Colorado Companies to Watch Class of 2011: Moots Cycles

For the serious cyclist, sweet dreams are made of Moots: light-as-air, tough-as-nails, titanium beauties, lovingly designed, mitered, welded, finished and machined by Butch, Nate, Bryce, Willy, Caleb, Amy and the rest of the gang up in Steamboat Springs.

They’re not cheap – a Moots can easily set you back $5,000 – but for those in the know who have got the dough, nothing less will do.

“Even during the tough economic times, consumers were willing to ‘pay up’ for high-end products, but they demanded more value in those products,” says Moots President/CEO Rob Mitchell, who joined the 32-year-old company in 2007. “So it dovetailed nicely into the value we offer cyclists in our Moots bikes and components – lifetime bikes, handcrafted in the U.S.”

In 2009, Moots wowed the cycling community with its leading-edge road bike, the Vamoots RSL, a testament to the possibilities of aerospace-grade titanium. Since then, the rapidly rising price of high-end carbon steel bikes has helped Moots thrive, Mitchell says.

“That pricing trend, along with carbon’s continuing challenge with durability, allowed people to more immediately and clearly see the exceptional value in titanium versus carbon, at like-ranged prices,” he says.

Mitchell says Moots has continued growing since it was named a Colorado Company to Watch two years ago and expects to remain on that upward trajectory, despite a somewhat sluggish overall bike market.

To help offset that, Moots has supported its independent dealers through personal territory visits, Moots education and clinics and other helpful floor display tools, he says. The company also started a Moots In-House Dealer Camp program.

“We host one to three dealer partners for two to three days at Moots,” Mitchell says. “We immerse them in the Moots culture, our build philosophies, our build process and craftsmanship focus while, of course, having a lot of fun riding or skiing and getting to know the Moots crew over dinners.” 

He credits that increased support, along with a clear plan and innovative design and performance, for driving Moots’ success.

Ultimately, though, Mitchell says, it’s about focusing on “what we do best: handcrafting the finest titanium bikes for cycling enthusiasts around the world – and consistently telling that story to the cycling community.”