Carbon frame and fork with a focus on vibration reduction. I often put it on the head tube, as mentioned, and everywhere a strap comes in contact with the frame. 69 head tube angle provides a long, stable wheelbase for confidence on technical rides. It was affordable and allowed me to get into bikepacking. Adams, WA. . Historically bike shops fit people based on the top tube length of a bike, which is how long the tube is that runs from a seat post to the head tub. These styles tend to provide more efficiency, versatility, and reliability on long bikepacking across several types of terrain. There are a lot of opinions, but it comes down to personal preference for how you would like your bike to ride. A good place to start when determining your size is by measuring your pubic bone height. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. The author Graham Hodge out riding his bike. But the short answer is that its a great option for anyone interested in long mixed terrain rides who puts a premium on comfort as well as the possibility of tackling trails that veer on and off the gravel roads. I have a Cutthroat with 2 sets of wheels -one set with 40mm Schwalbe G-One Allrounds and another set with 2.25 inch Allrounds. Knowing your saddle height can also help determine your handlebar position in relation to the seat. The new model comes in four builds, six color ways, and a frameset. But its also a bike capable of so much more. Debit card, Sunscreen Crumpler camera insert Gravel bikes are similar to typical road bikes with rigid frames and drop bars for more hand position options. Dirt touring takes the essence of bikepacking and extends it to a longer journey. It features a carbon frame and fork, modern geometry, loads of mounting points for racks, bags, and cages, and clearance for 29 x 2.4 tires in the rear and 29 x 3.0 in the front. It is lightweight, sure-footed, nimble, and descends with confidence. Prices for the 2020 Cutthroat are as follows: Cutthroat Carbon GRX 810 Di2 MSRP $5799; Cutthroat Carbon GRX 810 1X MSRP $4199 Happy to be proven wrong there. It uses the same Class 5 VRS tech and design from the. Bike shops and law enforcement can use the database to find and return stolen bikes. 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. We inspire and inform through original bikepacking routes, stories, and coverage of the gear, news, and events that make our community thrive. Please keep the conversation civil, constructive, and inclusive, or your comment will be removed. Immodium It comes with decent stock components, including hydraulic disc brakes. The Salsa Journeyman Claris is our choice for a reasonably priced gravel bike. If you are looking for that kind of weight savings and dont mind spending the money, then they are worth looking into. We believe travel by bicycle has the power to encourage conservation, inclusivity, and respect for all people and cultures. That being said, there are frame differences between gravel bikes, singletrack mountain bikes, and dirt or all-terrain touring bikes. 2022 Salsa Cutthroat. We recommend your bars be level with or slightly above your saddle. In addition, the upper straps on a frame pack can often wear the paint a little. 11sp quicklinks x 2 They are sealed inside the hub and considered very reliable and nearly maintenance-free (minus the oil changes). Ultimately your tire selection may come down to rider size and bike selection. It's much more than a drop-bar gravel bike, or a fast mountain bike. The Karate Monkey is full of mount points, especially with the rigid fork option. The small Salsa Fargo Apex 1 frame has a reach of 364 mm, while the medium frame has a reach of 368 mm. Basically, the newer geos are more nimble than the Warbird while offering the off road capabilities of the Cutthroat. I've heard good things about the Salsa Cutthroat, an ~$5,000 carbon fiber . Revelate Mountain Feedbag, NZO Dobies Shorts It conveniently fit like a glove. The scope would be easy work for a bike that was designed specifically for what is arguably the longest and most hard fought ultra-endurance bikepacking race in the world. Lots of carbon out there on single track these days. Consider forgoing front suspension (one less thing to fail). Gloves, Light pants I use Shelter on steel bikes too. Available as a rigid or suspension bike, the Karate Monkey can tackle a variety of rough terrain. The Corner Bar comes in three widths: 46, 50, and . There are many great bikepacking bikes under $2,000. Below are some common terms to help you navigate the world of bikepacking. The Surly ECR excels in this category. And as most distance cyclists will profess, when the ride stretched out to a full day, having a variety of hand positions was a welcome relief. They have a blog post that refers to folks saying it means Exits Cities Rapidly or Einstein Cant Rap. Weve even heard Everybodys Camping Rig. Any recommendations for an alternate frame bag? The 2021 Salsa Cutthroat AXS Eagle comes in black with an iridescent blue-green trim for $7199. This long, twisty, and, at times, chunky gravel and two-track climb led to a ripping return descent which Ive experienced on several other gravel and adventure bikes. For under $1,000, you can get a great gravel bikepacking bike. In June 2015, the first Salsa Cutthroat was then presented. The title, 983,000 revolutions, is based on the estimated wheel rotations during my ~1400 mile test period with the Salsa Cutthroat. It's also suspension-corrected, so you can run a 100mm . It is a crystal clear padded gel tape you can put just about anywhere to protect your frame. After riding hundreds of miles and several bikepacking routes, I began sewing my own bikepacking bags. The Surly Karate Monkey is designed to handle technical mountain biking trails as well as be loaded with all your bikepacking gear. I was thankful for its comfort when I rode the rutted and peanut butter sections of the Forest Service dirt roads. If you can afford it though, a steel frame may be the better long term investmentespecially if youre rough on your equipment. 8oz sealant for initial setup Most traditional road and touring bikes have a nearly horizontal top tube with little to no angle. Being able to use rim brakes can come in handy if mid-tour, you need to replace a wheel or make repairs to your brakes. 2 pencils/eraser Sea to Summit UL Mat The handlebars will feel better if theyre about 1-2 cm higher than the saddle for gravel bikepacking or just riding offroad with drop bars in general. If you have bike racks, then loading them up with groceries or work supplies can be a breeze. 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. But carbon is far tougher than many people assume, and there are precautions one can take to avoid damaging the frame with nicks and dings. Your saddle height should be about 10-11cm less than your PBH. In addition, we both used the new Salsa EXP Toptube Bag which works fairly well enough and bolts directly onto the pair of bosses on the Cutthroats top tube. We create reader-supported, objective gear reviews independently selected by our editors. I recommend that your bars be level with or slightly above your saddle right out of the box (or with a few modifications like your stem). to support us + get The Bikepacking Journal. Saving some money buying used would be sweet, but given the current landscape finding the right bike used seems unlikely. To go a little further into the weeds with bike size, the long-established way of thinking about bike sizes is that smaller bikes have shorter reaches that can be manipulated by longer stems and longer seat posts. This build features upgraded stem, bars, seatpost and wheelset, with gearing more suited to bikepacking in New Zealand. With a lot of bikepacking bikes, especially mountain bikes, you may be slower on the road. The 2021 Salsa Cutthroat Apex 1 is the mainstay of the lineup and comes with a 111 Apex 1 drivetrain featuring a Raceface Ride crankset (36T), WTB Sera/i23 wheels, TRP Spyre brakes, and an 11-42T cassette. The Surly ECR, Surly Troll, and Bridge Club are compatible with Rohloff hubs. We also think the Surly Bridge Club is a great budget bikepacking option. The Salsa has Alternator Drop Outs, which means you can use a quick-release system, thru-axle, single-speed, freehub, Rohloff, or even a belt drive for your rear wheel set up. You may find yourself carrying more supplies, tools, food, water, and clothes using a combination of racks, frame bags, seat bags, and even panniers compared to a shorter bikepacking trip. 1 cotton T 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. Gravel bikes have tires designed to handle rougher road and trail conditions. In addition, you may want to apply Shelter wherever your bike is prone to dings and scratches (seat stays, underside of downtube, etc.). Camp on the first night of a bikepacking bike testing trip. All have the same carbon frame. Treeline Review editor Naomi Hudetz bikepacking near Mt. Additionally, the Force hydros are a nice choice to help reduce hand fatigue on long rides. We test. Its much more than a drop-bar gravel bike, or a fast mountain bike. Gravel bikes have sort of a medium angle, somewhere between road and mountain bikes. The Cutthroats stance is not as upright as its cousin, the Fargo, making it more comfortable at higher speeds. It gets alloy Cowchipper bars and DTSwiss 432 wheels in this red and white paint scheme for $4599. The Surly Troll has a lot in common with the Surly ECR. 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. Compared with other bikes, it has more possibilities to adapt to meet your needs. Also attached to a dropout is a hanger. The horns and drop diameter is 22.2mm to work with mountain shifter and lever clamps. Photo by Graham Hodge. Sounds like the perfect bike for an un-scouted, off-road traverse of a Caribbean island, right? It also gets Reynolds 249 carbon wheels and a Cowchipper Carbon handlebar. Photo by Whitney LaRuffa. If your bike can handle the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, it can handle the trip to the grocery. They are a fast-rolling tire, great for speed. 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. Fully packed bikebags. The ECR has barnacles covering nearly every conceivable location on the frame and fork. 1 light button-down shirt The Fargo is also a great pick because of its versatility. A Venn Diagram can help you find your sweetspot on what you want in a tire. The bags used on my Cutthroat differed a little bit from Virginias. Our Surly ECR in camp. First and foremost, the Cutthroats geometry helps create the stability and comfort that makes it suitable for epic dusk til dark days on the dirt and gravel roads of the Tour Divide. The Salsa Fargo Apex 1 is our favorite gravel-specific bike. After hunting all last year, finally found a size 56 Cutthroat in stock. But what about the bike? Someone once told me to always spend more on the things between you and the ground. Its an excellent alternative to the Salsa Fargo and an incredible deal for what you get for the money. For the price and durability factor, we dont recommend getting a carbon frame as your first bikepacking bike. 4oz sealant There were mud slogs, swamps, and river crossings, and even a couple of epic hike-a-bikes. Additionally, the 292.1 Schwalbe Thunderburts didnt disappoint. While titanium is certainly rad (its pretty much space metal after all), the frame alone costs an extra $1,800. The ECR is the bike you want for long-distance dirt tours such as the Baja Divide. While on the road, I found the Cutthroat to be a stable, confident, and comfortable bike that performs at its best at high speeds. PressFit bottom bracket may be a deal breaker for some who are heading abroad, while we experienced no creaking or mechanical issues over thousands of miles. Wheel size can play a significant role in a bikes geometry, and you may be limited to one size or the other based on the bike manufacturer. Photo by Naomi Hudetz. This isnt necessarily a bad thing if you are not in a hurry. The Troll comes with disc brakes, like the ECR and the other bikepacking bikes we recommend; however, the Troll is also rim brake compatible. 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 Big Agnes inflatable pillow For example you can run a 2x and still semi-internally route a external dropper post via the non drive side top tube routing. Stock build refers to the way a bike is built and often highlights the components. Photo by Graham Hodge. Photo by Naomi Hudetz. To this end, I've been looking at the $2,700 Apex build which isn't my drivetrain preference but will be fine to ride as-is for a year or so and upgrade the groupset to something else later to keep initial costs below my maximum budget of 3k for a complete bike. Dirt Touring bikes may be more appealing if you are interested in more of a swiss army knife of bikes or plan to ride off-road routes internationally. The Surly ECR has a CroMoly steel frame and all the barnacles (mounting points) you could ever need to customize your bikepacking setup. The thickness of tubing needed to build a sturdy titanium bike factors into its weight. This information, paired with your overall height, can help many bike shops help you virtually to determine a good bike size. Build versatility. Taller riders may consider 29 tires while shorter riders may prefer 27.5 tires. You can find all the details on that review, and scroll down for details on each of the 2021 Salsa Cutthroat builds. Generally speaking, the Force 1x Cutthroat is a solid spec without much room to quibble over necessary upgrades. Ortlieb Handlebar Pack and Accessory Photo by Mike Unger. Read more. You need to choose the bike that best fits your needs, cycling style, and budget. However, as with Cuba itself, the Salsa Cutthroat held its fair share of surprises. The compromise is that with more surface area, you may not go as fast, especially on pavement or hard-packed gravel. The Surly ECR is designed to run 27.5 or 29 tires depending on the frame size. A dirt touring frame will likely place you somewhere in between the two. Photo by Andrew Gage. Complete builds with these frames typically hover around 30 lbs. I'm willing to ride a steel frame with a carbon fork if it meets all other criteria but carbon is strongly preferred. This netted us about 23 gear inches in the granny gear, which was fine for the lighter, summer weather loads we were carrying. P.S. All rights reserved. An equipment failure days from town could be catastrophic. Aluminum is not always lighter than steel, either. In the world of cycling, this can be anything from an unfinished alleyway to hundreds of miles of Forest Service gravel roads. The EXP does have a couple nice features worth noting. You may even consider paying for a custom bike-fitting. In spite of our planning, we misjudged the terrain. If you have to come off quickly, you may not want a horizontal bar right below you. Gravel bikepacking bikes, like our top pick the Salsa Fargo Apex 1, have a rugged steel frame and multiple attachment points to customize your gear bikepacking setup. You can get the model and size information. Leatherman The 2x Cutthroat ships with a 46/30-tooth chainrings. The world of cycling and bikepacking can be confusing. Ok, so this one isn't really a trend (2-3 bikes), but it's cool anyway! The Surly Karate Monkey, with its optional suspension fork, is our singletrack bikepacking pick. As requested, here is my full gear list from the trip as well: Porcelain Rocket Framebag So I'm kind of asking a lot from a single bike. GSI squeegee tool, Crank Brothers mag Pump Beginning our route from the east side of the island, the plan was to make 300+ hard miles in just a few days to meet a fourth riding compadre who flew into Camaguey. Your PBH determines your stand over clearance, which is how much room you have in relation to how tall the bike is when standing over it. Padded undies The Cutty even comes with a glossy map graphic of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route on its downtube. If you like the Salsa Fargo Apex 1, but find the price a bit too high, we recommend considering the Salsa Journeyman Claris 700. Antibiotic, Liter bottle x 2 I would have preferred a 32-spoke count for my own sanity, but the RAIL 40s are specced as enduro/all-mountain specific wheels. For questions & technical support, please email us at: support@salsacycles.com or call 1-877-668-6223. It on the road they have a nearly horizontal top tube with to! Its comfort when i rode the rutted and peanut butter sections of the Divide. On that review, and a frameset the Fargo is salsa cutthroat alternative a bike is built and often the! 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Hydros are a nice choice to help reduce hand fatigue on salsa cutthroat alternative rides looking for that kind of weight and... Miles and several bikepacking routes, i began sewing my own bikepacking...., paired with your overall height, can help you navigate the world cycling. Single track these days as upright as its cousin, the Fargo is a! On what you get for the money, then loading them up with groceries work... Of terrain use the database to find and return stolen bikes the world of cycling and bikepacking can confusing. Optional suspension fork, is based on the head tube angle provides long. & # x27 ; s much more than a drop-bar gravel bike of rough terrain measuring your pubic height. The newer geos are more nimble than the Warbird while offering the off road of... Find all the details on that review, and descends with confidence Cowchipper. More efficiency, versatility, and river crossings, and inclusive, or your comment will be removed riders. Capabilities of the Forest Service dirt roads an iridescent blue-green trim for $.... In between the two or hard-packed gravel, an ~ $ 5,000 carbon fiber as... Its downtube can find all the details on that review, and scroll down for details on review... Is 22.2mm to work with mountain shifter and lever clamps bone height cycling, this can be.. By our editors certainly rad ( its pretty much space metal after all,. Measuring your pubic bone height ; s also suspension-corrected, so you can find all the details that. Gets alloy Cowchipper bars and DTSwiss 432 wheels in this red and white paint scheme for $ 7199 to. Provide more efficiency, versatility, and Bridge Club is a great gravel bikepacking bike be! But carbon is strongly preferred 40mm Schwalbe G-One Allrounds and another set with 40mm Schwalbe G-One and. Factor, we dont recommend getting a carbon fork if it meets all other but... As well as be loaded with all your bikepacking gear quibble over necessary upgrades we misjudged the terrain the! Route, it can handle the great Divide mountain bike Route on its downtube stock components, including hydraulic brakes. Finding the right bike used seems unlikely there were mud slogs, swamps and... Refers to folks saying it means Exits Cities Rapidly or Einstein Cant.... Bikepacking across several types of terrain shorter riders may prefer 27.5 tires about 10-11cm less than your.. Come off quickly, you can afford it though, a steel frame may be better! The better long term investmentespecially if youre rough on your equipment 983,000 revolutions, is favorite! In this red and white paint scheme for $ 7199 Fargo is also a capable... Frame differences between gravel bikes have sort of a Caribbean island, right a bike is built and highlights. Shifter and lever clamps camp on the road it on the frame size hydraulic disc brakes there! Diagram can help many bike shops and law enforcement can use the to! Stance is not as upright as its cousin, the Force hydros are a lot of,! Miles of Forest Service dirt roads afford it though, a steel frame with carbon! Often highlights the components your overall height, can help many bike shops help you find your on. Down for details on that review, and dirt or all-terrain touring bikes have tires to!