Moss Bikes' founder Andrew Jones built his first frame aged just 14. He’s gained a lot of experience since then, and has also extended his British-built ethos to components, wherever possible.
- Highs: Beautiful ride, beautiful looks
- Lows: Slightly low-rent rear derailleur
The Davies frame is made from Reynolds 853 steel with thicknesses based around the individual rider and the bike’s intended use. After silver soldering the lugged frame is treated to an epoxy-based primer and six coats of paint, with hand-masked decals painted on and finished with a tough lacquer.
The Moss rides with the life and spring you get from the best steel. Yes, it’s running on comfort-boosting 28mm Continentals, but the frame sweetly transmits road feel while negating harshness – the result feels more like a hovercraft than a collection of metal pipes. The handling is quick without being twitchy, the wheelbase long enough to feel stable without making it too sedate.
The Moss has British hubs and disc rotors
It’s equal parts race bike and disc ’crosser. In the US they’d call it a gravel bike, though Andy prefers ‘performance path racer’, a 1930s-style racer whose discs provide a go-anywhere performance.
The Advanced Composites Wound-Up fork looks like it’ll twist and bend, but the opposite is true. Laterally it is immobile, but over broken bumpy surfaces you can see the fork fluttering forwards and back, eliminating road buzz.
The Brit list includes Middleburn cranks, a Brooks saddle and USE’s titanium seatpost, alloy stem and handlebar. The British Goldtec hubs are paired with Velocity’s made-in-the-USA rims.
Middleburn’s cranks come with a lifetime guarantee
TRP’s Hy/Rd cable-actuated hydraulic disc brakes offer consistently excellent braking regardless of conditions and with loads of feel. The Campagnolo groupset works beautifully, and while the Veloce rear derailleur seems a little bargain-basement at this price, Moss is still waiting for Goldtec to complete its 11-speed disc road hub.
Overall the Moss combines beautiful build quality and a great combination of components all bound together by a British-built ethos. The classy-looking machine is also one of the finest steel bikes we’ve tried, with a ride quality to match its looks.
