Salsa Cassaroll

[bafc23]

Currently riding the Cassaroll for The Rag, configured as an on/off road commuter. That is to say, it's running 32mm cyclocross tires, a Shimano 10 speed cassette and a triple up front. Initial impressions are good - around 200 miles on board and pleased with the performance. Will be posting more detailed comments in this new forum leading up to the official write up. Also running my own Garmin 305 to track milage and stats, so should make for an interesting review. More on the 'roll, and the Garmin, to follow.

Viva!

[xjoex]

Do you like the GPS?

I borrowed my wifes Forerunner 301 for a few rides and the novelty sort of wore off after about 5 different rides. If it was a $50 gizmo I'd be more interested. But at $200+ they are still too pricey.

But for the application the forerunner was designed for, running, it is amazing. Its cool to see in a race the pace you are going constantly. The other choice running is looking at the mile markers and doing math while your heartrate is through the roof... let alone a trail running race which are notorious for poor distance marking.

-Joe

[2dumb4gears]

The best use of it is mapping your rides when you get home. I've got a Google Earth file (exports from Motionbased.com) with every dirt and road ride I do all on one map of the Earth. Pretty slick, really.

[bafc23]

I do like it, though I agree it's an expensive gadget. I use it a lot for training since it monitors heart rate, cadence, pace, etc. Gotta say I don't use the GPS for finding my way around really, it's just something fun to look at when I download the day's ride. I find the cadence sensor to be extremely finicky, especially when changing the main unit between bikes. I got a second sensor set so I could have 'Bike 1' and 'Bike 2' data. I've been trying to increase my mileage but also increase average speed and cadence while monitoring heart rate. I used to be totally against computers for the distraction factor - just go ride! - but now I've found a good balance between paying attention to the damn thing and simply enjoying the scenery. Random experiment the other day - I was riding at a high pace after a week of not riding due to work-related travel, and the high heart rate alarm went off. I realized I'd been visualizing (daydreaming about) a cyclocross race, and instead of reducing my speed I simply started thinking zen/peaceful/non-racing thoughts. Heart rate down. A few miles later I decided to start thinking about the race again - beep beep beep!

[rockhound]

On and Off road on a Cassaroll?

Pics please. How is the fit and geometry compared to the current standard road bike geometry or the current standard cyclocross geometry?

[Two Wheeler]

I've got a Google Earth file (exports from Motionbased.com) with every dirt and road ride I do all on one map of the Earth.

You too? Makes a pretty neat desktop background.

[bafc23]

On and Off road on a Cassaroll?

Pics please. How is the fit and geometry compared to the current standard road bike geometry or the current standard cyclocross geometry?

A little clarification - off road as in dirt paths and gravel roads, not tech single track. 90% of the riding are paved commutes, but I wanted to see how it went on the loose stuff, thus the CX tires. It goes ok, but not as ok as a proper cross bike. Plenty of clearance with 32mm tires tho and handles soft sandy stretches admirably. It's a fine bike for country road riding, but by no stretch of the imagination is this even an entry level CX rig and they don't proport that it is, I'm just pushing the boundries a bit.
Fit: not so crazy about the sloping top tube set up - it's a little short for my liking and would probably be more comfortable with a flat bar set up instead of road drops. Other riders who've tried it and are shorter than me have had similar comments. As you'd expect with this style of bike, every angle is a bit more slack than my personal road or 'cross bikes. I don't really mind it when riding the 'Roll, but I certainly notice the difference when I swing a leg over my 'standard' rides. For long-distance voyaging or heavy commuting, you could easily dial this bike in by building it from a frameset with your own parts pick. If I was buying this as it's set up out of the box I'd change more than just the seat and tires, but A: wanted to test it pretty much 'as is' and B: didn't really feel like cannibalizing something else to change the receipe.

[bafc23]

Put the street tires back on that came with the tester; much smoother commuting than the knobby cross treads and I was done with riding this rig on hardpack. Since these Panaracer's are wide rubber, the bike still handles any rough stuff with more comfort than 23mm's on a fixt or roadie. The Garmin migrated to another bike so no more computed mileage, but the Casseroll has been getting me to work, the taco stand and other local runs with aplomb. Actual test article in the mag soonishly.

[bafc23]

some outtakes from the published review that might be of interest to shoppers in the market for the new complete-build version of this bike:

The rig I got was set up close to how the complete Triple will come next year and the mix of Salsa components warrants a mention. The Shaft post has an intriguing adjustment design that I found to my liking, along with the Lip Lock seat collar. S.U.L. stems have graced a few of my bikes; they’re quite reliable and come in a plethora of sizes. The Short N Shallow bars were a treat to my smaller hands while the plush yet grippy tape allowed for comfort without gloves. I found the Delgado’s fine for wide tires, but I’d have preferred the option of some road rims to slip on some 23mm slicks and see how quick the Casseroll could cook. Nice to find Ultegra hubs mixed in with the 105 group, though I’d spec a short cage derailleur and a double up front over the triple out of habit. That said, it was fun to have the triple and put it in the small ring and small gear, pretending it was a single speed off roader. All bikes are single speeds until you elect to shift, after all. The sliding dropout’s range of adjustment means making sure the wheels are locked in tight, least you should pull the hub to the side mashing away from a traffic signal (an embarrassing first-ride operator error on my part).

thanks for reading, hope you like the foodie suggestions in the web version of the article.

onward!