mtb-timeline

Fuso

Dave Moulton was a master builder of race bikes which have been raced in the Olympics and Grand Tours. Although his mountain bike output was very small ¹⁾, his quality and reputation drew attention and acclaim to every bike he produced in his 36 years of bike building.

Dave started building bikes in 1957 in Luton, England:

I initially learned my framebuilding skills from a man known as Albert “Pop” Hodge. Born in 1877, he was almost 80 when I first met him in the mid 1950s; he had been building frames since 1907. … He brazed the lugged joints, blacksmith style, in a hearth of hot coals. Dave Moulton's blog, archive of davesbikeblog.

Dave moved to the US in 1979, working for local custom builders such as Masi. Moulton re-started making his own branded frames again in 1981, renting space from Masi's workshop. The Fuso ²⁾ brand started in 1984 and Dave continued the Fuso business in San Marcos, California. ³⁾ Dave Moulton retired from framebuilding in 1993 and continued to write about bicycles including some fiction⁴⁾

I only built 50 MTBs, a few have survived.

The Fuso Mountain Bike is a misfit that doesn’t really belong anywhere.

In retrospect I could have built it with oversize tubes, added front suspension, and it might have been successful.

But to be honest my heart was not in it; after a lifetime of building, racing, and riding road bikes, to do so would have been “Selling my soul to make a buck.” Dave Moulton, davesbikeblog

Dave passed away May 4, 2025.

resources:

Dave Moulton, 1936 - 2025 facebook

1985

Moulton's first MTB. Shimano XT M700 v1 (1982-84), FC-6206 cranks (1984-85), Columbus SL road tubing.

1985 archive or davesbikeblog

1986

Nearly identical to the 1985 example, except for some updated components. Shimano XT M700 v2 (1985), modern Ultegra cranks, SunTour roller cam rear brakes (1984, thus).

1986 mtbr