In a move that will no doubt have a few people hammering at their keyboards and attempting to set fire to titanium frames, Moots has announced a carbo ...
By stwhannah
Get the full story here:
https://singletrackworld.com/charged/2023/09/new-carbon-e-gravel-bike-from-moots/
So many levels of wrong....
Oh. Dear.
[recently overhead at Moots HQ]
Our Q4 figures are tanking,. What can we buy from the frame makers in Taiwan that we know will sell, and has a space big enough on the down tube for the name to go on in really big font sizes..?
. . . so we can stick a ten grand price tag on it.
Blimey.
What a monstrosity.
I am very lucky to have a lovely purple Moots gravel bike (bought of eBay). I feel I might have to go and have a little chat with it to tell it about it’s cousin and that everything is ok, but some bikes are just a bit different…
Why on earth anyone other than Shimano would want to put a Shimano motor in an ebike is anyone's guess.
My guess is Shimano basically gave them the motor for free.
I think Moots are very aware of their target market. Look at the head tube length, boomers delight.
The mention “long term durability” in their press blurb but fit a shimano motor?
Boot that Moots!
a Chinese Moots.
< very long hard sigh >
Has it even got a headbadge?
(sorry I seem to have turned into Chandler from Friends)
Textbook brand value destruction. No doubt they'll sell quite a few of these, probably making a large margin, but the dilution of the meaning of what a Moots bike is will be huge. The consequent reduction in the premium that people will pay for a Moots will also be huge.
Well that's an 8-Pinter if ever I saw one!!
Textbook brand value destruction
Is it though? Porsche, Lamborghini, et al all seem still to be perceived as performance sports car companies even if most of what they sell are SUVs these days. I can only imagine that somebody with a head that thinks more about business than some dwindling notion of classic titanium has pointed out the direction of travel for bike sales north of $10k. Yeah it looks awful mind.
I can only imagine that somebody with a head that thinks more about business than some dwindling notion of classic titanium has pointed out the direction of travel for bike sales north of $10k. Yeah it looks awful mind.
agree the concept makes sense. The execution however... can only imagine the clay model got a bit too hot and sagged in the middle.
compare to the santa cruz skitch - just over $6k for the drop bar version and barely looks like an ebike.
Is it though? Porsche, Lamborghini, et al all seem still to be perceived as performance sports car companies even if most of what they sell are SUVs these days. I can only imagine that somebody with a head that thinks more about business than some dwindling notion of classic titanium has pointed out the direction of travel for bike sales north of $10k. Yeah it looks awful mind.
I suppose it depends how healthy the market for boutique Ti bikes is, if it's already dead as the dentists and accountants a re buying e-bikes instead then it's no loss.
But at the same time, why not just magic up a new brand name "from the people behind Moots". Because even if I'm too poor to buy one new the appeal of a Moots was 50% because they were lovely bits of titanium art and you were buying into that whole handmade branding. It's why people buy a Moots not a Van Nicholas or Planet-X.
The other 50% is because my inner 13yr old brain has that seatpost picture indelibly burnt into it's memory.
The Moots Munter
<p>Cut and paste from press release!</p><p> </p>
The other 50% is because my inner 13yr old brain has that seatpost picture indelibly burnt into it’s memory.
This!! 😂
I didn't want to mention it in case it was just a figment of my teenage memory. Funnily enough the only Moots I've ever owned was a much cherished seatpost...
They've fallen a long way from grace to this plastic abomination ☹️
ahh, a lifelong moots fan/owner here.... I'm thinking of jumping ship to firefly / mosaic after reading this article. I actually checked the calendar to see if it was April.
ive just watched the Moots RSL interview, the opening line.... "this is John from Moot" oh dear....
James Huang's article on the Escape Collective about this 'Moots' e-bike is an excellent read - says it better than I'll ever be able to....
I didn’t want to mention it in case it was just a figment of my teenage memory.
It seems to have disappeared from the internet, I guess the owner of the seatpost rack probably did one of those 'right to be forgotten' requests to google.