Salsa Fargo Review
Greetings fellow bicycle enthusiasts. I have yet to do a
product review and thought I would give it a go with a review of my 2012 Salsa
Fargo. I purchased the Fargo two years ago and although I have not kept track I
would guesstimate that I have put well over one thousand miles on it. It has
been used as my main bike packing mule. I have ridden it on all types of
terrain. We have travelled through snow, on gravel roads, dirt roads, single
track, and on parts of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. I have also
slimmed down the tires and used it as a daily commuter. I am not a tech guy or
a mechanic so I will primarily focus on the way the Fargo has ridden over the
last two years. The technical specs can be found on the Salsa website.
The Fargo is a great off road touring/adventure bike. It has
performed flawlessly during multiple overnight trips on gravel roads, dirt
roads and rail trails. The gearing is perfect for the ups and downs of gravel
travel. I have found it to be a very relaxing ride on gravel roads. The bike
handles incredibly well over gravel and dirt. The bike is also a great climber
on long hills. The 29 inch wheels role gently over rocks, roots and most
anything else that I have come across on the road or off.
The Fargo performs very well when loaded with gear. I have
travelled with panniers and other bags strapped to the back rack. I have
strapped tents and sleeping bags on the handle bars and the frame. There are
plenty of places to connect water bottles and other accessories. In fact you
can spend a small fortune on Salsa Anything Cages and bike bags that are
specifically designed for the Fargo. However if you are on a limited budget,
you can purchase a rear bike rack from Nashbar for twenty dollars or less and
it will haul any throw together bag you can strap on. The bike rides incredibly
well and is very stable when loaded down. I can’t say that you don’t notice the
weight when loaded but I can honestly say that it is not a distraction even on
long steep climbs. It is not a particularly fast bike but it is not designed to
be.
Riding the Fargo downhill is a lot of fun. The drop bars are
very comfortable to tuck down and let it roll. I have ridden the bike on
multiple mile downhills on gravel and paved roadways in Colorado and it was
incredibly comfortable and easy to control. I would not compare it to a road
bike however it was a close second given the big tires and basic mountain bike
design.
Although the Fargo has been functional on single track, it
is not designed for true single track terrain. It does well on long slow climbs
and flat single track riding. It also does well on single track downhill as
long as it is not real technical. However I have found that the drop bars and the
bar end shifters are not ideal for extended single track riding. The bike does
not do well in technical settings either. Some of this may be personal
preference; however for me the design of the bike is just not suited for riding
over large rocks on tight trails. This being said, it can be ridden on pure
single track trails. You just have to understand its limitations. Quick
shifting is going to be challenging, riding in a flat bar position is going to
be somewhat narrow and braking is not ideal on tight quickly changing terrain.
It is possible to change the handle bar configuration on the Fargo but losing
the great touring options of the drop bars it not worth it in my opinion.
When reading reviews on the Fargo I have often seen the
question “is it a good one bike for everything?” Or “if I could afford only one
bike, should I buy the Fargo?” Those are difficult questions that are largely
based upon personal preference. I would say that if the majority of your riding
is going to be off road touring, and you are going to ride single track on
occasion then the answer is yes it would be a good “one bike” to own. However
if you are looking for a bike to strap on the back of a car and head out to
hammer down some great single track, and then ride an occasional off road tour,
I would not recommend it as your “one bike.”
Overall the Fargo has been a great bike that I still find
very enjoyable to ride. Mechanically the bike has performed flawlessly. The
cable disc brakes are easy to maintain and perform very well even on steep downhill
terrain. The 3x9 gearing set up provides a huge range of options while out
touring over a variety of terrain. The wood chipper drop bars flare out
slightly and are incredibly comfortable providing numerous options for hand
placement while on long distance rides. I have found the stock WTB seat to be
very comfortable however, to each his own on the saddle end. The bar end
shifters work well while out touring and allow for more open bar space for the
purpose of strapping on gear.
When used as a daily commuter, the bike also performs very
well. I have ridden it with the large tires and I have also thinned it down and
placed some 700c tires on it for the purpose of gaining a little additional
speed. It works fine both ways. I am using it now for a daily commuter with the
larger tires on board and it works fine. It is incredibly comfortable on
pavement. Keep in mind however that my daily ride is only a couple of miles
each way. If you were travelling greater distance and looking for a daily
commuter specific ride, a road bike would probably be a better bet. That being
said, the Fargo is an incredibly fun bike to ride, that I would not hesitate to
ride to work over multiple miles of pavement. The shorter wheel base and large
tires however will make for a little longer ride to work in the morning.
The Fargo is a great bike. I would recommend it to anyone
who wants a well constructed multi-purpose bike. Just understand its design
before you spend the thousand plus dollars on it. If you are looking to be the
king of the single track then you might want to look elsewhere. However if you
love off road touring that can handle the occasional single track then I cannot
think of a better bike for the job.
Enjoy the Ride
