Fargo Gen 1 Update

I still get compliments on the old girl.

"Wow! That's a sweet bike!", said the guy out back of the local Goodwill store. I wasn't expecting him to say anything at all, really, but when I got this compliment on the old Fargo, I was floored. I reflected my thanks and agreed, and rolled on home.

Maybe it was the Becker Design frame bag, or perhaps it was that swoopy Garage Bag from Bike Bag Dude on my top tube, (Congrats on the baby boy, by the way!), but whatever it was, it got me noticed. There is one thing for certain, and that is there really isn't any other bike out there quite like a Salsa Cycles Fargo, and especially the first generation ones. Designed as a drop bar bike with no provisions to allow you to mount a front suspension fork, the first Fargos were a "red headed stepchild" in a world of front suspended and fully suspended 29"ers.

I hooked up with mine in November of 2008 on the very day that history was made when Barack Obama was elected our President. I think it was the only presidential election I ever missed in my adult life, but since I have such a sweet bike for being absent from the polls that day, I'll not regret it. This bike and I bonded right from the get-go, and I don't think I'll ever get rid of it as long as I can swing a leg over a bike and ride.

Anyway, things have evolved with this bike since then, and now have been honed to a fine point. One of the more recent changes has been to a used, out of production Luxy Bar. It has been the single most important change on this bike since I got it. This is the handle bar for this bike without a doubt. Too bad they don't make these anymore. It beats a Woodchipper for comfort, usable hand positions, and control by a country mile.

I may be on the lookout for some new tires and I was thinking yesterday how sweet a titanium seat post would be on this bike. Other than that and regular maintenance, this one is right by me. Here is another post I did about a month and a half ago on this generation of the Fargo. You can click that link for my overall likes and dislikes on this generation of this storied model.