Just because Im old and set in my ways and have no interest in or patience for anything new or different, that doesnt mean I dont try new things once in awhile, like going for a ride late in the day instead of early in the day:By the way, get a load of those trees back there, hows that for autumnal foliage porn? Its getting cool out tooso cool you might even want to put on a sweetshirt:But yes, I rode so late in the day that it was actually dark by the time I got home, and fortunately I had my headlight:And yes, Im still enjoying the OM-1 shifter-and-derailleur combo:Also, yes, the indexed OM-1 shifters do work better with the LoNo OM-1 derailleur than the indexed Shimano shifters:But the Shimanae are working fine, and its only a matter of time before I get antsy and reconfigure the Farbman again anyway, so Im leaving them.Anyway, as I mentioned, I do try new things, especially in my capacity as the Classic Cycle Old Crap Test Pilot, and heres the latest new (old) thing Paul has thrust upon me:What the hell is with the tiny wheels!?!, I implored of the cat, who is my chief (and only) package inspector. I thought we were all supposed to ride 32-inchers now! Then I noticed a cryptic message scrawled on the ear of the box:Egads! A Moulton!?!Yes, it was a Moultona Pashley Moulton, a bike that sounds like the last name of an Upper Class Twit Of The Year contestant:Sure, one could argue that the phrase British innovation is an oxymoron, like bombing for peace or alt-cycling group ride (if theyre so alt then why are they always in giant groups?), but youve got to admit that what these people have managed to do with tiny wheels and bicycles is nothing short of astounding. Not only did they give us the worlds greatest folding bicycle:[The Brompton really is the worlds greatest folding bicycle and Im not being sarcastic, I just find this video amusing, thats all.]But they also gave us thewait, what is a Moulton anyway? Does it even fold? Why is it so small? As I stood there marveling at the English and their proclivity for bikes with tiny wheels (and cars, for that matter), I realized I didnt really know much about them. Sure, I knew more or less what they looked like, and that they were invented by some guy named Alex Moulton:I also knew he was a Doctorbut of what? Tiny wheel-ology? It was here that my knowledge ran aground, like another tiny-wheeled British conveyance:But according to the Internet, Pashley started building Moultons under license in the 1990s, and from what I could tell the one Id just received seemed to be a TSR 27 from sometime in the aughts:Heres more from the catalog:There was also a road configuration:With Campagnolo components:As well as less expensive ones that dont come apart, though whats the point of that?Now I was excited, and so I duly watched the Moulton How to Break Apart video:Emboldened, I immediately set about re-assembling it:However, try as I might, I simply could not get that main bolt to catch the threads. Convinced something wasnt lining up correctly and that the bike was somehow faulty, I sent a desperate email to Paul, who assured me it was fine and suggested I use one of those Y-shaped Allen wrenches (like this guy is), all while somehow refraining from calling me an idiot:This was the crucial tip I needed, as the bolt needs a good push in order to catch. I realized at this point I needed to confront my prejudices about British engineering, which were mostly based on stereotypes, but were also reinforced during the period when my brother owned a British motorcycle and Id sit there on my Japanese motorcycle for 20 minutes waiting around for him to get the thing started.The next challenge was figuring out the SRAM DualDrive, which Id also never encountered before:YouTube assured me that attaching that box to the axle was a very simple matter, but it didnt seem to be simple at alluntil I figured out that this thing is supposed to be straight and not bent:I was afraid Id have to disassemble the hub or something, but fortunately the pushrod just threads right out and I was able to bend it enough to be functional:From there it was indeed a simple matter of popping the thing on, and the bike was ready to ride.As it happened, I had plans over the weekend that would require both driving and waiting around for awhile with nothing to do, so without so much as a test ride I tossed the Moulton in the back of the car and set out for a ride:My first impression was, Holy crap, I love this thing!It was smooth, fast, and comfy:As for the SRAM DualDrive, the aesthetics of the controls are less than elegant, evoking the steering column stalk controls of some weird car from the 1980s:However, everything shifted perfectly. Basically it works like a triple, except you have an internally-geared three-speed hub instead of a front derailleur:Now, you might argue that this is pointless, since what good is an internally-geared hub if you cant lose the appendage?However, it makes lots of sense for a tiny bike like this, since presumably youd need to use larger-than-normal chainrings on a regular road crank. (Note that the road version came with an exclusive custom crankset.) Also, you dont need to worry about cross-chaining, so you can use the full cassette range regardless of which hub gear youre using, and its one less thing to worry about when youre packing the bike for travelassuming you dont bend the little pushrod thingy, of course.Speaking of travel, while the bicycle doesnt fold, its quite compact, and disassembly is a simple matter of removing this bolt:And undoing the cable couplers:Now that I know I should be using a Y-shaped Allen wrench I imagine I could get the thing in and out of a suitcase in a matter of minutes.Besides all that, there are many reminders that the bike is English:SoveryEnglish:It also has pretty good clearance:Obviously thats good for mounting fenders mudguards:But I bet you could also easily GRVL this thing up:Between that and the suspension it would eat Very Small Rocks for breakfast, or at least tea:However, with the slick tires, I kept things a bit more genteel, and instead headed for the fancy caf at Stone Barns Center:Unfortunately I forgot you now have to make a reservation there a day in advance, and the annoyingly precious little market had nothing for me, unless I wanted to eat a bar of artisanal soap:So I headed down to Sleepy Hollow:Which, as you might imagine, was in the throes of Halloween mania:Though I suppose its always Halloween in Sleepy Hollow:By now I was desperately hungry, but even if I wasnt I think Id have been deeply impressed by how good these tacos were:By the time I got back to the car Id covered a pretty good distance, and my first impression that the Moulton was smooth, fast, and comfy did not change at all during that time:But Ill keep at it.