Salsa Cycles Demo: Quick Impressions

NOTE: Large doses of "my opinion" will be handed out in gloppy dollops today. You've been forewarned.....

Okay, I'm going to hit on some of the bikes I rode Monday at the Salsa Cycles demo held by Europa Cycle & Ski. These are merely impressions from short loops through flat, twisty, buff single track which George Wyth State Park is known for. I may also include comments overheard by others at the demo as well.

Overall: My first impression upon seeing the bikes was, "That's a LOT of carbon fiber!" Salsa Cycles, which had zero carbon fiber in its line up just four years ago now has a ton of it. What was once the "metal brand", with titanium, steel, and aluminum bikes, has become the "carbon fiber" brand, for better or worse. Yes- Salsa still has a few steel bikes, (Vaya, Marrakesh, and Fargo), but the titanium is all gone, and even the aluminum bikes are few in number compared to all the carbon fiber frames and forks the brand has now.

My other impression? "Holy cow! We've got a ton of wheel sizes to choose from now!" That needs no further elucidation.

NY Roll getting set up to test out a Pony Rustler. Yes, those are sandals. Damn Hippy!

 Pony Rustler: While this isn't a new rig for Salsa in 2017, it was by far the most pointed at when you asked "what was your favorite bike to ride today?" The PR has those fat 27.5+ wheels and the Split Pivot suspension. Many folks were amazed at how it wiped out all traces of bumps on the trail. I rode one and here are my thoughts:

The PR is a like a fish out of water here at George Wyth. It really needed rocks, ledges, drop ins, and some speedy down hills to bring out its personality. That said, the thing about full suspension bikes, and I get this from years of reviewing them at my former Twenty Nine Inches gig, is that you really need a couple of rides- good long rides- to really dial the thing in before you can say much about the platform with any gravity to your statements. I had my bike set up to spec by the capable Justin of Salsa Cycles, with proper sag, et cetera, but that was a set up for gnarly terrain. Not what George Wyth has. I felt the bike had potential, and probably would be a great rig, but in all seriousness, I just cannot say anything more than that.

Cutthroat: I was super fortunate that the only Cutthroat there was in my size. I set it up and took it for a fast paced spin of about 15-20 minutes. This bike uses the VRS Class 5 rear stay set up like the Warbird, only beefed up a bit. It is a bike meant to carry a load with frame bags and do off road touring, but it is finding its way into the gravel bike world as well. Note: Carbon Cutthroat is basically what the Ti Fargo was. I wouldn't ever expect Salsa Cycles would ever bring that model back, despite the adamant calls from Salsa that this isn't a "Carbon Fargo" and titanium has been hinted at as maybe coming back. I say no way. This is a Carbon Fargo which, for all intents and purposes is the replacement bike for the Ti Fargo. One ride told me that.

The Cutthroat I rode. A very nice, lightweight "Carbon Fargo".

It's very light, for sure. Especially if you were to spec nice wheels. It's a very responsive bike to pedal input, like a road carbon frame might feel like. And the rear end? Yes, there is a definite feeling of give at times, but as I say, this demo was over mostly buff dirt. A good gravel stomping may reveal other things. The geometry is great. I could use this bike here easily as my "everything bike". Single track, gravel, road commuting. Even the Firestarter fork felt somewhat compliant. I would take a serious look at this bike for long gravel racing or riding. I really, really liked this bike.

Nits: I got the rear end to steer a little differently than the front was going once. It was distinct, and felt like a very flexy wheel. I suspect it was induced by the Schwalbe Thunderburt climbing up a bit of "U" shaped rut in the back while I was trying to steer in the opposite direction. It reminded me of how full suspension 29"ers used to feel in the rear six or seven years ago. I likely wouldn't notice this after riding it more, but it jumped out at me on this test ride. Might be the wheel twisting a bit, or the frame flexing oddly, or.......likely both. Other than this, I really liked this bike with one major reservation- it is carbon fiber. Try riding it on an adventure in Tama County clay a few times, or in like situations at Odin's Revenge where I had so much mud stuck on the tires it ground the Fargo to a dead stop. Gritty mud grinding on carbon chain stays doesn't sound like my idea of "keeping the bike around a long time". Your mileage may vary. Maybe I'm being too cautious, but this is one argument for a titanium or steel bike that isn't going to go away easily. Other than that, this is the bike I would have come home with.

Ahh! More carbon fiber! The Woodsmoke in repose.

Woodsmoke: Probably the oddest bike Salsa has made since that tri-bike/time trial bike they had called the "El Go-Go" back 15 years ago or so. (Really. Check that out sometime)

This is the bike Salsa is making a big deal about, and the radical looking hard tail is definitely an eye catcher. But......how does it ride? I wasn't sure I would be able to speak to this well, since there was no size large to demo, and only this XL was anywhere close to my size. I gave it a go anyway......

I'll tell you one thing, and this has been a perennial issue with Salsa Cycles hard tail mountain bikes and myself, but the sizing of their hard tails and me seem off somehow or another. I had little stand over on this rig, but the reach was dead nuts.  I cannot imagine riding a Large after riding this one with stock stem installed. I likely would need a longer stem on a large, and that kind of defeats the purpose of the "new geometry" for hard tails. Weird..... Even my similarly sized friend thought the same thing, so it isn't just me, I guess.

Out on the trail, the bike spun up far easier than I expected, but it wasn't that "snap", that instant power forward feeling that the Cutthroat had.  It kind of had a wind up to it. Like a flexible metal frame might have. Weird. Something was flexing.

Elevated chain stay bikes have a history going waaaaay back to the 1980's. If you research them, you will find that almost all of the designs, and there were many, had a similar characteristic- flexy bottom brackets. The Woodsmoke has a "half an elevated chain stay" design, and on powering down with the left leg, I could get the rear wheel to almost touch", but not quite, the left chain stay. So, there was the culprit for the "wind up" that I was feeling. No big deal, but it is there. My friend that rode it afterward saw the same thing, and another taller rider actually got the stay to scrape off some mud from the tire that was stuck to it. Is it a flexy wheel? Hmm..... Could be. Something was making the wheel go left though, and not right in the same manner. That's all I can say.

Other than that, the bike was a hoot to ride and easily the best 29+ experience I've had to date. I'm not a solid 29+ kind of guy, but I could ride this bike. It was not as fun as say, the Borealis Echo I rode with 29+ wheels, but it was close. Pops wheelies if you barely try, and is rather fun on twisty single track. BIG triangle for frame bags. Could be a cool bikepacking rig.

Stock image courtesy of Salsa Cycles of a Timberjack

Timberjack: I was super bummed but there was nothing I could ride in a Timberjack frame. My smaller sized friends there could though and they both gave the bike a big thumbs up saying things like it was really fun and a playful, easy to wheelie machine.

To my mind, this bike is the sleeper in the line up. It retails for $1500.00 in the 27.5+ set up and 1G in 29"er guise. It has modern trail geometry, and should be fun to ride for years. Yes......it is aluminum. Big deal. I guess that doesn't bother me when you think about how this bike is to be used.

I like that it uses typical double diamond frame design. Elevated chain stays, even "half elevated chain stays", have not passed the test of time. Maybe I could take a chance, but Woodsmokes are very expensive to get in to, and they won't do anything "better" than this format, unless you are splitting hairs. 27.5+ wheels are faster to spin up, and unless you are Yeti sized, I think they make a smarter choice, especially for folks under 6 foot tall. That's why I was so hoping to try a Timberjack, but that will have to wait till later. Maybe I'll run across one later this Fall.......

Stock image for the Rival Carbon Warbird courtesy of Salsa Cycles

Carbon Warbird: I got to ride the Rival equipped Carbon Warbird around. It was maybe one size smaller than I should have, but it felt really close to "right". Anyway....

I have ridden the aluminum Warbird enough to know that the VRS Class 5 system works. The carbon version is supposed to be better. It probably is, but again, I couldn't really say with any authority based upon the trails we rode. It did have awesome snap and acceleration like the Cutthroat. I thought it felt really good and racy.

The deal with the Warbirds now is that the tire clearances are what they should have always been from the beginning, but they are not a super versatile rig. No rack mounts. no good way to single speed it in the field, and well......it is carbon fiber. (See concerns I voiced above in the Cutthroat take.) But if I rode a lot of pavement and wanted a legit gravel road going capable bike, I would ride this bike all over. There really is nothing wanting in its intended design and purpose. Maybe if they could figure out a way to reduce front end vibrations a bit more, ala Trek's Domane, but other than that, this is a solid choice for fast or competitive gravel road riding.

Muluk Carbon, image courtesy of Salsa Cycles.

Mukluk Carbon X1: I rode the Matte Army Green Mukluk Carbon x1 at the demo and this was to test whether or not there was enough of a "gee-whiz" factor over my Blackborow DS to make me want to save my pennies for this new model. Thankfully for my meager bank account balance, it will be safe from having to sacrifice itself for this rig.

Not because it isn't great. It is. I just don't see any big benefits to going to a carbon frame set, at least not for me. I would much rather get into some fine, lighter weight wheels, and maybe those might have carbon rims. But the new carbon Mukluk feels much like the Blackborow.  I think the cavernous frame opening is a big deal for those who need the space. If it came down to that need, I would pop for this carbon version. I just don't need that much space.

Conclusions: The Woodsmoke has me unconvinced. The Timberjack is a question yet to be answered, and the Pony Rustler, while awesome, is not something I'd get a lot of use out of here. So, as I stated above, the Cutthroat would be the bike I would bring home. It has single track manners that are awesome. It is very fast. It is lightweight compared to any Fargo. It could be a gravel rider's dream. It can handle a massive frame bag. I like it a lot, but I could never take it anywhere I felt it would be messy and wet. Mentally I just cannot go there with carbon fiber because I have seen and heard about chain stays getting ground through and I just cannot abide by that.

But that's me. You maybe do not have those concerns. Otherwise, the Cutthroat is a great rig. I'd love to be able to have one for awhile.

Salsa Cycles Demo: Quick Impressions

NOTE: Large doses of "my opinion" will be handed out in gloppy dollops today. You've been forewarned.....

Okay, I'm going to hit on some of the bikes I rode Monday at the Salsa Cycles demo held by Europa Cycle & Ski. These are merely impressions from short loops through flat, twisty, buff single track which George Wyth State Park is known for. I may also include comments overheard by others at the demo as well.

Overall: My first impression upon seeing the bikes was, "That's a LOT of carbon fiber!" Salsa Cycles, which had zero carbon fiber in its line up just four years ago now has a ton of it. What was once the "metal brand", with titanium, steel, and aluminum bikes, has become the "carbon fiber" brand, for better or worse. Yes- Salsa still has a few steel bikes, (Vaya, Marrakesh, and Fargo), but the titanium is all gone, and even the aluminum bikes are few in number compared to all the carbon fiber frames and forks the brand has now.

My other impression? "Holy cow! We've got a ton of wheel sizes to choose from now!" That needs no further elucidation.

NY Roll getting set up to test out a Pony Rustler. Yes, those are sandals. Damn Hippy!

 Pony Rustler: While this isn't a new rig for Salsa in 2017, it was by far the most pointed at when you asked "what was your favorite bike to ride today?" The PR has those fat 27.5+ wheels and the Split Pivot suspension. Many folks were amazed at how it wiped out all traces of bumps on the trail. I rode one and here are my thoughts:

The PR is a like a fish out of water here at George Wyth. It really needed rocks, ledges, drop ins, and some speedy down hills to bring out its personality. That said, the thing about full suspension bikes, and I get this from years of reviewing them at my former Twenty Nine Inches gig, is that you really need a couple of rides- good long rides- to really dial the thing in before you can say much about the platform with any gravity to your statements. I had my bike set up to spec by the capable Justin of Salsa Cycles, with proper sag, et cetera, but that was a set up for gnarly terrain. Not what George Wyth has. I felt the bike had potential, and probably would be a great rig, but in all seriousness, I just cannot say anything more than that.

Cutthroat: I was super fortunate that the only Cutthroat there was in my size. I set it up and took it for a fast paced spin of about 15-20 minutes. This bike uses the VRS Class 5 rear stay set up like the Warbird, only beefed up a bit. It is a bike meant to carry a load with frame bags and do off road touring, but it is finding its way into the gravel bike world as well. Note: Carbon Cutthroat is basically what the Ti Fargo was. I wouldn't ever expect Salsa Cycles would ever bring that model back, despite the adamant calls from Salsa that this isn't a "Carbon Fargo" and titanium has been hinted at as maybe coming back. I say no way. This is a Carbon Fargo which, for all intents and purposes is the replacement bike for the Ti Fargo. One ride told me that.

The Cutthroat I rode. A very nice, lightweight "Carbon Fargo".

It's very light, for sure. Especially if you were to spec nice wheels. It's a very responsive bike to pedal input, like a road carbon frame might feel like. And the rear end? Yes, there is a definite feeling of give at times, but as I say, this demo was over mostly buff dirt. A good gravel stomping may reveal other things. The geometry is great. I could use this bike here easily as my "everything bike". Single track, gravel, road commuting. Even the Firestarter fork felt somewhat compliant. I would take a serious look at this bike for long gravel racing or riding. I really, really liked this bike.

Nits: I got the rear end to steer a little differently than the front was going once. It was distinct, and felt like a very flexy wheel. I suspect it was induced by the Schwalbe Thunderburt climbing up a bit of "U" shaped rut in the back while I was trying to steer in the opposite direction. It reminded me of how full suspension 29"ers used to feel in the rear six or seven years ago. I likely wouldn't notice this after riding it more, but it jumped out at me on this test ride. Might be the wheel twisting a bit, or the frame flexing oddly, or.......likely both. Other than this, I really liked this bike with one major reservation- it is carbon fiber. Try riding it on an adventure in Tama County clay a few times, or in like situations at Odin's Revenge where I had so much mud stuck on the tires it ground the Fargo to a dead stop. Gritty mud grinding on carbon chain stays doesn't sound like my idea of "keeping the bike around a long time". Your mileage may vary. Maybe I'm being too cautious, but this is one argument for a titanium or steel bike that isn't going to go away easily. Other than that, this is the bike I would have come home with.

Ahh! More carbon fiber! The Woodsmoke in repose.

Woodsmoke: Probably the oddest bike Salsa has made since that tri-bike/time trial bike they had called the "El Go-Go" back 15 years ago or so. (Really. Check that out sometime)

This is the bike Salsa is making a big deal about, and the radical looking hard tail is definitely an eye catcher. But......how does it ride? I wasn't sure I would be able to speak to this well, since there was no size large to demo, and only this XL was anywhere close to my size. I gave it a go anyway......

I'll tell you one thing, and this has been a perennial issue with Salsa Cycles hard tail mountain bikes and myself, but the sizing of their hard tails and me seem off somehow or another. I had little stand over on this rig, but the reach was dead nuts.  I cannot imagine riding a Large after riding this one with stock stem installed. I likely would need a longer stem on a large, and that kind of defeats the purpose of the "new geometry" for hard tails. Weird..... Even my similarly sized friend thought the same thing, so it isn't just me, I guess.

Out on the trail, the bike spun up far easier than I expected, but it wasn't that "snap", that instant power forward feeling that the Cutthroat had.  It kind of had a wind up to it. Like a flexible metal frame might have. Weird. Something was flexing.

Elevated chain stay bikes have a history going waaaaay back to the 1980's. If you research them, you will find that almost all of the designs, and there were many, had a similar characteristic- flexy bottom brackets. The Woodsmoke has a "half an elevated chain stay" design, and on powering down with the left leg, I could get the rear wheel to almost touch", but not quite, the left chain stay. So, there was the culprit for the "wind up" that I was feeling. No big deal, but it is there. My friend that rode it afterward saw the same thing, and another taller rider actually got the stay to scrape off some mud from the tire that was stuck to it. Is it a flexy wheel? Hmm..... Could be. Something was making the wheel go left though, and not right in the same manner. That's all I can say.

Other than that, the bike was a hoot to ride and easily the best 29+ experience I've had to date. I'm not a solid 29+ kind of guy, but I could ride this bike. It was not as fun as say, the Borealis Echo I rode with 29+ wheels, but it was close. Pops wheelies if you barely try, and is rather fun on twisty single track. BIG triangle for frame bags. Could be a cool bikepacking rig.

Stock image courtesy of Salsa Cycles of a Timberjack

Timberjack: I was super bummed but there was nothing I could ride in a Timberjack frame. My smaller sized friends there could though and they both gave the bike a big thumbs up saying things like it was really fun and a playful, easy to wheelie machine.

To my mind, this bike is the sleeper in the line up. It retails for $1500.00 in the 27.5+ set up and 1G in 29"er guise. It has modern trail geometry, and should be fun to ride for years. Yes......it is aluminum. Big deal. I guess that doesn't bother me when you think about how this bike is to be used.

I like that it uses typical double diamond frame design. Elevated chain stays, even "half elevated chain stays", have not passed the test of time. Maybe I could take a chance, but Woodsmokes are very expensive to get in to, and they won't do anything "better" than this format, unless you are splitting hairs. 27.5+ wheels are faster to spin up, and unless you are Yeti sized, I think they make a smarter choice, especially for folks under 6 foot tall. That's why I was so hoping to try a Timberjack, but that will have to wait till later. Maybe I'll run across one later this Fall.......

Stock image for the Rival Carbon Warbird courtesy of Salsa Cycles

Carbon Warbird: I got to ride the Rival equipped Carbon Warbird around. It was maybe one size smaller than I should have, but it felt really close to "right". Anyway....

I have ridden the aluminum Warbird enough to know that the VRS Class 5 system works. The carbon version is supposed to be better. It probably is, but again, I couldn't really say with any authority based upon the trails we rode. It did have awesome snap and acceleration like the Cutthroat. I thought it felt really good and racy.

The deal with the Warbirds now is that the tire clearances are what they should have always been from the beginning, but they are not a super versatile rig. No rack mounts. no good way to single speed it in the field, and well......it is carbon fiber. (See concerns I voiced above in the Cutthroat take.) But if I rode a lot of pavement and wanted a legit gravel road going capable bike, I would ride this bike all over. There really is nothing wanting in its intended design and purpose. Maybe if they could figure out a way to reduce front end vibrations a bit more, ala Trek's Domane, but other than that, this is a solid choice for fast or competitive gravel road riding.

Muluk Carbon, image courtesy of Salsa Cycles.

Mukluk Carbon X1: I rode the Matte Army Green Mukluk Carbon x1 at the demo and this was to test whether or not there was enough of a "gee-whiz" factor over my Blackborow DS to make me want to save my pennies for this new model. Thankfully for my meager bank account balance, it will be safe from having to sacrifice itself for this rig.

Not because it isn't great. It is. I just don't see any big benefits to going to a carbon frame set, at least not for me. I would much rather get into some fine, lighter weight wheels, and maybe those might have carbon rims. But the new carbon Mukluk feels much like the Blackborow.  I think the cavernous frame opening is a big deal for those who need the space. If it came down to that need, I would pop for this carbon version. I just don't need that much space.

Conclusions: The Woodsmoke has me unconvinced. The Timberjack is a question yet to be answered, and the Pony Rustler, while awesome, is not something I'd get a lot of use out of here. So, as I stated above, the Cutthroat would be the bike I would bring home. It has single track manners that are awesome. It is very fast. It is lightweight compared to any Fargo. It could be a gravel rider's dream. It can handle a massive frame bag. I like it a lot, but I could never take it anywhere I felt it would be messy and wet. Mentally I just cannot go there with carbon fiber because I have seen and heard about chain stays getting ground through and I just cannot abide by that.

But that's me. You maybe do not have those concerns. Otherwise, the Cutthroat is a great rig. I'd love to be able to have one for awhile.

Salsa Demo Day

Model 2017 rigs ready to ride.

Yesterday the shop where I work got the honor of having a salsa cycles demo truck visit. We set things up at George Wyth State Park and the demo ran from 4:00pm to 7:00pm officially. Although we didn't get the last rider back until well after 8:00pm.

The really cool thing about this demo was that it was the very first time in Iowa that any of the 2017Salsa Cycles product line had been shown or ridden by anyone. There were Woodsmokes, Timberjacks, new Mukluk carbon bikes, Pony Rustlers, and Carbon Warbirds. There was even a Carbon Beargrease and a few Redpoints. One lonely Cutthroat was also there, but it just so happened that it was my size! 

Judging from rider reactions, the Pony Rustler was the overwhelming winner in best bike ridden. However; it doesn't mean that was an easy choice by the folks in attendance. There was no Timberjack available in my size, but I did ride the Woodsmoke, Cutthroat, Carbon Warbird, Carbon Mukluk, and the Pony Rustler. I'll have my impressions of each coming up in the next post. Stay tuned for that.

It was a VERY humid evening, and I helped pack things up so I didn't get the Fat Fargo and myself ridden home until 9:30pm. A long day, but a fun one. Thank you Salsa Cycles!!

Salsa Demo Day

Model 2017 rigs ready to ride.

Yesterday the shop where I work got the honor of having a salsa cycles demo truck visit. We set things up at George Wyth State Park and the demo ran from 4:00pm to 7:00pm officially. Although we didn't get the last rider back until well after 8:00pm.

The really cool thing about this demo was that it was the very first time in Iowa that any of the 2017Salsa Cycles product line had been shown or ridden by anyone. There were Woodsmokes, Timberjacks, new Mukluk carbon bikes, Pony Rustlers, and Carbon Warbirds. There was even a Carbon Beargrease and a few Redpoints. One lonely Cutthroat was also there, but it just so happened that it was my size! 

Judging from rider reactions, the Pony Rustler was the overwhelming winner in best bike ridden. However; it doesn't mean that was an easy choice by the folks in attendance. There was no Timberjack available in my size, but I did ride the Woodsmoke, Cutthroat, Carbon Warbird, Carbon Mukluk, and the Pony Rustler. I'll have my impressions of each coming up in the next post. Stay tuned for that.

It was a VERY humid evening, and I helped pack things up so I didn't get the Fat Fargo and myself ridden home until 9:30pm. A long day, but a fun one. Thank you Salsa Cycles!!

Friday News And Views

2017 Anthem X Advanced- Image courtesy of Giant Bicycles

How's That Crow Tasting, Sir?

Okay, first of all, since I am a fan of history, I like to take stories I see in context of history. That way, I feel, we are getting a truer picture of what is going on today. Take, for instance, the quiet refocus on 29"ers from Giant Bicycles.

Giant made waves three years ago when they steadfastly said that 27.5"ers were going to supplant 26" and 29" wheels in their line up of mountain bikes. They basically said that all other wheel sizes would be phased out eventually and that they were going to focus future mtb development on the "tweener' wheel size. Now we see that Giant has turned back on those sentiments and have reintroduced 29"ers into their XC categories.

Okay, so what's the deal here? Well, I think you have to look at two points in history concerning Giant and wheel sizes that may help us make sense of it all. First was the very late entry of Giant to the world of 29"er sales. Giant didn't get into the 29"er game until 2010 with a modest line of hard tail bikes. They arguably were the very last bicycle company of note to enter the 29"er market, which by this time was dominated by Trek/Fisher, and to a lesser degree, Specialized, and every other bicycle maker of note. At the same time, moves were underway to deep six the 26 inch wheeled, long travel mountain bike as the choice for mountain bike riding in the back country and even for competitive, gravity oriented mountain biking. What we didn't know in 2010 was that in two years the 27.5"er, "enduro" bike would be the newest darling of the industry on the dirt side. Which leads to the second point.....

B+ wheels on an OS Bikes Blackbuck: Image courtesy of Bob Poor.

The genesis of this whole B+/27.5+ thing goes back to a chance meeting I had with a fellow by the name of Bob Poor in 2011 at the Interbike Outdoor Demo. I was poked in the back and I turned around to see Bob, (who, if you don't know, has a previous history with big wheels you can read about HERE) who had a very simplistic sketch of a wheel size idea. Using a 584ISO rim and a big, 2.8" tire, Bob theorized that a fatter, cushier, more tractable mtb tire could be slotted into many 29"er hard tail bikes. A "mid-fat" idea, that wouldn't require a new frame, like 29+ did. I liked his train of thought. Bob let on that he had presented the idea to WTB and that they were at work on the idea. I was told to sit on that info, but that it was going to happen. Someday......

So, it made sense that Giant would ditch the different wheel sizes for 27.5 and run with that idea, since the "enduro" thing was happening full tilt by 2013. What Giant hadn't bargained on was that 29"ers weren't going away, and that B+/27.5+ was coming along and would upset the apple cart. The enduring nature of 29"ers caught the attention of these very same "enduro" cycling athletes who pushed to try bigger wheels at these events. Eventually, serious rigs were produced which garnered serious results. So much so that we now have 29"er long travel enduro machines like Trek's Slash 29. Of course, we all know what the impact of B+ wheels has been. So it comes that Giant was essentially put into a corner on their own with the "only 27.5" wheels thing.

So, now they quietly come back with 29"ers. Will their be plus bikes and longer travel 29"ers in their future? We will see......

For another take on this, read the Bike Hugger's article here.

Salsa Cycles Demo Tour: 

2017 Salsa Cycles Timberjack

 I just wanted to give a bit of space here to say that Salsa cycles is coming to Waterloo/Cedar Falls with their demo truck chock full of 2017 bicycles to try out and drool over. There will be Timberjacks, Woodsmokes, Fargos, Bucksaws, Mukluks, and maybe a Pony Rustler or two. You can ride them on the trails of George Wyth State Park from 4:00pm till 7:00pm on Monday, August 15th.

For details go to the Facebook Page Here.

It is a great chance to actually feel and see the newest 2017 stuff from Salsa Cycles. The Woodsmoke is the incredible, raised chain stay, 29+ machine that can also handle 27.5+ and 29"er wheels, the Timberjack is the new 29'er or 27.5+ modern hard tail- slack and long in front, short and steep in the rear- that should make for a playful, fun bike. These two models are brand new, never before seen here bicycles that I think will be exciting to check out.

I'm not sure that there will be any touring Marrakesh's or Vayas on the truck, since I was told it was going to be heavy on the mtb/fat bike side of the equation, but Europa Cycle & Ski does have both of those models on their floor so you can always go there to check those out.

Remember- 4:00pm to 7:00pm only, so don't be late! I'll be there as well, in case you'd like to meet me and say "hello".

Thanks and have a great weekend, y'all!

Friday News And Views

2017 Anthem X Advanced- Image courtesy of Giant Bicycles

How's That Crow Tasting, Sir?

Okay, first of all, since I am a fan of history, I like to take stories I see in context of history. That way, I feel, we are getting a truer picture of what is going on today. Take, for instance, the quiet refocus on 29"ers from Giant Bicycles.

Giant made waves three years ago when they steadfastly said that 27.5"ers were going to supplant 26" and 29" wheels in their line up of mountain bikes. They basically said that all other wheel sizes would be phased out eventually and that they were going to focus future mtb development on the "tweener' wheel size. Now we see that Giant has turned back on those sentiments and have reintroduced 29"ers into their XC categories.

Okay, so what's the deal here? Well, I think you have to look at two points in history concerning Giant and wheel sizes that may help us make sense of it all. First was the very late entry of Giant to the world of 29"er sales. Giant didn't get into the 29"er game until 2010 with a modest line of hard tail bikes. They arguably were the very last bicycle company of note to enter the 29"er market, which by this time was dominated by Trek/Fisher, and to a lesser degree, Specialized, and every other bicycle maker of note. At the same time, moves were underway to deep six the 26 inch wheeled, long travel mountain bike as the choice for mountain bike riding in the back country and even for competitive, gravity oriented mountain biking. What we didn't know in 2010 was that in two years the 27.5"er, "enduro" bike would be the newest darling of the industry on the dirt side. Which leads to the second point.....

B+ wheels on an OS Bikes Blackbuck: Image courtesy of Bob Poor.

The genesis of this whole B+/27.5+ thing goes back to a chance meeting I had with a fellow by the name of Bob Poor in 2011 at the Interbike Outdoor Demo. I was poked in the back and I turned around to see Bob, (who, if you don't know, has a previous history with big wheels you can read about HERE) who had a very simplistic sketch of a wheel size idea. Using a 584ISO rim and a big, 2.8" tire, Bob theorized that a fatter, cushier, more tractable mtb tire could be slotted into many 29"er hard tail bikes. A "mid-fat" idea, that wouldn't require a new frame, like 29+ did. I liked his train of thought. Bob let on that he had presented the idea to WTB and that they were at work on the idea. I was told to sit on that info, but that it was going to happen. Someday......

So, it made sense that Giant would ditch the different wheel sizes for 27.5 and run with that idea, since the "enduro" thing was happening full tilt by 2013. What Giant hadn't bargained on was that 29"ers weren't going away, and that B+/27.5+ was coming along and would upset the apple cart. The enduring nature of 29"ers caught the attention of these very same "enduro" cycling athletes who pushed to try bigger wheels at these events. Eventually, serious rigs were produced which garnered serious results. So much so that we now have 29"er long travel enduro machines like Trek's Slash 29. Of course, we all know what the impact of B+ wheels has been. So it comes that Giant was essentially put into a corner on their own with the "only 27.5" wheels thing.

So, now they quietly come back with 29"ers. Will their be plus bikes and longer travel 29"ers in their future? We will see......

For another take on this, read the Bike Hugger's article here.

Salsa Cycles Demo Tour: 

2017 Salsa Cycles Timberjack

 I just wanted to give a bit of space here to say that Salsa cycles is coming to Waterloo/Cedar Falls with their demo truck chock full of 2017 bicycles to try out and drool over. There will be Timberjacks, Woodsmokes, Fargos, Bucksaws, Mukluks, and maybe a Pony Rustler or two. You can ride them on the trails of George Wyth State Park from 4:00pm till 7:00pm on Monday, August 15th.

For details go to the Facebook Page Here.

It is a great chance to actually feel and see the newest 2017 stuff from Salsa Cycles. The Woodsmoke is the incredible, raised chain stay, 29+ machine that can also handle 27.5+ and 29"er wheels, the Timberjack is the new 29'er or 27.5+ modern hard tail- slack and long in front, short and steep in the rear- that should make for a playful, fun bike. These two models are brand new, never before seen here bicycles that I think will be exciting to check out.

I'm not sure that there will be any touring Marrakesh's or Vayas on the truck, since I was told it was going to be heavy on the mtb/fat bike side of the equation, but Europa Cycle & Ski does have both of those models on their floor so you can always go there to check those out.

Remember- 4:00pm to 7:00pm only, so don't be late! I'll be there as well, in case you'd like to meet me and say "hello".

Thanks and have a great weekend, y'all!

News Season: Salsa Cycles 2017 Highlights

"Fat Fargo" straight from the factory.

Salsa Cycles 2017 Bike Highlights:

Well, everybody and their brother has probably seen the Salsa 2017 line up by now, so no news here for you on that front, most likely. That said, here are my thoughts on what's new for 2017......

Fargo Gen V: The Fargo may look kinda the same, but it really is pretty much a new bike for 2017. The frame is still steel, but that's about it. Now made in the "Cobra-Kai" tubing instead of the old "Kung Fu" used previously, the frame is said to be "stronger", (stiffer?) than before. Plus, it now uses Boost spacing, although reducer plates are available for backwards compatibility with 135OLD and 142 through axles. Boost is important here because now you can run real 27.5+ wheels and tires. "Real" because Salsa believes 27.5+ means a full three inch tire. Of course, 29 inch wheels and tires work here as well. The weird thing is that they are saying 29+ works on every Fargo but the smallest ones, which isn't clear to me now. (By the way, that means the Deadwood is.....er, dead!) I'm not sure how that doesn't jack up the bottom bracket sky high, but I've been tipped off that there is some magical Alternator plate that makes that work. I'll find out and report back later.... Oh yeah.....it is belt drive compatible as well.

There are two models. A 27.5+ one (seen here), and a great looking 29"er one in Forest Service Green, which is the same color as my Blackborow DS. That one comes with a steel fork. The one shown here has the carbon Firestarter. Salsa also tweaked the head tube angle a bit slacker to 69° to accommodate a 51mm offset fork, which is weird because both rigid forks they use are 45mm offset. Hmm...... Frame only is also still available in the weird, rather sedate looking gray scheme shown here. (Not digging it really, but whatever.....Salsa's images never do the colors justice and I may change my mind here.)

Blackborow gone- Enter bigger, more carbon-y Mukluk

Mukluk:

The Mukluk is Salsa's first fat bike model and has always been the one that was more "adventure-exploration" than "race" which is the Beargrease's game. The Blackborow kind of made the Mukluk an off-the-back fat bike with its more trail/progressive geometry and nimble handling all wrapped up in 4.8" tires, which Mukluks couldn't handle on 100mm rims. Well, Salsa fixed that by calling the Blackborow a Mukluk and introducing a carbon frame as well.

This bike still has the Alternator drop outs, albeit a new, carbon fiber compatible one that allows tuning of the chain stay length for tire size.  The aluminum Mukluk has the original Alternator drop. While I like titanium for a fat bike a lot, the carbon Muk is sure going to be a hard one to pass by with its lighter weight. Salsa says it fine tuned the layup of the carbon for a more compliant ride than the Beargrease, so that sounds even more enticing. Would it fit those crazy 5-point-whatever inch Vee Tire Snowshoe XL's? That would be cool if so. I could totally see the soft compound version of that tire, the creme colored one, on the red Muk pictured here. That would be cool.

There are several models of the Carbon Muk and a couple aluminum ones as well.

To my mind, the most interesting new model- The Timberjack

Timberjack:

The El Mariachi is gone folks.......

Okay, with that said, here's the deal- Something had to give with the El Mar. It was woefully out of date, not a competitive bike in the market place, and it hasn't been for years, by the way. You can get all teary eyed about the steel, the tradition, blah-blah..... Meanwhile bikes like the Canfield Nimble 9, Diamondback's Mason, and others had blazed a trail of long, slack, and low hard tails that are ubiquitous in the hard tail trail market now days. And they did that years ago. The El Mar was a dinosaur. Either Salsa brought it up to date, or created a new model. This bike is so different, I can see why the new moniker was brought in. Timberjack brings Salsa into the "hard tail du jour" category and also brings with it a decent, affordable price which the El Mar didn't have.

Behold! A 29"er or a 27.5+ bike, slack angled, short stayed, and modern dropper post capabilities. Alternators, yes! And.......curiously hidden in the specs, a mention that this model will also handle 29+ wheels. How? Again, I don't know. (NOTE- I have been tipped off that the info I saw on the 29+ compatibility with the Timberjack frame has been removed from the page on the Timberjack on Salsa Cycle's site. So, apparently it does not fit a 29+ wheel.) The 29"er version sells for under a grand. The 27.5+, a better equipped model, sells for about a grand and a half. The old El Mar retailed at about the same as the nicer 27.5+ Timberjack, and was, again, woefully under spec'ed and outdated. No contest. Timberjack wins. (By the way, if you have to have a steel bike, hold on till the end......)

Woodsmoke with 29 inch wheels......

.....Woodsmoke with 27.5+ wheels........

......and Woodsmoke with 29+ wheels

Woodsmoke:

Okay, here's the showstopper, folks. Salsa Cycles Woodsmoke "all-wheel" monster-bike. Same frame, three different wheel sizes. If you can't fall in love with anything you can stuff under this frame, you probably are a 26"er holdout, or a roadie. That's the idea here.

Alternator V2 drop outs, all models have the same carbon frame, and suspension travel is mostly 120mm with the exception of the one 27.5+ model that has a 130mm fork stock. Boost obviously. Stache-like, yes, very. In a gangly teenager sort of way, to my eyes. The once weird Stache actually looks somewhat refined after seeing this mash-up of bent shapes and swoops in weird spots.

Trek will introduce a Stache Carbon very soon, by the way...

Oh! But you say that at least it is carbon fiber? Well, Trek is coming out with a Carbon Stache, so there will be that as competition. Anyway, Salsa does have the Stache beat when it comes to all the wheel madness, or so it seems now.

I don't know....... In the looks department, I have a real hard time not saying the Woodsmoke isn't working for me. The Stache just looks like it makes more sense, but maybe it would win me over after a while. Besides that, the chain ring overlap with the rear tire seems like a problem to me in terms of gunk getting dumped right on your chain by that mahoosive rear tire, ala fat bikes, and that super-short chain stay can't be a good thing in the extremes on a 1X drive train. But hey! What do I know? Back in the early 90's super-duper short, elevated chain stays were all the rage and look what happened then. Oh.......yeah. Well.......moving on now.......

While this bike will certainly drive the head lines and be the "I have the weirdest, coolest, super-special niche bike" darling for a while, we'll have to see how it stacks up in the real world of riding. Stay tuned on that front......

Acme Bikes posted this image of the new Karate Monkey from Surly.

One For The Steel Freaks:

Just like the El Mar, the venerable Karate Monkey had fallen on mediocrity in the market place. The Instigator V2, which came out a couple years back, kind of made me wonder when, or if, Surly would wave that same trail geometry wand of power over the Karate Monkey. To me, it made perfect sense. And guess what? They finally have done it!

The new KM will sport either 27.5+ X 3.0" tires and wheels to match, or your 29"er X 2.5" meats on the 700c format. There is a "yellowy-orange" geared version with the 27.5+ wheels or a purple SS 29"er that will be available and the frame only version will be in black. Surly had a demo in purple set up with the geared 27.5+ stuff and that's the way I would do this bike up. Unfortunately, I'd have to get the SS 29"er set up to get there, but that's okay. Two wheel sets, one bike, right?

Not only that, but the rigid fork that comes with the bike has rack mounts, triple pack bosses, and would make for a great off-road touring set up. I can dig it! Purple is also my favorite color. Yes.....I could be seriously tempted. Same slack, long, low-ish trail geometry as the Timberjack, but in steel. I have a Singular Buzzard which is cool, but a SS-able, versatile, bike-packable, rack-able Karate Monkey has my name written all over it. Of all the new bikes here, I am most intrigued by this one.

Note: All Salsa Cycles images courtesy of the Salsa Cycles website. Stache pic pilfered from the internet. Acme Cycles had the KM pic on their Facecrack page.

News Season: Salsa Cycles 2017 Highlights

"Fat Fargo" straight from the factory.

Salsa Cycles 2017 Bike Highlights:

Well, everybody and their brother has probably seen the Salsa 2017 line up by now, so no news here for you on that front, most likely. That said, here are my thoughts on what's new for 2017......

Fargo Gen V: The Fargo may look kinda the same, but it really is pretty much a new bike for 2017. The frame is still steel, but that's about it. Now made in the "Cobra-Kai" tubing instead of the old "Kung Fu" used previously, the frame is said to be "stronger", (stiffer?) than before. Plus, it now uses Boost spacing, although reducer plates are available for backwards compatibility with 135OLD and 142 through axles. Boost is important here because now you can run real 27.5+ wheels and tires. "Real" because Salsa believes 27.5+ means a full three inch tire. Of course, 29 inch wheels and tires work here as well. The weird thing is that they are saying 29+ works on every Fargo but the smallest ones, which isn't clear to me now. (By the way, that means the Deadwood is.....er, dead!) I'm not sure how that doesn't jack up the bottom bracket sky high, but I've been tipped off that there is some magical Alternator plate that makes that work. I'll find out and report back later.... Oh yeah.....it is belt drive compatible as well.

There are two models. A 27.5+ one (seen here), and a great looking 29"er one in Forest Service Green, which is the same color as my Blackborow DS. That one comes with a steel fork. The one shown here has the carbon Firestarter. Salsa also tweaked the head tube angle a bit slacker to 69° to accommodate a 51mm offset fork, which is weird because both rigid forks they use are 45mm offset. Hmm...... Frame only is also still available in the weird, rather sedate looking gray scheme shown here. (Not digging it really, but whatever.....Salsa's images never do the colors justice and I may change my mind here.)

Blackborow gone- Enter bigger, more carbon-y Mukluk

Mukluk:

The Mukluk is Salsa's first fat bike model and has always been the one that was more "adventure-exploration" than "race" which is the Beargrease's game. The Blackborow kind of made the Mukluk an off-the-back fat bike with its more trail/progressive geometry and nimble handling all wrapped up in 4.8" tires, which Mukluks couldn't handle on 100mm rims. Well, Salsa fixed that by calling the Blackborow a Mukluk and introducing a carbon frame as well.

This bike still has the Alternator drop outs, albeit a new, carbon fiber compatible one that allows tuning of the chain stay length for tire size.  The aluminum Mukluk has the original Alternator drop. While I like titanium for a fat bike a lot, the carbon Muk is sure going to be a hard one to pass by with its lighter weight. Salsa says it fine tuned the layup of the carbon for a more compliant ride than the Beargrease, so that sounds even more enticing. Would it fit those crazy 5-point-whatever inch Vee Tire Snowshoe XL's? That would be cool if so. I could totally see the soft compound version of that tire, the creme colored one, on the red Muk pictured here. That would be cool.

There are several models of the Carbon Muk and a couple aluminum ones as well.

To my mind, the most interesting new model- The Timberjack

Timberjack:

The El Mariachi is gone folks.......

Okay, with that said, here's the deal- Something had to give with the El Mar. It was woefully out of date, not a competitive bike in the market place, and it hasn't been for years, by the way. You can get all teary eyed about the steel, the tradition, blah-blah..... Meanwhile bikes like the Canfield Nimble 9, Diamondback's Mason, and others had blazed a trail of long, slack, and low hard tails that are ubiquitous in the hard tail trail market now days. And they did that years ago. The El Mar was a dinosaur. Either Salsa brought it up to date, or created a new model. This bike is so different, I can see why the new moniker was brought in. Timberjack brings Salsa into the "hard tail du jour" category and also brings with it a decent, affordable price which the El Mar didn't have.

Behold! A 29"er or a 27.5+ bike, slack angled, short stayed, and modern dropper post capabilities. Alternators, yes! And.......curiously hidden in the specs, a mention that this model will also handle 29+ wheels. How? Again, I don't know. (NOTE- I have been tipped off that the info I saw on the 29+ compatibility with the Timberjack frame has been removed from the page on the Timberjack on Salsa Cycle's site. So, apparently it does not fit a 29+ wheel.) The 29"er version sells for under a grand. The 27.5+, a better equipped model, sells for about a grand and a half. The old El Mar retailed at about the same as the nicer 27.5+ Timberjack, and was, again, woefully under spec'ed and outdated. No contest. Timberjack wins. (By the way, if you have to have a steel bike, hold on till the end......)

Woodsmoke with 29 inch wheels......

.....Woodsmoke with 27.5+ wheels........

......and Woodsmoke with 29+ wheels

Woodsmoke:

Okay, here's the showstopper, folks. Salsa Cycles Woodsmoke "all-wheel" monster-bike. Same frame, three different wheel sizes. If you can't fall in love with anything you can stuff under this frame, you probably are a 26"er holdout, or a roadie. That's the idea here.

Alternator V2 drop outs, all models have the same carbon frame, and suspension travel is mostly 120mm with the exception of the one 27.5+ model that has a 130mm fork stock. Boost obviously. Stache-like, yes, very. In a gangly teenager sort of way, to my eyes. The once weird Stache actually looks somewhat refined after seeing this mash-up of bent shapes and swoops in weird spots.

Trek will introduce a Stache Carbon very soon, by the way...

Oh! But you say that at least it is carbon fiber? Well, Trek is coming out with a Carbon Stache, so there will be that as competition. Anyway, Salsa does have the Stache beat when it comes to all the wheel madness, or so it seems now.

I don't know....... In the looks department, I have a real hard time not saying the Woodsmoke isn't working for me. The Stache just looks like it makes more sense, but maybe it would win me over after a while. Besides that, the chain ring overlap with the rear tire seems like a problem to me in terms of gunk getting dumped right on your chain by that mahoosive rear tire, ala fat bikes, and that super-short chain stay can't be a good thing in the extremes on a 1X drive train. But hey! What do I know? Back in the early 90's super-duper short, elevated chain stays were all the rage and look what happened then. Oh.......yeah. Well.......moving on now.......

While this bike will certainly drive the head lines and be the "I have the weirdest, coolest, super-special niche bike" darling for a while, we'll have to see how it stacks up in the real world of riding. Stay tuned on that front......

Acme Bikes posted this image of the new Karate Monkey from Surly.

One For The Steel Freaks:

Just like the El Mar, the venerable Karate Monkey had fallen on mediocrity in the market place. The Instigator V2, which came out a couple years back, kind of made me wonder when, or if, Surly would wave that same trail geometry wand of power over the Karate Monkey. To me, it made perfect sense. And guess what? They finally have done it!

The new KM will sport either 27.5+ X 3.0" tires and wheels to match, or your 29"er X 2.5" meats on the 700c format. There is a "yellowy-orange" geared version with the 27.5+ wheels or a purple SS 29"er that will be available and the frame only version will be in black. Surly had a demo in purple set up with the geared 27.5+ stuff and that's the way I would do this bike up. Unfortunately, I'd have to get the SS 29"er set up to get there, but that's okay. Two wheel sets, one bike, right?

Not only that, but the rigid fork that comes with the bike has rack mounts, triple pack bosses, and would make for a great off-road touring set up. I can dig it! Purple is also my favorite color. Yes.....I could be seriously tempted. Same slack, long, low-ish trail geometry as the Timberjack, but in steel. I have a Singular Buzzard which is cool, but a SS-able, versatile, bike-packable, rack-able Karate Monkey has my name written all over it. Of all the new bikes here, I am most intrigued by this one.

Note: All Salsa Cycles images courtesy of the Salsa Cycles website. Stache pic pilfered from the internet. Acme Cycles had the KM pic on their Facecrack page.