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New Year, New bike!


It's been abnormally warm and dry here in Colorado, so I've gotten out for a lotta rides. I'm already up to 22 outdoor rides this year, which is a healthy amount for the 30th of January.

Since Salsa's announcement about 1.5 years ago, I've been jonesing for a Salsa Spearfish. I'm convinced that 29ers make a difference for me, and the lure of a full suspension 29er has been strong. Well, Bikeman has a closeout deal on last year's Spearfish frame, with a Rockshox Reba RL and a nice headset for $1199. I couldn't resist!

Here are the build specs:
18" Salsa Spearfish frame
Rockshox Reba RL fork
Cane Creek headset
Carver MyTi handlebars
Titec titanium seatpost
WTB seat
Magura Marta SL front brake
Avid BB7 rear brake
RaceFace Dues crankset (22/32/42)
SRAM cassette
SRAM Attack shifters (9 speed)
FSA PF30 bottom bracket
Stan's 355, WTB Laserdisc Lite wheels
XT front derailleur
XT rear derailleur
Geax Saguaro tires

Total weight is about 27.5lbs. I think it'll be closer to 26lbs when I mount up my Racing Ralphs and run tubeless. I'll probably drop a little more weight when I get my rear BB7 switched out for my rear Marta SL. The Marta SL brake hose is too short, unfortunately.

I've had the bike out for two rides so far. First impressions are that it is smooth and fast. I had forgotten how a full suspension allows me to pedal right through rough stuff, oftentimes seated. The Spearfish really seems to climb nicely. Much better than I remember my Tomac 78 Special climbing. The Spearfish allows more of a point and shoot approach to riding. I can be much lazier with my line choices (compared to riding my 29er hardtail).

I'm encountering quite a few more pedal strikes. It may be due to a lower bottom bracket, or may just be due to the fact that I'm pedaling through stuff that I would have coasted through in the past.

I still have some niggly adjustment issues to work through, but overall I'm very pleased with the way the build turned out. I think the full suspension 29er will help reduce fatigue on long endurance events and just be fun to ride in general.

Comments

Greg Mullen said…
How bout making me one of those. Can you get me rolling for under $2,000? :)
February 1, 2012 at 8:36 AM
Brad Baker said…
Hmm...I'm thinking that might be a bit low on the $$$'s. I don't like to add these things up. ;-)

The Spearfish 3 complete does retail for $2199, which is pretty close.
February 1, 2012 at 8:41 AM
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