Will it be there when the owner gets back?

[Supersuperleeds]

Is the bike still there?

 

[Pale Rider]

Is the bike still there?

No, it was last seen being ridden away by some smelly old bloke wearing trackie bottoms, smoking a cigar, and wheezing as he went.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

Super Record!!....

What a strange thing it is

It is. It's like someone got Ferrari to help make an "ultra" version of a Fiat 500, but the Fiat 500 speciale ended up costing more than an actual Ferrari. As fast as that Moulton is for a Moulton, it's still a folding bike that's going to get nowhere near something designed from the outset to be fast and light.
It's a strange world, and I suppose there's one born every minute. Clearly it appeals to someone though.

 

[jonny jeez]

At the risk of going way off topic, where is the value in the 11k price tag? I'm sure the engineering is pretty good and the components are decent (rolhoffs aren't cheap). But I can't see 11k worth of bike. I don't know how much a folder like Brompton costs but what extra do you get with a Moulton for the money?

You can ask the same of most bikes. Even a three grand bike has less technology, materials and equipment that an equivalently priced scooter or motorcycle.

For £11,000 you could pick up a decent car, with electronics and far mire sophisticated gearbox , doors, airbags, roof, windows and four seats.

Its worth what folk are prepared to pay and is justified using the same rule for its equally overpriced individual components.

£2-3000 for electronic gears on a road bike. My cars gearbox costs less than that...fitted! The components in an electronic shifter system are basically a solenoid, a switch and a waterproof housing.

 

[Ajax Bay]

As fast as that Moulton is for a Moulton, it's still a folding bike that's going to get nowhere near something designed from the outset to be fast and light.

I think you'd be surprised just how fast a Moulton can be ridden - so actually 'very near'. The UCI ban them for TTTs.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

I think you'd be surprised just how fast a Moulton can be ridden - so actually 'very near'. The UCI ban them for TTTs.

I get you and I'm sure they're very quick for a folding bike, but if it costs you 11 grand to get "very near" the performance of a top class road bike, and the top class, professional road bike costs you a couple of grand less, are we missing the point? It's the "Fiat 500 speciale costing more than a Ferrari F1" car idea I toted earlier, it's crazy.

 

[jefmcg]

I think you'd be surprised just how fast a Moulton can be ridden - so actually 'very near'. The UCI ban them for TTTs.

Yes, and it's not a folding bike. It's separable (or sometimes not) without any of the compromises required for folding.

 

[NorthernDave]

The Moulton exists because it appeals to some people. Admittedly it's a very niche product but there are people out there who will pay for exclusivity, technology or just sheer one-upmanship. Plus a niche product needs a high profit margin, as by definition you don't sell very many of them.

I can appreciate the work that has clearly gone into the design and components, but I can honestly say that even if I dropped the Lotto next week I wouldn't be buying one.