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Tributes are paid to the inspirational engineer Alex Moulton

Tributes are paid to the inspirational engineer Alex Moulton

TRIBUTES have been paid to the engineer and inventor Alex Moulton who made major contributions to both the British car industry and the world of cycling. He has passed away aged 92.

Dr. Moulton will be best remembered as the designer of the Moulton Bicycle — the distinctive, small-wheeled, bicycle which has built up an almost cult following since it first appeared on the market in the early 1960s.

The bike is credited with kick-starting the renewed interest in cycling which developed during the 60s with some well-known figures from the time being seen using a Moulton.

Dr. Moulton had offered the Raleigh company the opportunity to manufacture the bicycle under licence, but the firm rebuffed the approach, citing their belief the product would never sell. 

After being proved wrong, the Raleigh company was forced, several years later, to make an embarrassing u-turn and negotiate a deal with the designer.

The negativity which Dr. Moulton had experienced was similar to what his great-grandfather Stephen Moulton had faced in the 1880s. He had established a rubber business in 1884 after failing to sell-on a manufacturing licence which he had negotiated with the American Charles Goodyear.

Dr. Moulton had joined the family business after the Second World War and had begun working on ways of using rubber in the suspension systems of vehicles.

His research led him to work with Sir Alec Issigonis — who went on to design the Mini. Their partnership resulted in the Hydrolastic suspension system (which then evolved into the Hydrogas system) being using in a range of British cars, including the Austin Mini and the Austin Allegro.

Dr. Moulton never married, citing his fascination for engineering and his belief that his devotion to his work would have made it impossible for him to look after a wife and family.

Among the many tributes which were paid to the engineer and inventor was one from The Moulton Bicycle Company. In a statement, the company said: “Dr. Moulton was an inspiration for generations of engineers, designers and inventors”.

To view footage of Sir Alex Moulton delivering The Bugatti Design Lecture at Coventry University, click here.

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