This is the Alex Moulton New Series Double Pylon. It's an incredible bike, not a folder but a separable (take it apart and fit it in little bags).
It's perfect for confined living spaces (such as a boat or small downtown apartment), whilst still offering an ultra-stiff frame and the feel and position of a full frame.
The small wheels are there to support a faster ride and easier climbing, though that also counts against them on downhills as you have a tad less of a flywheel effect.
I rode a Moulton up Mont Ventoux and down/through the Nesque Gorges in Provence. I've also visited the Moulton factory down near Bradford on Avon. They have this great mini track around the estate for testing the bikes, and you can visit the room in which they are made. To this day they are hand-made, every weld, on custom jigs.
They're fairly special bikes, but you are paying for the labour in the frames more than anything.
Also, Alex Moulton Sr died on 9th December 2012 http://www.alexmoulton.co.uk/ . He was a hell of an industrial designer. His son Shaun Moulton runs the company now.
But yeah... GBP16k not USD16k.
And if you think that's expensive, go calculate how much you could configure a dream bike from Vanilla Cycles http://vanillabicycles.com/ , Robin Mather http://apracticalguide.wordpress.com/ , Richard Sachs http://www.richardsachs.com/ , etc would cost. It is very easy to pass GBP 7,500 without batting an eyelid, easy enough to get to GBP 10,000, and with some mildly demanding stuff and some very expensive components (Enve Composites I'm looking at you) you can easily be on your way to GBP 20,000 for what the untrained eye may assume is just a nice town bike.
Though... no-one is going to think a Moulton Double Pylon is a town bike!
Oh, and if you really want consumer demand for a basic bike at a luxury level... research what the Japanese will pay for a superlight Brompton http://www.brompton.co.uk/ folding bike in naked finish. The waiting list is lengthy, and the factory in Brentford, West London now runs 2 shifts a day, 7 days a week to fulfil orders.
http://www.fudgescyclestore.com/index.php?p=174107
This is the Alex Moulton New Series Double Pylon. It's an incredible bike, not a folder but a separable (take it apart and fit it in little bags).
It's perfect for confined living spaces (such as a boat or small downtown apartment), whilst still offering an ultra-stiff frame and the feel and position of a full frame.
The small wheels are there to support a faster ride and easier climbing, though that also counts against them on downhills as you have a tad less of a flywheel effect.
I rode a Moulton up Mont Ventoux and down/through the Nesque Gorges in Provence. I've also visited the Moulton factory down near Bradford on Avon. They have this great mini track around the estate for testing the bikes, and you can visit the room in which they are made. To this day they are hand-made, every weld, on custom jigs.
They're fairly special bikes, but you are paying for the labour in the frames more than anything.
Also, Alex Moulton Sr died on 9th December 2012 http://www.alexmoulton.co.uk/ . He was a hell of an industrial designer. His son Shaun Moulton runs the company now.
But yeah... GBP16k not USD16k.
And if you think that's expensive, go calculate how much you could configure a dream bike from Vanilla Cycles http://vanillabicycles.com/ , Robin Mather http://apracticalguide.wordpress.com/ , Richard Sachs http://www.richardsachs.com/ , etc would cost. It is very easy to pass GBP 7,500 without batting an eyelid, easy enough to get to GBP 10,000, and with some mildly demanding stuff and some very expensive components (Enve Composites I'm looking at you) you can easily be on your way to GBP 20,000 for what the untrained eye may assume is just a nice town bike.
Though... no-one is going to think a Moulton Double Pylon is a town bike!
Oh, and if you really want consumer demand for a basic bike at a luxury level... research what the Japanese will pay for a superlight Brompton http://www.brompton.co.uk/ folding bike in naked finish. The waiting list is lengthy, and the factory in Brentford, West London now runs 2 shifts a day, 7 days a week to fulfil orders.