More of a road bike question but this is the only forum I go to that has to do with biking so I’m asking anyway. Does anyone have any experience with Moots and what do you think of them(Vamoots/compact sl) compared to Litespeed. I know Litespeed has a lot more options with frame designs but I kinduv like the idea of a bike that not everyone has and there are a lot of Litespeeds around. The welds appear to be nicer on the Vamoots than any of the Litespeeds I’ve seen. Other than that the only thing I can tell is that you can get into a litespeed cheaper than Moots but I think all of the Moots are 6/4 Ti and the cheaper Litespeeds are 3/2.5.
Moots is about a sweet as it gets. However, you do get more technolgy in the Litespeed as they can afford to offer you more. The tubesets by Moots are stock pipes from somewhere, where as Litespeed has the ability to create custom 6/4 tubes out of sheet stock (Ultimate, and Blade I know have “built” tubes from flat stock). You are right about the welds on the Moots - they are quite pretty. I think that when you look at the Moots, also look at a CUSTOM Litespeed or Merlin for that matter. Call Chatanooga and see what they have to say.
I’m currently looking at Moots, as well. The non-SL versions use 3/2 ti, while the SL get 6/4.
Hi there. Moots makes indeed very nice bikes and the whole gang there is very hip.
But it is a lot easier for me to talk about what we do here at Litespeed, since that is where I am every day of the week and where my mind and heart is 24/7. You can have a Vortex either standard or as a custom compact if you really want a stiff lightweight allaround roadbike with lots of tube shaping or choose a stock Ghisallo with its curved seatstays, tapered threesided toptube and biaxially ovalized teardropshaped downtube if you want a featherlight bike . (898gr in size M)
But even a bike like the Teramo is a fantastic performance bike which gives you lots of bang for the buck.
Hope this finds you well.
Herbert
Litespeed
well, if you are into things like the infamous “ten-sided seattube” then l-speed is your horse, certainly. and, they pretty much dictate what is what on the titanium quality vs cost paradigm.
the moots is more of a boutique/art bike. much crisper execution and attention to detail. that is what you are buying there.
they are really two different categories of a niche, or perhaps they occupy two distinctly different niches within a category . . . . . . . er . . . . . . . . . . so to speak. 
Is there any truth to the rumor that the guy who started Litespeed is going to start up another bike brand?
That would be news to me.
Seriously.
Herbert
OK, I’m not trying to start anything. We just had a guy come to our group ride yesterday and said his friend knew that the litespeed guy was just signing a “no compete or something type of contract”. Since I saw your post, I thought I’d ask.
Thanks
Thanks for responding I know you are busy. You guys almost have to many options for a neophyte like me to figure out. You guys need a Litespeed for dummy’s section on your web page. I’ve read the catalog and web page and don’t really have a feel for which bike might be best for me. There are the obvious answers like the Ultimate but the different shaped tubes are Greek to me. I want a good comfortable riding bike and don’t necessarily want something twitchy. Even the ratings that you guys put on different characteristics(which is more than most bike companies do) don’t seem to narrow things down for me. It’s almost a case of the more you learn the more questions you have.
Hey Weak
If you are new the bike world, we need to know what you are going to be using the bike for? Ti’s? Just road riding? TT’s? And if you talking moots and the higher end litespeeds you are stepping in to the deep end of the bike world! This is big money!! 4K+. You may not need to spend that much on a bike this time around. But if you do have the money you will be buying a bike that will last you for a very long time. But the Siena looks very nice! And the price is not to bad.
Dan…
I am probably the biggest bike snob on this site, and but for Demmerly and a few others would venture to say that I have more miles on more diffrent bikes than most other people on this site. Thre are few bikes that impress me as much as my Ultimate…granted, it is not a stock bike, and nothing like the new ones. I have lent this bike out to many people to ride as well (weeks at a time). My Ultimate out performs my old Ghisallo, and IMO my old Vortex as well. Certainly its ride FAR surpasses other Ti bikes I have ridden in the past. Granted, for Tri I prefer my Softrides head and shoulders above my other bikes (Cervelo P3 included), but for a road bike I have never been able to get and keep another - as nothing performs as well as my Ulimate all around.
Granted, Moots has great bikes and as a small company give you a bit more personal (maybe) service than ABG has given in the recent past years. I do really think that the days of a bigger less personal ABG are over and Litespeed from what I have seen first hand has taken the high end niche market back by the horns and are taking over again. I think that you would be mistaken to also not consider Merlin in your search, and if you want REALLY personal service call Ben Serotta, Yamagucci or even Leonard Zinn - there are a ton of them out there. In the end, unfortunatly for people who think that they are getting something special are really just getting the same 6/4 tube, from the same facory with the same tube kit - cut slightly diffrent than the others…and there you have a custom Ti bike - with Litespeed I have in the past (and ride today) bikes that are not on the website…cause they make the bike FOR me, my spec’s. my desires, tuned to my high power to weight ratio. Litespeed (and Merlin by default) have the tooling to do one off special things…they can do what no other can afford to do. (partly cause they are so big - and that is not all bad).
You can liken this to many of the TV shows on these days about custom hotrods and motorcycles…a buddy got a car from a fancy schmancy car builder (Saleen Series 1). The car had a super tuned hand built one of a kind Aurora V8, gobs of power, looked cool…windows leaked, oil leaked, doors sagged and he sold the car and got a damn Vette…sure the Vette is like a belly button as everyone has one…but he always knew that the Vette was a great car and would start in the morning (and he could even get service on it)
I have a Hampsten/Moots road bike. I think it rides as well as any bike I have. (My Chris King Headset bill is over $1,000)
Moots geometry is very well thought out. They only offer Reynolds 6/4 or straight gauge pipes on a compact or slight sloping tube bike. I wouldn’t mess with their geometry much as it is a really nice ride. The founder of Moots Kent Erickson has left and is up to something in the bike world. I would buy another in a second.
I think Litespeed makes a stable of damn nice frames for different needs, and would have to look hard at a Tom Kellogg Spectrum/Merlin frame as well. Another guy that I have seen but never ridden is Holland in Cali. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the above plus Dean and Seven in the mix too. Seven builds all their bikes custom. Good luck on choosing. Do like me and have way too many rides. G
I am admittedly a bit of a Litespeed snob. My current and previous rides have convinced me that they are one of the premier frame builders in the industry. Recently, it seems there has been an explosion of choices within their lines and that is a very good thing. IMO, some of the best value can be had in the middle of the line with bikes that share geometries and technology with the top of the line. Bikes like the Salano, Teramo, and the re-released Tachyon have non-carbon curved seatstays and non-integrated headsets (THANK YOU!!!). I’m not a huge fan of the build kits, but most LBS’s will work with you on that. Moots makes very fine bikes, and remind me a bit of the pre-ABG Merlins in their weld quality (which were art like) where the process is a little less manufacturing and a little more crafting.