- I like food that makes me feel big.
So like tiny hamburgers and tiny things like that.
- [Voice over] Yes.
- I eat all my dinners with the pickle fork.
(upbeat music)
Hey everybody, am Mike Levy,
we're back for another field test video.
And this is Salsa's all new 140 millimeter travel,
Blackthorn 29 or trail bike
that they say is built for riding anywhere with confidence,
which is why I'm gonna take it to rampage.
If rampage wasn't canceled,
I would have taken it to rampage.
I guess I'll just do trail riding instead.
Let's talk about suspension first,
and you're gonna find a split pivot system
on the back of this Salsa.
That's from Dave Weigel
and Salsa has been using this for ages and what it is,
it's a concentric rear axle pivot that allows it to rotate,
I mean, concentrically rate around the rear axle.
The rear shock delivers it's 140 millimeters of travel
via a rocker link and a clevis
that wraps around the seat tube.
Now, there is one interesting detail on here
that Salsa is doing,
and it's let them use the same front and rear triangles
for this bike and the longer travel Cassidy
by switching out the rocker link
and the clevis and the shock,
they can go from 140 millimeters on this
to 165 millimeters on the Cassidy.
One last thing to talk about on suspension.
Salsa has included a geometry adjustment system up in here,
a flip chip system.
So you flip that and it steepens the bike.
Now we'll get to those numbers in a minute.
First, let's get into some frame details.
Salsa is clicked all the trail bike boxes
with this all new frame, including a place to strap a tube.
You'll find the slot up here
that you could feed the strap through.
And they're definitely not the first to do this,
but there is a rubber guard there to keep the tube
and any tools that you might have attached to it
from scuffing the frame.
You'll also find a whole bunch of threaded holes
on the top tube and on the top of the down tube
for all sorts of storage and water bottle.
You're also gonna get a thread and bottom bracket
and a set of IOCG tabs around that bottom bracket shell,
cable riding is all internal on the carbon frames
and it's passed through.
So you should just be able to push it through
and it comes up the other end
without you having to lose your temper.
Rear hub spacing, well, that's super boost 12 by one 57,
and that lets Salsa run a really short
432 millimeter rear end.
Those short chainstays,
those are aluminum on all frames.
There's also some nice frame protection,
including a flap in front of that main pivot
to keep rocks from getting jammed in between the frame
and the chainstays.
Let's talk geometry now.
And I'm five foot 10.
This is a large size Blackthorn
with the roomy 490 millimeter reach,
upfront 64.6 degrees
and the seat angle 76.5.
Now those numbers are all in the low Slack setting
that I know you're gonna put it in and leave it in.
But if you did wanna lift it up a little bit,
you can steep it the head angle
by a third of a degree and the bottom bracket height
by four millimeters, which is about this much.
And I've already mentioned those short chainstays.
They're 432 millimeters across the board on all sizes.
Next up let's go over the model range
and this is the fancy pants, most expensive Blackthorn,
but you don't need to spend that much.
It all starts at $3,200 American for an aluminum frame,
12 speed duo components,
RockShox suspension and proper Maxxis tires.
Unlike most brands,
Salsa actually offers the aluminum frame and shock
on their own for 2100 bucks.
So you can build up your own aluminum Blackthorn,
if you didn't want to break the bank.
If you want carbon fiber frame and shock $3,200.
This very purple one,
it's the top tier model that comes with an XO1 drive trail.
It goes for $7,500.
You're also getting factory level suspension from Fox,
including that 160 millimeter travel 36
with the grip to damper for piston code RSC brakes,
and instead of carbon fiber wheels from Reynolds.
All right, that's all the details
and all the numbers on Salsa's new Blackthorn.
Let's talk about how this thing rides.
(upbeat music)
Okay, let's talk set up first.
And as with all the bikes we installed our control tires.
That's a max DHF on the front and to 21 PSI
and a dissector on the back at 23 PSI with no inserts.
There's a Fox 36 fork with a grip to cartridge.
And that set up pretty much to the recommended settings
for my weight.
You know, as far as rear suspension goes,
I went anywhere from 25% sag to 35% sag.
They all worked pretty good,
but I settled on 30% for the majority of my riding.
(upbeat music)
What's the story, when it comes to climbing,
when you're on the Blackthorn,
well, if you're talking trail bikes,
the Blackthorn is definitely on the bigger end of the scale.
It has a fair bit of travel, especially up front,
and it's a fairly long bike and it feels like that
when you're on the trail.
The more technical declining,
the more time and the more room you need to give yourself.
So those tight switchbacks,
you might be going a little bit wider
and you might be taking a little bit slower line
and planning ahead more.
It feels like there's a lot of bike
ahead of that bottom bracket and not much behind it.
So in the tightest sections,
it can actually feel like you're pivoting
on the rear end around stuff.
And when you take that approach to the trail,
it works quite well.
You have a lot of traction
and you can get up all sorts of stuff.
As far as peddling performance goes,
well, that feels a bit pedestrian
on the Blackthorn to be honest,
especially compared to bikes like that,
specialized Stumpjumper and the new Giant
with the live valve suspension in it,
well, it's almost cheating in a way.
Now, the bike does have a pedal assist switch.
And if you're the kinda rider
who likes to get out of the saddle and work hard,
you're gonna wanna reach down
and flick that to the closed settings
so the bike doesn't move a whole lot.
When you're in the saddle and just spinning,
it's a reasonably calm bike,
but it does feel active.
There's no climb switch on that Fox fork obviously.
And that sort of defines the bikes climbing characteristics,
you know, bikes like that Mojo,
it uses a Fox fork that has a fit for cartridges in it
with the pedal assist switch.
So when you're out of the saddle,
you can just reach down, flick the switch,
you can flick the rear shock if you want
and the bike turns into a rocket ship.
On this bike, you only have that on the back, not the front.
So again, all the more reason to stay seated
and just spin up the climbs.
So overall not a bad climber,
but it's definitely not in the sporty trail by category.
This is for somebody who isn't super concerned
with getting to the top.
They just wanna get there.
(upbeat music)
All right, you got yourself to the top of the mountain,
you're gonna come back down.
What's the story with Barney here?
Well, Salsa has done a really impressive job
of combining capability without losing that trail bike feel,
so where bikes like the Giant and specialized and the IVs,
they stiffly still have a bit of that traditional light,
quick handling, nimble trail bike feel to them.
The Salsa has more capability built into it.
And a lot of it comes from that geometry
and that 160 millimeter travel Fox 36 fork, the front end.
And those angles let you go into things
much faster than you would on a traditional trail bike.
And they give you the confidence to ride things that,
I mean, wouldn't be possible
just a few years ago on a so-called trail bike,
but when things are tight and slow,
the Salsa doesn't turn into a cruise ship.
The bike has a snappy energetic feel to it
that really gives it life through tight corners,
especially when you're trying to go fast through them.
If you're somebody that likes to go into a corner real fast
and have that back-end snap around, well, this'll do it.
Salsa has done a really good job of creating a bike,
that's still fun when it's slow and picky choosy
and you've gotta kinda really
think about where you're going,
but this thing it could be your cruise ship
when it is time to just lean back
and go right through stuff.
It's a great balance of slow speed technical handling
and high speed stability.
What about the bike's 140 millimeters
of split pivots suspension?
Well, that's impressive as well,
especially early on in the travel.
It's very, very slippery
and I think that helps with traction a lot
and decide from the P-train
with its coil sprung concrete shot.
The back of the Salsa was definitely the most active
and forgiven.
So if you want something to cover ground a little quicker
and maybe not feel quite as big on the trail,
you can do that with the Salsa
at the other end of the stroke,
it's great as well.
I used full travel, but nothing hard.
And you have room in there to put an extra volume spacer.
If you're a bigger rider
and you're bottoming out more often.
(upbeat music)
Let's talk about timing next,
and we're gonna cover climbing first.
The Salsa had the fourth fastest timing climb.
It was about 30 seconds behind the fastest bike.
Again, that was the Giant TranzX
with its live valve suspension.
The climb was mixed half of it,
was smooth single track,
and the other half was pretty technical and pretty tight
with some rock faces and it was fairly wet as well.
As far as descending goes,
it was third out of five 12 seconds back from the P-Train,
two seconds back from the specialized Stumpjumper.
Our time descent trail is representative
of what I think a trail bike should be able to handle.
There's definitely a few
tricky, steep, rocky and rooty sections on there,
but also a whole lot of traversing
and some tricky corners as well.
(upbeat music)
Let's talk about component highs and lows next.
First thing, this Fox 36 with the grip to damper.
We've covered this lots before,
but I'm gonna mention it again.
This thing is so damn impressive.
You don't need all these dials
and you're probably never gonna touch them
after you get before feeling how you want to,
but they are effective.
I'm also a real big fan of how the code RSC brakes feel.
All the adjustments mean you can get them dialed
in exactly how you want.
And there's plenty of modulation.
Another thing to mention,
this 170 millimeter TranzX dropper posts.
I'm from a time when dropper posts,
well, they would work for about a week
and then they just stopped working,
but you needed them to ride.
That's how important they are.
This one,
well, all of them now, they just keep ongoing.
Let's talk lows now, and well,
I don't really have a whole lot to complain about.
So I'm gonna be kinda nitpicky here
and it's that extended rage scram cassette
with the 52 tooth large cog.
It's not the shift itself, that's the issue.
It's the difference, it's 10 teeth.
If I needed the lower ratio that the 52 tooth provides,
I'd far prefer to just go to a smaller chain ring
that tend tooth jump while the shift is fine,
there's such a difference in ratio
that I feel like I go from moving to not moving
as soon as I shift into it.
(upbeat music)
It's time to talk pros and cons,
but I've only got one pro, but it's a big one.
Salsa has managed to make the Blackthorn
incredibly well-rounded.
If you wanna go ride some smooth, fun flow trails,
well, this'll do it just fine.
You're gonna have a blast.
If you wanna ride something super gnarly.
If you wanna point yourself down
some sketchy ass rock rolled,
it's past vertical and full of pointy rocks at the bottom,
it'll do that too.
Salsa has made this thing incredibly capable
on all sorts of trails.
(upbeat music)
Okay, cons and I've got two for you.
The first one, well, let's kinda trivial.
It's a lot of purple, isn't it?
You can't get this model in any other color.
And I had a ton of people ask me questions about this bike
and comment that it was so purple.
Even the fork decals are purple, purple everywhere.
The other thing,
well, it's not necessarily a con,
it's a fairly large trail bike
when it comes to travel
that 160 millimeter fork on the front,
the 64.6 degree head angle.
Well, Salsa's done a crazy impressive job
of making this bike fun on really easy simple terrain.
Riders should still know
that this definitely isn't the kinda trail bike
that you would buy
to do your 50, 60, 70 kilometer rides on smooth trails.
(upbeat music)
So where does that put us with the Blackthorn?
Well, most writers probably know Salsa better
for their touring and curly-bar bikes,
but the truth is, they clearly know how to put together
a killer trail bike as well.
It's incredibly well-rounded,
but it's also extremely capable on the outer edge
of what a trail bike should be used for.
So that's it for the Blackthorn, make sure to subscribe,
so you don't miss any upcoming field test video reviews.
(upbeat music)