# been thinking about a MOOTS



## maclover (Jun 29, 2004)

I'm almost in the market for a new bike. 
I've been riding an Orbea Road Star (aluminum) 54cm. 

The only complaint is it could probably be a tad smaller. 
I'm thinking a 52 (moots) would be more reasonable. 
I'm 5'8" with shoes on, 145 lbs. 
I race crits and do hard group rides often. 
But I also ride the trainer a ton for training. 
And I'll do the occasional charity rides. 

I'm starting to save money now in hopes of getting a new bike this winter or early next year. 
I want to get just the frame and transfer my existing components, campy chorus 10 speed. 

I've been considering the following frames: 

1) Cannondale Caad10 - heard nothing but good things about the bike, and it's cheap. 
2) MOOTS RSL - very expensive
3) MOOTS CR - still expensive
4) Bianchi Infinito - also heard good things about this bike, not sure how I feel about crashing in a crit with the Carbon bike though. 

The qualities I'm looking for is:
1) Stiff enough so it doesn't feel like I'm losing power when I climb or sprint
2) lighter than my current bike, which is probably 20+lbs or so right now, I have a powertap rear wheel
3) Excellent handling (crits)
4) smoothness (although not on top of the list). 

Help convince me that a MOOTS is what I want. 

I missed the moots demo truck this year...

Thanks in advance.


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## stover (Apr 24, 2010)

Have you test ridden one yet? I've ridden the CR and a Vamoots. I ended up ordering a custom 54cm Vamoots. Few more weeks for the frame to show up. The ride is sublime on either one. If your doing crits Id stick with the CR or RSL though.

edit: One more thing I did notice with the Moots is that you can put down the power (not that Im that strong) and the entire frame feels very, very solid. And at the same time, it feels pretty compliant when ripping over train tracks, bumps, etc. I flogged the poor LBS demo bike before I purchased one.


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## maclover (Jun 29, 2004)

could you tell if the CR was stiffer than the vamoots?


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## stover (Apr 24, 2010)

To me they were about the same. Different riding position though. Both felt much stiffer then my carbon frame I ride now. I don't think you could go wrong with the CR.


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## astardotcom (Jun 20, 2008)

I have a CAAD10 that I use primarily for racing and a Moots Vamoots for everything else. In regards to your needs;

1) The CAAD10 does feel stiffer than the Moots and I can tell while standing up on the climbs but not while sprinting. I honestly can't explain why that is...
2) The CAAD10 and Moots are lightweight for metal bikes. No need to worry there. Look around and you can see both frames being built up sub 15 pounds. I haven't weighed either frame so I don't have any real weights for you. 
3) Both handle just fine in a crit situation. I can't say one is better than the other. For descents, I prefer the Moots. It just feels less twitchy descending into a hairpin turn than the CAAD. I attribute that to the chainstay being a hair longer on the Moots as well as having a tad more bb drop.
4) The Moots is smoother than the CAAD for sure over rough roads. On smooth pavement, the difference isn't noticeable enough to edge one frame over another. Sure they feel different, but I wouldn't say one feels better than the other.

FYI I'm 5'6 and both my frames are 50cm with a 110mm stem...


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## dditty (Jun 3, 2007)

I would break it down this way:

The qualities I'm looking for is:
1) Stiff enough so it doesn't feel like I'm losing power when I climb or sprint
My CR feels equally stiff as my old Felt F series carbon.

2) lighter than my current bike, which is probably 20+lbs or so right now, I have a powertap rear wheel
16.x lbs without breaking a sweat with the CR.

3) Excellent handling (crits)
Super quick handling with the CR. Turns very fast and it's great maneuvering through tight channels. I love the frame geo + Envy 2.0 45 degree combo.

4) smoothness (although not on top of the list).
Most carbon frames I've ridden ride smoother. The CR seems to handle the rough stuff better, though.


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## nor_cal_rider (Dec 18, 2006)

I'll chime in on the RSL vs CR/VaMoots - while the RSL is lighter, it is also STIFFER to the point I 'm searching for ways to make it more compliant for longer rides (I limit the RSL to 50 miles +/- due to the beating my body takes on it).

I really want a Ti frame for organized century (plus) rides - just less stress and worries about the paint and fragility of the frame material. However, until I can dial in a Ti bike that has adequate stiffness for occasional standing/sprinting, yet doesn't ride so stiff as to beat up my hands and arms/back, my 6 series Madone continues to see all the "long distance action".

YMMV....


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