So, today was a brutal day for the first day of dirt demo. I had less than 5 hours of sleep, and the wind was horrendous. But, that of course just meant that I spent more time on the trails less on the road.
I rode a lot of cyclocross bikes and a lot of 29er's (yes, I've given up on 26")... heres what I thought of some of the key players:
Salsa Cycles:
I started off my morning with a cruise around the Salsa Chilli Con Crosso cross bike on the xc trails. It was a rather plush ride, not the fastest acceleration, but I could see myself not fatiguing while riding this bike.
I moved on from the Chilli to the Selma; a beautiful 29er single speed. I was somewhat disappointed that they only had my size in a full rigid setup, but in the end I was rather surprised. This was my personal 'Bike of the Day' pick. It was nimble and agile, light and forgiving. It has a scandium front triangle with a flattened carbon rear. I took this thing through some terrain that I should have steered clear of, but it hung in like a champ. It had fabulous acceleration, good climbing ability, and performed beautifully on super technical terrain.
...more to follow...need to rest...just a few pics of the demo for a taster!
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