Conversations with Moots

Spent a little time interviewing Jon Cariveau from Moots Cycles yesterday morning. Keep an eye on the "Builders" section of the Continental site as we head into the spring months. There are going to be some great additions to the family.

Jon and I tried to meet up in person during the NAHBS show in Richmond, but even the mere thought of getting something like that done in the midst of a tradeshow was a bold move. Of course their booth was filled with some of the best looking Titanium creations to grace the floor of the show. One of my favorites can be seen on the Superb Bicycle Blog. where I know that Jason was ogling over the Snow Bike. Winter Camo never looked so good.

He was able to sneak out for our Sunday morning ride but we already knew that Jon knows how to ride. If you are unsure check out the Coal Miner route from earlier this summer. That is him crushing it on the gravel roads that never seem to end. However, until yesterday I had no idea that they had been in the business of bicycles, in some way shape or form, for almost 30 years. That fact alone made them the a great candidate for new Continental Rider Joe Staples road bike. If anyone is going to appreciate the history that goes into each and every one of these frames, it is going to be Joe. Trust me, by tomorrow he will have dug up four facts about Moots that I had never heard. He's just like that.

We talked about the history of the company and their longstanding love affair with the town that they call home —Steamboat Springs, Colorado. From the sounds of it (a 300 person bi-weekly summertime Crit?) could be a little slice of heaven well hidden from the rest of the CO suburbanites? But the thought of having to take a water purification system with you just to complete the ride with stream water sounds pretty enticing. Talk about remote.

The frame should be going to paint any day now so I thought it might be a good time to take one last look at those beautiful welds. These guys really know how to weld up some titanium. The bit about it going to paint is not entirely true (sorry Joe) because the Coat Paint shop is in the process of moving their operations. Take a look at their soon to be former shop on Flickr. The guys over there do a pretty fantastic job with everything they churn out be it espresso cups or bicycles. I am sure that they will have fun with the Moots in their shop.