Moots’ employees take cyclocross seriously. One just has to look at the CrossVegas Wheelers and Dealers results from the last few years to see that the employees of the Steamboat Springs-based framebuilder don’t just dabble in cyclocross, but specialize in the discipline with much success, with three racers finishing in the top 10 in the 2010 CrossVegas industry event, including the 2009 and 2010 winner Jon Cariveau, the company’s marketing director.
The Moots PsychloX RSL titanium cyclocross bike is ready for production after several years in development. © Cyclocross Magazine
The Moots PsychloX RSL features top tube cable routing on a flattened, shaped top tube. © Cyclocross Magazine
It should come as no surprise then that Moots has been working hard at extending its RSL (Race Super Light) line to cyclocross. The RSL line includes road and 29er models, and now just in time for the 2011 season, it will also include a cyclocross bike. Cariveau has been racing a prototype PsychloX RSL for over a year, but Moots has continued to refine the design and develop its own fork for the final production bike. We took a look at the brand new PsychloX RSL in Vegas – before it has even made an appearance on the company’s website.
Perfect welds join the butted downtube with the head tube. © Cyclocross Magazine
The PsychloX RSL features oversized seamless 3/2.5 US-made titanium tubes, and the three main tubes (seat tube, top tube, down tube) are double butted for about a 100g weight savings over the standard PsychloX. While the company uses titanium tubes custom made in the US, Moots sends these tubes to Reynolds in the UK for butting – an attention to detail that surely adds to the expense of this top-of-the-line cyclocross model.
Moots uses a Press Fit 30 bottom bracket on the PsychloX RSL. © Cyclocross Magazine
The PsychloX RSL also adds a Press Fit BB30 bottom bracket, which the company says adds stiffness and allows for more welding area for stronger tube junctions, while potentially reducing weight over a threaded system.
In addition to double butted tubes and Press Fit BB30, the PsychloX RSL also features a 44mm headset size that will allow both a 1-1/8″ straight steerer as well as tapered steerers popular on new carbon forks (especially disc).
Moots’ other refinements on the PsychloX RSL include shaped and flattened top tube for more comfortable shouldering, and refined and lighter rear dropouts.
The new Moots carbon cyclocross fork, with a 47mm rake and titanium finish. © Cyclocross Magazine
Moots used to spec their cyclocross bikes with the Alpha Q CX 2 fork, but now that True Temper is no longer making these forks, the company has opted to design its own carbon cyclocross fork. The result is a standard 395mm axle-to-crown distance, with a 47mm rake. The fork features generous mud clearance, smartly accepts a fork-mounted cable hanger (to eliminate any fork chatter), and has a sculpted area around the brake pads to provide an additional 2.5mm for additional mud clearance and easy wheel removal. The fork weighs just 454 grams (one pound) and will be available in the titanium finish, and possibly in a black, less-branded finish as an aftermarket unit for non-Moots bike owners.
The rear dropouts on the Moots PsycloX RSL are reshaped, reconfigured, and lighter than the standard PsychloX. © Cyclocross Magazine
The damage for such bike bling? If you have to ask, a frameset retails for $4695. It’s certainly up there in terms of one of the most pricey options, but the titanium frame should provide years of dent-free, fatigue-free, and corrosion-free joy, helping potential owners justify the expense. There are also singlespeed and custom geometry options available for the racer looking for a unique steed.
Stay tuned, as we plan on giving the Moots PsychloX a full review later this season.
Want to see more of Interbike’s cyclocross offerings? We have a full list of some of the best new products we saw at Interbike, with more being added every day.
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