Weighing in at 8.64kg......

['Ross]

Ok first up this is a bike for riding. Not a weightweenie bike, not a bike for posing or looking nice, or as something to chop and change every week, yes RIDING!:eek: Specs:

Frame: Salsa Juan Solo (20inch) Scandium tubeset with carbon seat stays and bushnell eccentric bottom bracket.
Fork: White Brothers Rock Solid Carbon Rigid fork with Origin 8 brake mounts.
Handlebars: Ritchey WCS Carbon flat bars (cut 2cm each end).
Grips: Ritchey WCS foam.
Seat: Ritchey WCS streem.
Stem: Thomson Elite X4 100mm.
Seatpost: Thomson Masterpiece.
Seatclamp: Salsa Lip lock 30.6mm
Headset: Chris King Pewter.
Brakes: Paul love levers with Paul Motolite v-brake calipers. Alligator cables.
Wheelset: Phil Wood Kiss Off ss hubs on DT Swiss XR4.1rims, 32hole.
Tyres: (f)Maxxis Crossmark Exxception 26x2.1 (r)Maxxis Maxxlite 310 26x1.85.
Pedals: Crank Bros Candy...odyssey bmx pedals on for the pics.
Drivetrain: White Industries ENO cranks, chainring and freewheel.
Ratio: 34-16 = 55.25 gear inches.
Pics: Its pictured with bmx pedals just as I was riding it around giving it a decent test ride, when I take it for a serious ride Ill put my clipless pedals on.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t312/tho072007/upsalsa.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t312/tho072007/cockpit.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t312/tho072007/sbscandium.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t312/tho072007/seat-1.jpg

Salsa Stomping ground
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t312/tho072007/singletrack.jpg

26inch pride! None of this 29er rubbish:cool:
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t312/tho072007/26yo.jpg




This bike has taken me ages to put together, perhaps almost a year. I have been very dedicated and bought only the parts I truely wanted, even if it meant waiting a month or two to get something rare. I have chopped and changed in the past with ss mtb, with setups that were not ideal or were temporary quick fixes. I made the decision to go all out and build a bike with no compromises, and where I would not need to upgrade any parts, just replace parts as they fail. Most importantly I wanted a solid bike that would have no issues or ongoing problems, and do the job properly, I feel I have achieved this. I have made a few uncommon decisions in regards to parts, this is all to compliment my riding style and the type of riding this bike is designed for, Im happy to answer any questions, as I could explain every part of it all day.

I almost forgot this is farkin.net! I made a claim about the weight so I guess Ill have to back it up. Weight on paper is not an issue at all for me, I just care about the performance and feel. This bike was not built up to be light, it was built to be the way I wanted and with quality parts, it just so happens that most of the quality parts these days are pretty light:D I thought if its under 10kg Ill be satisfied, turns out it was well under that with the final weight 8.64kg, and let me tell you its bloody light to ride!

Proof
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t312/tho072007/scale.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t312/tho072007/864.jpg

Big thanks to all the people who helped out with selling stuff and advice at times, you probably know who you are....and of course Dan 'shifterbikes' Hale.

:)

[redmakesugofaster]

Shit YEA! that is one sweet ride.

[-|Sean|-]

That thing is gorgeous - And I'm not one to take a liking to SS & Rigid.

[SMIIISH]

My gosh... Got a price? It truly is a work of art. I want one.

[Tomas]

Rock out to the RigidSS26" beat ross. Love it.

['Alex]

http://www.forumammo.com/cpg/albums/userpics/10062/1176598779331.gif

[rabatt]

wow... i'm guessing its for trail/xc dirt road style stuff... it certainly looks like your wrists would die lol...

but its nice :)

['Ross]

My gosh... Got a price? It truly is a work of art. I want one.

All up this has cost me under $2k for everything, including postage. I got the frame and most major parts for bargains, and because it took me so long to build up, I could afford to wait around for the best prices. I also bought a lot of overseas stuff when the Aussie dollar was killing it and up over 90US cents:cool:

I still haven't given it a full workover yet, and won't post a review for a couple of weeks, but I took it for a bit of a bash through some singletrack and I was insanely impressed! The brake setup is awesome, if I ever cop some flack for having v brakes Ill just give em a test ride and they can make their own mind up;)

wow... i'm guessing its for trail/xc dirt road style stuff... it certainly looks like your wrists would die lol...
but its nice :)
Well its not a jump bike, and its not a bike for riding off cliffs thats for sure! Its pretty much a singletrack killer, I live in a really flat area with the nearest mountains being like 50km away. I like to ride fast and smooth, I guess you could describe my ideal riding as 'offroad toboggan'. I also enjoy hills and obstacles, but you can see the bike is set up for rolling fast on dirt, with knobby tyres and 55 gear inches, its not very practical for the road haha, but a bigger gear and some slicks it would handle the road pretty well.

[Binaural]

Any reason you didn't get suspension forks? It's not like they break all the time, and trying to pin over the rough on rigid forks isn't much fun.

[tupper]

Pretty heavy isn't it!

['Ross]

Any reason you didn't get suspension forks? It's not like they break all the time, and trying to pin over the rough on rigid forks isn't much fun.

All my previous ss mtbs have had suspension forks, it was one of the biggest decisions to make for me, I had a set of Rockshox SID Races, but I ended up selling them and buying the rigids. I have long suffered from and feared of problems regarding pedal bob and flex etc.
The only other bikes I ride are on the road and bmx, so I notice every tiny little inefficiency of suspension forks. Even with lockout and every other function enabled, the impact it has on the bikes acceleration and speed was more important to me than the benefits of suspension. I would love to have say 80mm of travel up front in some scenarios, it was a really tough choice in the end. Acceleration and responsiveness is massive to me on this type of bike, and I felt suspension forks would hinder it too much. Also the fact that its not a bike for massive crazy stunts, suspension would only be for comfort and little impacts, I think rigids will make me harden up.

Heres my previous bike, I like to think I have experimented with everything in the past...and the salsa reflects what I have learnt, As you can see this one has suspension, hydro disc brakes, vertical dropouts and a tubeless wheelset. Some may think I have taken a step back, but imo Ive made a huge leap forward with rigids, v brakes, tubes and an eccentric bb.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t312/tho072007/yarra.jpg

EDIT: When you compare side on, the Salsa looks really scant! Its actually a lot more beefy in real life.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t312/tho072007/sidee.jpg

[Emmett]

Great bike,

Love the intent of use and build -light/solid workhorse with no fear of breaking parts.

Well done.

[ilostmypassword]

Nice ride. I prefer Justin Fox's though :D

[dcrofty]

Nice ride. I prefer Justin Fox's though :D

Oh c'mon. Justin is so 5 minutes ago. 'Ross is the new black.

[Axela8]

Is that a Salsa seat collar I see?
Looks great, mate.
But mine's easily heavier! :D
Gotta love Dan's work, eh?

[AngoXC]

B-E-A-utiful Rossy Boi! I thought you were gunna bail on this little project but no! You stuck at it!

Where are ye photos taken...is that West Gate Park?

Must go for a hoon around Lystie soon or something! (once uni is said and done...)

[sawtell]

ahh pfft you are talking like you actualy ride???

all ive ever seen you do is, build up bikes, look at them for a while, then sell them as you dont like the way it performs.. with out actualy ever taking it into the bush!!!

bmx, IH, torrent, stumpy etc etc etc!!

keep to your fixie's youll stop wasting money!


ps wanna weigh my D8 for me! i dont have scales. :):):)

[Onegear]

Nice build.

Good to see the wheels end up on a bike like that.

['Ross]

Is that a Salsa seat collar I see?
Looks great, mate.
But mine's easily heavier! :D
Gotta love Dan's work, eh?

Yep it sure is;)

The photos were taken under the Westgate ango, you are correct...but a couple were taken out Altona way in the wetlands. Will definately have to go for a proper ride, have you still got that giant hardtail ss?

Sawtell you are lost, the only bike you are correct about is the Torrent. And that only happened because I tried to build it half assed and ran out of money, it still had a front derailer+cable brakes, and was very impractical to ride. I like to think Ive learned from any mistakes (stumpjumper with888s:o)

[AngoXC]

The photos were taken under the Westgate ango, you are correct...but a couple were taken out Altona way in the wetlands. Will definately have to go for a proper ride, have you still got that giant hardtail ss?


Nah. She has gears now BUT thats essentially the only working part, so clearly, no advantage there.

Sawtell, you need a weigh bridge for your D8 ;)

[Dan.]

Looks soo nice Ross. I also couldn't help but laugh at your scales.

[bikeguy70]

is it hard to lift.............just joking that is heapes light

[rabatt]

ok that sounds more like it...

i dont think i have ever ridden single track like that... around here its all tight rocky stuff that you probly wouldnt be able to ride on a bike like this...

but that weight:eek: thats like as light as a mini bmx racer lol

['Ross]

Looks soo nice Ross. I also couldn't help but laugh at your scales.

Yep, the scales have an in built function that reflects my mood depending on the weight of the object in question, in this case it was :)

And rabbat, yer, when I say singletrack I mean stuff like that, relatively smooth and fast, but with lots of obstacles at times...I rode it along some abandoned train tracks (lots and lots of rocks piled together) and the feeling was not good at all, lucky I won't be riding too many train tracks on it!

[Sam.]

Nice ride. I prefer Justin Fox's though :D

Ross is actually going to ride his.

[AngoXC]

Ross is actually going to ride his.

On the contrary, in Fox's defence, he rode his too. (He may exhibit Bowlo tendancies but he isnt a Bowlo...that was a disgrace).

He does however rotate his entire spec list daily on his mass produced, taiwanese frames.

But we all love it ;)

[Black Ice]

On the contrary, in Fox's defence, he rode his too. (He may exhibit Bowlo tendancies but he isnt a Bowlo...that was a disgrace).

He does however rotate his entire spec list daily on his mass produced, taiwanese frames.

But we all love it ;)

Hahaha

I saw the one video he posted and fuck it was funny!

Nice bike Ross, I am not an SS type though ;)

['Ross]

Hey this is my thread, if you want fox in sox, he has about 20 threads, post there!:p
I think the real difference is I kept much of the hype down on my bike, I could have made a 500 page thread detailing every part I bought, but Id rather show the finished thing as thats what its all about. And I will give an honest review, ride it more than 3 times, and it won't be for sale next week!

Now back to me, me me me:)

[Hud]

- - -- - - - -

[Hud]

'Ross, are those photos taken near the junction of the Princess Hwy and the 'Geelong road' interchange in the western burbs?
Beautiful build too..

[Justin Fox]

me me me!

:D

['Ross]

'Ross, are those photos taken near the junction of the Princess Hwy and the 'Geelong road' interchange in the western burbs?
Beautiful build too..

Nope, under the westgate bridge.....and in the wetlands between williamstown and altona. I think I know the place you are talking about....near the big indoor sports place with rockclimbing and pools and stuff, and across from the big cemetary place?

[dougmcdoug]

Farkin bling! I like it. I love those levers they totally my ss too so much better. Always wanted those v-brakes but just can't justify spending that much on them. Love the frame

[Hud]

Not sure where you mean, but had a look on a map.
There's a historic bridge near the Grieve Pde and Princes Hwy intersection at Altona Nth. Just thought it would be cool if I'd indentified the spot from your photo...
There seems to be a bit of singletrack following the river that I always crane my neck to see.

['Ross]

Not sure where you mean, but had a look on a map.
There's a historic bridge near the Grieve Pde and Princes Hwy intersection at Altona Nth. Just thought it would be cool if I'd indentified the spot from your photo...
There seems to be a bit of singletrack following the river that I always crane my neck to see.

You mean here right? I always see it too and have thought many a time about having a ride out there, problem is its quite isolated and awkward to get to for me, but there could be some secret trails out there:cool:

[sawtell]

You mean here right? I always see it too and have thought many a time about having a ride out there, problem is its quite isolated and awkward to get to for me, but there could be some secret trails out there:cool:


can confrim, i have seen people riding around there!

[Cooch]

WOW! (nuff said)

[Airbourne Unit]

Nope, under the westgate bridge.....and in the wetlands between williamstown and altona. I think I know the place you are talking about....near the big indoor sports place with rockclimbing and pools and stuff, and across from the big cemetary place?

i can just about see the crate man climbing the fence. nice bike, and forget what people say, rigids are the bomb

['Ross]

i can just about see the crate man climbing the fence. nice bike, and forget what people say, rigids are the bomb

Haha yer, keep an eye out in that area in the next few weeks for a major development;) I rode it there to do a bit of scoping, and rode all through the abandoned factory and didn't get a flat tyre!

I would have gone up and hung the bike off dick man, but hes long gone now and so are all the pieces (we managed to steal most of em back after it got wrecked:D)


Although I hate gravel, despise it for walking on and riding, and think its useless, I took it for a bit of a ride through some long gravel tracks today....the feeling...crap! Both tyres were sliding out on even the mellow corners, at least its sticking to dirt very well, I was a bit scared with my tyre choice but all is ok so far.

[Airbourne Unit]

aaaahhh, crate men. i tell you what, travelling from geelong to melbourne on the train everyday sucks balls, but finding new cratemen just entertains me enough not to shoot myself. i mean really, who would actually wreck a 12 foot man of crates with a doodle? whoever did the one who was crucified on the mill building, that would have been quite a climb, good job

[my_bike]

Nice ride you got there.
So most of those where taken under the West Gate? Is there much to ride in that spot?

[Hud]

You mean here right? I always see it too and have thought many a time about having a ride out there, problem is its quite isolated and awkward to get to for me, but there could be some secret trails out there:cool:

Yep that is the spot. I drive a truck so I have a good view. I've actually got an ala carte that I intend setting up for urban shenanigans.

['Ross]

Nice ride you got there.
So most of those where taken under the West Gate? Is there much to ride in that spot?

Nahh its absolute crap there, nothing really to ride at all. We tried building jumps once and they got flattened:o. I was just taking a scenic tour through the drains then checking something in Spotswood.

Nice Hud! Ive always been a fan of anything salsa, its a bit the same with yeti, I just loved their products even though I hadn't tried any of them, now I actually own one and my feelings were confirmed.