[Closed] Any Salsa Fargo owners?

All the info you'll need here:
http://forums.mtbr.com/salsa/salsa-fargo-thread-467422.html

There's also a fargo apprciation group on Flickr

Thanks for that.

I don't own one, but I have ridden one quite a bit - loved it. I didn't ride it on the road much, and I've never ridden a road bike, so no experience to compare it with, so not that much help there! Off road it was a hoot, climbs like a scalded cat and great on flowing singletrack. I found it a bit of a handful on the more technical stuff, and had an OTB experience when I tried a drop off! Others managed it though, so probably down to me being a numpty.

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Thanks Phil; It for multi dayers in the Highlands so must work off road,but not going to be in a hurry,also looking at the singular Periguine.

Check out the Singular Gryphon as well, closer to a Fargo than a Peregrine, and now has rear rack mounts. Plus I have good stock, Peregrines are low/out in some sizes.

With appropriate tyres and gearing they are fine on the road, obviously heavier and not as sporty handling, but get the job done. Singletrack is what the Gryphon is primarily designed for. Good comparison of the Fargo and Gryphon [url= http://twentynineinches.com/2010/08/02/salsa-cycles-fargo-vs-singular-cycles-gryphon/ ]here[/url].

Doh! Typo on my part Sam, it is the Gryphon I like with the longer head tube than the Fargo,most tall riders look cramped on the Fargo.

Sam, you git. Putting rack mounts on the Gryphon might seriously damage my wallet. Again. I've been vaguely looking at something like a Fargo to replace my road bike as an all year round 23 mile each way commuter (not everyday of course or I might get fit). I'd managed to discount you as there was no pannier braze ons for my laptop / clothes.

Is the tyre clearance similar to the Pegasus you sold me, and am I likely to need the same frame size?

IGM - yes, tyre clearance is the same or even a little bigger than on the Pegasus. IIRC you are on a large Pegasus - meaning that a large Gryphon should also suit. Does depend a little on exactly what kind of bars you intend on using and riding you're doing along with all the usual caveats.

I've had a Fargo for three years or so. I've used it as a 'proper' loaded tourer to take me over the Pyrenees and I've used it as a winter road bike with mudguards and the like. My route to work is road and/or cobbles and canal. Even with Conti Top Contact 37mm touring slicks, it's fine on mixed surfaces. With something like a WTB Vulpine 'cross tyre on, I'd take it anywhere. While it'll take proper 29er tyres, I like the nimbleness of the skinnier rubber.

I don't have the Fargo but another vote for the Gryphon from me, I absolutely love mine. I did a 48k loop around Speyside yesterday on a mix of road, fireroad & singletrack & it was superb.
I'll be fitting a rack and will try a bit of touring over on the west coast in a few months. Can't wait 😀

I have one of the new mk2 fargos (slightly shorter headtube to allow for suspension corrected forks) and it is fantastic. Have done some fully loaded rides and used it on rides with mates that were on proper MTBs and generally done everything on it. The new ones are not the easiest of things to fit mudguards on the front without extra brackets under the fork crown to due to the longer fork if that bothers you. They have a fairly low bottom bracket but the handling is great, loads of mud clearance for wide tyres and very stable.
I've got a spare set of wheels with Schwalbe big apples on for using on the road, but have never have got around to using them.
It was a very close run thing between getting a gryphon and the fargo for me, the fact that the fargo was in stock at the time won it for me (still tempted get a gryphon for SS duties though as they are lovely).

[url= http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7024/6493557857_f228ae4bef.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7024/6493557857_f228ae4bef.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/30537475@N03/6493557857/ ]P1010339[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/30537475@N03/ ]markenduro[/url], on Flickr

I have just built a Gryphon in the last month and am dead chuffed to date.

Couple of days on the singletrack at Brechfa last week including the red trail (goes round the berms like its on rails and much more nimble than I was expecting) as well as long forest road / bridleway expeditions.

build spec:

Gryphon large frame;
American Classic All Mountain 29er wheels with (tubed) Conti 2.2 Race Kings;
Middleburn R7 cranks with Uno 32 chainring up front and 11/36 outback (1x10)with XT rear mech;
STI 105 levers / shifters with BB7s;
Ragley Luxey bars with Planet X stem and seat post etc.

Did I say I was well chuffed!

Nipper, is the rear mech a 9speed xt with the 10 speed shifters?

Thinking of swapping over to a 10 speed setup as the shifters on mine are temporarily robbed off my touring bike and don't want to make an expensive mistake when I buy the shifters and mech....
My understanding is that the new MTB 10 speed will not work with road 10 speed so just trying to find out what to buy.

mark - 9 speed med cage xt rear mech works just fine. found out the hard / expensive way the whole 10 speed mtb / road thing

Nipper99, thanks for that, that's as I thought.

the whole 10 speed mtb / road thing

You need to be more careful with front derailleurs - rear 9spd derailleurs are interchangeable.

I have one of the Mark 2's. It was a toss up between the Gryphon and the Fargo but I went for the latter one as it had rack mounts. The importer, ISON, are terrific to deal with. I had minor damage on the fork steerer when I unpacked it. I got onto ISON who couldn't have been more helpful. New fork within a few days without any fuss. Those guys know how to do great customer service.

As for the bike, It's a hoot to ride. I do a lot of road and off road on it. It has a very neutral feel to it. It rides just like a bike if that makes sense and doesn't have the occassionally odd turn in feel of Fisher 29ers. Even in tight singletrack, it feels at home. I run the Woodchipper bars which are ace and to my surprise, spend a lot of time on the drops.

As for road riding, I took mine to Mallorca for two weeks last summer. The rack meant I could carry my daughter on the kiddy seat and take it off for longer rides such as heading over the Col de Soller, Orient and Col de Sabatia. I got some gie queer looks from a few roadies but the big Speccy Captain 29er tyres roll really well on tarmac so I never felt at a disadvantage.

One big surprise has been how well it climbs. As a committed 20 tooth granny gear afficianado, the big wheels mean I rarely have to use the granny ring. A local favourite, the Whangie, saw me ride the entire climb in the middle ring which was a first for me.

It's basically my go to bike. Routes like the Loch Bhac circuit and Glen Tilt have been done on it with no fuss or hassle but with lots of smiles. Contemplating a spin up Ben Chonzie at the weekend if the weather improves.

I'd buy one again in a second and am contemplating one of their full sus frames now.

So great bike, lots of fun to ride, very capable off road.

Hope this helps?

Cheers

Sanny