Vamoots RSL tubing….

At Moots we are very fond of high quality, seamless, round titanium tubing. This holds true in every model we make, from cross, road, mountain and even commute, we use round tubing that is subtly ovalized on the ends to make it flow into the next tube. The Vamoots RSL continues this tradition of round tubes, although this time around the RSL tubes have something a little different inside them....butts. Butted tubing is not new to the cycling world by any means. Here at Moots we have and do enjoy using straight gauge tubing for our builds, given the fact that there are more diameters and wall thicknesses to choose from to define the ride of a certain size of frame or need of the customer. To move forward with the RSL we rethought every tube going into the bike to maximize stiffness while reducing weight. No easy task. In most frame builds the more weight you remove the less stiff the frame becomes. So as you reduce the weight (using thinner tubes) we increase the diameter to keep the frame stiff. When using butted tubes, in our case double butted and single butted, you remove the weight from the mid-section of the tube while keeping it thicker on the ends (heat affected weld zone) to have the strength in the right spot in the tube.

For the RSL we use an oversized double butted top and down tube. Increasing the diameter of the down tube to 41mm to keep the stiffness low in the frame and pair down the weight. We are also using a single butted oversized 35mm seat tube to again, keep the stiffness low on the bike, in the area most beneficial to being stiff (drive line). For our butting needs we are working with Reynolds of England. They have been in the tubing business since the late 1800's and have held many patents on tubing production and butting processes. For the front end of the RSL we are sending them our 3/2.5 US made tubing and having those tubes butted to our specification just for the RSL. They use an internal Mandrel to butt the tubing, keeping control of wall thickness and butt profile during the entire process. We have had Reynolds butt multiple diameters for the RSL to address the ride for each size.....a special tube set indeed.

The first RSL frames are going into the jig as I type….First one out this am was a 50cm size weighing in at 2.3 lbs.....jig and frame are both doing well....., with the 56cm coming in at 2.5 lbs. of durable titanium goodness. We can’t wait to have you ride them!

More to come.