The lightweight carbon frameset is stiff where it matters for power transfer and our Class 5 VRS provides compliance where comfort is the priority. salsa cutthroat alternative salsa cutthroat alternative. A Venn Diagram can help you find your sweetspot on what you want in a tire. Although some routes may be more comfortable with a suspension mountain bike, we think most folks getting into bikepacking will be happy with hardtail and rigid mountain bikes. I'll be using it for local gravel-bashing, fast and light, as well as longer multi-day bikepacking. It is lightweight, sure-footed, nimble, and descends with confidence. This isnt necessarily a bad thing if you are not in a hurry. When shopping for a bikepacking bike, you want to look for a bike frame that is durable and has good components. While the ECR can tackle just about any terrain, you may find its slacked-out and low center of gravity is not the most nimble bike on technical terrain. Based on our research, the Cutthroat seemed like as good of a match as any for a route we really didnt know much about, other than the fact that wed cross three mountain ranges, coastal jungles, and everything in between. Features. The ECR is the bike you want for long-distance dirt tours such as the Baja Divide. I would likely consider a 36T ring up front and a Wolftooth 49T cassette expander ring if I were to use this bike on the Tour Divide. In hindsight, our most accurate description, albeit a modest one, is that Cuba doesnt give up its goods easily. We inspire and inform through original bikepacking routes, stories, and coverage of the gear, news, and events that make our community thrive. It can fit a 2.4" in the back, it uses boost spacing, mtb cranks, and easily works with a multitude of 1x options. The bags used on my Cutthroat differed a little bit from Virginias. The Surly ECR is designed to run 27.5 or 29 tires depending on the frame size. So at this point you might be wondering who the Salsa Cutthroat is for aside from Tour Dividers or Trans America Trail racers. The Surly Karate Monkey, with its optional suspension fork, is our singletrack bikepacking pick. Mud clearance needs to be considered for this type of riding, especially with the Cutthroat. 5.10 Guide Tennies (flats) You may find yourself at the conclusion that 2.4 tires are not that slow for how much comfort they may add to your ride, but your bike can only run 2 tires, and now you're stuck wondering how those 2.4 would feel. Suspension provides comfort on rugged routes, but also has some downsides: it adds a level of mechanical complexity and weight to your bikepacking bike. Bike theft is a huge problem. If you cant raise the bars to the height you prefer, then you should check your standover height for the next bike size up. Although they hold corners pretty well, they can get a little slippy going up a steep and rubbly grade. While on the road, I found the Cutthroat to be a stable, confident, and comfortable bike that performs at its best at high speeds. Taller riders may consider 29 tires while shorter riders may prefer 27.5 tires. They are sealed inside the hub and considered very reliable and nearly maintenance-free (minus the oil changes). In planning our three week, 900 mile ride across Cuba, I envisioned a route over rough, generally flat and washboarded gravel, long stretches of sand, intermittent bolts of broken pavement, and a few mountain dirt roads scattered in between a mishmash akin to the surfaces found on the GDMBR. The Surly Troll has a lot in common with the Surly ECR. This also makes removing tall bottles a bit difficult. Titanium is not always stronger than steel. I am 6 tall and choose to run 27.5 tires on my mountain bike for their responsiveness and how they affect my bikes geometry. Fully packed bikebags. We review 18 bike seat packs and bicycle saddle bags to find the best for bikepacking, road cycling, gravel biking, mountain bike riding, and commuting by bike. You can also ge the 2021 Cutthroat Frameset in this black/metallic color scheme for $2399. The world of cycling and bikepacking can be confusing. Cap Crumpler camera insert There is no single best bikepacking bike for everyone. The Surly Bridge Club is a highly versatile all-road rig. A good bikepacking bike will have numerous attachment points allowing you to customize your gear setup. I rode a 2017 version of this bike on many trips around the southeast and was sad to let it go when I decided to switch to gravel bikepacking (and a gravel bikepacking-specific bike). An aluminum frame is weaker than a steel one and can be more prone to damage in a wreck or drop than a steel frame bike. We strongly recommend that you register your bike with the National Bike Registry. Its an excellent alternative to the Salsa Fargo and an incredible deal for what you get for the money. And, at its core lies the groundwork for tons of space to carry everything you need on a long adventure. Class 5 Vibration Reduction System (VRS) absorbs microimpacts on rough roads. 2021 Salsa Cutthroat 54cm. Theres a balance many riders try to find between the three and paying attention to tire clearance helps find your zone. Photo by Andrew Gage. Photo by Graham Hodge. Tums There are a ton of benefits to cycle touring with a Rohloff hub, but the price is a major set back. For our anticipated route, the gearing was a little high, which we rectified before setting out by replacing the SRAM 38T X-SYNC ring with a Wolftooth CAMO and 34t ring. Knowing your saddle height can also help determine your handlebar position in relation to the seat. Salsa Classifies the Cutthroat as a "drop bar mountain bike". 2 drybags Passport This approach allows me to keep my seat pack and handlebar bags as light as possible, thus lowering the bikes center of gravity. and our I'm 100% going to take this apart, swap parts with my other bikes, upgrade things when I can find deals, etc. In both Pisgah and all the random chunder we ran across in Cuba, I never felt like the bike was too much to handle, or not tough enough. The Journeyman Claris 650 runs 27.5 tires and has all the attachment points you need to customize your bikepacking setup. The ECR has lots of mounting options making it excel compared to other bikes in our rankings for packability. It even has mounts for a trailer (should you wish to pull a trailer). The small Salsa Fargo Apex 1 frame has a reach of 364 mm, while the medium frame has a reach of 368 mm. Front/rear rack mounts, fork cargo cage mounts, two bottles in the frame on small sizes, and one bottle beneath the downtube are a must. You may find yourself wondering if you should run 27.5 or 29 tires on your bikepacking bike. Each issue features a collection of inspiring writing and beautiful photography. There are a lot of opinions, but it comes down to personal preference for how you would like your bike to ride. A dirt touring frame will likely place you somewhere in between the two. I got my start in the outdoor world climbing competitively in college and backpacking for leisure. Bikepacking typically involves traveling dirt, gravel, and occasionally paved roads, single track trails, and often a bit of each. Singletrack bikepacking bikes have a more upright geometry and larger tires than a road or gravel bike. Photo by Mike Unger. And, there are several places on a frame that are prone to damage from falls, getting rattled around in a bus, or just general use. Make sure you select the correct bike size. This system allows the rear end to vertically absorb the edge off of rough roads, namely gravel and chunky dirt, a configuration that acts as leaf springs between the seat tube and the rear wheel. Nearly every bikepacking adventure will cover a variety of road and trail conditions. We believe travel by bicycle has the power to encourage conservation, inclusivity, and respect for all people and cultures. The Corner Bar has a 25.4mm clamp area that requires a shim for most modern mountain bike stems. To that end, Salsa says it homed in on four key elements: comfort,. Salsa Cutthroat C GRX 810 - Frameset. Without much ground truth beta, we handpicked the Salsa Cutthroat to scout an off-pavement bikepacking trip across Cuba a decision based on scattered intel, topographical maps, satellite imagery, and logical thinking. But at its heart, the Cutthroat is indeed a mountain bike one destined for speed and long rides. FILTERS Experience Bikepacking (5) Endurance (5) Gravel (5) Mountain (5) Fork Type Rigid (5) Features Class 5 VRS (5) Frame Protection (5) On-Bike Cargo (5) Frame Type Wheel Size Read more. I also found that the Timberjack truly shined on the single-track sections of routes like the Trans North Georgia Route. The Fargo is also a great pick because of its versatility. It's much more than a drop-bar gravel bike, or a fast mountain bike. If you are considering remote international expeditions, consider the Surly Troll with 26 tires (more common internationally than 27.5 or 29 tires) with rim brakes. The 2021 Salsa Cutthroat AXS Eagle comes in black with an iridescent blue-green trim for $7199. As always, our goal was to have a bike (and all its components) that could competently handle the variety of surfaces, topography, and conditions that our route would dish out. The 29er version of the Fargo didn't either - it weighs in at 28 lbs. This netted us about 23 gear inches in the granny gear, which was fine for the lighter, summer weather loads we were carrying. We think the Surly ECR is the best bikepacking bike for most. Any thoughts. One of the beautiful things about carbon bicycles is that they typically dont feel heavy or sluggish, even when loaded down. Enlightened Equipment Enigma 40 quilt Bar none, the Cutthroat is the most confident drop-bar bike Ive ridden down steep gravel. I got into long-distance backpacking when I section hiked the PCT in 2016 while working with brands such as Leki, Osprey, and Nemo Equipment. It comes with 27.5 x 3 tires but has clearance for 29 x 2.5 tires. The Apex 1 model comes in your choice of three colorways for $2899. It contains a spindle to which the crankset attaches and the bearings that allow the spindle and cranks to rotate. Photo by Naomi Hudetz. 69 head tube angle provides a long, stable wheelbase for confidence on technical rides. While there are a lot of numbers and a bikes geometry can help with decision making, just riding a bike will likely be the best way to determine whether a bike will feel right to you. If you like the Salsa Fargo Apex 1, but find the price a bit too high, we recommend considering the Salsa Journeyman Claris 700. However, as with Cuba itself, the Salsa Cutthroat held its fair share of surprises. This is the Tour Divide and Cutthroat is engineered to thrive on it. Many bikes traditionally use a skewer that can be tensioned to hold the wheel in place. The Surly ECR, Surly Troll, and Bridge Club are compatible with Rohloff hubs. If you are looking into a gravel bike for fast rides or long-distance bikepacking trips, the Salsa Fargo Apex 1 is a jack of most trades and is an excellent option. Bikepacking bag straps can do a number on a carbon frame when rubbing continuously for a month or two straight, specifically the headtube where the handlebar bag and associated anchor strap makes contact (and actually can rub holes in carbon over time). There were mud slogs, swamps, and river crossings, and even a couple of epic hike-a-bikes. There are many great options, but we believe the Salsa Fargo Apex 1s versatility, stock build, and price make it the best choice for folks looking for a gravel-specific bike. Were not saying to get the bike with the widest tire clearance, either. 11sp quicklinks x 2 In June 2015, the first Salsa Cutthroat was then presented. 2022 Salsa Cutthroat. A great way to learn is to test ride a few bikes. Front end suspension on a mountain bike. Mounting options are also referred to as bosses, braze-ons, or barnacles. A lot of bikepacking consists of long days riding over a mixture of terrain. 4 spare batteries/charger Knowing your PBH can help you quickly determine your saddle height as well! The Corner Bar comes in three widths: 46, 50, and . Tire lever Even with the vertical give of the VRS, the bike itself is laterally stiff and equally as responsive when pedaling. You can start learning about a bikes stack, or the vertical distance from the center of the bottom bracket to the head tube, and how it relates to the bikes reach, or the horizontal distance from the bikes bottom bracket to the head tube. After hearing feedback, I was anticipating a pretty smooth ride so the aforementioned traits didnt come as a great shock to me. Same goes for the bottle mounts on the underside of the downtube. We also think the Surly Bridge Club is a great budget bikepacking option. The answer is, ultimately, yes. 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