Bike Spotlight: Alex's Moulton AM-7

The Bike

Frame: Moulton AM-7, space-frame alloy, 17-inch wheels
Year: 2003
Owner: Alex P., Brighton

Alex bought this from a retiring engineer in Guildford for £200, which was either a bargain or the start of a very expensive relationship with small-wheel cycling. Probably both.

Why a Moulton?

The AM series is Alex Moulton's serious attempt to prove that 17-inch wheels, given sufficient engineering, beat 700c at almost everything. The space frame is torsionally rigid. The Hydrolastic suspension front and rear absorbs road buzz without the wallowing of a conventional fork. The small wheels spin up quickly and the reduced rotational mass is genuinely noticeable.

"Everyone assumes small wheels are slow. They're not. They're just weird. And I'm fine with weird."

The Modifications

Over eleven years the bike has accumulated:

• Shimano 105 groupset (replacing the original Sachs)
• Brooks B17 saddle, naturally
• Custom mudguards fabricated from aluminium sheet
• A replacement suspension unit sourced from a parts forum in Japan

The frame is original, unpainted over the factory silver except for a patch repair on the chainstay from a stack in 2019.

The Ride

We took it out on a club run to Lewes and back. It rides like nothing else — brisk over smooth tarmac, surprisingly composed on the chalk tracks around the Downs. The looks at traffic lights never get old.

If you want to understand why some people think bicycle design peaked in 1983, ride an AM-7 for a day.