Vamoots!!!

[strayduck]

Sorry that I had to yell that title but these guys and gals over at Moots make amazing bikes. Through a comedy (tragedy?) of errors with a frame builder this year, an upgrade to my old frame went sideways and I was left with a build kit but no frame.

I detail the story in a blog post over here but the tldr; is that I decided to take the leap and order a brand new frame to replace the old one. This forum post is more to marvel at a decade's worth of marginal gains. With very similar materials, geometry, and build kit I was blown away at the difference in ride quality.

Here was the bike that went under the knife to make room for wider tires. It was a 2006 Merlin 6/4 Works CR:



So I loved the Merlin and rode and raced it for years and tens of thousands of miles. I built it to be light but durable. It had a baseball bat of a downtube in 6/4 titanium and a small rear triangle for stiffness. Despite being designed specifically as a race bike it was pretty compliant and I rode a double-century on it with no lingering discomfort in the days following. I also raced it up Mt. Washington with no complaints about weight.

As I logged the miles the industry changed little by little. Head tubes got bigger. Wheels and handlebars got stiffer. Tires got wider. Brakes got MUCH better. So even though I thought I knew what I was getting myself into, I was still surprised when I finally got out on my new Moots.



Aside from fit, which is still perfect, every single aspect is different.

Where the Merlin aimed for efficiency through narrow, rock-hard tires and a more compliant frame, the Moots frame doesn't budge under sprint efforts. There is no "whoosh whoosh" from the deep dish wheels flexing. It absorbs road chatter via wider, lower pressure tires and larger bumps via the top part of the frame.

The teardrop-shaped wheels really do handle better in crosswinds and pick up speed very quickly.

And I could go on for days about the brakes. I got used to disc brakes on my gravel bike commuter which I ride year-round and in all weather. Even in poor conditions, you find yourself waiting longer and braking harder. There is no concern about high-temperature blowouts that you could get on rim brakes.

Many PRs have been set.

I would say that the older generation of road bike have a 'youthful' and slightly wild ride whereas the new generation have an almost military-like seriousness and sobriety to them. It's less Naruto charging into battle but more Kakashi focusing and achieving with less effort.

Have any of you also had a similar experience when upgrading to the new generation of bike?

I'll leave you with a few other photos because bike porn