20 May 2009 - 0:33Bike 29 Knows Ti

Yeah, that’s right. 

We like titanium. Who doesn’t? Not only is it’s flat metallic greyness dead sexy, it is also a useful material, good for rebuilding joints, holding broken bones together, or sticking a couple of wheels on and riding around.

It all began with the lucky requisition of the elusive Optimus Ti. I did manage to get a real ride in, an inspection loop on the VSSSC course in the rain on Saturday. Damn I wish my knee wasn’t so messed up. It was my first ride on a titanium bike, and hey, it is my first titanium bike. Stoked! Riding one will make you believe.

Well, it is no secret that we picked up Moots over the winter. I felt that it would be a good addition to our catalog, rounding out our high end category. It is a hotly contested debate on exactly which bike was the first production 29er, but many (myself included) think that the Moots YBB is it. Moots has been making this soft tail 29er for 10 years now, and I feel it is rich with heritage.

If you are the type of rider that buys a bike every 5-10 years, this is your bike company. Moots offers several mountain models, hardtail, singlespeed, and even full suspension in both 26 and 29″. They also have a sweet selection of skinny tired bikes too.

So here are the details.

This bike is built up with a new wheelset I will be putting on the website shortly, DT 240 hubs, Super Comp spokes and the sexy new white Stan’s Arch rim. It’s light. It’s white, and stiff enough for a lard ass like me.

It would be shameful to not put Moot’s own Ti stem and seatpost on this bike.

The fork is a 100mm Reba Team. The rest is the usual boring mixture of XTR and SRAM X0, with Avid Juicy Ultimate brakes, King headset and BB, and I’m trying out a Truvative Noir handlebar for funsies. You just can’t put XT on a bike like this. It weighs 23.95 with pedals. 

And here is the interesting part:

This is a DEMO bike. That’s right, you can come and ride it. On trails. Just bring your wallet, because in about 100 ft of trail you will want one. It may very well be the last bike you ever buy. 

Moots is also hooking us up with one of their full suspension XZ demo bikes, which we will have for a short period of time. Anyone who is interested in riding it, should get in touch with us at the shop to schedule a ride. We’ll hopefully have both bikes available to ride at Catamount next Wednesday