I think I'm sold on the moots ybb. Other than price, I'm looking for reasons why I should or should not buy this bike. I need opinions. Thanks.

Don't have one but have ridden with a couple folks who do and they love the things. Light, well made, just enough in the back to take the edge off. They also ride it on rather technical stuff so, not just XC racing.

Werner

if you'd like to save some money, get a fango. i have a 2003 dean duke (in the marketplace) and i currently ride a ibis ripley (now known as the castellano fango). i did abit of research when i ordered my duke. the dean duke, moots ybb, the fango and a used silk ti were also on my short list.

the ibis silk was out, it seems like they never made a xl size frame. the moots was out because i felt the design was very similar to the ybb and i really didn't see an pros in chosing the ybb over the duke in terms of performance (cane creek makes some pretty reliable shocks, my duke is spec'd with a ad5), and the dean was much cheaper. i ended up getting a great quote on the duke and chose that over the ripley.

i lived happly with my duke for awhile 'til i bought a ibis ripley for my buddy. i built it up for him and he rode it. he came back after a few rides and said he wanted more travel, he got a 3" travel xc bike. i was able to put a few rides on the ripley and was pretty pleased with the performance. i did a parts swap from my duke and gave it more saddle time. i ended up likeing the ripley abit more. why? the shock is one of those set it and forget it things. the shock is also abit more supple than my duke's and the frame is stiffer laterally (though the dean duke and moots are no flex buckets)

i had a chance to ride a moots ybb (not sure if it was a sl or air, etc) while i was enjoying my dean. it rode alot like my duke, so i was pleased that i chose the duke over the ybb since i felt i saved cash. now, i only rode the ybb for a few miles, but the rear end felt about the same in terms of feel and the frame seemed just as stiff as my duke.

i single speed on my ripley now, and let me tell you, it is one of the stiffest frames i have ever ridin'...the flat plate stays work as advertised. it's also a very striking frame, visually. if you can get over the fact that the fango is aluminum, then get it. i am sure you can get one for under $1000 if you've got a good relationship with a shop. also, mtbr member "polk" has a ripley....he has about 9000-10,000 miles on his frame!!! you know it's damn reliable.

if you still are ready to drop close to $3k on a ti softail frame, contact john castellano at castellanodesigns.com. he is taking orders for the rebirth of the silk ti. custom geometry is available.

here is some porn for you;
<img src=http://gallery.mtbr.com/data/mtbr/502/234616lo_res_ibis_SS.jpg>

cheers!


I think I'm sold on the moots ybb. Other than price, I'm looking for reasons why I should or should not buy this bike. I need opinions. Thanks.

It's a comfortable cross country setup that handles really well. I've desided to get something with more suspension travel therefore My Moots is currently on E-bay.
I think the rear spring on the ybb is a little bouncy in my opinion and I'd prefer to remain seated more often down hill. I don't feel the YBB is the best technical terrain bike either, I thinks the Ellsworth Truth has a good balence between efficiancy and rough trail capiblity. Keep in mind that full suspension frames have come a longway since 2000 so back in 2000 the YBB stacked up higher on it's competition. I'm replacing this bike with an Ellsworth Id with disc brakes. I still feel that the YBB is a great bike for cross country racing but for an all arounder there are better choices considering that the frame cost $2495.00 retail. It's hard to build up one of these new for less than $4500. As far as other softails go, the YBB is most certainly the very best. The level of craftsman ship is second to none. If you buy a new one I recommend having Moots build you a custom frame.
Big JuJu