60 WHERE DOES MY BIKE COME FROM

Where can your bike take you?

“ADVENTURE BY BIKE” IS THE MOTTO OF SALSA CYCLES, A MINNESOTABASED COMPANY

Browsing through their current range, you find a smattering of ‘typical’ mountainbikes. There are a couple of dual-suspension 29ers and one 29er hardtail – which are all offered in different frame and build options. But that’s about where typical ends for Salsa Cycles. The vast make-up of their range is dedicated to bikepacking, gravel riding, touring and fatbikes. In fact, while most of the larger bike manufacturers have only just started to recognise fatbikes as a legitimate product, Salsa has been selling production models since 2011. Their current range includes two distinct fatbike offerings with a third, revolutionary, full-suspension model due in the American autumn this year. Called the Bucksaw, this bike features the Split Pivot suspension design, licensed from DW-link inventor Dave Weagle. Salsa marketing manager Mike “Kid” Reimer says that he’s confident this bike “…will help redefine the mountainbiking and fatbiking worlds… just you wait and see.”

Initially invented for riding in sand and snow, the evolution of fatbikes has a come a long way in a very short time – even just ten years ago, fatbikes were almost unknown to most mountainbikers. Initially it was thought that fatbikes did not need suspension because the wide, high-volume tyres (that give them such exceptional traction) were thought to provide enough bump absorption. But Salsa has pioneered a re-think on this idea and, in conjunction with RockShox, pushed hard for the development of the Bluto fatbike fork.

“The tyres aren’t proper suspension because they have uncontrolled rebound. This suspension fork will let people run their tires a bit harder, ride a bit faster, yet remain in control with proper bump absorption,” says Reimer.

Salsa is quick to point out that the Bucksaw is not simply a bike designed to float over sand or snow. “Bucksaw is a mountainbike for dirt that just happens to be a fatbike.” It’s this type of thinking that sets Salsa Cycles apart – they took the rather niche idea of a fatbike and looked at how its key attributes could be exploited to develop a completely new type of bicycle. One whose extraordinary traction and stability, when combined with proper front and rear suspension, allows it to not only be ridden over terrain that would be impossible on a regular mountainbike, but also to be ridden fast, on any type of trail.

Product Manager Tim Krueger was playing around with the idea of fatbikespecific suspension forks back in 2011, cobbling together different prototypes, while at the same time, Pete Koski and some of the other Product Design Engineers were working on an idea for a full-suspension fatbike frame. Some prototypes were built and tested over the winter of 2011/12. In order to help gauge how the public would respond to this idea, and to help plan the direction of the project, Salsa went public with photos and descriptions of this new dual-suspension fatbike prototype on their blog in January of 2012. They also posed

two simple hypothetical questions to fatbike riders: How much travel would you prefer in a full-suspension fatbike and what tyre and rim width would you prefer?

The response was phenomenal, with this proving to be one of the most popular and interactive discussions that Salsa had ever posted. They took this feedback from the fatbike community and, in conjunction with Dave Weagle, continued the development of their full-suspension bike, even though there still wasn’t a production version of a fatbike suspension fork available. That was when RockShox announced that they would be developing a fatbike-specific fork, aiming for a 2015 model release. The development of this fork allowed Salsa to bring the idea name including the popular Lip-Lock and Flip-Lock seat collars and Flip-Offs quick release skewers. In 1997, Ross sold the company to Steve Flagg’s Quality Bicycle Products, which is now the largest bicycle parts and accessories wholesaler in the USA. When Ross left Salsa in 1999, the company was moved to Minnesota, where QBP is headquartered. Over the next ten years, the brand tried a number of things, diversifying in to many different product areas and continuing steel frame manufacturing in the US until 2003, when this was finally moved offshore to Taiwan. It wasn’t until 2010 that the new brand position of ‘Adventure By Bike’ was created to align with the ideology of the small group of around 15 Salsa employees. It was this change in direction and focus on core values with more personal relevance that led to the creation of some of Salsa’s most iconic models.

The Fargo was probably the first dedicated production bike aimed at multi-surface bikepacking and was designed to tackle the famous Tour Divide bikepacking route that travels 4400km from Banff, Canada to the border of Mexico. Salsa-sponsored rider Jay completed that the project is handed over to the engineers who work closely with an industrial designer to make sure that the bike is able to satisfy the musts, shoulds and coulds for its intended purpose and aligns properly with the direction of the brand. With design finalised, the next step is the production of prototypes, which are ridden and tested by the Minnesota-based team. From here, further refinements are made before pre-production frames are manufactured, ridden and tested for compliance with standards. Once the standards have been met, final production

This proved to be one of the most popular and interactive discussions Salsa had ever posted

to the market and the eagerly awaited Bucksaw will be released in two different build options later this year.

The development of this model was driven by Salsa’s core brand position of ‘Adventure By Bike’. They strive to produce bikes that align with what their employees like about the sport. They aim to create bikes that encourage people to have new experiences and they believe that this message resonates strongly with consumers because it is authentic, and no accident.

The company has changed a lot since being founded by Ross Shafer in 1982. Ross was a frame builder who began making his own frames and custom CroMoly stems in Petaluma, California. Some other small parts also helped build the Salsa brand Petervary still holds the official record for this route. The Warbird is a gravel-specific racebike, while the Beargrease and Mukluk are Salsa’s race and adventure hardtail fatbikes. Salsa was also an early pioneer of the 29er, with the Dos Niner being the first model “…that distinguished itself from the Petaluma, California days,” says Riemer.

Salsa is one of few manufacturers that works in five different frame materials: CroMoly, stainless steel, aluminium, titanium and carbon. This allows them to design each bike with a specific feel that aligns with the bike’s “Use-Case”. This sets the basic direction for any new product, guiding discussion for how and where the bike will be used, and whom it will be used by. It’s only once this process has been frames are ordered from their manufacturer.

Salsa sponsors a diverse group of riders who align with their mission: ‘Adventure By Bike’. There are endurance and bikepacking racers, fatbikers and non-competitive adventure tourers who just love to push the boundaries of exploration by bike.

Salsa’s design team is already moving on new bikes that won’t be available until 2018, although we don’t know exactly what these will be. As early adopters of the 29er, pioneers of the fatbike and many other specific models aimed at some generally overlooked bicycle segments, one thing is for certain, their direction will be guided by adventure and by encouraging the types of life experiences that their passionate team can truly relate to.