Up next in 10
Jon takes us through this U.S. made titanium gravel bike with 3D printing.
Head here for the full story: https://singletrackworld.com/gritcx/2018/07/03/moots-routt-range-usa-made-titanium-with-3d-printing/
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
So, this is John from Moots.
0:03
So, John, tell me where where Moots is
0:06
and
0:07
what you're about. Yeah, absolutely.
0:09
Moots is located in Steamboat Springs,
0:11
Colorado,
0:12
and we've been hand-building our bikes
0:14
there since 1981.
0:16
And those first 10 years that we
0:19
manufactured was in steel. Right. And
0:21
then in 1991, we switched to titanium
0:25
and have been with that material ever
0:27
since. Okay, any particular reason why
0:29
you switched to titanium?
0:31
Uh we really like the fatigue resistance
0:34
and the longevity that the material
0:36
offers us.
0:37
Um
0:38
and we have a small
0:41
uh softail design that really was the
0:43
impetus of us moving to that material
0:45
and um honestly, not having to paint it
0:48
and have more
0:50
impact on the environment with chemicals
0:52
and things like that really was very
0:54
appealing at the time. Okay.
0:56
So, we have here the Rout. Is that
0:59
right? Right, Rout RSL or Rout?
1:02
Yes. Okay. So, tell me why Rout? Yeah,
1:05
so the Rout family of gravel bikes in
1:08
our lineup is named after the county
1:10
that Steamboat is located in, so it is
1:12
Rout County, Colorado.
1:14
And this bike came to be by virtue of us
1:18
riding dirt roads, gravel roads, forest
1:22
service logging roads,
1:24
and really wanting a bike that could
1:26
hold a bigger tire and have nice manners
1:29
on loose gravel surfaces. And so the
1:32
Rout came to be.
1:34
So, the Rout comes in three models, am I
1:37
right? And the RSL is like the top of
1:39
the range kind of racing model, yeah,
1:41
slightly more aggressive in geometry.
1:44
So, that's what we've got here. Do you
1:45
want to just talk us through some of the
1:46
features? Yeah, absolutely. The Rout RSL
1:49
is our top-tier gravel bike and it
1:52
features an internally double-butted
1:55
tube set, which helps saves
1:57
a couple hundred grams out of the frame.
1:59
And the geometry is that of gravel,
2:02
which is a little bit lower bottom
2:04
bracket versus a cyclocross bike or a
2:07
road bike. And then also a little more
2:10
relaxed angles, so it handles nicely on
2:12
that loose surface as we go along. And
2:16
the some of the other features of the
2:18
Rout RSL is, you know, 44 mm head tube
2:22
up front. Um our carbon fork that is
2:26
matched to to handle quite nicely with
2:28
the bike.
2:30
And then in the back of the bike, we've
2:32
got
2:33
a unique setting where we're using a 3D
2:35
printed dropout both left and right side
2:39
that gives us our through-axle hole, our
2:41
derailleur hanger placement, and also
2:44
some handy fender eyelets for foul
2:47
weather commuting or training.
2:49
And is it is it set up for like bike
2:52
packing with plenty of lugs and racks
2:54
for racks and things or is that you
2:56
know,
2:57
not this race level and you'd have that
3:00
further down the range or or what? No,
3:02
it can be and and with all of our Moots
3:05
products and our frames, the customer
3:07
can order this with any of those added
3:09
weld-ons available. So, third water
3:12
bottle bosses, a chain hanger,
3:15
heavier duty rack eyelets can be ordered
3:18
with the bike, and that's kind of up to
3:20
the customer and that's that's part of
3:21
the fun part of customizing your Moots a
3:24
little bit. Um but it is it's really
3:27
well-mannered for bike packing as well.
3:29
Um it's not a heavy-duty bike packing
3:32
machine by any means, but it can get the
3:34
job done.
3:36
So, what's the maximum tire clearance on
3:38
the RSL model?
3:40
Yeah, the RSL will hold up to a 40 mm
3:42
tire
3:44
with clearance for mud and things like
3:46
that that you might encounter out there
3:47
on on whatever route you're riding. Um
3:50
so, we really aim that 40 mm tire
3:53
clearance for this model.
3:55
And is that the same on the other Rout
3:56
models?
3:58
Um it is not. We have a another model
4:00
called the Rout 45 and that will hold a
4:03
45 mm tire. Okay.
4:06
So, it gives us more capacity.
4:08
Um it does have a little longer
4:09
chainstay, so it's not quite as racy,
4:12
but people really gravitate towards that
4:15
bike because of the bigger tire
4:16
capacity. You can run it with 650Bs and
4:20
have up to about a 47 tire in it.
4:23
Right.
4:23
And it also
4:26
can be used utilized as a bike packing
4:29
bike as well.
4:30
Right. So, that that one, that's the
4:32
Rout Rout 45. Rout 45. That would be
4:35
your
4:37
more of an adventure bike, whereas this
4:38
is maybe like Dirty Kanza kind of thing.
4:40
Correct. Right. Um and why Moots? What
4:44
What does the name come from?
4:46
So, the Moots name actually originates
4:48
from the alligator that's in our logos
4:51
and on some of our clothing and even our
4:53
bikes. So, his name is Mr. Moots and
4:57
the founder of the company
4:59
um had a rubber pencil eraser
5:01
and the story goes that the bullies on
5:05
the bus poked a hole in its head, and
5:07
after that it when you squeezed its
5:09
head, it made this Moots sound. And at
5:13
that point, he named the little
5:15
character Mr. Moots.
5:17
And when he built his first bike in
5:19
1981, he decided that that was going to
5:22
be it. He was going to name it a Moots.
5:24
Right. So, it's a it's a two fingers to
5:26
the bullies then, this.
5:28
Exactly.
5:30
Cool.
5:31
Um and so, this one is in quite a plain
5:35
finish, but you do a quite an array of
5:37
finishes, don't you?
5:38
Yeah, over the last couple of years,
5:40
we've really uh
5:41
evolved our finish options with our
5:43
bikes. So, the classic is a bead blast
5:47
finish with white decals and that's kind
5:49
of the
5:50
iconic Moots look and
5:52
we came to understand that customers
5:54
really wanted a different look. So, now
5:57
we're offering a menu of uh gosh, up to
6:01
about seven or eight different finishes,
6:02
which include uh colorful anodization
6:06
jobs to this bike right here. This is a
6:08
very subdued etched finish, so it's very
6:11
hard to see the logos. It's kind of
6:13
ghosted on there.
6:14
And customers like that as well. They
6:17
can fly a little under the radar
6:19
without drawing it too much attention to
6:21
themselves. If you do want to draw
6:23
attention to yourselves, there's this
6:24
one that's it's the pattern from the
6:27
hotel in The Shining. Is that right?
6:30
Yeah, correct. We launched
6:33
a finish called the Stanley and
6:35
it is a fade anodization job, and as you
6:38
get back to the chainstay, it features
6:41
the carpet pattern from the movie The
6:43
Shining, and it happens to be one of our
6:47
finish guys' favorite movies of all
6:49
time.
6:49
Okay. And when he presented the pattern
6:52
to us, we thought, yeah, this looks
6:54
really nice. And I think a lot of people
6:57
do like it. Yeah, it I mean, it looks
6:59
really pretty, but I'm not sure I'd want
7:00
to be reminded of The Shining while I
7:02
was riding around some of this.
7:05
You might ride faster if you're being
7:06
chased by an ax-wielding man.
7:10
So,
7:11
the frame is made by yourselves in
7:14
Steamboat. Correct. Anything that you
7:17
see out there in the world that is
7:19
branded Moots and is made out of
7:21
titanium, it is all made in Steamboat
7:23
Springs in our one location.
7:26
And then, can you tell us about the
7:27
fork? Is that your own proprietary fork
7:29
or is that like a
7:31
stock one? Uh it is our own proprietary
7:34
fork. We built out the design and
7:37
approached
7:38
a carbon manufacturer to produce this
7:40
for us.
7:41
And it features all the industry
7:43
standards that are out there right now.
7:45
It's uh
7:46
uh inch and an eighth to inch and a half
7:48
tapered steer tube, uh flat mount,
7:52
12 mm through-axle, and it also features
7:56
internal cable routing, and a really
7:58
nice set of hidden fender eyelets, so
8:01
you can uh turn this bike into that foul
8:04
weather training or riding bike when you
8:06
need be.
8:08
Cool. It's got lots of lovely little
8:09
details. It's got a lovely head badge.
8:12
We've got the little alligators on the
8:13
on the bar tape. And then
8:16
even the seat post is actually just a
8:18
little bit different to usual, isn't it?
8:20
Yeah, the seat post features
8:23
a brushed finish all the way up to the
8:25
top of the head, and then the last
8:27
couple of inches, we blast that head and
8:30
then apply either the etched finish or
8:32
an anodized finish to it. And the reason
8:35
for that is with this polished finish on
8:37
the seat post,
8:39
if you're lowering or raising your
8:41
saddle and you scuff the seat post up a
8:43
bit, which is which is quite common, you
8:46
can take a bit of Scotch-Brite and clean
8:48
up the seat post.
8:50
Right. And for our viewers that are now
8:52
drooling and thinking that they want one
8:54
of these, can you tell us the the price
8:56
points for the three different bikes
8:58
that you've got in the range? Yeah, you
9:00
bet. The The Rout RSL is the top-tier.
9:04
It has all the bells and whistles, so to
9:05
speak, so it does start out at about
9:08
4250 for the frame, fork, and headset.
9:12
And that's dollars, of course. And that
9:13
is dollars and and there's many
9:15
different build kits available from
9:17
Shimano and SRAM through us. But if you
9:20
pick your moment on the on the sort of
9:21
financial trading side of things, you
9:23
obviously get a really good deal, don't
9:24
you?
9:25
Absolutely.
9:27
And then the other the the Rout 45 and
9:29
the standard Rout,
9:31
the same frame, fork, and headset setup
9:34
there
9:35
goes for about 3650 US
9:38
retail dollars. And just to clarify,
9:41
what's the difference between the
9:42
standard Rout and the Rout 45? Is that
9:43
the tire clearance?
9:45
Correct. The standard Rout
9:47
sports a little bit shorter chainstay,
9:51
and that's for folks that are never
9:52
really going to want to go to that
9:54
bigger 45 mm tire. It'll hold up to
9:58
about a 38-mm
9:59
tire. And uh you know, for casual gravel
10:03
riders and and racers, it's it's just
10:06
fine for a lot of people.
10:09
Right. So, if you're a racer, you want
10:11
to go for this one. If you're an
10:12
adventurer, you want the 45. And then,
10:15
if you don't want to be like really
10:17
aggressive, but you're not going to go
10:18
too far off the beaten track, you go for
10:20
the route. Correct. So, there you go.
10:23
Make your choice.
10:24
Thanks very much. Much obliged.
#Sports