The Moulton Bicycle Factory is the site of the original Moulton Bicycles Limited, established in 1962 to produce Dr Alex Moulton’s pioneering F-Frame design to which all of today’s small-wheeled bicycles owe a huge debt of gratitude.  It not only introduced and proved the concept of full-sized bicycles with small wheels but also, right from the launch, utilised front and rear suspension systems for improved comfort and performance.

"The Moulton bicycle was born out of my resolve to challenge and improve upon the classic bicycle, with its diamond frame and large wheels, which has locked bicycle design into that form since the pioneering work in England of Starley and others at the end of the 19th century"  Alex Moulton

The Rover ‘safety bicycle’ designed by the British inventor John Kemp Starley in 1885 was the first embodiment of the classic diamond frame which had all the elements of standard modern bicycles, including chain drive, which meant that both wheels could be the same size and the rider was closer to the ground than on an ‘ordinary’, the prevailing penny farthing design. The introduction of the safety bicycle revolutionised cycling and it became enormously popular, enjoyed by men and women.

 
By the late 1950s, however, interest in bicycles and cycling in the UK and the rest of the world in general was at an all-time low, motor scooters and affordable cars having had a significant effect on the industry.   Alex Moulton’s revolutionary design with its ‘new look’ was just what was needed to breathe new life into cycling.  It was suitable for both sexes; was designed to be ‘one size fits all’ and it had 16” wheels fitted with small cross-section high pressure tyres and, most significantly, front and rear suspension, which made for a responsive ride.  With its low-mounted, high-capacity carriers front and rear it was an ideal ‘shopper’ and ‘touring’ bike and it fitted in well with the swinging 60s, mini-skirts and mini cars.

The original Moulton Bicycle was launched in 1962 at the Earls Court Cycle Show and the public interest in the revolutionary design was immediate and overwhelming. Moulton had originally interested Raleigh in manufacturing the Moulton bicycle, but after they rejected his design following a two-year consultation period, he formed Moulton Bicycles Limited and started building the bicycle factory in Bradford-on-Avon. Reaction to the new design at Earls Court was so positive, however, that he immediately ordered the factory to be doubled in size, but even this proved to be woefully inadequate to meet demand and, thanks to Leonard Lord and George Harriman (Chairman and Managing Director of the British Motor Corporation (BMC) respectively) a manufacturing operation was established at Fisher & Ludlow (a subsidiary of the British Motor Corporation) at their plant at Kirkby on Merseyside and within a year, Moulton Bicycles became the second-largest frame builder in the country (after Raleigh).

By 1965, in the light of the success of the Moulton bicycle, other manufacturers (notably Raleigh) had turned their attention to producing similar small-wheeled machines. Many features of the Moulton bicycle such as the front and rear suspension were protected by patents, of course, so other cycle companies came up with designs similar in appearance to the F-Frame but which were inferior in performance and comfort. The most significant of these was the Raleigh RSW16 which, with its low-pressure balloon tyres, required considerably more effort to pedal than a Moulton and rather tarnished the reputation of the small-wheeled industry.  

From this point on, however, competition in the small-wheeled bicycle market intensified, and as Alex Moulton was increasingly involved in the automotive industry, in 1967 the decision was taken to accept an offer from Raleigh to buy the Moulton bicycle business, Alex Moulton retaining an active role as a consultant within Raleigh. That consultancy agreement which was originally intended to last 15 years was actually terminated by Raleigh in 1975, just after Raleigh ceased to manufacture Moulton bicycles in any form, preferring to concentrate their booming sales of the ‘Raleigh 20’ and its variants.

In the early 1980s Alex Moulton bought back the rights to the Moulton design from Raleigh and a new company, Alex Moulton Bicycles, was formed to manufacture ‘space frame’ AM models broadly similar in design to the originals but lighter.  The AM APB (All Purpose Bicycle), a less expensive model, was produced under licence by Pashley Cycles from 1992 to 2005.

An article by Tony Hadland (with thanks) about the Moulton cycle