[Closed] Salsa Fargo

doesnt sound like your wanting a road bike at all

road bikes -designed to go fast - light , narrow tires , aerodynamic ...

Fargo - designed to cover long distances comfortably carrying a load - thus heavy(relitively speaking) , fat tired and relitively slow compared to a "road" bike

Just buy some drops for your MTB if your considering a fargo as a road bike

Redline do something with a chainstay mounted disc (lets you fit a rack). Dunno if you can get them in the UK

http://www.redlinebicycles.com/bikes/commute/2010-conquest-classic

Kona Sutra, Genesis Criox de Fer, Marin Toscana - plenty of options out there.

Kinesis Tripster too

doesnt sound like your wanting a road bike at all

I'd tend to agree, but to the extent that you sound like you want more of a touring bike than a full on road racer.

There are piles of touring bikes, and their faster and lighter brethren, the audax bike, and I'm not sure any are really any the less because they rely on rim brakes rather than discs. Indeed, a requirement for discs on road going bikes still strikes me as a sort of "comfort blanket" (sorry, I don't mean that offensively) for MTBers who have got used to the technology.

Discs on MTBs make loads of sense to me. But they make far less sense on almost all road bikes, except tandems and perhaps the most heavily laden touring bikes.

There is nothing I find especially unappealing about the Fargo (though it's compact gemoetry looks a bit gash to me, and I ride Giant road bikes), but it doesn't really call to me as a do it all bike.

Call me boring....

Since when did road bikes encompass only race bikes?

I'd ignore trail rat, mtbs aren't meant for drops and IME it's always a compromise.

Disc brakes make a lot of sense if you ride in the wet. I have one disc on my Casserrol and about to get the rear done.

Oh and the fargo is a 29er - DEFO not a road bike!

Very nice

[url= http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3510/3851613379_ff88385b55.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3510/3851613379_ff88385b55.jp g"/> [/img][/url]

Classification is not necessarily important, but Salsa refer to it as [url= http://www.salsacycles.com/fargoComp09.html ][i][b]our adventure touring 29’er mountain bike, the Fargo.[/b][/i][/url]

I like the Fargo, a lot. But "road bike" is not the obvious category to put them in. 🙂

Oh and the fargo is a 29er - DEFO not a road bike!

So a bike designed for drop bars with 700c wheels? 😐

[img] [/img]

Qwerty's one from the other thread, because it's giving me a semi.

Have a look at the Salsa blog; they're bringing out something between Fargo and a road bike pretty soon...

Qwerty's one from the other thread, because it's giving me a semi.

Er... 😉

The frame bags, I like (a lot). The idea of a go anywhere, do anything bike, I like. The Fargo, I do not like.

PS BD - gentlemen's C2C or Coast & Castles mid summer?

tongue in cheek cynic-al

but as for road bikes with disks ...there is no need ....

shit in 3500kms i used one set of canti pads on my CX bike in nz loaded up and riding some reasonable hills ...

on my road bike which is one of my mainly used bikes ive used one set of brake pads in 5 years .... im on my second now

what advantage do disks give on a road bike ? you wont stop any quicker - i can skid front and rear with my SORAS if i want to or i can come to quick and controled stop with ease

i love the fargo as a concept and id buy one in a snap for mixed touring but if i wanted a road bike id buy a road bike or a dawes galaxy/audax or even a cyclocross bike before i bought a fargo (for purely road riding)

when i go out on the road the purpose is to cover distance with as much ease as possible.

on my road bike which is one of my mainly used bikes ive used one set of brake pads in 5 years .... im on my second now

😯 i went through a brand new set last Sunday. But it was group riding through some absolute filth and we did cover a fair old distance.

errr . . . iz snot mine 😈

My mistake, apologies. 🙂

OMITN - yep, let's get something in the diary.

geoffj - Member

Oh and the fargo is a 29er - DEFO not a road bike!

So a bike designed for drop bars with 700c wheels?

Not when it's made for 2.3" knobby tyres, no.

but as for road bikes with disks ...there is no need ....

Here we go again 😐

I use them (have you?) I like them, yes I don't need them, but few of us [i]need[/i] gears, pneumatic tyres etc etc

"mummy, why does that bike have airbags?"

I'm sorry, but I'm [i]pretty[/i] sure that once you've ridden pneumatic tyres there's no going back. 😀

I've got Chipps Fargo on loan at the moment. It's a great bike, but not one I would want for just doing road stuff. Tis quite heavy. A bike that come into it's own on the rougher stuff and laden down. Not a bike for doing fast touring miles on the road.

My new road bike will have disks.

Anyone want a 2nd-hand Kona Sutra?

OMITN - yep, let's get something in the diary.

Ace. I'll speak to your bro (if he ever ventures outdoors on a bike - I think he's addicted to that bl**dy computrainer) and line up some dates. 😀

The nice thing about something like the Fargo, is it's adaptability. You don't sound the most commited road rider, and why should you be? Why restrict yourself to a bike that can only be ridden or setup in one way. I think the Fargo looks amazing, because you are freed then from riding just on the road, and instead you can ride on the road and go anywhere off it too. You can add racks and disks and knobbly tyres, or a bell and mudguards and slicks. That's brill if you ask me!

Yes, but it's a compromise in the way that a mountainbike with drops on the road is.

Buy a bike suited to the purpose!

RE: need for discs. For me, the primary reason is, on my commuter, the bike has to keep going no matter what. If I ding a rim, or break a spoke and the wheel goes out of alignment in the middle of nowhere, provided the wheel will rotate through the frame/forks I can get home in relative safety, without having to stop and prat about with rim brakes. There have been at least three occasions over the last few years where I have got home in the dark to find the front wheel is quite badly pringled and the only thing I've known about it the feeling that 'something doesn't feel quite right'. For this kind of use they are worth their (literal and metaphorical) weight in gold.

But compromise isn't a bad thing for most people, most of the time!

If the compromise means you can do loads of different stuff on it without a specific, doubtless expensive, bike for each purpose, then to me that sounds like a compromise worth making.

Sure not everyone can have all the bikes they want and often a compromise makes sense.

If you'd tried to use a bike meant purely for offroad on road, or for flat bars with drops, against one suited for the purpose, you'd know what I mean - a compromise too far.

What have I started here then?! Thanks for all your advice guys. Maybe I worded the question a little wrongly. I am and dont think ever will be a time trial speedster road rider. I like the thought of having a road bike, but would like to be able to pack it up and do some fun weekend rides. I have arranged a possible demo with tim at sideways of a fargo and will see where I go. Thanks for all your other suggestions, i'll definitely look into/ demo those aswell. 😀

[img] [/img]Charge Mixer?

rack and mudguard mounts, 8 speed hub and hydraulic disks

You forgot to mention the stupid fixie looks!

You forgot to mention the stupid fixie looks!

yer true, but fitting rack and guards would change the look a bit

You'll be wanting one of these [img] [/img]
Salsa Vaya...Look on the amigos blog on the salsa site.

I have arranged a possible demo with tim at sideways of a fargo and will see where I go. Thanks for all your other suggestions, i'll definitely look into/ demo those aswell.

Great shop. I must pay another visit some time soon.

If you want a real all rounder, and are happy with the compromises suggested, then how about this:

Fargo frame with finishing kit that permits both road and off road riding. For this I would consider carefully:

*Chainest - touring triple. Plenty of low, but enough high to move along steadily and make good downhill progress.

*Cassette - nice and wide. This means considering 9speed, so get the benefot of MTB cassettes.

*Wheels - 2 wheelsets: (1) burlier, built up as 29er wheels, with 29er tyres (2) skinnier, built up to take road tyres up to touring size (say max 35c, but down to 25c).

*Build kit - don't think too burly. Some steady, reasonably light kit will work well pretty much all the time.

Enjoy..!! 😀

rack mounts?

You'll be wanting one of these

Fargo is one thing. That Vaya on the other hand, makes me feel physically sick at the sight of it.

WTF is that jacked up front end? 😯

Your right ourmaninthenorth, although should only need one set of wheels really, the off road i'll be doing wont be that burly but would be nice to have the space to fit some tires with a bit of nobble 1.5" to 2.0" for a bit of muddy canal/track riding. A cross bike may be a better option and I do like the look of the Salsa Vaya.

Hi, Fargo owner here...

Because of the big tyre clearance, you'll need to run a mountain bike chainset, or an XT trekking chainset. - not a problem, just so's you know.

I reckon it's a great bike. Mine is 22lbs or so unloaded, with chunky slicks. Loaded it was 54lbs and still rode fine. I wanted discs for the paranoid reason that I'm terrified of blowing a tube on a long road descent using rim brakes... That's all.

cynic-al - Member
Yes, but it's a compromise in the way that a mountainbike with drops on the road is.

Buy a bike suited to the purpose!

Every time I go out on my roadbike I end up somewhere it shouldn't be, so now I ride a cross bike on the road so I don't feel so bad about bashing skinny tyres over rocks etc 🙂

Fargo looks good to me. So does the Singular Peregrine or Gryphon.

Exactly, why cut off any potential for going exciting places?

I bought a Cotic roadrat from Tim a couple of years ago. I ahve toured, commuted, winter trainer even done a tt (badly!!) on it. Discs or not, gears or not, mudguards and racks. Loads cheaper than a fargo iirc.

I'm using a roadrat for that too. I have 1x9 with a 50tooth compact road chainset, XT cassette and rear mech. BB7 brakes and an ultegra STI lever with another brake lever on the other side.
I got sick of the hassle of changing flats with the stupid dropout arrangement so I bought some stupidly heavy 37mm Continental Contact Something or other tyres with a 1 year no-flat garuntee which are bomb proof and I use it for witner riding in the forest, on the roads and just about wherever I want.
The BB7s are a bit of hard work to keep working how I want them and I could do with some more grip sometimes, but in general it is agreat do anything bike. I even tow the kids in the trailer in the summer, but the 50tooth chainring makes it hard work now there are 2 of them 🙂

I would drop the disc brake idea and get a Salsa Casseroll.