Moulton Bicycle

In 1963, British inventor Alex Moulton (1920-2012) introduced an innovative compact bicycle. Architectural Review editor Reyner Banham (1922-1988) predicted it would give rise to "e;a new class of cyclists,"e; young urbanites riding by choice, not necessity. Forced to sell his firm in 1967, Moulton returned in the 1980s with an even more radical model, the AM--his acclaim among technology and design historians owed much to Banham's writings. The AM's price tag (some models cost many thousands of dollars) has inspired tech-savvy cyclists to create "e;hot rod"e; compact bikes from Moulton-inspired "e;shopper"e; cycles of the 1970s--a trend also foreseen by Banham, who considered hot rod culture the "e;folk art of the mechanical era."e; The author traces the intertwined lives of two unusually creative men who had an extraordinary impact on each others' careers, despite having met only a few times.