Alex Moulton APB Nexus7, 1997, England
History & Specifications
Sir Alex Moulton was an English designer and was famous for his invention of rubber suspension elements for the Mini Cooper car. One of his passions was “folding bikes” and his first design was introduced in 1959. The wheel size grew from 16″ on the AM models to 17″ and later on the APB to a more common 20″. With the Space Frame in 1983, after years of development, he succeeded in creating a highly regarded design object, the Alex Moulton AM series. The rear suspension was a rubber element derived from the Mini Cooper suspension. The front suspension had a parallelogram at the bottom, with a coil spring in the steerer tube at the top. The sliding element is notorious for seizing and so it was with this APB. The APB (All Purpose Bike) derived from an MTB series for Land Rover and was made more cost conscious for the broader masses than the AM models. The 7-speed hub gears are the lightweight model with Shimano Nexus 7 aluminum housing, and the wheels are more conventional at 20 inches. The original components are from various manufacturers such as Weinmann, Stronglight, Selle San Marco and more.
The black Alex Moulton APB is very well maintained and in beautiful original condition. I have done a complete overhaul, including fork revision and major hub service, all bearings cleaned, freshly lubricated and adjusted and the wheels centered. The roller dynamo must have been an in-house design from the famous Velolaboratorium of Andreas Nägeli in Zurich, who had the Alex Moulton dealership. Finding the pulley and fitting it was a tricky business.
Frame size Unisize, weight about 16 kg.