The Salsa Fargo 27.5 + My American Monster Truck
Fat tyres, drop bars and a go anywhere mentality. Drew’s "American monster truck" is a bicycle ready to take on whatever the trail throws at it.
When it comes to blogs, I spend a lot of time with them. I don’t usually get a chance to write myself because I translate the posts from German to English. So this is an exciting chance to take my love of bicycles and their components and put it on paper.
My beautiful Salsa Fargo monster truck.
The American in me always wanted a fat wheeled, roll-over-everything monster truck and the new 2017 Fargo 27.5”+ was the perfect choice. This post is meant to take you on a tour of the components I put on this off-road adventure rig and give you an idea about how the Fargo rides. So strap yourselves in, the Gravedigger is about to get rolling.
Trucking uphill is never an issue.
Frame / Fork
As the saying goes, ‘steel is real’ and I absolutely love steel frames. I like how they look and ride, as well as their reparability if something cracks or breaks. This makes steel frames perfect for off-road tours in faraway places. That’s why I was a little worried about going with Salsa’s Firestarter carbon fork that has a carbon steerer. It all seemed a little too risky, but I put my trust in the fact that Salsa has been producing off-road machines for quite some time now and the weight savings and small bump absorption of carbon was super appealing. So far, I haven’t had a single issue and the fork has grown on me. Though I chose to build the Fargo as a 27.5”+ bicycle, it has clearance for up to 29”+ wheels. I imagine a new wheelset would turn the Fargo into a totally different monster.
The frame and fork lay the perfect foundation for this beautiful build.
The Fargo is a bike for going far.
A wonderful burnt orange keeps the accents low-key.
Another feature of the frame that I really like, is the orange accents. As you read on, you will find that there are other orange parts that make an appearance. All of these components were carefully chosen so that the bike had just enough orange to bring out the fine lines in the frame.
All of the components were carefully chosen to bring out the orange accents of the frame.
Wheels / Tyres
When I build up a new bike, I always lace my own wheels. It is somewhat of a meditation and I also get to choose exactly what hubs and rims I want without having to compromise. For this build, I went with Syntace W40 rims, an orange Hope Pro 4 rear hub and a Shutter Precision dynamo front hub. All of these parts are tried and true and together they make up a strong, durable wheelset.
An orange Hope Pro 4 hub is the heart of the rear wheel.
Providing me with all the power I need, the Shutter Precision hub never falters.
The wide Syntace W40 rims are lightweight and durable.
As I was looking for tyres, I wanted something that was on the lighter side of the plus category, but still offered plenty of grip. When I came across Vitoria’s Bomboloni, I was sold with each tyre weighing in at 905 g. The tread gives me great grip and riding them tubeless allows me to run lower pressures depending on the terrain.
The Vittoria Bomboloni tyres are super wide and offer the prefect amount of grip.
Cockpit
For the cockpit, I went with the unique Woodchipper 2 handlebars that are spec’d with the Fargo. They have super wide drops and the Rival 1 shift / brake levers are angled such that they give me a natural hand position. The Thomson Elite stem and Chris King headset are components that I have always wanted to incorporate into a build. The Fargo was definitely worthy of them so, while not necessary, I couldn’t help myself.
The Woodchipper 2 handebars coupled with SRAM Rival 1 brake levers give me plenty of control over rough surfaces.
I have always dreamt of a Chris King headset and now I have one!
Thomson stems are sleek and well manufactured.
The Woodchipper 2 handlebars are wide and sweep back.
Brakes
SRAM Rival 1 brakes bring this monster truck of a bike to a halt. Coupled with orange Hope brake rotors, the modulation is great and my stopping power is superb.
I ended up taking off about 1 mm from the inside of the caliper.
When assembling the Fargo, I ran into the issue of the Hope floating rotor’s rivets hitting the Rival 1 brake caliper. The only way around this was to start filing and I ended up taking off about 1 mm from the inside of the caliper. Just another custom touch.
Rival 1 brakes and Hope floating rotors bring the Salsa Fargo to a safe and controlled stop.
Drivetrain
The drivetrain is another interesting part of my Fargo build because it is made of two SRAM groupsets: GX and Rival 1. This was needed because of the Woodchipper 2 drop bars. A Rival 1 shifter routed to a derailleur of the same group, shifts up and down a GX cassette. The cranks and chain are also from the GX groupset. Everything together shifts super smooth, without issue. To put this drivetrain in motion, I chose the Hope F20 pedals. The fact that they are the same colour orange as all the other Hope components was definitely a plus.
The mixed component drivetrain shifts smooth like butter.
The Hope bottom bracket matches the other Hope components, as well as being super reliable.
Lights
Going dynamo was probably the best decision I have made of late. To shine the way, I chose a busch+müller Lumotec IQ-X front light. It gives off 100 Lux, which is great both on the street and trail.
Going dynamo was probably the best decision I have made of late.
For the rear light, I wanted something that was sleek, but was still plenty bright. Enter the SON LED rear light and I couldn’t be happier. Both lights are well designed and keep the Fargo and me safe as well as looking good at night.
busch+müller's Lumotec IQ-X front light shines bright and looks good.
The SON LED rear light is one of the best looking and preforming on the market.
Saddle / Seatpost
With a Thomson stem, of course I had to have a Thomson seatpost. Because I ride a Brooks B17 Imperial saddle, the setback version was the perfect choice. This is due to the classic saddle rail design that Brooks still uses, which sets the saddle to far forward on modern straight seatposts.
Some question how the setback Thomson seatpost looks, but like most things on bicycles, you either love it or hate it. My saddle is the only part of the bike that is not new. I have been riding it for 3 years now and I know my rear-end wouldn’t be happy with anything else.
My well broken-in Brooks saddle sits perfectly atop the setback Thomson seatpost.
The Ride
First and foremost, the Fargo is the monster truck of my dreams and I outfitted it with components that have each stolen my heart in one way or another. The 27.5” wheels accelerate quickly and the plus tyres absorb any small bump chatter.
The Fargo is the monster truck of my dreams.
The carbon Firestarter fork also helps in this regard, keeping off-road rides comfortable. When riding, I feel like I am sitting in the bike and not on top of it. This makes me feel extra secure, and long days in the saddle are never a problem.
Me bombing down some singletrack.
The Fargo is ready to take me anywhere.
The only thing left to do on this bike is get some bikepacking bags and take a multi-day tour into the wilderness. With this custom Salsa Fargo, nothing will stand in my way.
