# Moots Vamoots CR



## Yangpei

I went to my local bike shop today, looking to pick up a Seven Axiom (or comparable) full ti bike to cut up and retrofit with S&S couplers as my back-up / travel bike (I already shipped my wife's Alaris to Bilenky for S&S retrofit). After weighing the options, I ended up ordering a new Vamoots CR frame from Moots with S&S coupler option instead. It ended up costing about the same as it would if I had bought a demo Seven frame and had it retrofitted. I'm planning on building the Moots up with parts from my Seven Elium. But, I was thinking about running either one of my Eriksen sweetposts or picking up a Moots ti post. On my Seven bikes, there is a carbon sleeve in the seat tube that allows me to run ti posts without using ti prep. I forgot to ask the dealer about that. I noticed many Moots owners run Moots ti seat posts. Do you need to use ti prep (or comparable substance) on the seatpost? I would ideally like to avoid using ti prep or grease to make assembly / disassembly less messy when I travel. Anyways, I have 6-8 weeks to think about it. Looking forward to joining the Moots family.


----------



## Yangpei

*Ti prep for seatpost?*

I talked to my dealer today to order my Moots seatpost and stem. He verified that the Moots frames do not have any sleeves inside the seat tube. So, I was wondering if Moots owners are running Ti prep, grease, or other substance on their ti posts. Thanks.


----------



## gearguywb

Yep, no sleeve...just ti. I use ti prep on any ti to ti bond.


----------



## Yangpei

gearguywb said:


> Yep, no sleeve...just ti. I use ti prep on any ti to ti bond.



Thanks. That's a bummer. I wish I knew that before I ordered as I was on the fence between an Axiom or the Vamoots CR. Maybe I'll run a carbon post instead.


----------



## jlwdm

Post set up is not much of a reason to pick one bike over another. I think the Moots was the right choice.

Jeff


----------



## gearguywb

Yangpei said:


> Thanks. That's a bummer. I wish I knew that before I ordered as I was on the fence between an Axiom or the Vamoots CR. Maybe I'll run a carbon post instead.



Why? The anti-sieze is no big deal. Go to NAPA and pick up a can for a couple of bucks. I have been running Eriksen sweetposts on several ti bikes and love them.


----------



## Yangpei

gearguywb said:


> Why? The anti-sieze is no big deal. Go to NAPA and pick up a can for a couple of bucks. I have been running Eriksen sweetposts on several ti bikes and love them.


I'm also running an Eriksen sweetpost on my Jones and a ti post on another mountain bike with ti prep (but both are bikes I don't adjust the seatpost heights on so I never have to mess with ti prep again after the bikes were built up). It just gets messy with a travel bike that you will be assembling and disassembling for travel and carrying in a suitcase. All my Seven ti bikes have a nice sleeve inside the seat tube that allows me to use a ti post without the mess.


----------



## poff

I am not using any grease or ti-prep for seatpost (on 4 ti bikes with ti posts) and I had never had any problems.


----------



## Yangpei

poff said:


> I am not using any grease or ti-prep for seatpost (on 4 ti bikes with ti posts) and I had never had any problems.



Good to know. I like the way the ti seat post / stem look on Moots bikes, so I'd like to run ti, if possible.


----------



## Yangpei

My Vamoots CR with S&S couplers arrived yesterday. Still waiting on my pedals, but she's almost ready to ride.


----------



## stover

sweet!


----------



## bigman

Fantastic.


----------



## bigman

Fantastic!


----------



## skygodmatt

Give us a ride report travel dude.


----------



## Turf

*size*

Great looking bike. What size frame. A 56?


----------



## Yangpei

Turf said:


> Great looking bike. What size frame. A 56?



Thanks. Yes, the frame is a size 56.


----------



## gearguywb

Simply OUTSTANDING!!!!


----------



## arm017

Great Job!! It looks wonderful.


----------



## ehkim

Is this a full custom geometry? Or do Moots sell "off-the-shelf" sizing?


----------



## Yangpei

ehkim said:


> Is this a full custom geometry? Or do Moots sell "off-the-shelf" sizing?



I ordered a stock size 56 Vamoots CR with the addition of the S&S Couplers. They have standard "off-the-shelf" sizing, as well as custom sizes available.


----------



## Yangpei

*Moots at Tour de France*

My wife and I packed our bikes and participated in a bike tour in France. We were able to follow the last week of the TdF (Stages 16-21) and ride portions of several stages in the mornings before the racers came through. It was the first trip with our travel bikes. I don't usually get to ride my Moots too often at home. But, I definitely had a blast riding the Vamoots CR through the French Alps. 

Attached are pics from the climb up Col de Lautaret (Galibier was closed unfortunately), on the descent to Briancon, and the climb up Alpe d'Huez.


----------



## dharrison

Awesome travel report. Looks like you and the wife had a great time.


----------



## Special Eyes

What does a sleeve in the seat tube do, exactly?


----------



## Yangpei

Special Eyes said:


> What does a sleeve in the seat tube do, exactly?


On many Seven ti bikes, there is a sleeve inside the seat tube. This allows you to run a ti seat post, if desired, without having to worry about seizing.


----------



## foofighter

awesome bike and memorable trip; what's the charge for oversize freight like that?


----------



## poff

Nice, I was staying in this very hotel in Alp D'Huez in your picture on the day of the Tour and was 10mins late (11:10) to get through the police from Lauterat to Galibier and had to walk up some singletrack to get back on the road. What a clusterf..k it was. Was on my moots too, you can see my pic on moots website on the day we climbed Telegraph and Galibier and got snowed at the top of Galibier.


----------



## Yangpei

foofighter said:


> awesome bike and memorable trip; what's the charge for oversize freight like that?


The beauty of S&S couplers is that it allows you to pack the bike in a case that just meets airline shipping requirements. So, the bikes ship as regular luggage (no oversize charge). Depending on what airline you are flying / where you are flying, they can charge you between $150-250 each way for shipping a bicycle, so it definitely saves some money.


----------



## Yangpei

poff said:


> Nice, I was staying in this very hotel in Alp D'Huez in your picture on the day of the Tour and was 10mins late (11:10) to get through the police from Lauterat to Galibier and had to walk up some singletrack to get back on the road. What a clusterf..k it was. Was on my moots too, you can see my pic on moots website on the day we climbed Telegraph and Galibier and got snowed at the top of Galibier.


Nice. We were planning on cliimbing Galibier on the morning of the Galibier stage, but were stopped at the top of the Col de Lauteret. I didn't see too many other Moots bikes while I was in Europe.


----------



## tigoat

Wow, cool bike, beautiful wife, awesome rides, and memorable pictures! What more could a cyclist ask for? Thanks!


----------



## cohiba7777

Great stuff - how do you like the SS couplers and do you feel any residual effect on the ride? I actually think they look pretty cool & was wondering if I should add to my build - thanks & best of luck!


----------



## Yangpei

cohiba7777 said:


> Great stuff - how do you like the SS couplers and do you feel any residual effect on the ride? I actually think they look pretty cool & was wondering if I should add to my build - thanks & best of luck!


The S&S Couplers work great. They do not affect the ride of the bike at all. If there is a reasonable chance that you may want to travel with your bike, it would be a worthy upgrade or option to add to your bike build. I believe it also will boost the bike's resale value, if that is a concern. Have fun.


----------



## bocarider

*Yeah - I pretty much copied you*

I migrated my seat post, seat, crank/power meter and wheels over from my Serotta and geared it with Ultegra Black. So far it has ridden really well - I like it a lot. We are heading to Italy in a few weeks, so I will get to try out packing, travel, re-assemble and climbing some hills with it.

We did the Alps last summer - here are a few pictures from what will hopefully be my last trip dragging the Trico case.


----------



## bocarider

*Yeah - I pretty much copied you*

I migrated my seat post, seat, crank/power meter and wheels over from my Serotta and geared it with Ultegra Black. So far it has ridden really well - I like it a lot. We are heading to Italy in a few weeks, so I will get to try out packing, travel, re-assemble and climbing some hills with it.

We did the Alps last summer - here are a few pictures from what will hopefully be my last trip dragging the Trico case.


----------



## Yangpei

Looks awesome! I love my Moots and I'm sure you will love yours. The S&S Couplers are sweet. It takes a little practice to pack / unpack efficiently, but it works great. Enjoy Italy. Are you going to be riding the Dolomites?



bocarider said:


> I migrated my seat post, seat, crank/power meter and wheels over from my Serotta and geared it with Ultegra Black. So far it has ridden really well - I like it a lot. We are heading to Italy in a few weeks, so I will get to try out packing, travel, re-assemble and climbing some hills with it.
> 
> We did the Alps last summer - here are a few pictures from what will hopefully be my last trip dragging the Trico case.


----------



## bocarider

Yangpei said:


> Looks awesome! I love my Moots and I'm sure you will love yours. The S&S Couplers are sweet. It takes a little practice to pack / unpack efficiently, but it works great. Enjoy Italy. Are you going to be riding the Dolomites?


No - after last summer's suffer-fest in the Alps, this is the trip of pasta, nice hotels and slightly easier riding. We are going to Bologna/Parma for about 5 days where I have mapped out four nice looking rides. Then we are going to the Piedmonte region and doing a 6 day trip with Backroads.


----------



## Yangpei

Sounds awesome - have fun! If you ever make it out to the Lake Como area, you should check it out. Beautiful area and great riding too.



bocarider said:


> No - after last summer's suffer-fest in the Alps, this is the trip of pasta, nice hotels and slightly easier riding. We are going to Bologna/Parma for about 5 days where I have mapped out four nice looking rides. Then we are going to the Piedmonte region and doing a 6 day trip with Backroads.


----------



## Ride-Fly

Nice bike, and pics of your trip!!! I am longing for a Moots every time I visit this forum. I have a custom geo Dean Ti El Diente w/ S&S that looks very similar to your Moots!! But I still lust for a Moots (and a Seven!!) 

Do you still have your Seven? Which model was it? How do they compare? 

BTW, how tall are you? You look to be about my height, maybe an inch taller. I'm 5'10.5". If I were to get a Moots, I always thought I would want a custom geo as I prefer a little taller headtube length than the stock Moots 56 offes. My Dean has a 55 cm ETT and a 14.5 cm HTL and I like the saddle to bar drop and reach.

BTW, here is a crappy pic of my Dean on Kona, HI. It's great to travel with an S&S coupled bike! Gotta get one for my wife one day. And another for me. Maybe a Moots or Seven Axiom.


----------



## Yangpei

Thanks.

I had a Seven Elium SG as well as a Seven V-II. I sold the Elium SG after I picked up the Moots. Both are really comfortable, but the Moots is a little stiffer. 

I'm 5'10". The Moots stock 56 fits me well. It's set up similarly to my Dogma and Cento1 in terms of saddle to bar drop and reach.





Ride-Fly said:


> Nice bike, and pics of your trip!!! I am longing for a Moots every time I visit this forum. I have a custom geo Dean Ti El Diente w/ S&S that looks very similar to your Moots!! But I still lust for a Moots (and a Seven!!)
> 
> Do you still have your Seven? Which model was it? How do they compare?
> 
> BTW, how tall are you? You look to be about my height, maybe an inch taller. I'm 5'10.5". If I were to get a Moots, I always thought I would want a custom geo as I prefer a little taller headtube length than the stock Moots 56 offes. My Dean has a 55 cm ETT and a 14.5 cm HTL and I like the saddle to bar drop and reach.


----------



## Yangpei

I added a CycleOps G3 / ENVE Power Tap wheelset to the Moots for training.


----------



## tigoat

It keeps looking better every time!:thumbsup:


----------



## Yangpei

tigoat said:


> It keeps looking better every time!:thumbsup:


Thanks. But, I think like the aesthetics of the bike with the Zipp 101's better (deep carbon rims seem too dark / heavy compared to the light color of the ti). I'll try the Enve's on the Moots for now as it's the bike I use on the trainer. I may end up running the Enve's on the Dogma or Cento1 instead in the future.


----------



## Ride-Fly

Yangpei said:


> Thanks. But, I think like the aesthetics of the bike with the Zipp 101's better (deep carbon rims seem too dark / heavy compared to the light color of the ti). I'll try the Enve's on the Moots for now as it's the bike I use on the trainer. I may end up running the Enve's on the Dogma or Cento1 instead in the future.


Hey Yangpei,

Have you ever given us your review between the Cento and the Dogma and Moots? Would love to read about how these 3 compare. 

I know you said that your Moots is a stock 56 but it looks to my eye that the headtube length is taller than the stock 56. IIRC, the stock 56 had a 13.5 cm HTL and I swear that yours looks like it is taller- almost if not taller than mine at 14.5 cm. Regardless, I love the looks of your Moots!!!


----------



## Yangpei

Ride-Fly said:


> Hey Yangpei,
> 
> I know you said that your Moots is a stock 56 but it looks to my eye that the headtube length is taller than the stock 56. IIRC, the stock 56 had a 13.5 cm HTL and I swear that yours looks like it is taller- almost if not taller than mine at 14.5 cm. Regardless, I love the looks of your Moots!!!


Thanks.

My Vamoots CR is indeed a stock 56cm frame with S&S couplers added. The head tube length is 15cm (I verified with my Moots 2011 catalog).


----------



## Yangpei

View attachment 284498
The Vamoots CR once again traveled with me to France for the 100th TdF this year. It was a great week in France. Here's a pic from the top of Mt. Ventoux.


----------



## tigoat

Awesome man! How did it work for you guys to ride the route that the tour rides? Did you ride before the race or after? Thanks!


----------



## Yangpei

tigoat said:


> Awesome man! How did it work for you guys to ride the route that the tour rides? Did you ride before the race or after? Thanks!


We rode Mt Ventoux in the morning before the race comes through. They shut down the roads several hours before the riders come through, so we had to get an early start. On other stages, we were able to ride across the finish line with ASO escort and get on the podium for pictures.


----------

