mail order mountain bike sales return to homepage mountain bike accessories bicycle frames built bikes mountain bike kits 06 update of review and test of Moots Cinco

The lightening project from January 2006

Since this documented parts combo test, things have changed with availability of the new XTR triggers and newer fork models, but you may appreciate the ability of this frame to build a bike that works for a range of needs. So, here is the original test.

After 9 months with the Cinco in Moab I took it to Hawaii to guide a vacation package. Prior to the trip, the Cinco was being tested with a lighter build. This included a feathery wheelset (King hubs, triple butted spokes, Mavic 717 rims and alloy nips), latex tubes and WTB Epic racing tires. With the wheels and a couple of component swaps I got the weight of the overall bike to just over 24.5 pounds and could have taken it down to 24. I rode the light version for a while, but when I sold the shop's Moots Smoothie and my own Dreamride Fully at the end of the 2005 season, I was without a guide bike for the Hawaii trip. The job required a bike capable of pavement, dirt, sand, loose rock and lava trails. I went about changing the Cinco to suit. The Moots Cinco in Hawaii

The Hawaii guide bike project

New SRAM X.0 thumb shifters were the first item installed, along with newly tested Dreamride ti bar ends (welded titanium with titanium bolts), that are now in the line-up. I swapped the wheelset to the previous beefier pair with DT 14/15 double butted spokes and brass nipples. These "Moab" wheels are extremely tight and stiff, very trustworthy, though they add about a pound to the weight of the overall bike. I carried a couple of sets of Wilderness Trail Bike tires with me to the island, but because the weather remained dry the entire trip, I ended up using a 2.4 Mutanoraptor in front and a 2.1 Nanoraptor in the rear for the duration. Both have center stripes for fast rolling and vectored knobs for effective grip. The tires performed better than expected on every surface I encountered. I kept the Marzocchi Marathon SL on the bike and carried an extra Progressive shock, just in case. through the jungle to the tide pools returning from the cliffsThe first ride was 30 miles on a narrow dirt and winding paved road along the coast through tunnels of vegetation and across lava flows. Rough side spurs of varying technical difficulty happen every half mile or so, leading to the ocean--or to trouble. This added quite a bit of mileage to my own ride, but the clients were timid--fit, but novices on a mountain bike. When Miki told me that one of them fell hard while standing still trying to clip out in the road, I curtailed side spur exploration and concentrated on keeping him safe and uninjured, and feeling confident. On our first ride especially, we try to keep clients out of trouble, so I didn't consider spurs inland away from the water that venture into "puna bud" country (I saved those for later, when I was alone). I felt the vibe and saw an armed "bud" guard parked in the middle of nowhere at one point, but didn't mention this to the clients. This kind of situation could ruin the rest of their vacation, especially considering the fact that one of the clients seemed to be a magnet for angry locals who want to beat up white guys. The bike, however, was awesome in every situation, very versatile, as planned, and the locals loved it. It pedaled efficiently on pavement without "bob," yet the suspension ate up lava humps, gaps, ledges, ridges and the occasional downed branch. It transitioned from road to dirt without further adjustment.

It did not take too long to fall in love with the SRAM X.0 thumb shifters, which are certainly more positive than the X.9 counterparts. The adjustability of the pods is a welcome feature (great for running pods inboard or outboard of the brake levers), but the feel of the instant solid shift is really the reason to choose them, despite the stupid expense (they add about $200 to the price of a bike). I worry about these machined pods in a crash due to sharp edges, but the X.0 shifters have now become standard fare in our extreme high end builds (with the necessary price increase). I also fell in love with the Dreamride ti bar ends, which are currently available on cross country builds and can be had alone for $89. pig hunting trails along the coast Over the next few days we rode moderate trails, scenic roads, and tamed (vegetated) and raw lava rock. To see more pictures of these rides, go to DREAMRIDE HAWAII VACATIONS. After the clients' vacation package was over, I was free to ride more challenging trail (and talk to native Hawaiians without the stink-eye). Miki joined me on a custom Dreamride Ventana El Saltamontes for a ride along the same coastal trail system, only this time we added distance by starting out on the really rough 4WD track, and we explored EVERY spur to the sea, even the nastiest ones and those with "no trespassing" signs. pig hunting trails along the coast All the while the Cinco was weaving its way into my heart, taking the place of my cherished Moots Smoothie (I HAD to sell it--it didn't belong to me really--it was the shop's bike and the shop cannot sell a product that is no longer produced--ah, the sadness of Kent's departure at the factory). The Cinco was becoming more and more my own bike. The Cinco echoed the impeccable balance of Miki's 5" Salt. Both these bikes made exploring the most remote parts of the island easier than we ever expected. Both were extremely comfortable, capable and more-than-reliable over the entire trip. We never had a mechanical or even a flat tire, despite the presence of some of the nastiest thorns you can imagine. pig hunting trails along the coast thorns that can flat a car tireYou know you are in places other folks don't venture when you come across abandoned, stripped cars, improvised camp spots and makeshift booby traps--a disquised thin piece of plywood over a crack in a lava tube can ruin your day. These sorts of places are dangerous due to the renegades that use the area for car thefts and pot farms. The renegades are alright with us (we know a few), and trust them to see us as tolerant to their solitary plight in the golf course hell Hawaii is becoming. This area is the only shoreline on the island where you might not see another human being for miles and miles or raw shoreline. We are willing to pay the price of admission by showing respect to those who do not expect it. At some point those wealthy enough to be looking for a place in "paradise"--those who ruin the islands for everyone--will come along and buy this stuff up and put houses on it. But it is going to take a miracle to turn this place into resorts for fat golfers because active volcano vents ruin the party with hot lava and stinky gases. And, those houses built by the "paradise-lovers?" They end up on the market really fast. We have never seen so many for sale signs anywhere, including San Francisco during the boom of predating speculators. We know the drill because we know the island: For fatties and trendy white turds in funny hats that walk around with hands on hips, paradise is not all it is cracked up to be, especially when lava is threatening, mosquitos bite, natives give you stinkeye, and the locals steal just about anything out of your house and car, then take your nice new car down this little road to strip it for parts. This is the really wild part of the island we cherish for its danger, its police reports, as well as its raw beauty and awesome trails. Wild is the first four letters of wilderness. When people are part of wilderness, the people who say they want to save it for their children run away to their condos and cry in fear. We don't. We love natives, especially when they eat fat golfers for dinner. Now, there is a real puu puu platter for you.

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