I’m about to take the plunge into the rigid 29er world. Liking the possibility of having gears or not but can’t decide between the Surly Karate Monkey and the Salsa El Mariachi. I’m quite impressed with salsas “alternator dropout” but would prefer shorter chainstays. Whereas the KM has shorter chainstays but I’ve heard that the rear wheel alignment could be a pain … So, what do you think?

I’m riding a el mariachi at the mo, its a great bike.

Setting up horizontal dropouts like on the surly isn’t that hard. even easier if you use 2 chain tugs and turn the nut the same on each. A couple of tweaks and it will be straight.

I’ve had both , prefer the salsa. On the km I had a hope hub and fitted a bolt in rear which was easier as I didn’t have to mess with the rear caliper when removing rear wheel that way. But the salsa rides better anyway

thanks, shep & firestarter
would you guys say that the el mariachi is rather on the stable side of the handling-chart compared to the karate monkey?

I think the salsa feels more nimble and feels less industrial