Anyone read Dirt Rag? On page 68 of issue 125, there's an ad for an El Mariachi from Salsa Cycles. The complete bike is a fully rigid 29er with a 1x9 drivetrain and mechanical disc brakes. This bike interests me for a few reasons.
It has the good qualities of a rigid single speed, but is a bit more flexible. Sometimes when I ride my single speed, I'm thinking that I don't necessarily want 26 more gears, but that a few more would be nice. It looks to have a single speed crankset up front with a 32 tooth chain ring, and a 9 speed cassette in the rear.
I've yet to ride a 29er off-road, but I can imagine that it'd be smoother through the rocks...maybe even feeling like it had a wee bit of suspension compared to a 26 inch wheeled bike. The True Temper Ox frame should help with some of the shock absorption too.
The disc brakes are a nice touch too, helping stop in the winter mess of mud and snow.
I want to get a road bike next, but a bike like this one could definitely be in my future...
I subscribe and read Dirtrag. The El Mariachi looks nice in person. We have lots of Salsa bikes around here, near the home of Quality Bikes.
ReplyDeleteI love my 29er, but it needs a suspension fork for me to use it for all off-roading. Without the fork, there are some courses that are too rough. I mean the small rough stuff like washboard-type erosion or constant tree-root covered trails. It eats the big stuff like I can't believe.