Me Too With the Mooto

This is it. The next time you see me posting about my bike purchase exploits, it will be with pictures. I hope.

Anyway, I heard back from Fabien at TiCycles yesterday and after studying my measurements the Moots guys said that their stock 19" frame would fit me fine -- I don't need to go the custom route to get a great fit. This was very good news. So I placed the order for the Mooto-X YBB (pre-paid in full, there's no going back now) and a 340mm Moots straight Ti seatpost. I should have it in six weeks.

I also have endurance racing legend and Great Divide Race record holder Mike Curiak from www.lacemine29.com building me a set of endurance racing wheels around a pair of mango Chris King ISO hubs. He's pairing the hubs with DT Swiss Competition Butted spokes, and Bontrager Mustang Disc OSB rims for what he says will be a "responsibly light wheelset with emphasis on durability". He also says they are "very light by any standard but laterally stiff and durable enough that you should have no trouble riding these wheels non-stop through Transrockies". The guy has built thousands of wheels over the past decade, it's what he does, and he's been setting records on a 29er since 1999 so I'm not going to question the man. Sure, Bontrager may not be a chic brand, but he nailed the middle of the price range I gave him (including shipping and insurance) and he knows a hell of a lot more than I do about wheels.

Nevertheless, I do have a set of cheaper wheels coming (eventually) from Pricepoint.com that I ordered back in December. They were ridiculously cheap and have been backordered for over a month now, but they have Shimano XT hubs with Mavic 719 rims. Nothing flashy, but a decent set of wheels to abuse with day-to-day training. The wheels Mike is going to build me will only be for racing and for the occasional shakedown run on a dry day with buff conditions.

I'm really glad this is almost over. All that's left is to order a few more parts from Fabien's shop and then put it all together. But yes, I am extremely excited about the pending arrival of my baby Moots.