Idiot.

So yeah, that happened. 

 

Let me 100% honest. It's not exactly what I wanted.

  

It's a 2015 Moots Vamoots DR. I wanted a Moots Vamoots Disc RSL, which is the more performance, race-ready version. I tried to find a way to  make a Disc RSL happen, but the frameset alone (frame, fork, and headset) would have cost just under $2000 more than I paid for the DR. Then I would have had to buy a groupset, wheelset, and all of the bits and pieces that make a bike a bike. Given that it would be a Moots, I wouldn't have just slapped on any parts. I would have used the good stuff. I wouldn't have even been able to afford a van down by the river when I was done, but I would have had a really nice bike.

 

The 2015 Moots Vamoots DR had a 135mm quick-release in the rear instead of the 142mm thru-axle I wanted. It's a more-compliant build and geometry that may not respond to my crushing, 200 watt sprint in a manner that befits my status as the last guy across the line. It doesn't have some of the options I would have chosen, like fender mounts.

 

However, this has a lot going for it. It's been ridden less than 10 times. Chris King hubs and headset. Moots titanium seatpost and stem (in my preferred length). Those alone were pretty spendy. It sports an Ultegra hydraulic groupset with my preferred 10 speeds (I have a lot of cassettes and chains to burn through). The bottom bracket is threaded, which was an option that was going to cost me on the RSL. It will work with any of my power meters. It has a bling-y Enve fork. Best of all, it has purple accents on the wheels and seatpost clamp. I don't really care for purple, but it's my wife's favorite color. Maybe she'll let me live when she first sees it because of this touch.

 

All told, with shipping and whatever parts I need to add, it will cost less than a third of what the RSL was going to run me. A third. I'll be able to keep my plastic bikes for racing and the three or four nice days we get in Anchorage each summer. If I really think about it, 99.93% of my training rides don't involve sprints where I need to be first across the line. If I'm doing sprint intervals, I just need to see the power, not the speed. A little more compliance will help me be more comfortable in the saddle for longer rides.

 

Fuck. I'm getting old.

 

Still, I couldn't pass it up. I'm weak that way. It may mean I'll start thinning the herd. Maybe my trusty Russian ti bike will get cut. Maybe a couple others will be torn down and sold on eBay while they still retain some value. We'll see when it shows up in the mail and I'll get some miles in the saddle. Maybe I'll hate it. There's always that possibility. Many bikes I've lusted after have turned out to be less than I anticipated. My Storck is a prime example, as are any number of other perfectly-respectable bikes that for some reason didn't make me giggle like a schoolgirl when I had a chance to objectively evaluate them. Sometimes I get wrapped up in the name or the looks initially. That certainly could be the case here.

 

I'm excited to see, though.