Salsa Ala Carte??

[danger!]

I'm relatively new to this forum, and I've been mostly lurking to get the feel of the group here, but I wanted to see if anyone had any feedback on the Salsa Ala Carte frame. I'm looking to replace my Breezer Storm with something that fits me a little better, and I can get a pretty solid deal on the Salsa stuff...

Any feedback on them would be great. Also, feedback on the Bandito frame is welcomed, as I know nothing about Scandium.

Thanks!

-Dan

[martini]

They should work just fine, but that's coming from someone who's ridden a Breezer and know they fit small. The Salsa's seem to fit a bit truer to listed size.

Scandium is supposed to pretty good stuff. Light like Al, but the ride of steel. I'm waiting to see if the come out with a Scandium 29"er. Now THAT would rule!

[KleinCrazy]

Marty,

Sofa King makes a single speed 29er out of just about anything including scandium, aluminum, titanium and 4 types of columbus steel.

If money was no object, it is what I would get for my next bike. but one of there 26 frames, I am just don't think I am tall enough to make use of a good 29er, though I would liek to ride one around Leb a couple of times.

Ecentric Bottom Brackets, Scandium frame, a 9 dropout options, custom sizing on some frames , you name it. frames start at 1500

oh where oh where is that link in my family tree to Henry Ford.

l8er
James

P.S. Can you make it up for our Farm ride Sat with Kurt?

[martini]

Thanks James, I am aware of Sofa King. Cool freakin' bikes they are! I just haven't got $1500 to drop on a frame though....I figure if Salsa can sell thier 26" frame for +/-$800, they could do the same or a bit more for a 29"!

You'd be surprised to know that there's lots of shorter guys on 29". On the MTBR board, there's been a few bikes posted that are 12"(!) and more at the average 17"-18" range. You might enjoy the ride, see if you can grab one some time and give it a good spin.

Unfortunately, I can't make it Saturday. I'll be in Richmond MN at a Blugrass festival.:( It won't be too bad, but still, I'd rather ride my bike!

[danger!]

Thanks for the info Marty, I think I'm gonna give the Ala Carte a try.

BTW, are you the martini from the MTBR singlespeed board? I used to lurk over there a bit too. :D

[martini]

yup, one in the same. I use 'martini' for all the boards(bike, dwell, cyburbia, esri, mtbr) I go to. Keeps things simple.

[everc1]

:banana:
Okay, this should be a dancing Chili Pepper but...

I have a Bandito. Dirt Rag does a nice review of it in their latest issue (12/10/04 is today). After getting back on it after riding what is assumed to ba an Ala Carte SS frame (fully rigid) for a few weeks, I noticed the tight race geometry of the Bandito. Its fast, but not as forgiving as some would like. Its light and feels plush and smooth, not as silky per say as titanium, but its still nice (maybe this is the Scandium talking). Its a bit more cushy than an AL frame.

I hope this helps.

Chris Everist

[JayT]

Check out the Gunnar Rock Hound while you're at it. It's also a 853 steel frame, but with a longer TT.

If I interpret what you saying about a "solid deal" right, you may be able to get a similar deal on the Gunnar. www.gunnarbikes.com (http://www.gunnarbikes.com/)

[el gueche]

salsa is coming out w/a 29er called the dos-niner 18.5" frame weighs 4.1lbs, green soft tail - $1020

[SickBoy]

I had a '03 Scandium Caballero (FS) bike for two seasons before I sold it to jjrsds. I guess I can't really comment on how the scandium hardtail would ride - since my bike was full-boing, it was hard to imagine what hardtail ride would be like. Supposedly the '05 Caballero will have more of a Trek Fuel or Giant NRS-like 4 bar link suspension.

I am putting all the parts left over from the caballero on a Juan Solo - which is essentially a Bandito with a eccentric BB. You can stick a Caballero/Bandito derailleur hanger on it to convert it to a geared bike, but mine will at least begin life as a SS and stay SS until after the spring cup.

I rode a Bandito at Maplelag for the last MNSCS race of the year last year, it was my teammate's bike. He had it build up scary light - 18 something lbs with stupid light saddle and tires, and crank bros pedals. After I put my saddle on it for the weekend and switched to Time pedals I think it was something in the 19 range. I guess it didn't feel much different than my Kona Kula hardtail other than being about 3 lbs lighter. I had to switch it to mud tires for the XC and that added some weight too (but no mud weight thanks to Pam :P ) so without more experience riding it in normal conditions, I could not say what the ride quality was like other than it felt like a normal aluminium bike to me.

[breezer]

Is the breezer up for sale?

[danger!]

No, sorry, the Breezer was sold a long time ago. It now resides in Korea.

[breezer]

There far a few between thanks

[danger!]

Yes, good luck in your search. I see them pop up on ebay every once in a while, but they are getting very hard to find.