Searching for that perfect gift for the roadie who seems to have everything? Chances are, if they own a Moots titanium road bike frame, they don’t have one of these – a Moots silver head badge. Moots Cycles, located in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, has commissioned their head badge artist, Michael Cherney, to create a limited production run of just eight Moots modern-era head badges. Each of these one troy ounce, Sterling Silver head badges is created by hand using an investment cast and lost wax process, a technique long used by jewelry makers to create intricately designed pieces. Continue reading Holiday Gift Guide: Ti One On With Moots
Tag: Moots
Interbike 2012: ODD Recap
The dust on the trails has settled but we had a great time at Interbike 2012’s Outdoor Demo Days, where were were able to test ride several bikes. Here is a recap of what we hit on the trails.
Review: 2012 Moots Mooto X YBB 29er Titanium Frame
Just over six months has past since writing a post regarding my 2011 Mooto X YBB bike build that ran last summer. That 2011 Moots should have been a keeper and still hanging in my garage, but shortly after the post went live, the 2012 model was announced. Year after year there really hasn’t been any major changes in Mooto X YBB model that would justify the replacement of a frame with less than 1,000 miles of riding. Unfortunately for me (or maybe fortunately for all dirt heads), the 2012 model is a bit different when compared to most other years. There are the obvious changes with the curved down tube and top tube on the 18 and 19-inch models, but it is the other changes that are not as obvious which makes the 2012 model the basis of a much different bike. There were fairly significant changes including the geometry that really made me wish that I had stalled my purchase. Then a chance arose to build a 2012 model and that opportunity was seized upon! Continue reading Review: 2012 Moots Mooto X YBB 29er Titanium Frame
[UPDATE] Moots FrosTi Titanium Snow Bike Frame
[UPDATE] Moots extended the order deadline on the Moots FrosTi Titanium Snow Bike Frame to November 1, 2011 to accommodate more orders.
While on the subject of snow bikes, it should be mentioned that Moots of Steamboat Springs, Colorado is producing a very limited production run of their own snow bike frame, the FrosTi.
The FrosTi is a titanium frame specifically designed for snow riding. The rear spacing is 170mm, the bottom bracket is 100mm, the cable guides are designed for the shifter cables to be fully enclosed and the frame is made to accommodate a 3.7-inch tire. The geometry of the frame is designed to handle a Salsa Enabler fork and even an 80mm travel 29er fork for use in the summer. Unlike other frames from Moots, the FrosTi has very few custom options. No slider dropouts, no YBB rear suspension and no couplers for traveling… just an additional water bottle mount, rack mounts and different color decals are available. But heck, with only 20 or less being produced how likely is it that you will ever see another FrosTi?
Continue reading [UPDATE] Moots FrosTi Titanium Snow Bike Frame
Interbike 2011: MOOTS MX Divide
For 30 years, MOOTS has been creating hand built bicycles that seek to strike a balance between liveliness and stiffness. This spring they will add a full suspension 26-inch and 29er to their collection. The MX Divide is a 100mm (4-inch) front and rear travel bike. At Interbike 2011 in Las Vegas, we got a first look at this new bike and Jon Cariveau from MOOTS talks about the main features on the bike. The MX Divide production models will be available in March 2012 and as of Interbike 2011 in September, the price had not been determined.
Hands On: 2011 Moots Mooto X YBB
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. Continue reading Hands On: 2011 Moots Mooto X YBB
Eurobike 2011 Recap
KineticShift wasn’t able to head to Europe this year, and while we’re about to shift into full gear for Interbike in Las Vegas next week a number of product announcements caught our eyes. We have compiled a round-up of the can’t miss products for 2012 and beyond. Continue reading Eurobike 2011 Recap
2012 Moots MX Divide – Interbike Sneak Peek!
Typically if a bike company has a major product announcement, it will be reserved for an industry trade show like the upcoming 2011 Interbike in Las Vegas, but it appears that Moots of Steamboat Springs, Colorado has decided to let their ‘friends’ on Facebook have a sneak peek of what appears to be an exciting new design.
There are few details as of right now, but it appears that the new 2012 MX Divide is a complete redesign of their somewhat archaic current cross country bike, the Zirkel. The most significant difference with the new MX Divide is that Moots teamed up with the Sotto Group of Watsonville, California to design this new frame using a single pivot design and position the rear shock more inline with the travel of the rear triangle. Sotto Group is well known in the bicycle industry, plus they have the experience to design and test making them a perfect resource for this new design. Since the MX Divide is designed to be a cross country bike, the frame has 4-inches of rear travel and is designed to work with a 100mm (4-inch) suspension fork. The rear triangle uses a combination of titanium seat stays and aluminum chain stays with a carbon fiber swing link connecting the seat stays and rear Fox shock.
Along with the new frame design, the MX Divide features an inset 44mm oversized head tube and press fit BB30 bottom bracket which is becoming more standard on mountain bikes due to both items increasing the overall stiffness of a frame.
Another feature that will be appreciated by current Moots owners (such as this reporter) is the curved down tube. I had recently completed building a 2011 Mooto X YBB and personally had an issue with the adjusting knobs of the 2012 Fox F29 fork hitting the down tube. The new curved down tube alleviates this issue and will hopefully appear on other 2012 Moots frames.
This ground-up approach by Moots has produced what appears to be an exciting new bike that we hope to swing a leg over at Interbike to hit some trails. The 19-inch frame MX Divide shown in the photo reportedly weighs just 24.5 pounds which should make this one fast bike on the trails!
Mooto X YBB: Building a ‘Dream’ Bike First Impressions
Maybe I have an addiction, but so what. My addiction isn’t the bottle or pills – it is a bit larger and may cost as much as a substance addiction, but it is much more beneficial to my health. I have once again fallen victim to my addiction…I am putting together a new bike.
When I build bikes, I usually know if it is going to be one that I keep for a few years or in excess of a decade. The last ‘dream’ bike that I built was back in 1998 and it also started as a titanium frame – that Merlin XLM is still hanging in garage. My Merlin XLM has taken me through thousands of miles of trails from sea level to over 12,000’. It has been with me during 24 hour races and numerous Leadville Trail 100 races. I still love to take that bike out and rip through tight, smooth singletrack, but that ‘dream’ bike is soon to have a new friend. Continue reading Mooto X YBB: Building a ‘Dream’ Bike First Impressions