Top Ten 29″er Products Of ‘09: Salsa Cycles Big Mama
December 22nd, 2009 by Guitar TedEditors Note: Yeah, yeah…..another year end review! Tis the season! So, here are my favorite things that have passed through the Twenty Nine Inches review process during the past year. I want to point out a few parameters that I used for what I chose here.
1. The product had to be in the review process during the time period of December 2008 through to the end of November 2009. Reviews that are currently in process I did not include and will be eligible for my 2010 Top Ten list.
2. They had to be products or bicycles that I personally used during this period. Nothing any of the other Twenty Nine Inches staff reviewed on their own could be considered for my list. This list doesn’t necessarily reflect the opinions of anyone but me, Guitar Ted.
3. The reviewed products were provided to Twenty Nine Inches at no charge for review. I was not paid or bribed for this review. I will give/gave my honest opinion or thoughts through out.
That said, let’s get on with this
Number 7: Salsa Cycles Big Mama: Salsa Cycles introduced the Big Mama to the world back in June of 2008. Twenty Nine Inches took delivery of a Big Mama frameset back in March and we ran our test of the Big Mama for the next five months. That said, the Big Mama has been in continuous service since then as a test mule for other products. The Big Mama represents Salsa’s first attempt at a full suspension 29″er, (unless you count the Dos Niner soft tail as “full suspension”) Using the same Scandium tubing flex properties as they did with the Dos Niner, Salsa’s unique take on full suspension yields 4 inches of rear wheel travel.
Why It Made The List: Salsa Cycles Big Mama uses many forged parts and with tubing manipulation mated to maximized weld surface areas this frame turned out stiff. Quite stiff laterally and torsionally. Even without tapered head tubes or funky bottom bracket gymnastics. I was impressed with the nature of the suspension, which wasn’t a “disconnected feel”, but allowed me to get a feel for the trail. The bike had a noticeably good acceleration and didn’t react too badly in out of the saddle climbing or sprints. The Big Mama has big tire clearance, another plus for trail riders. Finally, the quality of travel was quite acceptable. While not “bottomless” and certainly not “linear” throughout the stroke, the Big Mama was predictable, comfortable, and got all of the travel on tap if you set it up correctly. All this without much fuss.
My Two Cents: The Big Mama is a “workingman’s trail bike”. It isn’t all high tech with the latest gadgets or frame features, (although the Scandium tubing manipulation on this frame is amazing.) It doesn’t cut a really unique profile at the trail head, and certainly the subtle dirty orange finish with the sublimated graphics doesn’t call out “Look at me!”. No, this bike just goes out and gets the job done, and it does it admirably well. If the design could rival the new rigs I’ve thrown a leg over in terms of climbing out of the saddle, the Big Mama would have climbed a bit higher on this list. I did see an issue with cable rub and a few times the chain got jammed in between the chain rings and the lower forging on the swing arm. Issues that may have been due to my personal set up choices. As it stands though, it doesn’t have any glaring faults, this bike will get you there and back again. You can set it up for all out XC/Endurance stuff or you can set it up as a great trail bike. The bottom line? It could be the perfect tool that you can have a ton of fun on. The Salsa Cycles Big Mama is a “big” Number 7 on 2009’s Top Ten List.
Coming up next, the #6 pick for the Top Ten 29″er Products of 2009.
Don’t forget to add your pick for the 2009 Reader’s Choice Award! See the post here to vote
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Cool – for some reason, I didn’t even think of this one. Solid choice for the top 10!
Thanks to GT for the early reviews on this one, they helped my decision to get one.
I’ve now spent most of a year on the thing, and still have yet to reach the edge of its performance. The term ’sled’ really sums up its descending style,with a laid back,slightly delayed kind of body english. Where it really shines against a lot of other ‘all day’ trailbikes, is on rolling terrain, where it still has a zoominess that will allow you to still need to pass the 26ers as they sit and spin. Climbing traction is always available, but the trade-off in out of saddle efforts versus some multi-link rear bikes is made up by the simplicity, durability, and best of all, stiffness of this design.
It may not shout ‘look at me!’, but always draws a crowd of folks who know what they’re looking at; Its a bike you can somehow just look at and see how it will behave.
It should take me years to wear this thing out.
Thanks GT… The Big Mama is definitely one of my top picks for 2009 as well, as I’m sure you know.
T Shepherd summed up the Big Mama very well when he said “it should take me years to wear this thing out.” It’s a tough bike. After a solid year of riding and abuse, my Big Mama is still as tight and beautiful as it was on day one… That’s a great investment!
I raced my Big Mama in everything from semipro xc races to 24 hour races in 2009, and I never finished outside of the top-5 in a single race I entered on it… That’s a pretty darn good record!
I love my Big Mama… Thanks Salsa Cycles!
Merry Christmas, Guitar Ted, and all of my TwentyNineInches.com friends.
Cheers,
MG
GT, I like to play on technical trails… climbing rock slabs… jumping off 2 to 3 foot drops, etc. I’m like a dog on the trail… I gotta try everything! Would you recommend this frame for my type of riding? I’m looking for an all day play bike to supplement my SS. Thoughts? Thanks, Jeff
@Jeff: It “could” be the right bike for you. That would be hard riding for any bike, and of course, technique makes up for a lot- or not.
So, I can not say for certain. What I can say is that the Salsa Big Mama is built to last. Strong where it needs to be. That said- anything can be broken. So, again, I can not speak for you, or your riding style, but it can be a bike that could do these things you mention under the right rider.
Hello GT,
Great post on the Big Mama and nice to see a well executed simple design get props.
Not having a chance to demo any 29er up here in Vancouver (bought my El Mariachi site unseen) I am cruising for some last minute advice/ feedback on a few ride choices. I am building up a Marathon / multi day race bike for the BC Bike Race. It’s in my back yard so I am looking at trail bikes not just pure race bikes most of which wont last or be too practical around here post race.
I wanted your opinion on the Niner RIP 9 vs the Big mama for this purpose. From my research both are about the same weight so it comes down to ride capability and efficiency. I like both but have a hard time with the Salsa suspension design having been on Horst link bikes for the last 7-8 yrs. I suspect the Niner may give up a little on the climbs but should be better / more active everywhere else and not suffer from much brake jack. Not looking to win but reducing fatigue plays a factor in finishing times and overall enjoyment.
The only other bike I might consider is a SC Tallboy but I’d have to switch dealers and drop another grand in the process.
Rider info 6′1″ 185lbs, aggressive rider pushing 40.
Cheers!
@Chris Crash: Well, it comes down to riding style, as far as I can say. The RIP 9 tends to favor in the saddle climbing. The Big Mama has better out of the saddle climbing feel, but still not in the league of say, a Specialized Epic, which is stellar in this regard, and has the Horst Link.
I would favor the Big Mama, but I am a single speeder at heart, and standing climbs are part of my riding. Riders wanting the more plush feel of the RIP 9 and that don’t mind a sitting and spinning riding style will gravitate towards the Niner.
Thanks again GT.
Appreciate your feedback and observations
Funny thing about the Specialized Epic Pro 29 – it’s not sold in Canada. My race partner in Quebec has a sponsorship arrangement and they couldn’t get him this bike and the lower comp was sold out in his size.
If my dealer cant get me the RIP it sounds like the Big Mama will be as good an all around choice at a lower price.
By the way did Salsa give you the thumbs up mounting a 120mm fork on the bike or was this your own experiment? Be tempted to do the same.
Cheers