Comments on: Salsa “Sol Sessions”: The Big Mama http://twentynineinches.com/2008/06/17/salsa-sol-sessions-the-big-mama/ 29er Bike Reviews, Rumors and News Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:20:39 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 By: Yoga Pants http://twentynineinches.com/2008/06/17/salsa-sol-sessions-the-big-mama/comment-page-1/#comment-58749 Yoga Pants Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:05:33 +0000 http://twentynineinches.com/?p=1187#comment-58749 I dont usually comment, but after reading through so much info I had to say thanks I dont usually comment, but after reading through so much info I had to say thanks

]]> By: Tristan http://twentynineinches.com/2008/06/17/salsa-sol-sessions-the-big-mama/comment-page-1/#comment-41993 Tristan Sat, 12 Jul 2008 06:04:18 +0000 http://twentynineinches.com/?p=1187#comment-41993 Hey GT- Thanks for your quick response. I can definitely understand your point on 'fs mindsets.' It fits quite nicely when looking at the typical build of a Sultan. In reality, I think either would fit my needs - the Sultan being a full pound lighter, but leaving my wallet ~$600 lighter as well. While I am getting more into gnarlier terrain (I just moved from Maine to Massachusetts), where drops and ledges are more the norm, I have not had a problem handling things on my hardtail. Therefore, I can imagine a less-AM-oriented suspension providing me with a bit of what I am used to, mixed with a bit of what I'm looking for. Looks like you've successfully made me flip-flop. Thanks! -Tristan Hey GT-
Thanks for your quick response.
I can definitely understand your point on ‘fs mindsets.’ It fits quite nicely when looking at the typical build of a Sultan. In reality, I think either would fit my needs – the Sultan being a full pound lighter, but leaving my wallet ~$600 lighter as well. While I am getting more into gnarlier terrain (I just moved from Maine to Massachusetts), where drops and ledges are more the norm, I have not had a problem handling things on my hardtail. Therefore, I can imagine a less-AM-oriented suspension providing me with a bit of what I am used to, mixed with a bit of what I’m looking for. Looks like you’ve successfully made me flip-flop. Thanks!

-Tristan

]]> By: Guitar Ted http://twentynineinches.com/2008/06/17/salsa-sol-sessions-the-big-mama/comment-page-1/#comment-41980 Guitar Ted Sat, 12 Jul 2008 02:38:00 +0000 http://twentynineinches.com/?p=1187#comment-41980 Tristan: Hey, thanks! I appreciate all the comments. Let me say first of all that I have not had the pleasure of riding a Turner Sultan. I have picked the brains of a few Turner owners though, and I will offer you what they have passed on to me. The Turner, as you guessed rightly, is a more "full suspension-like" feeling rig, although I will temper my comment by saying that the guys I discussed this with were tuning these rigs for All Mountain type riding. Not really what you might look at for endurance racing. I suspect that a Sultan could, and probably has been set up in a more "XC-ish" way, but I have not spoken to anyone that has a Sultan set up this way. Turner has a different outlook on FS than Salsa does, and I think this is a better way to look at this. Salsa comes from a "singletrack, tight twisty" mindset and Turner is located in the South West , which has a different trail type all together. The bikes are sort of born out of these mindsets in a very general sense. Salsa; therefore, has a quicker feel. Right out of the box, I could feel the Salsa was a great single track slicer and dicer. I thought it had a great tendency to "squirt" forward, much like a hardtail, when mashing a pedal down. It was very responsive to tempo changes and this was with the damper set wide open and at a lower pressure in the can than you might think you need. To my mind, it's aimed dead center at the endurance crowd. Tough forged connections, great suspension action that isn't stressed to the max to work correctly, and sensible weight. It all adds up to a reliable looking choice for an endurance mount. That's my take. Tristan: Hey, thanks! I appreciate all the comments. Let me say first of all that I have not had the pleasure of riding a Turner Sultan. I have picked the brains of a few Turner owners though, and I will offer you what they have passed on to me. The Turner, as you guessed rightly, is a more “full suspension-like” feeling rig, although I will temper my comment by saying that the guys I discussed this with were tuning these rigs for All Mountain type riding. Not really what you might look at for endurance racing. I suspect that a Sultan could, and probably has been set up in a more “XC-ish” way, but I have not spoken to anyone that has a Sultan set up this way.

Turner has a different outlook on FS than Salsa does, and I think this is a better way to look at this. Salsa comes from a “singletrack, tight twisty” mindset and Turner is located in the South West , which has a different trail type all together. The bikes are sort of born out of these mindsets in a very general sense.

Salsa; therefore, has a quicker feel. Right out of the box, I could feel the Salsa was a great single track slicer and dicer. I thought it had a great tendency to “squirt” forward, much like a hardtail, when mashing a pedal down. It was very responsive to tempo changes and this was with the damper set wide open and at a lower pressure in the can than you might think you need. To my mind, it’s aimed dead center at the endurance crowd. Tough forged connections, great suspension action that isn’t stressed to the max to work correctly, and sensible weight. It all adds up to a reliable looking choice for an endurance mount.

That’s my take.

]]> By: Tristan http://twentynineinches.com/2008/06/17/salsa-sol-sessions-the-big-mama/comment-page-1/#comment-41979 Tristan Sat, 12 Jul 2008 02:13:14 +0000 http://twentynineinches.com/?p=1187#comment-41979 Hey GuitarTed - Thanks for this writeup, and thanks to Salsa for making it even harder to pull the trigger on a frame! You give great responses to those who comment, and it is greatly appreciated. Anyhow, enough brown-nosing. I had been all-but-decided on a Turner Sultan. I was hoping you could give me your thought/feel comparison between the Sultan and the Big Mama. My guess is that you would say that the Sultan is a bit more on the "FS" side of things, but I'd like to hear it from you :) I've been taking my time in picking a frame for my next bike. I have decided that it WILL be FS, and it WILL be a 29er. This will be my first FS, after many, many years on a good ol' Schwinn Homegrown hardtail. Perks there are a) lightweight b) climbs like a scalded monkey c) handles nicely through singletrack. However, I am anxious to move towards endurance racing, which means (to me) the FS is key. That said, can you make a recommendation as to a frame choice? Thanks again, keep rockin. Hey GuitarTed -
Thanks for this writeup, and thanks to Salsa for making it even harder to pull the trigger on a frame! You give great responses to those who comment, and it is greatly appreciated. Anyhow, enough brown-nosing. I had been all-but-decided on a Turner Sultan. I was hoping you could give me your thought/feel comparison between the Sultan and the Big Mama.

My guess is that you would say that the Sultan is a bit more on the “FS” side of things, but I’d like to hear it from you :)

I’ve been taking my time in picking a frame for my next bike. I have decided that it WILL be FS, and it WILL be a 29er. This will be my first FS, after many, many years on a good ol’ Schwinn Homegrown hardtail. Perks there are a) lightweight b) climbs like a scalded monkey c) handles nicely through singletrack. However, I am anxious to move towards endurance racing, which means (to me) the FS is key. That said, can you make a recommendation as to a frame choice?

Thanks again, keep rockin.

]]> By: Guitar Ted http://twentynineinches.com/2008/06/17/salsa-sol-sessions-the-big-mama/comment-page-1/#comment-41445 Guitar Ted Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:10:28 +0000 http://twentynineinches.com/?p=1187#comment-41445 Slim: First off, I have not had the chance to ride the Specialized FS 29"er. When I was at Interbike I stood in their booth/demo area for 20 minutes and the Specialized folks walked right by me as if I wasn't even there. It was very strange! Anyway......... The Niner RIP 9 is a fun bike. In comparison to the Salsa, I felt as though I was more "on top" of the bike and with the Big Mama I felt more at home, more "normal" if you will. Definitely the Big Mama has more of an ability to pop up the front end for wheelies and manuals. It also has a great acceleration factor. Instead of sitting back into its travel before leaping, it can jet right forward, more like a hard tail. The RIP 9 does not do this. The RIP 9 definitely feels much more "FS" , and by that I mean to say that at all times you know you are on a full suspension device with plush travel. The Big Mama tends to become more "invisible" in that regard. It still eats up the chatter and bumps, but I didn't notice it so much. I felt more "connected" to the trail, not so "isolated" from it as on the RIP 9. In conclusion, I think both rigs are extremely well thought out and are great performing 29"ers. If I had to say concisely what is the difference I would say this: The RIP 9 is more for folks coming from AM/FR 26"ers and the Big Mama is more for folks who want 4" travel but without the overtly "plush", couch-like feel that a lot of FS 4 plus inch travel bikes have. That's being far too simplistic and unfair to both bikes, but ya gotta start somewhere! :) Slim: First off, I have not had the chance to ride the Specialized FS 29″er. When I was at Interbike I stood in their booth/demo area for 20 minutes and the Specialized folks walked right by me as if I wasn’t even there. It was very strange! Anyway………

The Niner RIP 9 is a fun bike. In comparison to the Salsa, I felt as though I was more “on top” of the bike and with the Big Mama I felt more at home, more “normal” if you will. Definitely the Big Mama has more of an ability to pop up the front end for wheelies and manuals. It also has a great acceleration factor. Instead of sitting back into its travel before leaping, it can jet right forward, more like a hard tail. The RIP 9 does not do this. The RIP 9 definitely feels much more “FS” , and by that I mean to say that at all times you know you are on a full suspension device with plush travel. The Big Mama tends to become more “invisible” in that regard. It still eats up the chatter and bumps, but I didn’t notice it so much. I felt more “connected” to the trail, not so “isolated” from it as on the RIP 9.

In conclusion, I think both rigs are extremely well thought out and are great performing 29″ers. If I had to say concisely what is the difference I would say this: The RIP 9 is more for folks coming from AM/FR 26″ers and the Big Mama is more for folks who want 4″ travel but without the overtly “plush”, couch-like feel that a lot of FS 4 plus inch travel bikes have.

That’s being far too simplistic and unfair to both bikes, but ya gotta start somewhere! :)

]]> By: Slim http://twentynineinches.com/2008/06/17/salsa-sol-sessions-the-big-mama/comment-page-1/#comment-41435 Slim Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:00:13 +0000 http://twentynineinches.com/?p=1187#comment-41435 GT, Do you have any comparisons to the Niner RIP 9 and Specialized Stumpy FSR 29? They are the only other 4" travel 29ers that I have ridden so wondering what you thought of the differences if you've tried them. Thanks, Slim GT,

Do you have any comparisons to the Niner RIP 9 and Specialized Stumpy FSR 29?
They are the only other 4″ travel 29ers that I have ridden so wondering what you thought of the differences if you’ve tried them.

Thanks,

Slim

]]> By: Dirt McGirt http://twentynineinches.com/2008/06/17/salsa-sol-sessions-the-big-mama/comment-page-1/#comment-40538 Dirt McGirt Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:37:29 +0000 http://twentynineinches.com/?p=1187#comment-40538 word. word.

]]> By: mg http://twentynineinches.com/2008/06/17/salsa-sol-sessions-the-big-mama/comment-page-1/#comment-40523 mg Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:01:50 +0000 http://twentynineinches.com/?p=1187#comment-40523 That's what I'm sayin'... It's gonna' look friggin' SWANK in person! You know it will... especially sitting next to my Dos Niner and La Cruz. It'll look good in the midst of my entire stable of Salsas, actually. When those of you who have saddle time on modern Salsa frames ride it, you'll understand -- it fits right in amongst the family. That’s what I’m sayin’… It’s gonna’ look friggin’ SWANK in person! You know it will… especially sitting next to my Dos Niner and La Cruz. It’ll look good in the midst of my entire stable of Salsas, actually. When those of you who have saddle time on modern Salsa frames ride it, you’ll understand — it fits right in amongst the family.

]]> By: Dirt McGirt http://twentynineinches.com/2008/06/17/salsa-sol-sessions-the-big-mama/comment-page-1/#comment-40517 Dirt McGirt Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:54:33 +0000 http://twentynineinches.com/?p=1187#comment-40517 Dude, I'm sorry. How in the h e double hockey sticks could you NOT like that paint job??!?! Dude, I’m sorry. How in the h e double hockey sticks could you NOT like that paint job??!?!

]]> By: Dirt McGirt http://twentynineinches.com/2008/06/17/salsa-sol-sessions-the-big-mama/comment-page-1/#comment-40513 Dirt McGirt Wed, 18 Jun 2008 21:06:43 +0000 http://twentynineinches.com/?p=1187#comment-40513 I'm gonna start a site called Fmtbr.com.com. It'll be ill, son. ILL! I’m gonna start a site called Fmtbr.com.com.

It’ll be ill, son. ILL!

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