Snap Judgements – Moots Vamoots CR
Steamboat Springs, CO - While I have owned and ridden my fair share of bicycles over the years, I am embarrassed to to say that titanium has never been checked off on my dance card, that is until my recent trip out to Colorado to preview several of the stages of the inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge.
After a brief tour through the Moots factory in Steamboat Springs, I set out with Rob Mitchell down River Road for a casual ride on the company's Vamoots CR.
Not the lightest, stiffest or fastest steed in their barn, the Vamoots CR currently sits just below their top-of-the line Vamoots RSL in the high performance, road race category, but it shares a similar geometry to its lighter brethren.
As you can imagine, the impeccable care and detail that went into the creation of the CR, is also evident on its exterior and in its ride quality. Traversing over unpaved rollers, the CR easily carried me up, over and through without much consternation or any ill effects afterward. After being completed wasted from tackling Vail Pass the day before, this was just the type of plush ride that I needed.
With the advent of carbon, and the movement of the industry toward that material, titanium bicycles have been marginalized to titanium aficionados and custom bicycle builders. Light with an incredible tensile strength and a greater fatigue life than carbon, it is a perplexing phenomena to say the least.
Price has always been the main argument against titanium bicycles, but that point is well, moot. Quality often comes with a price. With the care and detail that goes into each MOOTS bicycle, the Vamoots CR, or any of the manufacturer's road, mountain, cyclocross, and touring offerings, should be on your immediate radar the next time you get an itch to purchase a new bike.
MSRP - $2975.00 (frame only).
Photos: Michael Robson
Related Posts:
Leave a Response
Entries(RSS)