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!

2014 Fargo & Vaya Overview

The 2014's Salsa Cycles Vaya and Fargo models are in and built up at Europa Cycle & Ski now. Let's take a look at the shiny new goodness and see just what Salsa Cycles has packaged into these venerable adventure cycling machines.........

Salsa Cycles 2014 Vaya 2 model.

The first rig up is the 2014 Vaya 2. The Vaya series has been about exploring your roads, be they paved, gravel, or dirt. The Vaya 2 for 2014 refines the idea of adventure cycling further with great spec and a killer look.

The new look includes refreshed, subtler graphics, nice, now key component accents and a nice touch of anodization to give the bike some pop. Overall, I believe this is the best looking Vaya graphics package we've seen yet. 

The heart of any bike is the drive train, and Salsa spec'ed a great choice here with the triple crank 105 gruppo with Avid BB7 brakes in a special all black livery. 10 speed STI levers do the initiating of gear changes with the long cage 105 derailleur and triple compatible front derailleur finishing off the job. It's a smart, durable, reliable spec.

The gearing range is super for fast paced road riding all the way through to grinding up a gravel road climb or to making that loaded down Vaya go up that mountain pass. Triples may be passe' these days, but they still are the best for wide range gearing and keeping your momentum up when you are loaded down touring. Take note RAGBRAI folks- the Vaya is the perfect bike for RAGBRAI. Steel frame, disc brakes that stop you in wet or dry conditions, and stable handling to keep you out of trouble in the pack.

The Vaya comes shod with excellent Schwalbe touring tires with reflective stripes for safety. These tires also have Schwalbe's highest level of puncture protection for peace of mind while you while away the miles.

Wheels are made up of Salsa by Formula hubs in a complimentary blue ano and these are laced to Sun Ringle' Inferno 23 rims. Solid wheels for touring.

The Vaya fork has mid-blade eyelets for low rider mounts, further enhancing its touring capabilities. Of course there are rack mounts, and fenders are also possible with the Vaya's fender eyelets.

Salsa Cycles Vaya 3 for 2014

We also are carrying the Salsa Cycles Vaya 3, which features the same frame and fork but with a more price conscious spec. Here we have the new Shimano Sora 9 speed STI group. The new Sora levers drop the stubby thumb lever for true STI paddles and the hood shape is reminiscent of last year's Tiagra levers. So you get familiar shifting with a wide ranging triple crank, wide range cassette, and Shimano's easy shifting feel. 

Salsa Cycles 2014 Fargo 3

The Fargo is the ultimate touring machine for off road and with a swap to smoother rubber, it can also be a heavy duty loaded touring companion. Or set it up with frame bags and do "rackless" adventuring. Or use it as your primary mountain bike. You can even use a 100mm front suspension fork. Sounds like a bike that can do a lot, no? Well, there's still more!

The Alternator Drop Out

Now Salsa Cycles has added the Alternator Drop Out to the Fargo, which allows for using an internal hub gear, (like the excellent Rohloff 14 speed hub), or you could go single speed.

I like the Alternator because one of the main points behind the Fargo from my point of view is its ability to "bushwhack" through deer trails, backcountry, and the like. Whenever you do that, you run the risk of whacking your rear derailleur. (I've seen it done on a Fargo, and had it happen to me.)

So the Alternator may be your savior. It allows for a field conversion to single speed to bail your self out of a failed derailleur episode. I once had to help push a fellow Fargo rider 8 miles back to the cars once when we couldn't convert his crippled Fargo to a single speed. Sure wish we would have had Alternator drop outs then!

Up front we have the new from last year's model, 44mm head tube, which allows for a tapered steer tube fork, if desired, or a straight 1 1/8th steer tube fork, as shown here. The Fargo 3 comes with the new Fargo steel fork which is longer to account for 100mm suspension forks. (Last year's was only 80mm suspension corrected.) You can also see the new, forward facing braze ons for water bottle cages or Salsa Cycles Anything Cages, (which require 3 mounts a piece.) The new forward facing mounts are said to better withstand impact forces to the front wheel and creates a sturdier way to carry water bottles or light gear. By the way, you can still easily reach a water bottle from a front mounted cage, so that is not a concern whatsoever.

The Fargo 3 is spec'ed with a SRAM Apex brifter, SRAM X-7 rear derailleur, and a 2X 10 drivetrain for great off road performance. Schwalbe Rapid Rob's, (the original Racing Ralph tread pattern, by the way), and Sun Inferno 25 rims with sealed bearing hubs make for a sturdy and high performing wheel set.

We'll have fat bikes arriving late September/early October, so stay tuned for those, but come in now to see these fine adventuring bikes which are super versatile, high performing bicycles unlike anything else out there.

2014 Updates

Farley Complete & frame only option

Europa Cycle & Ski will be receiving a Size Large Farley this Fall which should be pretty exciting to see. The Farley features a few nice things that will set it apart from other fat bikes, and some things that are proven components as well.

Farley will be aluminum in its construction, both the frame and the fork. This bike will feature suspension corrected geometry, a tight rear triangle for better dry weather handling, and a super low standover height, important when the conditions are softer.

The bike will also feature Trek's rear through axle design which should really stiffen up the rear end and better handle the higher traction/leverage inducing rear wheels of fat bikes. Internal cable routing will not only clean up the overall look of the Farley, but it will also protect the cables from the mucky-muck that fat bikers like to ride in. That should also play well with frame bags.

Farley will come with proven, industry leading Surly rims and tires. The tires will be the fast, grippy 3.8 Knards, but if you need something grippier than that, a 3.8" Nate will slot in there perfectly. Farley will be a 170mm rear/135mm front design and can handle up to 4" tires on the 82mm rims with ease. (We'll have to do some checking on Big Fat Larrys when our rig lands at the shop.)  The really monstrous Bud and Lou will likely be a no go here, but Farley is about fast fat biking, not the ultimate snow/sand/bog biking.

UPDATED: I got a hold of some specs. The Farley will have dropper post routing and a 31.6mm seat post, (standard dropper post size), plus the spec sheet is listing Husker Du 4.0" tires. We'll see what shows up on the bike. Every image I've seen, (including the dealer preview), has shown Knards.  Hubs are Salsa hubs, but I do not know if they are the Level 2 or 3. Brakes are listed as Avid "DB3" hydraulic brakes. (A new brake from Avid?) The frame set option lists the black as well as the Powder Blue shown. Framesets come with an FSA head set, Closed Convert drop outs, and take a low, direct mount derailleur.

I'll post more on this exciting new rig when we get ours in, likely in October sometime.

 Fargo 3: 

Our shipment of Fargo 3's arrived already, and next week we should see them out on the sales floor. This is an all new Fargo and will be the best Fargo yet.

The big changes here are found at the front and the rear of the new Fargo frame. Still made from Salsa Cycles' own custom designed CroMoly tubing, the Fargo now comes with Alternator drop outs. This is a big deal, since that Alternator opens up more options to the rider such as single speed set ups, hub gearing options, and a way to bail your self out in case of a derailleur damaging accident. (Don't brush that one off, I've seen it happen a couple times myself!)

At the front, you have the new, 100mm suspension corrected steel Fargo fork with new, front facing bosses for water bottle cages or Salsa's "Anything Cages". The longer fork matches up with current XC suspension fork lengths, so if you want the Fargo to be your mountain bike with suspension, it's a snap to swap in any straight or tapered steer tube suspension fork. The front mounted bosses are there because they are going to resist load inertia better than the old, rear facing cage mounts and they still are easily reached while riding. It's an improvement over the old design, showing that Salsa isn't going to rest on their laurels, but they are looking to refine the bikes to be the best that they can make them.

The component spec has been improved as well, but I'll put up another post soon with actual spec and actual bike images next week. Stay tuned for that and for the Vaya 3 images and spec as well.

2013 Specials: We have a couple Warbird 2's and Colossal 2's at amazing prices right now. Check in with Europa Cycle & Ski and see the deals, or e-mail the shop for pricing on these great road bikes from Salsa Cycles. We need to move these on out the door, so the prices are attractive and you get one of the best gravel rigs, (Warbird), or long haul road bikes,( Colossal), that you can find anywhere.

We also have some 2013 Vaya 3's and a Vaya Travel at great prices as well, so be sure to not miss these deals on some fantastic road/gravel/touring bikes from Salsa Cycles.

Colossal!

Colossal: In The Flesh!

In the last post here I mentioned that we had received a Salsa Cycles Colossal and that I had assembled it for stock. Well, we actually have two in.

This is what it came out looking like, and I dare say it is a sight better than the pre-production images and bikes we saw.

The Enve fork is painted to match, (a nice touch), and the bar tape is white to match the brake hoods. (Not orange, as in previous images shown here and elsewhere.)

We have this 55cm and a 58cm on the floor now. I wanted to comment on the sizing, since I have previously mentioned that the Warbird, (Salsa's gravel road specific race bike), runs a bit big. Well, thankfully I can say that the Colossal is true to size. A 58cm fits like a 58cm, (which happens to be my size), and there is nothing "weird" going on in terms of that. Salsa has done a great job of keeping the top tube fairly level here as well, so a Tangle Bag, Gas Tank bag, or other frame bags will fit really well. (Note: The Colossal is a "rackless" frame bike.)

The clearances are generous with the Clement 28mm tires. I am curious, and I think I may try a 30mm tire in there just to see if it'll go. I think it may.

Oooo! That's a pretty red!

Then we received a trio of Vaya 3's. I have to reiterate- The Vaya 3 has the best looking red color on a bicycle I've seen in a long time. Just gorgeous!

And it isn't just me either. Customers that have seen it love it as much as I do. But beauty is only skin deep, as they say. Good thing that the Vaya delivers on performance and versatility then!

I know Salsa Cycles bills this as their touring/adventure bike, but this is really an "all-road" bike that can do some mild "off-road" too. You can do so many things with this one bike it is crazy. Ride and complete Trans Iowa, (a 300 + mile gravel road race)? Yes- Vaya riders have done this. Ride RAGBRAI and carry whatever you want on a rack? Yes- Vaya riders have done that too. Ride a fully loaded, self supported tour around the Great Lakes? Yes- A Vaya rider we sold a Vaya to has also done that.

Need one, really good, versatile, comfortable bike that happens to have killer good looks? Go no further than the Vaya. We've got four Vaya 3's on the floor in a range of sizes, and one cute little Vaya from 2012 just waiting for the perfect pint-sized rider to pick it up. (At a killer close-out price!)

Stop by and check it out. It's gonna snow anyway, and what else are ya gonna do?

More Bikes Arriving Plus News!

Note: Colossals ship with white bar tape.

New Bikes!

We just took delivery of some awesome new Salsa Cycles bikes today, one of which is the all new Colossal. This is a disc brake, long distance capable, endurance road bike.

If you are into really long road rides, and you ride in all kinds of weather, you will totally understand the Colossal's disc brakes, fine riding steel frame, and bigger tires. (28mm Clements) This bad boy has an Enve carbon fork which weighed a feathery 440 grams with the crown race installed and with an uncut steer tube. ( Update: Finished bikes are coming in at the 21-22lb range, which is respectable for an endurance rated road bike.)

This rig comes with the wide range Apex group from SRAM. This allows for a compact double to run a big range cassette for mountain climbing or fast flats cruising. Many of the bits are white which works off the sky-ish blue color and orange highlights to make for a real classy looking rig. (It passed the fashionista test as given by the women of Europa, at any rate!)

We also received more sizes of Salsa Cycles Vaya 3's as well. These are awesome touring rigs, gravel road bikes, or the Vaya will do your commute in a snap, with mounts for fenders and racks here front and back.

We also received 25 Trek bicyles including new Verves, FX models, and a light-as-a-feather Domane.

We'll be assembling these in the coming days so stop on down to take a look to see what you need for Christmas.

Now for some news! We are in the process of becoming a Velo Orange dealer. Do you like cool, retro looking stuff with modern functionality? Velo Orange is a company that serves this market. Stop by and ask us, or go to their website here.

And if you want a strong pot of coffee- let me know you are coming ahead of time. I'll be on it!

Salsa Vaya: The Perfect RAGBRAI Bike?

While we've yet to receive all of our Salsa Vaya bikes for 2013, there are a few out there being ridden already. Recently I came across an excellent review of a Salsa Vaya in terms of touring and recreational riding that might be of interest to the road recreational riders of the cedar Valley and especially for those of you who do the annual RAGBRAI ride and like to carry a little something on a rack with you.

Check the review out here.  I think you'll agree that for our area and our roads, the Vaya is a great fit for bike paths, commuting, going from town to town, or even for riding on gravel. As the reviewer says, the vaya can do it all from completely unloaded, fast, fun rides to full on loaded up style touring.

We've got one Vaya 3 in stock now with others to show up soon. Check 'em out. We'll have the coffee on for you.

Product Profile: Salsa Cycles Vaya

Salsa Cycles Vaya

Moving along now with our next Product Profile. As many of you know by now, Europa Cycle and Ski is now a Salsa Cycles dealer. We have brought in a nice range showing off the "Adventure by Bike" theme Salsa has designed their line up around.

We already showed you the fat tire Mukluk here, and today we're going to profile the Vaya.

The Vaya is Salsa Cycles answer to those of you out there that want to ride a bike that can eat up road miles, carry a rack, or a full bagged set up, has drop bars, has the more powerful, easier to use disc brakes, and can go on gravel and smooth dirt just as well as on pavement.

In short: A do-it-all road bike with options!

Salsa took a traditional touring bike and tweaked it for better handling and more versatility. They used steel, which rides really well, and put a taller head tube on it to keep your hands up more. No "racer boy" positions here! The tire clearance is enormous here. Want fenders? No problem! Salsa dialed in plenty of room and mounts to accommodate. Do you want skinnier tires? You bet! Wider tires? The Vaya can swallow rubber up to 1.8" wide. Front or rear racks? Yep. Got mounts for that too.

The Vaya we carry has the SRAM Apex group which gives you mountain scaling low gears out back and a fast shifting, high geared double crank up front. The wheels and tires are smartly spec'ed for a wide range of riding, including gravel roads and touring. The Vaya would make an outstanding RAGBRAI bike or a great commuter.

Salsa also offers the Vaya in a titanium version which is lighter, rides nicer, and still retains all the versatility the Vaya 2 we carry in the store does. If you want the finest in all around road/gravel/touring bikes, look no further.

Stop in and check out our Vayas on the floor, or talk to us about any of our great road and pavement bike options.

As always- the coffee and tea is on! Stop by for a cup.