rectumdamnnearkilledem
2013 Salsa El Mariachi 3
I would name it Gossamer:
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
Oh Mighty Wing
sexy!
Very Nice!
As you can see by my bike (below) I've got a soft spot for steel hardtails. I'll give you nothing but encouragement to grab that bike. My bike just rides so well and is so comfortable I could only justify replacing it if I got hard core into mtb racing. As it is, I only mtb for pleasure and this doesn't leave me wanting.
Yeah, aluminum would possibly weigh less, but I've been borrowing a friend's WAY too small for me Salsa Ala Carte and can't get over how amazing that steel feels off-road and on-road getting to some singletrack about 3 miles away. I'm not ever going to be super competitive on a bike, so comfort trumps performance.
DS has been using my Cannondale (he sorta claims it as his, now), but I think I need to swap bikes with him. The Salsa is about a size smaller than the Cannondale and even that is a hair small for me. My back is sorta jacked-up from just 11.5 miles on the Ala Carte. But I'm really sold on Salsa, right now.
I already have an aluminum bike (CX), and a carbon bike (road), so a steel mtn. bike seems like the logical next step. Then a titanium Mukluk should be next after that!
I've raced MTB's for years.
Full suspension has it's place but for here in the midwest a Hard Tail with a solid set of front shocks is generally the best.
The last three 4 bikes / frames I've purchased have been steel.
Karate Monkey 29'er
Surly Cross Check
Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross
Surly Pugsly
And I'm in the process of refurbishing a FUJI 1972 Touring Frame.
Those things are so flippin' cool! A friend of ours wants one (or a fat bike) really bad. Right now his sole bike is a Trek hybrid, but we've been doing our best to bring him to the dark side...muwahahahaha!
DH now wants a Krampus like nobody's business!
Funny...I want a Krampus too. That would be to many Surly's though. As much as I love them I do need to spread the love around.
I have no lust for the Krampus. I'm guessing it won't fit anyone with an inseam of at least 33" or so, anyhow.
Well...the El Mar is on order. A week or two ago we got notice from Sallie Mae that my final student loan payment is about to clear. I jokingly said to DH that we should totally pull the trigger on my new ride. He chuckles and says "well, I wanted to wait to surprise you, but I ordered your bike the last time I was at the shop!"
The downside is that the ETA is not until Oct./Nov....so I likely won't get to ride it this Fall at the nearest mtn. biking trails, since they close to riders and hikers after Halloween. Then it's open to hunters. I also had been giving thought to buying a friend's entry for Iceman Cometh, but I don't want to do it on my current bike and there's no guarantee that I will have the new one in time, much less be able to do any decent training on the current too-small ride.
Can't wait for Spring, already!
Oh, god...this was taken outside my LBS just minutes ago!
Looking at that I'm sure they are all kids bikes. Your's will arrive just as the temps dip below freezing and a blizzard hits. Sorry.
Ha, no kidding! False alarm--apparently it's primarily Mukluks. *freak out postponed*
See. I was right. Mukluks are for big kids.
The sad irony here is that it's not Mukluk season and when your's arrives it will also be out of season.
Picked Gossy up yesterday and today got some easy miles in to look for any problems, make some adjustments, and take some photos. I am in LOVE!
OK, that's a really nice bike. It looks great in that size. It's no secret that I've got a strong bias towards hardtail steel and could see getting one of these if I ever had enough time to ride and were willing to ever part with my last century hardtail steel mtb.