Ever since gravel became a thing, Salsa has been at the very front of the trend that’s now become a fully fledged genre. So it comes as absolutely no surprise that the brand has welcomed 32-inch wheels and built its latest Fargo around the hottest topic in off-road cycling. Here’s everything you need to know…
Rather than taking a very racy approach, as we’ve seen from the likes of Scott, Salsa’s Fargo 32 is built more for the adventurer who’s after a bike that can take on whatever the route throws at it. As such, it’s built for comfort with steel and titanium frame options, but importantly, 32-inch wheels.
The big and trendy wheel size has been chosen to expand the bike’s ‘legendary capability’, thanks to the wheels’ higher angular momentum and lower angle of attack. Salsa reckons that 32-inch wheels roll faster and further under the same amount of power, and also deliver an increase in traction while allowing for lower tyre pressures. As such, we’re told that the wheels are just faster and smoother.
As this isn’t a race bike, Salsa has chosen the stability route for the new bike. That’s in order to bring a predictable ride with a bike that’s designed for distance. At the front, it’s sculpted to take advantage of a drop handlebar, but combined with a short stem. Salsa says that this means that a flat handlebar could be installed if you really wanted to.
With that, the brand has chosen to employ longer effective top tubes to address the increased risk of toe overlap while promoting stability towards the front end. There’s then a 67-degree head tube angle and a 75-degree seat tube. The chainstay measures 482mm, but that figure is adjustable thanks to Salsa’s Alternator 1.0 dropouts, allowing for a 465mm chainstay in its shortest setting. However, if you’re running a UDH, it looks like you’ll be sacrificing that adjustability.
As mentioned, the Fargo 32 is available in steel and titanium frame materials, both benefitting from a carbon fibre fork. If you wanted to go for a suspension fork, the Fargo’s geometry is corrected to run an 80mm fork. It’s also routed to make the installation of an internally routed dropper post more than possible. Of course, there’s then clearance for 32×2.4-inch tyres.
> “I’ve ridden a 32-inch wheel, and now, I think we’re overlooking its gravelly potential”
Taking a bikepacking stance, this bike is loaded with all of the mounting points that you might expect. The fork benefits from a three-pack mount on each of its legs, and there’s a low-rider rack mount towards the front of the bike. It’s also compatible with the Salsa Alternator Plus Rack thanks to a lift kit especially for the big wheels.
Along with an accessory mount on the downtube, there’s space for one bottle on the SM size, two on the MD and three on the LG and XL frame sizes.
At the moment we don’t have UK pricing, so watch this space. Of course, we’re already hassling to take one for a spin too.
