Price Paid:
$480.00
at Universal Cycles Model Year:
2007 Favorite Ride:
Anywhere rubber side down Bike Setup:
Ultegra/Open-pro wheelset with a full SRAM Rival kit, Nitto bars, King headset, Thompson seat post, Sella Anatomica saddle (an altered Brooks B.17), SKS fenders, Soma stem, and Tekro 57mm long-reach brakes. Summary:
My Casseroll is a 2008 model, but that isn't an available option above. I bought the frame-set and components separately and have a limited amount of riding time on the bike, but I thought I'd give my initial impressions because they're fresh in my mind.
The first impression on the bike was how different it is from my current Surly Crosscheck (my basis for comparison). They're very different frames and therefore ride much differently. This is worth mentioning because I think a lot of people in the market for a commuter frame will be considering both.
Anyway 2 things stand out when compared to the Surly. First is how much the longer head tube affects the ride quality of the Salsa. It gives the bike a more upright riding position, even though I tried to set it up as close to the Surly as possible (seat height, fore & aft position, and bar height).
Second the Salsa it is much smoother over rough roads and terrain. This could be attributed to the different wheelset, but the Surly has 28mm tires compared to the Casseroll's 25's. With smaller tires the Salsa is still smoother. There are lots of other variables that could cause this, of course, but the ride quality of the Salsa did stand out. The Salsa is also quite a bit lighter, though I haven't put either bike on the scale.
Overall it is a very relaxed and comfortable bike and I think that is what Salsa was going for. It has rack & fender eyelets, which are always handy. With some tweaking you could make it more sporty, but this seems to me to go against the grain of what Salsa was going for when they created the Casseroll. You could also make it a single speed/fixie, a tourer, a commuter or just something to haul the kids around with. It is super versatile and I think that will appeal to a lot of people. Also worth noting is the lack of cantilever brake studs so no more tweaking your canti-brakes every 2 weeks. Strengths:
Versatile, reasonably priced, comfortable, good looking. Weaknesses:
The paint isn't the best and already is starting to get chips. If it stays in the stable for more than 2 years it will need to be painted. The welds aren't as clean as I've seen on other bikes, but probably about par with the competition at this price-point. Similar Products Used:
Surly Crosscheck
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