Changing Direction (Completed!)

Last week I wrote about my Salsa El Mariachi that I was reviving with a Salsa Cycles CroMoto Grande fork with the Maxle drop outs. I spent most of my free time Sunday getting it done, and here it is.

It's ready to roll....

All the key parts came together well. The wheel matched up with the fork perfectly. In fact, the tolerances are pretty close to the point that the fork and wheel seem as though they should be really solid feeling.

As you can see, the calipers are white and that means I opted for the Quad branded brakes in white. While they are odd, in that they aren't common, and they may not have all the bells and whistles, they do work well. They also have really easily bled lines and calipers, which is a bonus when you have to do that. The set up with the Ashima rotors works nicely.

The rims obviously dominate the look, and that is because there is a lot of rim there! Those are Velocity P-35's, and they are supporting those massive Ardent 2.4"ers which are set up tubeless. The rims really make the Ardent tread sit down on the trail, since the rims sort of flatten the crown out some. That makes them a really good choice for winter,sloppy, and rough courses. As I recall, I ran this combination way down into the teens for air pressure back a couple years ago.

The white rims are highlighted by the Bontrager saddle and Ergon grips here. The panel on the down tube is cream colored, but it works when the white stuff gets dirty! The panel also features red, which matches an Acros head set I happened to have and a Salsa LipLoc seat collar as well.

Close up of the Maxle

Another red bit is on the wheels, which is represented by the alloy nipples here. So, the highlighted colors work off the darker colors here including the fork, frame, hubs, stem, seat post, and handle bar.

The frame and stem are the same deep, plum-ish purple color. Sometimes in brighter sunlight the purple looks more "purple", but at times it looks like eggplant.

The hubs, (Velocity branded), Salsa 17° bend bar, Bontrager seat post, and the fork are black. They sometimes blend right into the frame, and then when the light is right, you see the purple.

The only silver bits are the 175mm White Industries ENO cranks and the 32 tooth ring on that, with the Ashima rotors, 160mm rear/185mm front. Obviously, those end caps on the front hub are also silver. Finally, the ACS Claws freewheel in 18T count is chrome plated silver. By the way, the chain is a purple number to somewhat match the frame.

Obvious to some out there as well is that this is not a stock Salsa scheme here. It was a 2007 Superior Blue El Mariachi to begin with. I ran it that color for quite awhile, but got this "Gun Koted" in "Plum Crazy" with the cream panel and red logo a few years ago. While I remembered to send the stem along for the re-coating, I forgot the fork, so I never had a matching fork for this afterward. 

So, how does it ride? Well, I literally took these images on the test ride as soon after I got the build done that I could. I suspect that it will be a nice, smooth steel ride, just as I remember it. The fork is the only question mark for me right now.

Thanks for checking out this ride. I'll probably be talking about here down the road at some point.