Salsa Cycles Marrakesh: Adventure Machine!

The flat bar version of the Marrakesh

Salsa Cycles surprised many by introducing a new, touring specific bike, in two formats, dubbed the Marrakesh. This is kind of a first, as far as I am aware, that a bicycle company would give you the opportunity to choose drop bars or flat bars and make the geometry work in the best possible way for either choice.

Okay, so there is a lot going on here. Let's break this down into what the differences really are. Make no mistake here folks- both bikes, the drop and flat bar versions- are COMPLETELY different in fit and feel. 

So, how can that be, really? Well, it is quite simple to just say the following, which best describes what Salsa did, in my own words: The drop bar bike is a traditional, drop bar, touring specific fit. If you are used to Trek 720's and 520's, Surly Long Haul Truckers, or Cannondale T-800's or any of their old touring bikes, you will completely understand the drop bar version of the Marrakesh. It fits the mold of the predecessors quite nicely.

The flat bar Marrrakesh, however, is a completely different animal. It doesn't fit like the same sized drop bar Marrakesh at all. We compared the flat and drop bar bikes, and if you simply cross from one size to Salsa's same size on another, the top tube of the flat bar Marrakesh is much longer. We measured a full 1 1/2" between Larges. That's a lot of front/center difference!

I didn't quite have the rack leveled here yet, but this is the drop bar Marrakesh.

In our estimation, and again- these are my own words- the flat bar Marrakesh fits best if you size it like a mountain bike. I ended up fitting best on the Medium versus how most 29"ers are Larges that fit me best. I'm a bit over 6', by the way, with a 34" "cycling inseam". So, if you've got a hankering for a flat bar Marrakesh, be prepared to look at a size smaller than you might typically take. The front/centers are long on these, and the top tube lengths are more like a mountain bike's.

So- why have both types of Marrakesh models? I think this is a fair question, and I would answer it as follows- Many folks don't use drop bars, don't like them, or if they do have them, wish they were higher and maybe would never venture to using drops at all. The flat bar Marrakesh is definitely for them. If you have shorter legs/longer torso, the flat bar version may fit you perfectly. If you want swept back bars, higher rise bars, or- and this would be my choice- Jones type bars, the flat bar Marrakesh would be great. Finally, if you want to go into rougher terrain, get the flat bar one. Here's why......

We mounted Panaracer Driver Pro 2.1" 29"er tires on one of our display Marrakesh flat bar bikes, and they fit beautifully. If you want a gravel going, dirt road going, fire road tackling touring bike, the flat bar Marrakesh would be great with 2.0" and maybe some versions of other 2.1"er 29"er treads. Oh yeah.......the drop bar Marrakesh has the same clearances. 

You can also check out the sturdy rack, spoke holder, bottle mounts, front fork with Three Pack bosses, fender mounts, and kickstand plate. Every Marrakesh has those and a beautiful Brooks B-17 saddle. The drive train is smartly spec'ed and there are disc brakes, good, solid wheel spec choices, and sharp, understated graphics. There are even constellations on the top tube to inspire a little navigation by the stars!

Come check out our selection of Marrakesh bikes soon!

Salsa Cycles 2016

The all new Drop Bar Marrakesh

Here at Europa Cycle & Ski we are always excited for mid-July and the announcement of Salsa Cycles line up for the coming year. We were no less excited this time, but we were taken a bit by surprise by a couple of developments within the line. Here I will make some comments concerning the Salsa line up as it pertains to the shop, and explain why the shop is doing a few things differently this time around with the Salsa line.

First up, we weren't at all ready to see a new model aimed squarely at touring/gravel road/commuter cyclists, but we are the most excited about the bike Salsa is bringing out for these cyclists. It's called "Marrakesh" and Salsa defines it as their "World Tourer" as far as its capabilities. It is certainly all that and more. The Marrakesh has an impressive feature list-

• Steel frame and fork for durability and good ride feel. Made with new Cobra-Kai steel spec'ed by Salsa engineers for heavy duty use.
• Touring Geometry: Low bottom bracket for stability, longer chain stays for stability, slacker angles for comfort and stability.
• Room for up to 29 X 2" tires without fenders. 40mm with fenders. You can keep your definition of "road" pretty broad here! 
• The Alternator Low Deck 135 Rear Rack comes stock
• Alternator Drop Out: Can adjust wheel base, turn the Marrakesh into a single speed in an emergency, or utilize IGH type drive trains. 
• Brooks B-17 saddle stock 
• Disc brakes for ultimate power in stopping a fully loaded touring bike.
• Three bottle braze ons for frame, two for the fork, or utilize the Three Pack bosses for an Anything HD Cage for more capacity in carrying stuff. Low Rider mounts are also there as an option for those who use front panniers. 
• Spare Spoke carrier on chain stay.
• Kickstand plate on chain stays behind the bottom bracket to mount a traditional kickstand. 

So, as you can see, the Marrakesh isn't a "pretend touring bike", it is the real deal. All for $1599.00 and we will have these on the sales floor late Fall.

Don't like drop bar bikes? Don't like "bending over too much" when you are seated on a bike? How about a Marrakesh specifically designed for flat bars? Yep! Same basic spec only with a flat bar specific geometry.

The Marrakesh Flat Bar in Creme

We will also be stocking the flat bar version as well. We are excited about these bikes because they are bikes you can use on our bike paths, on county roads, on our single track dirt trails, (remember- it can handle bigger tires), and an all-year round commuter bike. Or use it for touring, of course. The Marrakesh would also be a fine gravel road bike, should your roads take you that direction.

To compliment the Marrakesh, we will also be restocking Salsa's venerable Vaya. The Vaya sees a color change, some spec upgrade, and a move to a 44mm diameter head tube. This is important because now you can get a carbon fork on a Vaya to save more weight. The Vaya is Salsa's "all round" road" bike that our customers have used as a fast tourer, RAGBRAI bike, gravel road bike, and as a more comfortable road bike than the traditional road race bike. Look for those to show up in late Fall as well.

Waebird Carbon

We will also be bringing in the Carbon Warbird and the Warbird Tiagra to compliment the Warbird 105 model we already stock. The Carbon Warbird Carbon is a fantastic bike that can go on any road, paved, chip seal, or gravel, and comes spec'ed with SRAM Rival 22 which features hydraulic disc brakes. The entire bike weighs in at under 20lbs, and features Salsas VRS Class 5 Vibration Reduction System which yeilds a significantly smoother ride. Maybe you just want a bike for the road with a smooth ride? This is your bike. Featuring three bottle bosses, you can go a long way and be very comfortable on a lightweight bike that is any road capable.

The Tiagra Warbird features the same aluminum frame as the 105 Warbird we already stock, but spec'ed with Tiagra for a lower price point. These bikes should show up late in the year.

Now for a word on the situation as we sit on currently in stock Salsa bicycles. As you all may know, Winter was a bust last year, and as a result, we are sitting on a pretty healthy amount of 2015 Salsa and Trek fat bikes. We have slashed prices on these bikes to make them more attractive to customers. So, if you are looking for that elusive "deal" on a fat bike, now is the time. We will not be restocking on our fat bike line until we clear out the current inventory, so we have no plans on bringing in any 2016 fat bikes unless they are special ordered.

Salsa Fargo bicycles are another area where we have a fair amount of current stock and, as a result, deals for customers. Again- we want to clear out that inventory before we make any future commitments to pull in more Fargo bikes. These are fantastic, versatile machines, so we hope to be able to bring in more in the future.

27.5+ is a big deal now, and Salsa Cycles has responded with the Pony Rustler 27.5+ bike line up. We do not plan on bringing any of those in, however; because we are really not in an area where this bike makes sense for our clientele. That said, if you'd like to special order on, better get on the bus! These are going to be really hard to get. 

Stay tuned. More coming soon!