Soon after that blog post Della sent me a better pic of the trailer, the idea being that I replace the one in that post.

Anyway I’ve been really busy since then and so it has taken me until know to get around to doing it!

So, instead of replacing the pic in that post here instead is a new post for the new pic.

In this pic I can see that Della’s trailer has a green soft cover of some kind, whereas my trailer has a yellow solid plastic cover. My solid cover needs bungee cords to keep it on, but it is 100% waterproof.

Della’s trailer and bicycle is parked by by a big recycling skip, which I am glad to see

I’ve just acquired one second hand was a steal at 30 pounds. The man I got it from used it once it was for his dog he put dog in dog jumped out and that was the end of that. Its been sitting for sometime so had surface rust in places. But nothing that some solvo autosolve has not sorted. Will need a bit of a respray soon. I took it out yesterday to the bottle bank and then back to the clothes bank. And I love it.

In the pic she sent it does indeed look very like mine:

I’m delighted that Della was inspired to go and see the trailer by reading the stuff I’ve written here about my own trailer. My website has done some good!

Della says:

The thing I was surprised about was that when towing the trailer cars actually give you a lot of room and actually over take you rather than cutting you up. Amazing. I was also surprised how easy it was to tow even when it was full of clothes for the clothes bank.

I think she’s right, cars do give you more room if you’ve got a trailer. I think they are frightened of it personally.

The trailer is really easy to tow even with quite heavy loads. In Brighton & Hove we do have a lot of hills but I find that if there is a heavy load then the best thing to do is to get off the bike and walk up the hill.

The pic of Della’s trailer is actually from the ad where she saw it, so the gnome is not her responsibilty!

Moulton bicycles have been manufactured for 50 years by several companies but recently Alex Moulton Bicycles in Bradford on Avon and the “Moulton part” of Pashley in Stratford upon Avon came together to form this new company, the Moulton Bicycle Company. Now the full range of space frame Moultons appear on this single website.

I think the Price Icon idea is rather good. According to the website:

“Moulton bicycles range in price from £900 to £10,000 depending on the model and specification. The price icon gives a relative scale for the price of each model in the range.”

I guess the prices vary from country to country, maybe even dealer to dealer, but it is good to know at a glance that the TSR 9 is cheaper than the New Series Double Pylon.

I really like the Heritage page. This gives a historical overview and key dates in the development of the Moulton Bicycle. This heritage illustrates that the Moulton bicycle has been designed as a full alternative to the classic diamond framed bicycle. Because the Moulton bicycle has small wheels often people mistake it for being a compromised folding bicycle design or something like that.

So, all in all, I feel the new website is a great success!

I was very attracted to the idea of waxed cotton as the seams are just as well protected as the rest of the garment so in October 2007 I bought a Carradice Duxback rain jacket.

It gets used a lot, for the the jacket is by far the most used cycling clothing item because I use it while commuting. Only in the summer do I go without it. It seems to be wearing well. It is not yet old enough for me to assess durability of its weatherproofing but indications are good.

There are pros and cons and things to be aware of with this jacket.

The hood is great in that it allows you to look over your shoulder while you are wearing it. It seems to be cut in a particular way to facilitate this. A problem with the hood is that if it is not worn on the head and hanging down while it is raining then the hood rubs against the back of the jacket and will create a damp patch. In light rain I find this is a nuisance because there is a tendency for me to put the hood on for a while, then take it off. The hood can be unzipped completely.

When I bought this jacket I got the largest one they make. My waistline varies a fair bit over the year and when it is larger then the jacket starts to become quite close fitting. This jacket is not very big and I think that the smaller sizes must be really quite small.

The jacket only has one pocket on the back. This is a normally shaped pocket on the right side of the back, it’s not one of those wide ones going across the whole of the back. For me this is okay but some people might like more pockets.

There is no lining, just a bit up at the top near the collar and in the hood. I like this because in mild weather I can wear a light shirt and the jacket, it is an ideal combination. If I want another layer when it is colder I can put one on.

Overall I feel good about the Carradice jacket.

I have two in fact. One is a cheap yellow plastic one that has lasted for years and is still good today. The only real problem I had with it was that it was just a bit too small for me. For short commutes this was no problem, but with longer commutes then it was a nuisance.

In November 2007 I bought a new cape from Carradice. It is the Duxback Rain Poncho (Super). You can see it at their website here. In that pic there are the trousers, spats and jacket. I also have the jacket but I’m saving writing about that for a future post. I bet you can’t wait!

You can see mine in the pic above. There it is taken from the back. It’s not a very photogenic item and not very flattering when worn.

The great thing about the cape is that it goes over the bars and hands and is tent-like. The bottom is open and so it remains well ventilated. It is rather an old fashioned thing but it beats the very hi-tech modern designs of bicycle clothing imho. When I do wear the cape I confess I feel a bit like the District Nurse, but I haven’t got the uniform to go with it.

For a long time I have dismissed the possibility of recumbent bicycles for wet weather cycling simply because there is no way you could wear a cape on one. However I see there is a German company called Alfred’s AWS buiding cape-like things for recumbents. I don’t know if they would be regarded as clothing or fairings. It all looks rather complicated compared with simply wearing the cape on the regular bicycle but it is good to see that such things exist.

Amongst others they mention James Danson-Hatcher who was killed whilst riding his bicycle in the South Downs close to where I live. A ghost bicycle was placed where he died.

In a short film I made with a team called The Right of Way we mention James Danson-Hatcher at the end and film the ghost bicycle. The film can be viewed here.

I read in the Brighton Area Cyclists email group that the ghost bicycle in the South Downs has been removed. The Brighton based cycling pressure group Bricycles has been campaigning for a lower speed limit on the road where James was killed but this has not been introduced. I know the road well and cars drive along it at a very high speed.

I remember filming the ghost bike, it was very poignant. I did it with my filming friend Hyun-suk Yoo. It was cold and windy and the cars were going past at very great speed. There was something utterly heartless about the traffic. I felt angry that their desire to drive so fast is considered more important than someone’s life.

The final shot of the film is of a cyclist who is crossing the road where James was killed. He has dismounted and is crossing with great care. I felt this scene showed that it is indeed the car drivers who rule here.

What strikes me is that the image of the small wheeled bicycle is changing. Increasingly it is being seen as something that can be fast.

As a Moulton aficionado I can only welcome this.

The Giant Escape Mini Zero does look a bit like it might break in the middle. Maybe there is something special inside that roughly horizontal tube.

Personally I think that high quality low stiction suspension allied to an ultra-rigid frame à la Moulton is essential to a good design, but bicycles like the Giant Escape Mini Zero do help in changing perceptions.

It was an extremely cheap printer. It’s pretty rare for me to buy something very cheap, I tend to buy infrequently but carefully. When I do buy I get something more expensive which will last longer.

This printer was my first mono laser printer after having used an inkjet for some years. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for mono. I knew I hardly ever used the colour of the inkjet. However I did find that mono laser is the way to go for me now with this cheap printer so it had some value.

I don’t print anything like as much as I used to. The vast majority of creation on the computer goes into PDF files which get emailed.

I remember when the computer was all about creation for paper, but that is long ago now. I remember when getting a colour printer for the first time was so cool. It didn’t make sense to have a black and white printer when I had a computer capable of creating such superb colour.

Now the Internet in all its forms has come and so “output” means uploading something not printing it.

I took the mono Samsung printer to the Hove district depot on my bicycle. It has been replaced by a more expensive mono laser printer the price of which confirms that I will never print in colour again.

I pumped the tyre up and successfully did a few messages on the bicycle. The following morning the front tyre was flat. I took it off and found that one of the Velocity Veloplugs was not where it should be. There was an empty hole, I found the plug loose in the tyre. The tube was punctured at the position of the empty spoke hole. I repaired the tube using quite a big thick square patch, put the Velocity Veloplug in the spoke hole carefully, then started pumping up the tyre. After a short time of pumping the tyre started making a hissing sound and it was obvious the patch had not worked. I took the tyre off and examined the patch in the tube. It was obvious air had been leaking out. I reckoned that as the puncture in the tube was right at the very same place as the Veloplug, the plug was probably pushing the tube puncture open by its shape, after all the Veloplug must indent the tube a bit and that indentation was opening up the puncture. Then the air was able to come out through the opened puncture and work its way out of the patch.

So, I have abandoned using Veloplugs now and for the front wheel of the commuting APB I am now using Velox rim tape. No more Veloplugs for me.

More pics in gallery

I got the hub already built into the wheel with a Sun CR18 rim. I do rather enjoy building my own wheels but it takes me ages so on this occasion I just bought one ready made. The wheel has 36 spokes, which is massive overkill for a front wheel this size, but both my APBs have 36 spokes front and rear so for conformity I had this with 36 spokes as well. My plan is to have both APBs with CR18 rims front and rear so that I can easily have just one rim spare to replace any that wear out.

I fitted the Lumotec light to the front pannier rack of the Moulton APB. This rack is mounted to the frame above the front wheel. At the front are three little nuts arranged vertically, brazed to and flanked by a couple of rods which continue to join the rest of the rack. Two of these nuts are used as bottle mount and I think the third is there to add strength to the structure. I mounted the Lumotec light to one of these brazed nuts using an M5 screw, three penny washers and an additional nut. The screw passes through the first washer then the mounting bracket for the lamp, then the second washer, then the nut brazed to the rack, then the third washer and finally a locking nut. These penny washers mean that the weight of the light is carried primarily by the vertical rods of the rack and the brazed nut between those rods is mainly for fixing light in position. I think it is a strong enough arrangement for the light and I’m quite pleased with the simplicity of it if I say so myself.

The cable from the light to the hub is attached to the fork stirrup using zip ties which have been positioned with aerodynamic consideration of course! The electrical connection to the hub is by way of a couple of spade connectors. Fortunately my misspent youth mucking about with audio systems prepared me well for fitting the spade connectors supplied by Schmidt to the Lumotec cable.

The Schmidt 20 R hub is specifically made for 16″ to 20″ rims. I must write that it is truly a beautiful piece of engineering, mine is shiny aluminium and the finish is top class. It’s also available in black (anodised) but I don’t like black components very much for the bicycle. On my commuting Moulton it will very soon be covered in muck and unfortunately it will spend most of its life like that, but I feel that the engineering inside is likely to be good when externally it looks so well executed. In truth for the commuting Moulton it will be a good thing when the hub has become quite dirty as I think it will be less attractive to thieves. At the moment it is absolutely gleaming and may prove tempting to thieves. The skewer supplied for the front spindle of the hub is not quick release which I think is rather good as it means that the front wheel cannot simply be lifted out. In fact, I rather like the skewer. I’ve never been very fussed about quick release but hubs nearly always seem to be supplied with spindles designed for skewers. With this Schmidt dynamo hub I’ve seen this not-quick-release-skewer for the first time and I think I’d like to get hold of it for my other wheels perhaps. It seems very secure and it only requires an allen key as a tool to remove it.

The Lumotec light looks functional rather than attractive. I phoned the online retailer before buying it because I had some questions about it. They guy I spoke to was very helpful but he admitted that he’d rather be involved in an accident than have the Lumotec IQ attached to his bicycle. I think it looks okay myself and for my commuting APB looks are not very important.

On the back of the Lumotec light there is a switch for “auto”, “on” and “off”. Auto means that the light will come on automatically when it gets dark. This ability is called “Senso” by Busch & Müller, it accounts for the “Senso” in the light’s very long name. Beneath the switch on the back are spade connections for a taillight. There is a pair for taillight using earth as part of the circuit and a pair for taillight with circuit isolated from earth. At present I’m using a battery powered LED taillight so I don’t have need for these, however an advantage of powering the taillight from those connections on the Lumotec is that the taillight can be coming on automatically when it gets dark like the Lumotec itself.

Last night and tonight I’ve taken the Moulton APB out for a ride and I can see that this Lumotec light is very good. I haven’t gone very far and I’ve been on lit streets only, but I can tell by the beam I see even in lit streets that it will be much better than any light I’ve used in the past on unlit roads.

A great advantage for the commuting bicycle with this system is that I can completely forget about it. There is a stand-light which seems to be very good and bright. I think it stays on for long enough but I’ve only ridden the bike at night for a couple of short runs so I can’t say much at this point.