A little over a month ago, a new bike was being assembled to join the fleet in my garage. The initial impressions of the new 2011 Moots Mooto X YBB 29er were detailed in “Mooto X YBB: Building a ‘Dream’ Bike First Impressions” and in that post it was mentioned that a 29er fork was ordered, but it had not arrived. The Fox F29 fork arrived the same day that the post went live so the build could really begin in earnest.
The parts selected for this build included a mix of Sram XO, Chris King, Fox, Stan’s and Race Face. The intention was to move most of the parts over from my older 26-inch wheeled Moots YBB, but the eight weeks required by Moots to build the frame gave enough time to gather all new parts except for the Ibis Ancotech titanium handlebar and Hope titanium skewer.
The frame and fork arrived just weeks before my sixth time of competing in the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race. Normally a new bike is not a concern, but the Mooto X YBB was a completely different beast for me. This bike had some major new-to-me features – 29er frame, tubeless tires and disc brakes are all foreign territory in my cycling world.
Once the 2012 Fox F29 suspension fork arrive, the Chris King headset race was installed. The fork was slide up through the head tube and the stem was attached; but there was a problem – the lockout knob of the fork struck the underside of the down tube. Some people would say that this is not an issue, but scoring the down tube, even on a titanium frame, gives a point for the tube to crack. Chris King had a solution for this problem, in their Tall Baseplate. The Tall Baseplate is a fork race which is 5mm thick allowing additional clearance between the top of the fork and underside of the down tube. This $12 solution allowed the lockout knob to clear the down tube by 1mm.
After the fork issue was address, the build could continue. The assembly went fairly straight forward and having the Chris King hubs laced pre-laced to the Stan’s Crest rims by Tam Bikes of Mill Valley, California really sped up the build process. Along with lacing the wheels, Tam Bikes also mounted the tubeless Specialized S-Works tires, but since the wheels arrived a few weeks early, additional Stan’s sealant needed to be added to seal up very slow leak in the rear tire.
The stem, handlebar, shifters and derailleurs were easily installed – just like any other build. The hardest part was yet to come in the installation of the disc brakes.
The Sram/Avid XO disc brake installation of the levers and calipers went very easily. Even cutting the lines and stringing them through the cable guides was a breeze, but then came the bleeding of the system. Having the Avid professional bleed kit and DOT 5.1 fluid gave me all of the tools required, but it was a struggle to bleed the lines since there was not an example in the fleet to compare the results. There are a few videos on the internet that helped with the process and the one step that was missed during my installation was de-gassing the actual brake fluid beyond tapping the visible air out of the syringe. Once all of the de-gassing steps of the system were accomplished, the brakes worked fine. A few weeks later, it was confirmed by a Sram tech at the Leadville 100 that the setup was done correctly.
With the brakes installed and a computer mounted, the build was complete. The first ride was at the Boulder County Park, Heil Ranch. This is my testing ground for mountain bikes since it has everything from smooth, tight single track to rocky climbs and descents. A complete running of these trails is a three hour, 24 mile ride… perfect for the first riding of the Mooto X YBB.
The first thought that crossed my mind was how big the bike felt, this is all due to the 29er wheels. The fit on the bike was similar to my 26-inch wheeled YBB, and yet it just felt huge. The first section of Heil Ranch is slightly rocky climb followed by an even rocky single track section lasting about three miles. 29ers are supposedly slower at acceleration and climbing, but this did not seem to be the case with my Mooto X YBB. The wheels that Tam Bikes built are very light weight – even lighter than some of my 26-inch wheels. With less rotation mass to turn meant that the acceleration of these larger wheels was not an issue.
Next came the rocks… The larger 29er wheels effortlessly rolled up and over them and the tubeless tires almost completely eliminated the fear of a pinch flat. Tubeless and 29ers are not a combination that is a license to bash rocks, but they are a tool to negotiate these sections which can slow down 26-inch wheels. After the rocky sections came some the smooth single track. This is where previous 29ers had felt sluggish and difficult to handle, but this was not the case with the Mooto X YBB. Moots really did a great job with regards to the geometry and the Mooto X YBB felt as light and nimble as a 26-inch wheeled frame through these sections – a real dream!
After the rocky climb and single track came a descent with some small, technical rock sections. These sections are not big drop-offs, they are sections that it hit wrong can stop the front wheel of a 26-inch wheeled bike and send the rider over the bars. The 29er rolled over these sections as if they were not there and sealed the deal that moving to the 29er format was the right move for me.
After this initial ride, a total of 100 miles was put on my new Mooto X YBB before it was rolled up to the start line at the Leadville Trail 100. This was going to be the real test for my new purchase. This race is not technically challenging except for the fast, rocky, loose descents which makes the 29er the perfect format. The year’s race was just as fast as ever and the Mooto X YBB did not disappoint. The sections that this bike really shined was the rocky descents. Coming off of Columbine Mine, after the 50 mile turnaround, is rocky and it is not uncommon to be stuck behind slower descenders. The only line to take to pass these racers is loose and rocky, but the 29er rolled through the rocks with no real effort. It was actually safer to make these moves that to sit behind another racer and try to peer around them. Through the rocks, ruts and roads, the Mooto X YBB was a real dream to ride. Even though this was my fastest personal LT100 time by over 40 minutes (set over 10 years ago), it was the best that my body had felt after this race.
The Mooto X YBB really stood up to its name – “Why Be Beat”!
Accolades:
– Mooto X YBB geometry is quick and nimble – truly a dream ride
– YBB rear end and 29er wheels smooths out the rocks
– Gorgeous welds…typical for Moots
Gripes:
– Chris King Tall Baseplate required for fork clearance (will probably be addressed for 2012 – see the 2012 Moots MX Divide)
– Minimal tire clearance through the frame (Rumored to be addressed in 2012)
– No protection for chain suck (See my solution Reduce and Reuse… an old YBB Slider)
I am looking at purchasing a Moots and enjoyed reading your article. Any issues with the Crest rims, and might I ask how much the bike weighed out at?
What would you do different…if anything at all?
Thanks,
-Steve
Hi Steve,
I have a little over 600 miles on the Moots, including one Leadville 100 and one duo team 24 hour race. The wheels required quite a bit of re-tensioning after the first ride, but since then, they have worked perfectly. The recommendation was to run brass nipples since the rims do not have stainless steel eyelets, but I went with alloy nipples. It is possible that the alloy nipples contributed to the wheels needing to be re-tensioned so soon, but who knows for sure.
The only issue that I have specifically with the Crest rims is that they are showing quite a few scratches. A lot of the trails that I ride in Colorado are pretty rocky and the rocks often get kicked up, making contact with the rims. Would I run them again? Yes – it’s a mountain bike, it’ll get scratched.
What I would do different?
1. I would have waited for the 2012 if I knew the changes that were being made when I placed the order for my 2011. With the down tube being bent, there is no need to run that Chris King tall base plate. The geometry has also been tweaked to now fit up to a 100mm travel fork.
2. I would probably switch to Formula brakes. The Sram XO squeal quite a bit even with organic pads.
3. The Specialized tires worked great for Leadville, but I slashed the rear while riding the Pine Mountain loop and Repack trail in Marin. Those tires may be light, but the sidewalls are thin. I ended up replacing the rear with a WTB Nano and the front with a WTB Bronson. That tire combo worked great for a weekend of riding in Ashland and the 24 Hours of CO Springs. The Nano does completely suck in the mud…that I found out last weekend while riding the Government trail in Aspen.
4. The Race Face cranks are soon to be replaced due to chain suck and weight
The weight of my current setup is 24.5 pounds. I know that it is possible to get it a little lighter.
My recommendations:
– Run a fork with a 15QR, it will stiffen up the front end
– Always be on the lookout for narrow tire choices for the rear. There is not much clearance between the tire and seat stays – that was not improved on the 2012 model.
– Run a Moots laid back seat post. The frame is designed for a laid back post and a Ti post flexes just a little to soften the ride ever so slightly.
I hope that this has helped a little.
Brian
Brian:
Thank you, for the follow up. I actually was fitted yesterday and await the results as I am “in between” models 18 or 19. If ordered now, it would be the 2012 model, and I agree with you on the fork with 15QR – which also stiffens the front end. The suggestion on the seat post is well taken, as well as, brass nipples on the Crest. The Crest wheelset is a great value, and I have not heard of many issues on rim damage. I run my tire pressures at 28-30.
– How much do you weigh?
I am close with the shop who offers Specialized so I have been using their tires and like them. I typically like nothing greater in the rear than 2.1 – will this suffice?
I currently have a Specialized Epic Carbon (L) and with race wheels it weighs 24 lbs. The bike is great and it helped me complete Leadville this year (albeit 11:33)- yet this is my first year of Mtn biking, and I am no longer a young bull…so I was very pleased. Mtn biking is quite different than road/tri, so I need to learn to be more aggressive going into corners & downhill.
-Does this bike provide the confidence to do such…other than practice, practice and practice?
Thanks again!
Brian…one more question – your height? I am 5’11” and I believe I will be in between 18 or 19″ so your height will provide a baseline indication of which model to consider.
Thanks,
-Steve
Steve,
My height is 5′-10″ and I weigh 155 pounds.
The Specialized Fast Trak tires that I ran previously were 2.0 and the rear WTB Nano that I am currently running is a 2.1. I think that most 2.1s should work fine depending on the side tread. I do want to see if that WTB Bronson 2.2 will fit on the rear, but I have not had a chance to test it yet. Unfortunately we are limited in our tire choices by that YBB rear end, so please let me know what you find that works.
As for needing to run brass vs. alloy nipples… if I built another set of Crest/King wheels, I would still run alloy nipples. I just wanted to mention the experience so that you could keep an eye out for these types of issues.
Personally I found that the 29er format helped the most in the rocky sections of that Leadville course (the Columbine Mine descent in particular). The larger 29er wheel size rolls smoother through the rock fields than the 26-inch wheel size.
Is your Epic Carbon a 29er? If not, the one thing that you should know is that your center of mass is raised on a 29er which may make you feel less confident through turns and descents like those of the Powerline… remember a few of those off-chamber turns? They were no easier to negotiate on a 29er than a 26-inch wheeled bike.
Have you ridden a Mooto X YBB? If not, definitely try to ride one before you buy. They are great bikes… hopefully you will think the same.
Nice work at Leadville! Finishing without a trip to the hospital is a great accomplishment!
Brian
Brian:
Thank you, for sharing this info. It’s a big decision to buy a frame like this without input as the dealers in Atlanta don’t carry Moots inventory – so one has to be sure.
My Epic Carbon is a 29er and I felt great at the end of the race. Tired – yet and lungs full of dust/dirt. Next time I will wear a bandanna.
The Moots dealer said I should consider a 19″ frame YBB, yet if I could, I would prefer a smaller frame due to weight savings. Since you are only an inch smaller than me, is your set back positioned in the middle of the seat? Of course I wonder if the smaller size frame will effect handling?
Staying out of the hospital is a good thing!
Steve,
My seat rails are centered on the seat post clamps and per Moots suggestion, I am running a 110mm stem. The stem is a 6/84 degree stem – mine is angled down.
Do you have your measurements or does the shop have the measurements? Before I purchased mine, I e-mailed Moots and asked them what size they thought that I should ride or if I should consider a custom size.
E-mail them. They are very nice people and are truly the best source in determining the right size for you. It seems that you could go either way, but your detailed measurements will be the key to you being put on the right size. If you do not have the following PDF, the measurements that you need to provide are on page 5.
http://moots.com/site/wp-content/uploads/MOOTS-118_CustomCat2010-9×6.5_FINAL.pdf
They could also help answer how much weight savings an 18″ frame would have over a 19″ frame. I don’t think it is going to be much set get the size that it is right for you…they are too expensive to buy two! That advise is spoken by someone who ended up buying two Merlin XLMs in 1998….
Good luck with your purchase – I certainly do not regret my purchase!
Brian
Hi Steve,
One thing that I did not realize until today when I was looking at the 2011 vs the 2012 Mooto X YBB specs – they have changed. The 2012 18″ frame has a longer TT than 2011. This is more of a reason to contact Moots to go over your sizing.
Brian
Thanks Brian…had a serious fit and should have frame size soon.