All Day Bikepacking Comfort

While it may seem like every brand is jumping on the bikepacking and adventure cycling movement, Salsa has been at it for years, with a complete range of bikes purpose built for anything from singe day gravel rides to intercontinental tours. Inspired by the Great Divide Mountain Bike route, the Cutthroat has been in the Salsa lineup for a few years now. The new version of this drop bar bike offers long distance comfort over mixed surface terrain.

• Frame and fork redesigned with a higher modulus carbon to increase compliance.
• More gear attachment points, including a direct mount frame bag option.
• More drivetrain compatibility by using wider mountain boost cranks.

More Compliant Fork

 The Cutthroat fork gets an overhaul, using high modulus carbon to add 32 percent more compliance than the original. This 775-gram fork features three gear mounts on each side and internal cable routing. If you already have a Cutthroat, don’t sweat. Salsa has made the new fork backwards compatible with the previous generation. So instead of getting a new bike, you can get a new fork and feel like you have a new ride. The fork retails for $549

Frame Updates

The Cutthroat frame is also updated with a new high modulus carbon, but there are a few design changes to the geometry as well. Adding to the all day comfort intention of this frame is a 69° headtube angle, helping create a longer wheelbase for increased stability. It maintains Salsa’s Class 5 Vibration Reduction System, which adds compliance to the rear end through bowed-out seatstays, while still offering power transfer through the chainstays.  The Cutthroat is now available in a 52cm, with sizing all the way to 60cm in 2cm increments, and has tire clearance of up to 2.4”.

Accessory Mounts

 One of the perks of choosing a Salsa for adventure riding is that the company also makes bikepacking bags. The Cutthroat gets its own purpose built frame bags, made specifically for each frame size to maximize cargo capacity. These direct mount bags install without tools and feature waterproof materials and a water-resistant construction. Additionally, there are three mounts on each side of the fork; three main triangle bottle mounts; two accessory mounts on the underside of the downtube; and a toptube mount. Salsa can supply any bag you need.

Road Boost Drivetrain

 To achieve a wide tire clearance, Salsa uses boost mountain mountain bike cranks, which essentially just moves the crank outward. Using these cranks allows the rest of the components to be road specific. With mountain boost cranks, 1x setups have a 40t chainring maximum up front. With Race Face mountain boost cranks mounted to Easton direct-mount chianrings, a 2x setup can have a maximum 50/34t chainring combo.

Pricing and Builds

The Cutthroat frameset retails for $2,199, with full builds starting at $2,699 for Apex 1. Other builds include GRX 600 for $3,299, GRX 810 1X for $4,199 and GRX 810 Di2 for $5,799. The fork alone is available for $549.

For more info, visit salsacycles.com

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