Moots Vamoots RSL (2011)

Top level Titanium beauty

Pros

Titanium frame will last you a life time

Cons

Titanium frame will last along time so no excuse to upgrade now!

Review

Titanium isn't a frame that i have the chance to ride until today. It seems that titanium is one of those frame materials that hasn't taken off in popularity with the likes of Alloy and Carbon leading the race in frame material stakes.

The Vamoots is a sleek looking race machine with very nice lines. The seat post arrangement took awhile to work out as there are only two bolts to adjust the saddle on the rails. Once I took a closer look st the bolt there was to my surprise another bolt inside the main bolt.This double bolt arrangement is a very clever design by Moots. TH e inside bolt is used to adjust the tilt of the saddle with the outer bolt used to tighten the saddle on its rails.

The main triangle is built from oversized double-butted seamless 3/2.5 US made titanium to minimise weight while increasing stiffness. The chain-stays are also benefited by oversized titanium tubing and tapered to add even more back bone to the overall stiffness of the bike. Moots use a set of micro-diameter 6/4 seamless tubes to provide comfort with the seat-stay arrangement.

Finally a test bike with a saddle I love and swear by. The Selle Smp Dynamic isn't the model i use personally and I found it a little on the narrow side. I'm used to the Pro version which is a little wider in the sit bone area. These saddles are a bit tricky to set-up at first but with a bit of perseverance it is well worth it. The cut-out area is massive on these models and provides little pressure on the perinea area which causes the male population a lot of problems with bad saddle design and bad bike set-up.

The Vamoots came fitted with Sram red and was tastefully retrofitted with matching Moots emblems on the Sram carbon levers to match the blue in the Chris King headset and Tune Mig hubs. The is other colour options available from Moots when you order your bike. As with the personalised colour options Moots also offer Di2 cable routing option to give the bike a cleaner finish if you choose to fit with the Di2 ensemble.



So it was with great anticipation that on a chilly morning I clipped into my pedals and set off on a journey into the unknown world of titanium. The word that had been heard a lot amongst titanium owner's was that the ride was "Springy". So subconsciously I think I was looking for this sensation while riding the Vamoots. Well I never felt that "Springy" sensation more to the opposite actually the bike was quite stiff and yet still has a good amount of compliance.

There was very little flex felt through the bottom bracket area and this can be contributed to the BB30 bottom bracket that seems to be the universal trend these days. The overall handling felt safe and solid through any corner i through at the bike it kept it's head and didn't wonder tracking nice and straight.

Out on the open country road's the Vamoot's performed well, providing a comfortable platform soaking up the road vibration. i pretty much felt like I was floating over the road where as on previous rides on Alloy frames I could pretty much every bump and lump in the road.

This is a luxury bike with a price tag to much. If you are after a life bike then the Vanmoot will definitely fit the bill. It has sold me on the ride quality of Ti frames and I could possibly be in the market for one in the near future.