Moulton led the way in bending it like Brompton

SIR – Harry de Quetteville’s article on Brompton bikes (Magazine, April 16) quotes Stephen Bayley, founding CEO of the Design Museum, saying: “The only other substantial innovation in bicycle design since [1886] has been the Brompton. It is the bike’s second evolutionary stage.”

However, Sir Alex Moulton’s F-frame bicycle, launched at the Earls Court Cycle Show in 1962, paved the way for the design concept on which the Brompton is based – a 16-inch wheel combined with an innovative suspension system to provide a comfortable ride.

Moulton’s struggle to get his bicycle into production mirrors that of Andrew Ritchie and Brompton. Raleigh turned Moulton down, which led him to set up Moulton Bicycles and manufacture it himself.

As the owner of two Moultons and two Bromptons, I am well placed to judge the evolutionary stages that led to the success of the “fold standard”.

While extremely fond of my Bromptons, my heart belongs to Moulton’s revolutionary design. Peter Sergeant Hathern, Leicestershire

A Moulton cyclist at East Beach Cafe, Littlehampton, designed by Thomas Heatherwick