Building off their Routt adventure drop bar bike frame, this prototype Moots Softail gravel bike shows where they think the segment is headed. Designed to offer just a few millimeters of travel using their YBB system, the bike shapes the tubes differently to tune the ride more like what you’d expect from a road bike than their soft tail mountain bikes.
Up top, the YBB system looks like normal, hiding an elastomer inside the tubes. Choosing the right durometer is one way they tune it for rider weight…
The other is with the chainstays. Rather than flattening them to enhance flex characteristics, they actually ovalized them to be taller where they wrap around the tire. This limits the flex, keeping the bike firmer and controlling the travel. Here, they’re only looking to take the edge off really big hits while minimizing vibrations over the long haul.
For now, the design relies on straight seatstays and standard dropouts (rather than the 3D printed titanium dropouts they’re using on the Vamoots RSL road bike), so they’re limited to post-mount calipers rather than flat mount.
The bike is still in testing, but they’ve had the foresight to ensure fork crown clearance for things like the Fox AX gravel fork. They know front suspension for gravel bikes is still being sorted out, but at least they’re giving the head tube the proper dimensions to accommodate the added height suspension forks bring. Who’d of thunk “suspension corrected” gravel bikes would be a thing, but here we are.
The frame is designed to fit 27.5×2.25 or 700×45 tires.
No word on pricing or availability yet, but the spec details seem to be coming together.
MOOTS COLOR ANODIZING OPTIONS
What started as solid logo colors at NAHBS last year has evolved into a full rainbow of custom graphics and hues. And it’s not just for logos anymore, now you can get patterns and colors across the rest of the bike if you’re willing to pony up the coin.
The new premium and signature finishes are done through a process of masking, anodizing and polishing. Different colors are achieved by varying the current running through the fluid.
While not as colorful, the most complicated of the bunch is this combination of etched, polished and anodized efforts to create a logo with a thin anodized and polished border around the etched letters.
Custom colors start at $525 and go up from there.
