Entries for Topic: new product
Monday August 30th, 2010
| | David
Whether it is a cyclocross event in Portland, Providence, Louisville, Minneapolis, or Cross Vegas you are likely to see the Chili Con Crosso in action. It has developed a strong reputation among cyclocross athletes for its performance, ride quality, geometry, weight, and price. We love cross because the bikes are so versatile and capable. For many people, if they could only own one bike, it would be a cross bike. Today it is my pleasure to share the full details of the new Chili Con Crosso.
The goal with the new Chili was to add performance and features while maintaining the same proven ride geometry. In the wet and muddy elements of cyclocross, fork chatter is a perennial challenge to reduce and overcome. There are many differing opinions on the best approach to reduce fork chatter, including brake pad and front brake cable positioning. Regardless, one thing is certain: larger steerer tubes produce less flex and thereby help reduce the fore-aft movement between the brake bosses and the cable housing stop. Together, this reduces brake chatter. The new Chili Con Crosso is spec'd with a 1-1/2" tapered headtube and matching Salsa full carbon fork to help reduce fork chatter.
The full carbon steerer tube tapers from 1-1/8" to 1-1/2" where it meets the large crown. While the crown is extra bulky to increase stiffness between the brake posts and steerer, you can see that there is still plenty of tire clearance when fitted with a 35mm tire as pictured. The fork was stiff, stable and silent when I test rode it with the Avid Shorty 4 brakes and steerer-mounted cable stop as spec'd on the complete bike. For those who wish to take reducing fork chatter one step further, the crown has a drilling where a custom-fitted cable stop could be mounted. The headtube takes a standard I.S. oversized headset. Both the complete bike and frameset come with a Cane Creek IS-3 headset featuring a blue anodized top cap to match the graphics package of the frame.
Speaking of anodized parts, the complete bike comes chock-full of blue bits. The Lip-Lock seat collar, hubs, skewers, Paul Components Chain Keeper, headset and Salsa top cap are anodized blue. There is just enough ano to impress, but not so much that looking at the complete bike will send you into a dizzying out-of-body experience like what nearly happened when I first saw these things:
No, it's not Pac-Man playing chicken with Ms. Pac-Man, or looking at himself in the mirror. These are bolt-on dropouts that allow the option of running your new Chili Con Crosso as a singlespeed. While there are quite a few SS capable cross frames, there are not many high performance options.
The complete bike comes with a 1x10 SRAM Rival drivetrain and bolt-on vertical dropouts with the same hole drilling. They are held in place by T30 chainring bolts. Remove the bolts, slide the horizontal dropout in place, fasten the bolts down and you instantly have yourself a singlespeed-capable cyclocross frameset! Here is a close-up photo I took of Salsa engineer, Sean Mailen, riding on the Minnesota state championship CX course. You can see the vertical dropout held in place with chainring bolts on the non-drive side.
Also notice that the classic flattened seatstays and chainstays carry over to the new frame. These stays provide lateral stiffness while helping take the edge off, especially when riding on bumpy, firm surfaces such as gravel or pavement.
Another carry-over feature from the previous design is the flattened section of the toptube. However, the length of the flattened section on the new Chili is significantly longer to accommodate a wider range of shouldering styles that affect precisely where the toptube rests on the rider. These refinements make run-ups and staircases much less painful than traditional tubes.
Here's a side profile of the toptube to more clearly illustrate how the underside of the toptube curves. That little feature makes the bike fit perfectly on your shoulder.
This year we started working with a new aluminum supplier and were able bring more value by using EV6 (high grade 6000-series) aluminum instead of scandium. The new material has nearly identical strength properties as scandium. Additionally, we are able to now use a mixture of different tube-shaping techniques, including hydroforming, to get the exact shape and ride quality we desire. Ride geometry is the same as previous versions, with some small differences to account for other changes such as the internal headset (headtubes are slightly longer). The well-balanced and stable geometry provides a confidence inspiring ride quality suitable for elite cyclocross athletes.
BASIC DETAILS
The new Chili Con Crosso will be offered in 6 sizes: 51, 53, 55, 56, 58, 60cm. Please see the Geometry Chart on the Chili Con Crosso page of our website
The complete bike will come with a 1x10 SRAM Rival drivetrain, DT Swiss R450 rims, FSA Gossamer crankset w/42T Salsa ring, and Salsa bar/stem/seatpost. See complete spec on the Chili Con Crosso page of our website
Frame weight: 1520 grams (55cm)
Fork weight: 500 grams (uncut)
Availability: mid-October for bikes and framesets
MSRP: $1649 (complete bike), $799 (frame/fork/headset)
Singlespeed or geared: It can do both. You make the choice (both vertical and singlespeed dropouts included with complete bike and frameset)
While the timing of delivery is later than the first cyclocross events of the season, they will still be available in time to hit your local sandpit before the season ends! Contact your local dealer to pre-order yours today. Bring on the cow bells!
21 Comments | Permalink
This post filed under the topic(s): new product , cyclocross , chili con crosso , David
Friday August 6th, 2010
| | Gnat
Today we start with a little sneak peek. This one is a bit more revealing than previous sneek peaks yet only represents a small part of the end product. This product will be on display at Eurobike. Keen eyes may see one or more of the Salsa crew out and about rambling around with this product before that.
We also thought we'd also take this time to chat a bit about our Salsa racks we showed as prototypes back in late February and wrote about here back in March.
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The good news is both racks shown above on the Vaya are officially moving to production. Here are the details. At the moment, we estimate they will be here sometime in November. Yes, that is an estimate and this is disappointing as we were expecting to be selling them already. Here are the details.
Wanderlust Rack (rear)
- Light and durable tubular aluminum alloy
- Black or Silver
- Extra long deck. It's slighly cupped to assist in holding bags, sleeping pads or whatever you strap to the top deck.
- Extra long struts for mounting, even to small frames and small rear triangles
- Universal mounting system allowing movement of struts in any direction
- Two threaded barrels for light and reflector mounting
- $100 MSRPWanderlust Rack (rear)
Down Under (front low rider)
- Light and durable tubular aluminum alloy
- Black or Silver
- No wheel hoop so they work with fat 29" wheels or even 4" Surly Endomorphs
- Mounts to mid blade eyelets and fork/drop out eyelet. Note: Requires mid blade eyelets on both the inside & outside of fork blade
- Retains full use of Fargo fork leg mounted water bottle positions
- Has a threaded boss on the top of the hoop to attach the strut from our Minimalist front rack, making a really functional and strong front rack system
- Designed to work well with disc brakes, meaning they mount easily on bikes with disc brakes and are forward positioned to allow full access to the front brake
- MSRP $70
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We also showed this Fargo with very cool, Light weight, and functional mini racks. The only update we have here is that we have officially named them the Minimalist rack. These products are still in testing. We will post and update once they pass the tests.
So...There you go. Sneak Peak Friday and new Salsa Rack update.
20 Comments | Permalink
This post filed under the topic(s): new product , VAYA , Gnat , Fargo , Sneak Peek
Wednesday August 4th, 2010
| | Joe
With the introduction of the Mukluk, Salsa brings an affordable price aluminum snow bike frameset and complete bike to snow, sand, and chunk riders around the globe. We’ve put hundreds of hours into development of the Mukluk. Many of them on the bike testing and evaluating concepts, refining them for production. We've had a lot of fun throughout the entire process. In this article we focus on the details of the frame and why we made critical design decisions.
Fit on the Mukluk borrows elements from our existing mountain bikes and blends them with feedback from our test riders and the fatbike community. Two important elements on the Mukluk are standover clearance and taller headtubes.Headtubes are 15-50mm taller depending on frame size than our current 29ers. We’ve gained an additional 15-20mm of standover clearance for those times when the trail gets too soft and it’s time to hike a bike.
Horizontal toptube lengths compare directly to the El Mariachi steel or titanium models. If you ride a medium in another of our mountain bikes, you’ll ride a medium Mukluk. Of course it is always a good idea to work with your dealer to find proper fit.
Handling can be a touchy subject. We all have our own personal preferences of how we like our bikes to ride. Determining handling geometry on Mukluk was a matter of listening to feedback, producing prototypes, testing, and refinement. Kid had some strong opinions of the fit and handling characteristics, so we made him a proto frame to test those ideas that was ultimately dubbed the Snowflake. With another prototype, Rustflake, we tested a few more ideas. In the end we took what we feel were the best characteristics and applied them to the handling geometry of the Mukluk.
The most notable handling characteristic of the Mukluk is more stability in slow speed situations. Riding soft trails with 4” tires can often mean fighting the front end of the bike to hold your line. The more you fight the front wheel, the more you are going to fatigue. The Mukluk has a wheelbase that is 26.7-28.3mm longer than a comparable El Mariachi titanium (note: I didn't compare the El Mariachi steel because of its variable chainstay length). The rear center (chainstay length) is 455mm long, 5mm longer than the El Mariachi titanium. The head angle is 69.5-70.0°, 1.5-2° more relaxed than the 71-72° head angle on the El Mariachi titanium. Chainstay length, steering angles, fork offset, and a lower bottom bracket all contribute to providing more stability. More stability equals less fatigue.
Frame Material
By now you’ve dropped on over to the Mukluk page and know that the frame is constructed of 6061-T6 aluminum. We chose 6061-T6 aluminum because of the ability to build a stiff, relatively light, and durable chassis. It helps that aluminum also provides more protection from corrosion on those long rides along the coast and through the winter slush. 4” tires at 5-10psi provide compliance that keeps you in the saddle all day long.
Drivetrain
100mm bottom brackets coupled with a spaced out drivetrain have become the norm on fatbikes. Some of the earliest fatbikes built borrowed this already existing standard from the downhill/freeride community. Most of the cranksets and bottom brackets available are built with big hit riding in mind, but each year we see more purpose-built components specifically for the fatbike niche.
It’s a simple reality: if you want to build a bike with a 4” tire the drivetrain must be moved outward to clear its girth. Surly popularized the 17.5mm offset built rear wheel. The 17.5mm offset standard provides clearance for the chain and tires and gets the chainline in alignment on the chainrings and cassette. To build a non-offset wheel, moving the drivetrain out 17.5mm it is simple math to arrive at a 170mm hub width. The 170mm spacing on the Mukluk allows for wheels to be built symmetrically, or using the optional 170-to-135 adapter kit wheels can be built to a 17.5 offset using a 135mm hub. That’s the basics of Dual Spacing. What it means is more choices for you, the rider.
Many of you have asked how the 170-to-135 Adapter functions. Here’s a couple of images that show visually how it all goes together.
and one that shows it in use
The Mukluk frameset and complete bicycle are equipped with a Problem Solvers Direct Mount Adapter. We chose this standard over E-type mounts to, once again, provide more choice and flexibility to you. Shimano offers Direct Mount compatible front derailleurs. The direct mount adapter also allows for better compatibility with a wider range of front chainring setups. While the Mukluk comes equipped with a standard 22,32,44 chainring range, we know that many of you are experimenting with alternative single, double and triple chainring setups.
fancy image...
and one in use...Sorry I didn't clean it.
On the question of cable routing, there isn’t one. Full cable housing from handlebars to rear derailleur means less chance you'll be walking home, chipping away ice, or building a campfire because your cables froze in place. For best compatibility with both Shimano and SRAM derailleurs and better clearance on the top tube, both shift and brake housing is under the down tube. We’ve provided all of the necessary braze-on's to keep it securely stowed away. It does also create a nice clean package and works well with front triangle frame bags.
There’s a few other details worth mentioning here.
The Mukluk frameset is compatible with up to 100mm rims and Surly Larry/Endomorph tires. 100mm rims provide the maximum in flotation and are quickly becoming the standard on race bikes at the Iditasport Trail Invitational and the Arrowhead 135.
As Kid mentioned in the introduction to the Mukluk I have been testing the bike with a set of 29er wheels. Measuring everything out, the geometry of the bike changed very little. The difference between the outer wheel diameter on a Larry tire mounted on a 100mm wide rim and the 2.4 Schwalbe Racing Ralph mounted to a Salsa Gordo rim is 8mm. My bottom bracket height has changed ever so slightly and I've been pleasantly surprised at just how normal the bike feels in the 10+ hours of riding and testing. Honestly, I've forgotten that I'm spinning a 100mm wide bottom bracket, even though Q factor has changed drastically. The human body adapts remarkably well. Especially in these conditions...
Braze-ons abound on the Mukluk Frameset. You already know that the Enabler has provisions for front racks, water bottles, and our Everything Cage. We’ve provided rack mounts on the frame as well, along with three sets of water bottle mounts. On M, L, and XL frames the downtube water bottle cage mount is configured to accept the Everything Cage as well. You’ll have no problem carrying ‘stuff’ where you want it.
Mukluk is one frame where the graphics are both visual and functional. The trees remind me of last winter’s tour in the northwoods, where Tim and I awoke to a world blanketed in heavy white snow. The reflective decals would have made us significantly more visible to the snow machine riders as we pedaled through the dense pine forest. They will certainly be a welcome addition at events like the Arrowhead 135, where reflective material isn't just a suggestion, but a requirement.
So there you have it, a glimpse into the decisions we made in developing the Mukluk and why. We hope this answers the questions that are lingering out there.
If you have other questions, please use the Comment function and I'll answer them as they come.
29 Comments | Permalink
This post filed under the topic(s): new product , Joe , Mukluk , Snow Biking
Monday August 2nd, 2010
| | Kid Riemer
Within the Salsa crew we have a handful of dedicated snow bike riders. We’ve dreamed, talked, and schemed for years over just what we would create when we got the chance. This past year, we finally decided to pull the trigger.
Jason testing an Enabler-equipped El Mariachi aka Snow Bike Lite this past March
Today it is my distinct pleasure to introduce the Mukluk, Salsa’s first snow bike.
My personal experience on snow bikes goes back five years or so, but my interest in snow riding goes back much further. I first heard of the Iditasport race in Alaska in the early 90’s. In those days, the names surrounding that race included the likes of Stamstad, Reifenstuhl, Curiak, and Irwin. The bikes of that era didn’t usually have the super wide tires and rims that we have today. They were primarily stock mountain bikes equipped with 40-something millimeter rims and the widest tires that would fit in a desperate search for floatation.
Today, some of the names in the game have changed (Petervary, Basinger, Oatley, and Pramann come to mind) while others remain (Reifenstuhl and Curiak are still at it) and so have the machines they (and we) ride.
Mukluk prototype Rustflake in Alaska. Rustflake was unpainted steel to test geometry. Photo by Dan Bailey www.danbaileyphoto.com
We’ve come a long way snowbaby!
It is only proper to acknowledge Salsa’s sister-brand Surly for the important role they played in the modern development of the snow bike. Their snow bike, the Pugsley, was the first to be widely available. Their tires continue to drive the category. Without the product development risks they took, who knows what the modern snow bike world would look like. But I’m thankful that they did, when they did, and I’m thankful the snow bike market has grown enough to support multiple brands.
But this post is about Mukluk, and that brings a smile to my face.
Rustflake's sister Snowflake also developed a serious case of iron oxide during testing in Minnesota
Mukluk is designed first and foremost to be a snow bike. Snowy singletrack, snowmobile trails, and snow-covered frozen lakes and rivers are its home.
A snow bike is nothing without floatation. Wide rims, and wide tires run at proper pressure for the conditions, make the difference between riding and pushing.
Floatation, floatation, floatation...
Proper frame geometry is equally important. Mukluk’s geometry is extremely effective for snow riding. It is stable with slower handling than a ‘typical’ hardtail mountain bike. Mukluk rides comfortably at slow speed without sacrificing handling at faster speeds. You learn to lean the bike a bit more and it carves a fair turn. Mukluk feels ‘normal’ to me.
These handling traits are incredibly beneficial while snow biking because the trail/surface conditions can vary dramatically and change so quickly. Snow is not just snow. It can be heavy and wet or dry and powdery and anything in-between. It can feel like concrete or corduroy, a mix of sand and brown sugar or a fragile layer of wafer-thin glass.
Rustflake floating an Alaskan beach...
No matter how good the geometry, there will always be conditions that will bring any bike (snow bike or not) to a halt. We’ve designed Mukluk with a very low standover height to aid when forced to dab, stop/start, or dismount/remount.
Mukluk has a comfort-based cockpit. The tall head tube helps riders set their bike up for slow-speed snow slogging and long distance ultra events.
Mukluk sizing works in line with our other Salsa sizing. If you ride a Medium El Mariachi, you ride a Medium Mukluk
Later this week we’ll have a post explaining other design features and why we chose them.
Mukluk came to be with the help of others beyond the Salsa crew. We developed and tested the geometry here in Minnesota, but also in Alaska. We took input from slow guys like me, fast trail rippers, and a snow bike champion. We like what we’ve come up with. It works well. It feels good.
Joe rolling the bank of the Minnesota River
So the questions are formulating in your mind, and I’ll address just a couple. How does it work on dirt?
The short answer: Fantastic. We’ve put in loads of miles on dirt, sand, cobblestone beaches, and flood debris. Fat wheels will always take a fair bit of energy to bring up to speed, but there’s a heck of a lot of momentum once they are rolling. They are really just bigger, wider, and heavier 29’er wheels.
Mukluk thunder soon drowned out the hum of the flourescent lightbulbs
There is nothing better than floatation for sand riding though and we had a perfect spring with massive flooding that left us with trails that were only rideable on a snow bike. The large contact patch and ability to run low pressure make rock gardens, debris fields, and rough surface riding easier than on a ‘regular’ mountain bike.
Rumbling through the spring flood debris of the flood plain
Can I run regular wheels on Mukluk?
The short answer: Yes, but you’ll need to build wheels for it (more on that in the follow-up post). Also keep in mind that the geometry will be different from a ‘typical’ hardtail. If the feel of the bike works for you (as it does for me), you might love it. Joe is testing his right now in this configuration and will provide his feedback in the near future.
Joe is testing this setup with Gordo 29'er rims and some 2.4" Schwalbe treads
Please use our Comments area to ask any questions you have, and we’ll do our best to answer them in a follow-up post.
Jason on the mud flats
Back in ’89, the idea of riding on snow somehow captured a special place within me, and it hasn’t let go. While I’ve taken part in Minnesota’s Arrowhead Ultra 135, I haven’t yet done the Iditarod Trail Invitational (formerly known as Iditabike/Iditasport) but the idea of that grand adventure still tugs at me.
Most of my winter riding is simply about pleasure. It is my favorite season for biking.
Whether a cold, pre-dawn ride with a headlamp gently illuminating the terrain ahead, or a moonlit roll through a surprisingly bright world. Spinning silently on a soft snow-covered trail. Changing cadence based on the surface beneath me. Focusing on where I put my wheels, while relaxing the mind enough to let the clutter evaporate. Stopping to look at the beauty all around me. Watching as the sun begins to throw its warm, golden rays. Breathing in that clean, crisp, sometimes cold, air.
This year, those rides will be aboard Mukluk. I invite you to come along for the ride.
64 Comments | Permalink
This post filed under the topic(s): new product , Kid , Mukluk , Snow Biking
Monday July 26th, 2010
| | Kid Riemer
'Tis the season for Sneak Peeks. There's more than one new sled in the house these days!
18 Comments | Permalink
This post filed under the topic(s): new product , Kid , Sneak Peek
Wednesday May 19th, 2010
| | Kid Riemer
Back in October, when we introduced the first prototype of the Enabler it caught some folk’s attention. That’s a good thing right? Well, except when you’ve got folks fired up for the product but you won’t deliver it for a few months. Sorry about that. It did take us a bit longer than planned to come to market.
Well, we’ve had the Enabler Fork in stock now for a while (as many of you have noticed) and it seemed time to share a bit more about the fork and just what it allows you to do.
It is a slightly complicated, freak of a fork in many ways. People often get hung up on the massive tire clearance and immediately think ‘snow bike’. There are a couple things to keep in mind in that regard however. Remember, the Enabler is a 29’er fork. Throwing it on your existing snow bike might throw it out of balance a bit. Check the Enabler product page for all the critical measurements and compare to whichever fork you are currently using.
It does ENABLE you to create what we’ve been calling ‘snow bike lite’: a 29’er with a bit fat Surly Endomorph or Larry tire up front. Lots of floatation for snow or sand, and if you run a wide rim (like a Salsa Gordo 29’er Disc) on the back end with a 2.5” 29’er tire, it just may turn unrideable terrain into rideable terrain, without buying a new bike.
Here are a couple shots from this past winter of Jason on board his prototype El Mariachi set up as a ‘snow bike lite’.
But don't let yourself get pigeon-holed into just the Enabler-snowbike lite-phat tires mindset. Remember, the Enabler is at heart just a kick-butt 29'er fork. Clearance for Endomorphs or Larrys means that there is gobs of room for any 29’er tire. That in turn ENABLES you to run your choice of 29’er rubber up front for ‘regular’ off-road riding.
Remember that bit about it being a ‘freak fork’?
Well, the Enabler uses a rear wheel. If you’ve got a spare 29’er rear wheel it will drop right in and become your front wheel. It uses a front brake adapter however so you don’t need to worry about coming up with a second rear brake adapter. Your front brake will swap straight over. Essentially the Enabler is a sweet riding fork for those rigid riding situations that has a ton of clearance and other features. The fact that it uses a rear wheel is just another benefit.
Why have a rear wheel up front? Well, for longer adventures it does give you a backup should your freehub go bad. If singlespeeding, it also gives you the potential to set up your front wheel with a different sized cog thereby giving you a second gearing option.
But wait, there’s more!
This fork ENABLES you to run water bottles on your fork legs. While some might scoff at this, I’ve come to love having water bottles to access there. It allows me to carry enough water on my bike that I rarely ever need to have a hydration pack on my back. Plus, we’ve placed the water bottle braze-ons to offer two positions: high or low, depending on your preference, or as mandated by your ohter equipment choices.
The fork also ENABLES you to run racks and fenders. We’ve got braze-ons for racks and fenders on the stainless steel, forward facing fork dropouts. Plus, we’ve included mid-blade lowrider mounts. The Enabler will work perfectly with our upcoming Minimalist rack and Down Under lowriders.
You just may want to ENABLE your 29’er to become a rack-toting, bikepacking or off-road touring machine.
As you can see, the bottom line is that the Enabler allows you to do a heck of a lot with your 29’er. In fact there are so many options that we all have different favorite things to say about it.
Jason - My favorite thing about the Enabler is how it makes my current El Mariachi, or most 29ers, even more versatile. With the Enabler I now have a “Snow-Bike Lite” and it opened up new trails, lakes and places to ride. I also like carrying stuff on my fork, something I can’t do with current rigid 29er forks.
Pete - My favorite part of the fork is that I got to design the I.S. mount to be front specific, but offset to work with the rotor location of a rear hub. This allows the user that is adding the Enabler fork to their existing frame/bike to simply swap over their existing set of brakes. For someone doing a new build, it gives them the convenience to purchase a standard front/rear brake set instead of having to locate two individual rears or an extra rear adaptor for the front brake. In short, you get to use a standard front disc brake on the front fork…no gimmicks, just common sense & logical. It also means no funky stuff for the wheel either. No special proprietary hubs, no funky offset, any plain old 135mm rear wheel will work in this fork. (Disc-ready of course if you intend to run a front brake!)
Tim - It’s the first fork to allow 29ers to take lowrider racks.
Joe - Carries stuff, clears mud, floats on snow, and it is intelligently designed.
Sean - I think the enabler is great because it just adds versatility to your bike. It lets any normal 29er (preferably a steel El Mariachi) become something new and totally different. It adds a whole new way to ride and enjoy the trail just by changing out the fork!
Mark - You can give your bike that ‘monster truck’ look you’ve always wanted.
Kid – For me, it takes the rigid fork and elevates it into a Swiss Army Knife of sorts, but having the water bottle access is my favorite thing. My snow bike and Fargo turned me on to that in a big way; I don’t know why I’d ever do without it on a rigid fork.
7 Comments | Permalink
This post filed under the topic(s): new product , Kid , bikepacking
Wednesday April 14th, 2010
| | Kid Riemer
All good things must come to an end. Or not-so-good things depending on your point of view.
Enjoy our final Ala Carte & El Mariachi Sneak Peek. Thanks for playing along.
Stay tuned for our release tomorrow at Sea Otter!
6 Comments | Permalink
This post filed under the topic(s): Ala Carte , new product , El Mariachi , Kid
Tuesday April 13th, 2010
| | Kid Riemer
Today we give you a hint.
A hint of color.
8 Comments | Permalink
This post filed under the topic(s): Ala Carte , new product , El Mariachi , Kid
Monday April 12th, 2010
| | Kid Riemer
Good Monday morning. Today our Sneak Peek might prove a bit more tantalizing.
11 Comments | Permalink
This post filed under the topic(s): Ala Carte , new product , El Mariachi , Kid
Friday April 9th, 2010
| | Kid Riemer
TGIF!
Loading up our rig for Sea Otter this morning.
With that...time for Sneak Peek #3. Enjoy your weekend everyone.
3 Comments | Permalink
This post filed under the topic(s): Ala Carte , new product , El Mariachi , Kid
Thursday April 8th, 2010
| | Kid Riemer
One week from today, at the Sea Otter Classic, we will be unveiling the updated Ala Carte and El Mariachi frames. Let's continue with our second Sneak Peek.
5 Comments | Permalink
This post filed under the topic(s): Ala Carte , new product , El Mariachi , Kid
Wednesday April 7th, 2010
| | Kid Riemer
Next week Thursday at Sea Otter we will be unveiling the updated Ala Carte and El Mariachi frames. Today we begin our series of Sneak Peeks.
Put some thought into the images we'll show over the coming week and you just may learn a few things ahead of time. Good luck!
7 Comments | Permalink
This post filed under the topic(s): Ala Carte , new product , El Mariachi , Kid
Thursday March 4th, 2010
| | Gnat
We like to carry stuff on our bikes. From what we hear and see, so do a lot of other folks. Sometimes it's a lot of stuff. Other times it's not so much stuff. We also get a lot of questions about what racks work on the Fargo and the Vaya? While lot's of racks can work, we set out to build our own racks that ideally work with our bikes and retain all the features we built into both the Fargo and Vaya. Our new racks are versatile and lightweight for their respective categories and they are designed to be an integrated or scalable system.
Before I get too far, let me remind you that these are prototypes and works in progress. We are looking for a mid summer in stock date....And yes, we know some of you want them sooner than that. We are sorry. We just want to make them right.
The racks above shown on the Fargo don't have a name yet. They are small racks with some very unique features. Check out these features.
- Light and durable tubular aluminum alloy
- Front or rear use
- Optional custom Salsa Lip Lock seat clamp with integrated rack mount for seat tube mounting (look closely at the Fargo pic above)
- Black or Silver
- The deck is cupped ever so slightly to perfectly fit and hold a dry bag or compression sack
- Two strap tie down loops to securely hold your cargo
- Struts can also go upward making mounting to other things such as bars, saddle or seat post
- Has 2 little threaded barrels on the end of the deck for attaching things. We plan to make a light bracket here but the DIY folks will likely come up with lots of things to do with these.
- Estimated 5 Kilo (11lbs) weight limit. In the pick above I put my sleeping bag and pad in the rear stuff sack and my overnight clothes in the front.
- $75 MSRP
Next up is our new front lorider. It does not have a name yet either. Check out the features.
- Light and durable tubular aluminum alloy
- Black or Silver
- No wheel hoop so they work with fat 29" wheels or even 4" Surly Endomorphs
- Mounts to mid blade eyelets and fork/drop out eyelet. Note: Requires mid blade eyelets on both the inside & outside of fork blade
- Retains full use of Fargo fork leg mounted water bottle positions
- Has a threaded boss on the top of the hoop to attach the strut from the above front rack, making a really functional and strong front rack system
- Designed to work well with disc brakes, meaning they mount easily on bikes with disc brakes and are forward positioned to allow full access to the front brake
- The two threaded barrels at the bottom will likely be removed. Most front loriders have little pegs there to hold the lower pannier hook in place. We may just switch to 2 smaller posts.
- $65 MSRP
Last but not least is our new rear rack shown here on our Vaya. Again, no name yet. Check out it's features.
- Light and durable tubular aluminum alloy
- Black or Silver
- Extra long deck. It's slighly cupped to assist in holding bags, sleeping pads or whatever you strap to the top deck.
- Extra long struts for mounting, even to small frames and small rear triangles
- Universal mounting system allowing movement of struts in any direction
- Depending on pannier size, brand and attachment method, you may be able to use a lower mounting position to further lower your center of gravity
- Two threaded barrels for light and reflector mounting
- $100 MSRP
Wow, that's a lot of rack talk. I'm sure I missed something. Let us know what you think? We are still tinkering with these. Again, these are prototypes with an anticipated mid summer in stock date.
37 Comments | Permalink
This post filed under the topic(s): new product , VAYA , Fargo
Monday February 8th, 2010
| | Gnat
Today we introduce you all to the new La Cruz titanium cyclocross bike. Another product introduction? Yep, we've been busy up here in our snowy paradise. So, grab a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and read on.
Cyclocross bikes are the original adventure seekers. Capable of killing it on the cross course, the versatile La Cruz Ti grinds gravel, tramples dirt, tackles mud and rolls over potholed pavement. The steel La Cruz has always been near and dear to our heart and with titanium, it's even better. We took our proven La Cruz geometry and tweaked it ever so slightly to optimize the material. The end result is true cross bike that can take a lifetime of pounding without pounding your body.
Details:
- $1800 MSRP for frame and seat clamp
- 42 mm tire clearance
- 130mm rear spacing
- canti brakes
- designed for cross forks with 395mm axle to crown with a 45-47mm rake
Geometry: We took our proven La Cruz geometry and added a few additional sizes to match our cross racing bike, the Chili Con Crosso. This geometry will be live on our new website in about another week or so, so until then, here are a few of the more important details.
SIZE & STANDOVER: The frame size matches the effective top tube length. (Note: This is our new sizing scheme based on top tube length. If you already own a La Cruz or Chili Con Crosso, please match your effective top tube lengths when ordering.)
51.5 cm - 724mm standover
53 - 748mm
54 - 769mm
55.5 - 788mm
57 - 807mm
58 - 826mm
59.5 - 843mm
60.6 - 860mm
SIZE & SEAT TUBE LENGTH
51.5 - 485mm seat tube
53 - 515mm
54 - 535mm
55.5 - 55.5mm
57 - 57.5mm
58 - 595mm
59.5 - 615mm
60.5 - 635mm
HEAD TUBE LENGTH
51.5 - 85mm
53 - 100mm
54 - 120mm
55.5 - 140mm
57 - 160mm
58 - 180mm
59.5 - 195mm
60.5 - 210mm
SIZE - HEAD ANGLE, SEAT ANGLE
51.5 - 71, 75
53 - 71, 74
54 - 71.5, 73
55.5 - 71.5, 73
57 - 71.5, 73
58 - 72, 73
59.5 - 72, 72
60.5 - 72, 72
CHAINSTAY LENGTH
430mm
BB DROP
68mm
ORDERING
Our first order deadline from our dealers is due back to Salsa March 1st. This will guarantee a mid year delivery to our dealers and insure you have lots of miles going into the 2010 cross season. We recommend you take a look at our dealer list and call one of them. They have the correct information and can work with you to get you your dream Salsa cross bike for the coming season.
Over the course of the week, we will post up more details on the La Cruz Ti and the development process. Stay tuned!
Labels: La Cruz Ti, new product
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This post filed under the topic(s): new product , La Cruz Ti
Thursday October 29th, 2009
| | Kid Riemer
Or is it Buckle Up?
New and in stock for the first time, we present the Amigo Buckle.
We designed this buckle last year as a special gift item for folks that, well, deserved a special gift at that moment in time. That gift buckle was done in a gold finish. The design started from this lowly sketch...
...and developed into this real beauty.
For you buckle analysts out there, the Amigo Buckle is just about 5.5" wide by 3.5" tall.
Available now through your local QBP-using dealer. Part number CL2123.
Adorn yourselves if you choose.
-Kid
Labels: new product
1 Comments | Permalink
This post filed under the topic(s): new product
21 Comments
