At the Whyte British Enduro Championships hosted by the Tweedlove Bike Festival, I met Alan Finlay, the man behind the Moxie. In a past life Alan was a buildings civil engineer. As many before him, he took one look at the current offering of mountain bikes and thought, ‘I can make myself a better one’. And so he began dabbling in frame design, first producing his own personal Titanium hardtail which became the first Pipedream. Educating me on the finer points of hardtail frame design, Alan provided a sneak preview of what’s in the pipeline for this so-called “no-prisoners-taken flying machine”.
The Pipedream Moxie is a 4130 Chromoly steel 27.5+ ″enduro hardtail “designed and tested on the trails of planet earth” – more specifically, on the world-class, steep, and loamy trails of Scotland’s Tweed Valley. The original Moxie prototype teased at the Cycleshow in 2012 has come a long way since, both in terms of its innovative geometry and prestige in the hardtail community. No longer limited by the tubing offering of branded tubesets, custom tube design has allowed Alan freedom to dictate the length of the down tube and as a result, the frame is available in sizes Long (624mm) and Longer (664mm). This, coupled with the relatively slack head angle of 65.5° gives the Moxie a super long wheelbase of 1239mm for the Longer version.
The front triangle is a mixture of double, triple, and quad-butted tubing, while the seat stays and chainstays are plain gauge. The custom tapering of the tubing reinforces the strength of the frame removing the need for gussets, producing a slick looking finish with super-strong joints.
The more vertically-challenged riders such as myself needn’t worry about having problems with reach as the 76.5° seat angle offsets this, with the lowering of the seat concomitantly reducing the reach. Despite only being available in two frame sizes the range of heights covered is impressive: from 5’5″ to 6’3″. Setting it apart from the field of aggressive geometry enduro hardtails is the increased bottom bracket drop of 64mm, making the bike firmly planted when cornering. The ultra short chainstay at 415mm makes this bike one of the most responsive and playful on the market.
Optimized for 27.5+″ wheels, the sliding dropouts permit 16mm of adjustment, making the Moxie capable of supporting 29″ wheels with 2.4″ tyres and with plenty of clearance too, thanks to the bend in the seat tube and the aesthetically-pleasing custom machined chainstay-bottom bracket yoke. The sliding dropouts also provide opportunity for customization to run single speed or Rohloff hub.
Available in an arresting neon pink, teal, or silver, Pipedream will supply the frame at around $800 with the optional extras of a 150mm DVO Diamond Boost Forks and a high-spec Hope wheelset.
The Moxie doesn’t end there. Alan has taken Pipedream back to its roots with an ultralight Titanium version coming in with a price tag of around $2500. With a fixed chain stay length of 431mm, the Ti is around 0.5kgs lighter than its steel equivalent, and has received rave reviews from the enduro community. Better yet, it is available to purchase now from Flowcycles, Prague.
Lewis Kirkwood, brand ambassador and British Enduro Championship rider lucky enough to be shredding on the Ti flying machine had this to say, “Brand ambassador or otherwise; it keeps its composure better than a hardtail has any right to. It continually surprises me with the grip, compliance, and sheer pace – I haven’t had a bike I’ve genuinely loved this much for a long time!”.
