I'm riding a 61cm MooTour with a YBB. I'm 6'2", 50 years old, and weigh 175 pounds. When I ordered the bike, my idea was to use it for randonneuring and other long-distance and partial off-asphalt activities. Since one limiting factor seemed to be back pain about an hour into every ride, I thought the YBB would be a good idea. I also run an IF steel fork
The bike has S&S couplers, and I have taken it on some amazing trips, mostly to France, Italy and on some epic rides in the Swiss Alps. Here is a pic from the assault on the Susten Pass last year:
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c10/Pynchon/DSC01200.jpg

In the roughly 10,000 miles I have put on the bike, my priorities have changed somewhat. It turned out that consistent stomach and core exercise have eliminated most back pain, and I ride the bike with the YBB locked out because it is just too cushy otherwise. I realized that I enjoy climbing much more than just going long distances, and that sometimes I find myself in race-like situations (on group rides). Finally, the front section of the bike is really long and therefore hard to pack; on my return flight this summer the fork somehow poked through the side of the (soft) case and got seriously bent.

Given all that, I find myself fantasizing about trying to sell the MooTour and get a Vamoots instead, with tighter geometry and smaller tolerances and no YBB so that it would be lighter and easier to pack.

I enjoy the MooTour tremendously and am perfectly well aware of the fact that I have a long way to go to fully live up to its potential. The bike has been wonderfully reliable, and I certainly don't regret buying it.
Am I just suffering from a normal attack of new bike fever?

Would you do the S&S couplings again on your Vamoots. I am 35 and having the S&S couplings built in, they are givung the custom build at no added cost. I am loseing sleep at night over the added weight and "compromised ride" if I get the couplings.... Your feed back please....

I definitely would do the couplers again. They do not compromise the stiffness of the frame at all, and they're, what, 400 g?
Even if you don't pack the bike up into a case, they give you a ton of options if you have little space, like in a small rental car.

Even on my club riding bike?
I do fast club rides on Saturdays and Sundays, 150 miles per week. I am into being fast and pulling at the front of the pack, fast in the flats and rollers. I need all the help I can get in the long climbs, yet that is the most rewarding. Would I be holding myself back if I add the couplings? I can't get the SL because they say the tubing walls are too thin to support the couplings, and they don't have the 6/4 tubing in stock, something about the millitary taking all the stock. So I would have the 3/2 and then the couplings, it would come out to 18lbs and this on an $8000.00 bike!!!! I feel like I'm defeating the purpose of this bike altogether!!!! I currently ride a Bianchi San Mateo Alu with carbon forks and seat stays, around 20lbs, for only $1600.The road purist says don't do that to your bike. Get a box and ship it! I carried a bike in a box to the South of France, getting that around sucked! I am truly losing sleep over this...
This will be my baby for a while. I travel to Israel three times a year and I would love to have it with me.... I want to leave the others on the beach while I climb the mountains and descend like a rocket on my custom Moots that fits into a 26x26x10 case.
One day I'll have the guts to add a Colnago extreme power to my quiver, in addition to my Surly Steamroller fixie 2007 and my first bike a Bianchi San Mateo 2006. That's the dream; A Moots custom with S&S & Full Record, Colnago and a Fixie...
Someone please help calm my fears!!!!
Wait did I just say my dream? Oh! A Moots custom with S&S and full Campy Record, the Colnago extreme power, and the fixie. That's it!
Oh no! Which 8 thousand dollar bike do I get first???? The Colnago or the Moots????
Oh please help!!!!
Is there a bicycle psychologist in the house, i have made myself crazy with bike lust...

Even on my club riding bike?
I do fast club rides on Saturdays and Sundays, 150 miles per week. I am into being fast and pulling at the front of the pack, fast in the flats and rollers. I need all the help I can get in the long climbs, yet that is the most rewarding. Would I be holding myself back if I add the couplings? I can't get the SL because they say the tubing walls are too thin to support the couplings, and they don't have the 6/4 tubing in stock, something about the millitary taking all the stock. So I would have the 3/2 and then the couplings, it would come out to 18lbs and this on an $8000.00 bike!!!! I feel like I'm defeating the purpose of this bike altogether!!!! I currently ride a Bianchi San Mateo Alu with carbon forks and seat stays, around 20lbs, for only $1600.The road purist says don't do that to your bike. Get a box and ship it! I carried a bike in a box to the South of France, getting that around sucked! I am truly losing sleep over this...
This will be my baby for a while. I travel to Israel three times a year and I would love to have it with me.... I want to leave the others on the beach while I climb the mountains and descend like a rocket on my custom Moots that fits into a 26x26x10 case.
One day I'll have the guts to add a Colnago extreme power to my quiver, in addition to my Surly Steamroller fixie 2007 and my first bike a Bianchi San Mateo 2006. That's the dream; A Moots custom with S&S & Full Record, Colnago and a Fixie...
Someone please help calm my fears!!!!
Wait did I just say my dream? Oh! A Moots custom with S&S and full Campy Record, the Colnago extreme power, and the fixie. That's it!
Oh no! Which 8 thousand dollar bike do I get first???? The Colnago or the Moots????
Oh please help!!!!
Is there a bicycle psychologist in the house, i have made myself crazy with bike lust...

If you travel with this bike regularly I would go with the couplers. You're not going to notice the weight difference except in your head. It's less weight than a bottle of water and think of the convenience and the savings on airline charges. I regret not putting it on my bike.

If you travel with this bike regularly I would go with the couplers. You're not going to notice the weight difference except in your head. It's less weight than a bottle of water and think of the convenience and the savings on airline charges. I regret not putting it on my bike.

Thanks for the advise. Now that I am clear about that i will put the couplers on. However, now that I travel with it, on the Moots i am afraid of stripping the integrated seat clamp. An issue? Or No?:idea: Rorark classic, Merlin extralight...

can the couplers be put on the bike later down the road?

Yes they can! http://www.bilenky.com/hack.html will retrofit and http://www.sandsmachine.com/. Calfee design will even put couplers on CARBON frames!!!

ahem!
original question?