I made it into a new Belgian Bike Book
Mon, December 21, 2020 
I recently made it into a new book published in Belgium, called “Bike Inspired Creativity."
The book is a collection of Whimsical, Weird, and many quite Wonderful pedal driven creations from around the World.
The book’s author, Pascal Mageren contacted me earlier this year about an unusual project I had completed back 42 years ago, towards the end of 1978.
This strange looking bike was a photo prop I built for the World’s first living family of sextuplets born in South Africa 1974. The eight-seater bike was built for parents Susan and Colin Rosenkowitz and their six children, to be photographed on the occasion of the sextuplets sixth birthday.
I already knew that in January the following year I would be moving to America, when out of the blue, I was contacted by The National Enquirer, who told me they were the largest circulation newspaper in the United States. This was probably not a lie but misleading never-the-less, as to a naive Englishman like me who had no clue what the Enquirer was, the term “Newspaper” implied it was a publication that printed actual news.
At the time I saw this as a wonderful opportunity to have the “dave moulton” brand become a household name all over the USA, and I hastily agreed to build this thing for free, in exchange for a story in the Enquirer about how English framebuilder Dave Moulton had built this special bike.
The frame was put together quite quickly and cheaply, with a length of 3”x1.5” (76x38mm.) steel box tube forming the main frame. Inexpensive cottered steel double-cranksets were used, and a pair of second-hand wheels and fenders from a moped, conveniently had built in drum brakes.
After all, it was only meant to be used for a one-time photo shoot, and the Enquirer told me it didn’t even have to be ridable. Of course, I was not going to build a bike that couldn’t be ridden. Actually, it turned out to be extremely easy to ride and balance, the heavy steel rectangular tube and the steel chainsets, all below the wheel centers, made it almost impossible for it to tip sideways.
The only strange sensation I remember was when trying to steer around a corner. It felt like I was pedaling forward but going sideways. The bike was finished before the end of 1978 and someone came and picked it up and shipped it to South Africa.
I didn’t even have to build a crate for it, which was just as well because when the picture (Above.) was published in the Enquirer in the Spring of 1979, there was no mention of me, the builder. However, I did have the foresight to paint my name in large letters on both sides of the frame.
This bike just won’t go away, it keeps popping up. It was the subject of the fourth article I wrote when this blog started in 2005. Colin Rozenkowitz, the father of the sextuplets found that article in 2009 and sent me a photo of the six siblings now adults on the same bike.
Then again, a year later in 2010 the bike, still in South Africa, was used on a charity ride with two adults and five children on board. (Above.) Now once again it appears in this new book. Not bad for a bike that was hastily designed and put together for a one-time photo shoot. Then again, I never built anything that was not meant to last.
This new publication is really a neat book, with many amazing projects. I will write more about it next week when I’ve had time to read more. In the mean time you can link to it here.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Joyous Christmas, or whatever it is you celebrate at this time of year.
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Reader Comments (2)
Merry Christmas Dave,
Still looking for a Fuso to add to my collection, but they are few and far between up here in Canuckistan.
Happy holidays, Dave! And thanks for a year's good reading!