Moots Vamoots DR disc-equipped road bike launched

Moots, based in Steamboat Springs in Colorado since 1981, have an enviable reputation as makers of top-end titanium frames, and they’ve just added the disc-equipped Vamoots DR to their 2014 range.

The frame is loosely based on the Vamoots RSL but there’s changes at the back, with larger diameter seatstays to better cope with the additional loads caused by the disc brakes. They’ve switched to a wishbone at the top of the seatstays as well, which provides clearance for up to 28mm tyres.

The fact it has capacity for wide tyres gives a good indication of the sort of riding Moots has aimed this bike at. We're talking multi-terrain gravel riding and long-distance comfort riding here, a style of riding being increasingly catered for by the growing number of endurance bikes like the Salsa Warbird and Cannondale Synapse.

A seamless 3/2.5 US-made titanium tubeset is used with a 44mm head tube and Enve carbon tapered disc fork. The large head tube is claimed to increase the front-end stiffness and means they can oversize the top and down tubes to gain plenty of torsional stiffness. The oversizing extends to the 35mm seat tube, and takes a 27.2mm seatpost for vibration damping benefits. The tubeset is size-specific, and there are nine frames sizes on offer.

The caliper is bolted to a post mount welded to the seatstay, with replaceable inserts so if a thread is stripped the frame isn’t written off. Moots has designed the frame with 140mm rotors in mind, but it can be adapted to 160mm rotors if you want to go large. The chainstays have been oversized and capped with hooded dropouts. The frame can be specified with mechanical or electronic groupset compatibility, so it's well future proofed.

The Vamoots DR is a fine looking bike, and goes up against Enigma’s Evoke that we were getting excited about earlier this year. Both come from companies rooted in titanium with experience of disc brakes on other models in their ranges, in the case of Moots their Psychlo X cyclo-cross bike. So they’re hitting the ground running with good experience of disc brakes on road frames.

The frame costs £2,892. More at http://moots.com/ and available from www.leveretproductions.co.uk