new bike advice

[Nathan Wernette]

Ok so heres the low down. After a 5 year hiatus I am getting back into biking.

I've raced, ridden, century-ed, blah blah all that jazz. Worked part time in a bike shop on and off for the past three or four years. Owned 3-5 thousand dollar bikes a most i've had three of those caliber of bikes at one time. I still miss my Niner MCR, Cannondale CAAD10, and specialized Crux. all of which i built from the frame up selecting components and all.

So that pretty much sums up my credentials.

so heres the deal.

I want to get back in. BUT i'm not going to race (at least in the foreseeable future). I'm looking for a bike that will be fun in the single track we have around here in metro Detroit as well as serve as a bike packing/touring bike.

I've narrowed it down to two bikes and looking to make a purchase this week.

First is a Salsa Fargo II. (used 2013 model on CL for 1200, low miles on the bike) I know the reputation for touring on this bike is legendary BUT cannot find anything on the inter web about it performing on a single track MTB trail. I'm looking for any experience with this bike out on the trails. I think that this bike would be the best option for bike packing and some light mtb'ing

Next is a Surly Ogre (which I can purchase at cost through the bike shop I work at, one of the perks for working at a bike shop) I could get this bike for about 1050 or so through the shop. This would be great option to do both with. The only thing that concerns me is the weight. I think, from reading reviews and all, this bike weights upwards of 30 pounds. the salsa weights in at 26 for an XL and with a few modifications I could drop that weight down some more (ditch the thud buster for carbon or ti, tubeless tire set up)

Price is also an issue too. I know that theres not much of a difference in the two prices but I need to take that into account. Being a teacher I have a limited budget over the summer.

My plan is to acquire a bike trailer as well through my bike shop (owner has a BOB yak trailer hanging up in the rafters). That will serve as our "mule" if we do any touring this summer. Great thing about going to a lightweight backpacking system is that a lot of this stuff transfers over AND our bulk of gear has drastically been reduced from last year.

SO, i'm asking for any advice and suggestions on the purchase of either. I'd like to have a bike by this weekend so the Ogre would have to be ordered by the latest Tuesday or Wednesday.

Since I'm asking for your opinion I'll tell you mine. I am leaning toward the Salsa Fargo. It will perform well bike packing I know. and might be OK in the single track (that drop handlebar will take some getting used to in the single track). It weights a bit less. and I can use it for commuting and a bit of non competitive road riding.

I could always put a flat bar and trigger shifters on the bike also. I think its a more versatile bike than the ogre would be.

[Dave T]

Hi there.

I don't have much of a opinion on the Fargo, though tons of people love them. I (almost) never ride in the drops even on my road bikes, so those bars don't make much sense for me.

I have an XL Ogre and I love it. It definitely is heavy, but it feels great to me. I don't really use it for single-track, just more of dirt road touring, so my experience is limited there. Last fall I did 350 miles of jeep roads and pavement in Death Valley, and it handled great, even with panniers and 16L of water on the bike. And I ride it 15-20 miles daily as a commuter too.

That said, the Surly ECR also looks great to me. Like an Ogre and Krampus offspring. And comes with Jeff Jones loop bars that I have on two of my bikes. Love those bars.

I'm just a huge fan of Surly bikes and the company (I have three of their bikes). But I know you can't go wrong between the Fargo and Ogre!

[Duncan M]

I've been thinking about this recently as well. All of the bikes discussed so far are awesome options. But, they are heavy. This is BPL after all, so we might as well snark at the weight.

I would suggest also considering the following bikes:

-Salsa Mariachi (Still steel and in the Surly/Salsa family, but lighter and better suited for singletrack)

-Salsa Spearfish (Ruins the budget, but would be dreamy for long distance off road bikepacking trips)

-On-One Lurcher (Ugly, but light and well priced. Less touring focused but you could definitely bikepack. Much more enjoyable on singletrack. You can buy them in the US as a frame or built up from the Titus online store.)

[David Chenault]

I don't think there's that much weight difference in the framesets, so the big difference is going to be in components. Are they that much better/lighter on the used Fargo? If you can swing some upgraded wheels (funded by selling the OEM jobs) for the Ogre that will drop some important weight and give you a solid package.

Geo isn't too different. BB drop is almost the same, i.e. pretty low, which I like for riding loaded. HTA on the Fargo is a bit slacked, and the Fargo ETT is a lot shorter. With the Fargo this pretty much commits you to drop bars (or flat bars and a stupid long stem).

[Nathan Wernette]

UPDATE:

I bought a surly ogre.

I run it with velocity dually wheels in a hybrid 29+ set up (29×3.0 in the front, 29×2.5 in back) due to the clearance issues in the rear triangle.

I'm completely happy with it. When the snow goes away i'll mount up my smaller 29er tires for the trails but it works great commenting to work in the snow.

[Dale Wambaugh]

If you're used to road racing bikes you definitely need to close your eyes and take a deep breath when going to load haulers and dirt machines. They have two wheels, but it is a different world. Your Ogre will give you loads of fun and last.

That doesn't mean you need to completely give up on weight saving and knowing what we know as UL hikers, you have a lot more info and technique to help you there. It's the same process as hiking: don't take anything you won't use, seek out the lightest examples and look for multiple use features You see some really wild touring setups, with the bike loaded down just like a classic external frame pack with the "kitchen sink" gear list. We know better than that! All said and done, a bikepacking or touring gear list shouldn't look a bit different than an UL hiking list, except for tools, pump and spare tube/patch kit. Even those bike-centric items should follow the UL techniques.

[BlackHatGuy]

So, instead of starting my own thread, I'm going to piggyback off of Nathan's.

I'm in the process of getting a Moots Routt 45 as a pretty much do-everything bike. I'll use it for road riding, but also for riding dirt trails and gravel roads, and even some mild, well mannered single track. I also want to explore bikepacking – I road toured pretty extensively years ago, but never any backcountry stuff, I think it will be fun and mesh well with my planned move west in a couple of years.

Anyway, the main input I'm looking for now – using it as a do-it-all bike per above, I'd love some suggestions on wheelsets to start with. I'll add that I already have a road bike for now, so I'm leaning heavily toward a dirt/gravel road wheelset – what would you pick (up to 41mm compatible)?

Also, Ultegra/equivalent SRAM derailleurs, or more along the DeoreXT/equivalent SRAM derailleurs? I assume I should stay away from the electronic (Di2)?

I'm definitely getting disc brakes – I'm thinking of staying away from hydraulic since I'm not a mechanic and I want to be able to have a chance of fixing something if it breaks in the backcountry – or would you suggest otherwise? Any particular disc brake you like?

Appreciate any input.

[Frank T]

I'm definitely getting disc brakes – I'm thinking of staying away from hydraulic since I'm not a mechanic and I want to be able to have a chance of fixing something if it breaks in the backcountry – or would you suggest otherwise? Any particular disc brake you like?

I have had great performance and nearly zero maintenance issues with Avid BB7 mechanical disc brakes. The main problem is they can get quite noisy with some disc rotors, but with the right selection of rotor and proper adjustment & cleaning that issue can be reduced or eliminated.

You can get these in either road or mountain-specific models, to be paired with the type of brake levers you plan to run.

[Link .]

Doug, Whatever decision you make get THIS , it will keep you safe and you'll look sexy as a side benefit !

[BlackHatGuy]

Thanks Link! I wonder if they make it in cuben…..

[BlackHatGuy]

Thanks Frank, appreciate it.

[Will Elliott]

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