Moots Carbon Gravel E-bike!

[herb5998]

I'll admit it was strange to see the announcement, wouldn't have expected that from Moots.

If they are successful with this, good on them, but it's not something I would be interested in aesthetically.

I believe they may have cut some staff on the production side earlier this year. That was probably driven by the slowdown of the amount of bikes being sold after post-pandemic bubble. However, disappointing that overseas contract production was sought out while that was going on.

[JLQ]

Et tu, Moote?

[Hilltopperny]

I find the made overseas carbon e-bikes from Moots to have jumped the shark. Nothing wrong with e-bikes as I have one myself that gets the occasional trip and it is a great form of transportation and exercise. I figured if Moots were to get in the game it would have been titanium and made in the USA. I guess their $8,000 framesets aren't 🕊️ off the shelves...

I am only 42 years old and picked up a Charge XC while I was working at the bike shop this summer to commute and mess around on. The e-bike is great and helps when I want to get back to my house from valley given the 1000ft of elevation gain after a day of work or to run errands. I am actually faster on my road bikes by 1.5 mph and definitely feel the burn after riding my 50lb e-bike.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by tomato coupe View Post
How is it legal for a company to sell a product that a few people on an internet forum don't want to buy? Can't this be outlawed?

Originally Posted by charliedid

I can't believe they never dropped by and took a poll here to gauge interest before investing in such madness!

I'm calling my state representative first thing in the morning...

Nio kidding..I'm gonna call Governor Polis..I'm SURE he's interested in this...

[wkeller79]

Originally Posted by m_sasso

My personal view is I would prefer them to die as a good memory, then another entity polluting the world with more plastic trash. Yes, a bit absolute however people that contine to support this junk just don't care about the worlds future.

I wholeheartedly agree! Especially as a previous Moots owner, who toured across the country on one.

[redir]

Originally Posted by Tim Porter

I'll be 71 in about 6 weeks. My last two rides may be illustrative or relevant to this discussion. The first of these two rides was on the FiftyOne all carbon road bike--about 45 miles. Felt fantastic, did about 2500 ft of climbing--really really enjoyed the whole package. 12 Spd Di2, carbon wheels, Rally pedals. Beautiful bike.



I don't recover as quickly as I did when I started racing over 50 years ago. So my next ride was on this:



My old knees take quite awhile to warm up and the Trek has shown me an e-bike benefit I would not have thought of, by giving a tiny bit of boost as you start to pedal. I was able to do a ride of just a bit less mileage at a similar speed, giving me a recovery ride that was a real ride. You do have to pedal these things. I used the 2nd of 3 power levels a few times to get up a km of climbing at about 7%, a climb that would be tougher on a conventional bike (but which I had done on that prior ride). I used 39% of my TQ motor's capacity in the around 1 hour 40 minutes. Same Di2 12 speed, carbon wheels (tubeless!), Rally pedals--this thing has batteries for its batteries.

I do not think the Trek is nearly as beautiful as the FiftyOne, nor as beautiful as my Kirks or my Richard Sachs, etc., etc. But it rides amazingly well as a bike (as Teleguy has noted). Perhaps because of my age I'm a little more understanding of Moots in this case, and I think some of the "purists" here need to open their minds a little, imho. Moots may hit the part of the market that I happen to inhabit (retired, solvent, serious about riding as long as I can). And the Trek is a hoot to ride. Tim

Very nice set up you have there!

My only point, thinking as the marketing department of a bike company, is how many of you guys are out there though? I think it's fantastic that you still ride 45 miles at 71 years old. I think the Paceline even has an 80+ year old IIRC. But you guys are a rare breed. I just can't see how this will work for Moots especially as they are kind of late to the game and there are many other options like your Trek already out there as well as a sort of iconic custom Ti company crossing the line. But what do I know?

[callmeishmael]

I'm all in favour of e-bikes, and I think we need more of them to be used as commuters if we want to reduce the number of cars on the road. If they also enable older/injured/ill cyclists to carry on riding, keep up with friends, etc, then fantastic.

I don't like this from Moots, though, and I don't think it's consistent with the values/blurb on their website. It diminishes the brand in my eyes. Still, no one is making me buy it...

[72gmc]

I have no issue with e-bikes. I just don’t think the Moots brand makes sense on an e-bike that looks like anyone could have made it. Maybe it has some distinct Moots-ness and I’m not understanding. I fear it’s another attempt to treat hard-earned brand equity like a sticker that you can slap on things to increase sales.

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by jimoots

On queue:

“It seems like it’ll be a very good carbon fiber e-gravel bike, but nothing about it says “Moots” to me.” -James Huang

https://escapecollective.com/moots-express-e-bike/

He spends considerable time making similar comments to what I have above.

For me this isn’t about wishing them well or otherwise, it is a bit like being unfortunate enough to be in the presence of a slow moving car crash.

Yeah, he’s prone to subjective hot-takes on occasion but his actual reviews of the actual product are generally objective and trustworthy. Case in point, the first half of the sentence above..

[54ny77]

if ben serotta made an ebike the internet would explode.

[rice rocket]

https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-uad6i-14adc5d

Some details from within

[tomato coupe]

Originally Posted by m_sasso

My personal view is I would prefer them to die as a good memory, then another entity polluting the world with more plastic trash. Yes, a bit absolute however people that contine to support this junk just don't care about the worlds future.

If you are that concerned about the world's future, you wouldn't use titanium either -- its energy cost dwarfs the energy cost of steel.

[Gwerziou]

E-bikes certainly have value as a form of transportation for the masses. I think of them as more 'bicycle adjacent' rather than bicycles per se. The value for those with health issues that preclude cycling is significant, offering them a bicycle-like experience.

They do push the actual bicycle to a 'second-tier' status on the nominal bike paths in the urban area that I commute in - now heavy motorized vehicles with sometimes clueless operators are right on the bike paths: look out.

To me, the most appealing thing about them is that you don't need a license and insurance. This is a huge advantage over motorcycles, which have those costs attached and also can't ride on bike paths etc. I have to hand it to the smart minds that found a way to introduce motorized vehicles that skirt regulation and licensure and can run freely on the paths, sidewalks, streets, and trails of my area.

[Butch]

FYI there is a multi year backstory to this development. It is something ownership wanted before the sale to the investment group.

Running a profitable small high-end bike manufacturing company is a huge challenge. In most US businesses the profit margin is much, much higher than Moots. The pandemic was a golden ring for ownership and therefore a great time to sell. Investment groups generally want to see ROI grow for a period of time then sell them to the next group of investors. Often leveraging the brand to increase revenue is key to this. The trick is not to devalue the existing products and brand. I hope this group is in it for the long haul, providing quality products and employing great craftsmen and women. If designing, outsourcing and selling these bikes does that then so be it.

I agree with what James was saying in closing, I hope the leadership at Moots can pull this off without damaging the handbuilt aspect of the brand. They are still making excellent products in house with a very talented group, although and unfortunately diminished.

Management is still all about quality and I am sure they will do everything possible to get the most out of the factory in China. This is their design, not an open mold but I will say walking into the shop and seeing boxes stacked high with MOOTS and MADE in CHINA on them made my head spin a bit.

[KonaSS]

Originally Posted by 54ny77

if ben serotta made an ebike the internet would explode.

If Ben Serotta made an e-bike, 50 posters on paceline would create a 75 page thread. The rest of the internet would be like "Ben who?"