton F Frame Group" page so feel free to join, lots of builds and info, look forward to seeing your builds!

Des.

My current mk2 major bought in very good condition but getting a major modern upgrade, 8 speed sturmey hub, new sun rims, cranks n pedal, brooks seat and grips etc no expense spared, also have a mk1 speed to be finished also but does not need much.

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My speed mk1 in its current condition.

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Very nice. Making some changes to mine to get it ready for Dunwich. Need faster gearing. Currently on SA 3 spd with 52:16. Thinking changing to 52:13 will add a few more on the flat. If I need more then I'm into specialist chainring territory....

Yup a 58 OR 60t or more can be fitted if ya have the legs to propel them round. T.A cranks or Milremo being the nostalgic norm.

The moulton continues to amuse and entertain. I noticed this entertaining crack that has formed along the join between the seatpost and the downtube, which has put it out of action until I get it fixed. Question is, where should I go to get this repaired properly? Was thinking about getting it powdercoated at Armourtex, they sayb that they can do frame repairs - this is a fairly structural repair - would they be good for it, or is there anyone else in north / central / east london worth speaking to?

Pic

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weird posting error. sorry...

Seems like there's a whole lot of rust all up inside the frame tubes, and not a lot of steel left... #internetdiagnosis though, let a framebuilder have a look around it

Believe it or not it's not rusted, i stripped it back to the metal earlier on this year and it looked OK. Problem is that it's 52 years old and was built in a washing machine factory in Liverpool, thus the metal and the joints are hardly the highest quality. In fact it's surprising it's lasted this long.

Anyway, if anyone can recommend a decent framebuilder around central / north London who might be up for fixing this I'd love to hear.

@jimjamosullivan / Haiku Bikes have a workshop in N1 but I don't know if Jim deals with stuff like this

Any updates? Just put my mk2 in the powder coaters yesterday and getting it done in traffic blue, hoping it turns out nice as i have spent hundreds so far and still have my wheels to get built next with an 8 speed hub.

Sorry for the delay. Quick update. I took the frame into Bikefix on Lamb's Conduit Street, who did a beautiful job in rebuilding the joint, and I've been riding it happily for the past few weeks. However all that rebrazing has had a less than ideal effect on my lovely Halfords rattle can paint job, so last weekend I dismantled the whole thing again (i'm becoming an expert in stripping moulton frames) and took it down to the chaps at Armourtex. It's getting a black sparkle coat, and the racks are being coated gloss white. Then this weekend I'll be rebuilding it, with a new 60/13 (!) gear ratio so it is fast enough to keep up with the Dunwich dynamo in a couple of weeks time... Photos to follow...

Update on mine, frame back from coaters, sun rims built with sturmey 8 speed and front hub from Bricklane bikes.

My coated frame.

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Wheels done.

lovely. Like the blue colour. will be interested to see how the rear hub is. I've stuck with a basic 3spd SA hub.

Are you using straight or drop handlebars? Just redone mine with old school cloth tape & shellac, quite pleased with the effect.

It's a bit late now as it's at the powdercoaters, but I wish I'd modified the frame to run the rear cables internally...

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Dezzie,
Colour looks ace.
:)

OK, now pretty much finished, new sparkly black powder coat, upgraded to cambium saddle, 60:13 gear ratio, kojaks, and added a spruced up cloth/lacquer handlebar. Only problem is that the front suspension has an irritating squeak so will probably have to chuck more grease in there..

The new gear ratio means that it goes like stink so should keep up for Dunwich in a fortnight.