All true bicycle fans owe it to themselves to ride a small-wheeled bike to experience the wonderful alternative it offers. While there are plenty of options, those designed by the prodigious Alex Moulton are some of the best — and this special edition X-Black collaboration between Moulton and ColourBolt, makes it all the more enticing.
The history of the Moulton Bicycle Company makes for just a riveting read as an actual ride on one does, and thankfully it is described concisely on their website, which is a smart marketing move, as you’re left inspired to drop into a dealer to experience the heritage for yourself.
The enigmatic brand has offered many iterations of their models over its fifty-six-year heritage, all imagined by Dr Alex Moulton, a renowned engineer, and specialist in suspension design — whose contribution to the creation of the Mini helped make it such a driving success.
ColourBolt is a London-based operation that applies not just paintwork, but an aesthetic, to custom handbuilt frames. Catering to a London market, they’ve created single-speed commuters, geared road bikes and mixtes and, contrary to their name, all predominantly coloured black.
The ColourBolt team initiated discussions about a collaboration at the UK’s Bespoked Show and after a couple of years, the project took form. They took Moulton’s iconic X-Frame, engineered for lightness, stiffness, and speed, and dressed it according to their singular style.
ColourBolt’s exclusive Drenched Black finish is “a super-tough industrial powder coat that is designed to withstand virtually anything that can be thrown at a bicycle.” The rear end was modified to accept a 135mm axle spacing so a Chris King single-speed hub. Polished handlebars and a black Brooks C13 saddle are finishing touches.
A jewel-like 60-tooth De Luna cog by Bespoke Chainrings, with a signature single coloured bolt, provides the drive. The X-Black Moulton launched at Brooks’ B1866 store in August and has to be the best-looking Moulton we’ve ever seen. If you’d like one of your own, get in touch with Velorution, ColourBolt, or Moulton.
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