Alex Moulton: 1920-2012
THE CELEBRATED British vehicle engineer Dr. Alex Moulton CBE has died at the age of 92.
Dr. Moulton was an inspiration for generations of engineers, designers and inventors. Educated at Marlborough and Cambridge, Alex Moulton worked at Bristol Aeroplanes as assistant to Sir Roy Fedden during WW2. In 1945 he joined the family firm, Bradford on Avon rubber manufacturers Spencer Moulton, to lead a new research team. His collaboration with Sir Alec Issigonis resulted in Moulton suspension, including 'Hydrolastic' and 'Hydragas' systems, being employed in over twelve million British cars from the original Mini to the MGF.
However, his name will be more familiar to the general public as the brand of the Moulton bike - a small wheeled cycle featuring the inventor's trademark rubber cone suspension. The bike became very fashionable in the sixties and spawned many imitations. Although Dr. Moulton sold the patents to the bike to Raleigh in 1968, he later bought them back and his company continues to market bikes to this day.
