Nice review, thanks. It seems to be just the kind of bike that I'm looking for. However, according to your comments you have made several modifications to the original setup until you found the one that you really like and the one the one that does not have those problems that you singled out. So, how much more money did you spend when you rebuilt your bike ? And how much did you pay at the beginning ? How does the original configuration rate in terms of money to value (quality, performance, etc) ? Thanks again.
First I want to say that I am a bike tinkerer and I can never leave good enough alone. The only real thing that had to be changed was the wheels, the stock rims started the crack at the eyelets very quickly. The fork saved a ton of weight (something like 1.5 lbs) but if I was going to be bike backing out touring a ton on the bike I would have stuck with the stock steel fork. The rest of the modifications were all based on wearing parts out over time (drivetrain, the stock one lasted about 5000 miles if I remember correctly) or personal preference based (handle bar). I believe I bought the bike stock for about $1800 usd and probably spend about $2000 usd on the upgrades overtime. The original bike I would say was really good value, the rims ended up being a known problem that was shared with every bike that used them (WTB would warranty them but the problem would persist). Without the rim issue I would say that there is not anything that "needs" to be changed. I would 100% recommend the Fargo to anything seriously thinking about it. In the 8 years since buying the bike I have since changed things up again (remember the bike tinkerer comment before) and tried to get a cheap custom frame to better ideally fit what I want, in some way it was a success but it actually lead me into a different direction of going to a more traditional mtb based bikepacking bike (a revel wayward). Hope that helps.
It's funny because I remember your stigmata review from almost a decade ago and came across this one recently. Random q - how would you compare the stigmata to the Fargo?
It is interesting that you found two of my videos! As for your question, I would car that it is like comparing a rally car to a pick-up truck. The stigmata is like a road bike that can take larger tires of about 36mm where the fargo rides best with 2.2" t0 2.8" tires. The stigmata is snappy and light on its feet, where the fargo is stable and grounded. The Stigmata easily doubles as a road bike where the fargo can pull mountain bike duty, but is best used on non-performance rides where you will be riding a very long time. All this being said, I am having a custom frame made with geo that is nearly identical to be my road and gravel bike, the main differences are that the custom frame will have a higher stack and a lot more tire clearance. And I have moved on from the fargo to a mountain frame touring bike with a flat bar (a Revel Wayward). This setup will end up working better for me. I will have videos about both of these in the future.
Hi, I would like to know the length of all tapered tube. From where the tapered starts (at 1,5" or 39.8 mm) to where the tube ends (at 1 1/8" or 28.6 mm). It is usually about 250 millimeters, but I need to know the exact length to see if I can mount it on my bike. Thanks
I dont have the fork with me at the moment (just moved and its on a ship somewhere) but I do know that the Rudy steerer is MUCH longer than what you would find on a mountain fork. For reference in the mean time, I had it one my 61cm salsa warbird which has fairly long headtube at 220mm and I had 30-40mm of spacers under the stem. Also, I have found a reference online that states that the steerer is 310mm uncut and that sounds about right from what I remember.
If you still run a crank with a spider and a 32T or smaller chain ring some of the chain guides will not adjust low enough because they contact the spider flanges the hex's bolt to and leave a gap so the chain can still fall off and will. Unless you modify the guide itself like I did. I simply JB welded a piece of aluminum block inside the guide's "valley" to give it another 1/4" of adjustment. That way it can fully contact the chain inside and keep it on like its supposed to. Do that and then back it up a mm or two so the chain can spin freely but the guide is still close enough to do its job. No matter how hard ya send it. I haven't lost the chain once after doing so all is good. If I can just make the guide invisible now it'al be perfect. I am a minimalist and it looks a bit too busy for my taste.
Over a certain body weight the fork requires more air pressure than the optimum to balance between bottoming out and attaining full travel. With higher pressures you lose small bump compliance. Personally I think air forks are more suitable for lighter riders due to this issue. And coil forks being better for heavier riders. Also with only 40mm of travel there is not much room for sag while attaining that balance. If you set static sag at 10mm you only have 30mm left. Not an idea 💡 amount left to handle the bigger hits.
I would gladly give up "big hit" ability to gain supplyness I was never able to gain this with with fork. This is not an issue I have with my other Rockshox mountain bike forks. Also you can feel the stiction even with the air let out. My follow up to this video has been paused for a long while do to moving to a location that should give me a lot more ability to figure things like this out.
@@MongoDan mountain bike forks have a lot more travel and therefore have more flexibility for sag and optimum air pressure balance. If you really want a suspension gravel fork you’re probably better off with a 100mm SID. That stiction hopefully is just the seals needed to be broken in.
I have a feel that is likely has to do with the additional stack height headshocks require over traditional telescoping forks. Also the minimum space in the steerer would be limiting for air springs and dampers.
I got my new mtb yesterday and I had the same sound problem after 20 minutes of riding it. But I can feel the sound from the rear 9speed cassette when I push the pedals. Can I send you somewhere the video that shows the sound? Thank you in advance!
It is the factory Santa Cruz chainstay protector. They work really well but you do still hear the chain hitting it, I wish it was made of a bit softer material.
that HBO is a nice touch, will let ya run a spring with a lot of sag - 30-35% and not bottom out real hard. of course, the HBO is useless if your spring rate is too high.
It really is a nice touch to see in a non-exotic shock. I think it is a more useful adjustment than having separate high and low speed rebound adjustments.
Glad I could help! It is never a bad idea to make sure you track down and correct any click or tick you hear. I have personally cracked a few frames and the sound is the same, though no need to worry is you do solve what is making the noise. Sometimes it can be really helpful to have a friend help to listen and pin point the noise.
Hey Dan. I just bought one of these yesterday from the Cane Creek Factory in North Carolina. I asked what the difference was between the headsets, looking to see if it's really worth it to pay for the 110. Will told me the 70 has the exact same bearings, stainless... just like the 110. The main difference is the Lifetime Warranty on the 110. That's basically it. Same weather protection. Thanks for the vid.
Yeah... Shimano has GRX for all your complaints, sounds like you built your bike with the wrong groupset. Even SRAM they got a separate groupset for gravel riding.
Thanks for sharing this. I have a Fully mtb and looking for the fargo to commute and explore. I was doubting if that was the good bike to put next to my fully, and your video convinced me to pick this over a pure gravel bike. I have 2 questions. What the name of your front light(back?). And I noticed you said in your other video you bike an XL. I am in between sizes and doubting alot. I notice the stem is short, but how tall are you? Tip for your video, make try using some bookmarks for each section. helps navigating the video. I know you moved on to a revel bike. Is that because you ride more offroad oriented?
Hey Dan. I ride the same bike. Forest Service Green. I'm thinking about getting a carbon fork. I see they're all tapered but my head tube is straight. The Fargo never had a tapered tube. How did you remedy this? Thanks.
That is the cool thing about the 44mm straight headtube. You can still run a taper fork in it. If I remember correctly your Fargo has a canecreek 10 headset with a ZS upper cup (internal) and a EC lower cup (external). If that is true, all you will need to run a taper fork is to buy the fork an replace the lower race with the 1.5" version. Worse case, you will have to replace the headset with the proper one.
@@MongoDan Thanks so much for the video and the reply. I was SO confused. LOL. So many folks put the carbon on their Fargo but never mentioned how, with the tapered headset. And yes, it's still the Cane Creek. Not the original but CC none-the-less. thanks again. LOVE my bike.
@@themindunset glad I could help. If you have any other questions let me know. I have a que of videos I want to make, tech related ones normally coke quicker than most of the others.
@@MongoDan Do you notice a big weight difference with the carbon fork? I'm wondering if it's worth the expense for the rewards. I'm changing my wheelset too but I'm not able to spend a ton of money on all of these upgrades so, I'm trying to get the biggest bang for my buck. Thanks again.
@@themindunset wheels are by far the biggest bang for your buck. I would put money into a good set of carbon wheels over almost anything else on the bike. Light Bicycle wheels are a good place to start, something like their am930 rims on hope to dtawiss hubs. I have many sets from them and all have been golden. Good wheels not only perform better, they will also save you money in the long run due to much less maintenance that carbon wheels give (they are much stronger). The drive train would be the next location I would upgrade. And the fork being the last, though I do feel the fire started carbon fork is a good upgrade because it is literally half the weight and it stiffer on all the ways you want it to be.
I saw an earlier question about the Alternator dropouts. You can get dropouts for any arrangement you want (QR, through axle, fixed shaft, and even Rohloff with belt drive). You will need to ask your Salsa dealer for which dropouts are appropriate because there are at least four different types of dropouts and even some have sub-variations.
Very nice review. Note that you can purchase the frame either in a steel version or a titanium version. I have the titanium version. In any case, I definitely recommend that people consider building their own bike from the frame up. I will definitely agree that this is a go anywhere bike. It also works well with flat bars or alt-bars (I have the Surley Mokito bar and love it).
@MongoDan I've never owned an air shock that hasn't blown up. Where I live, we have tons and tons of really steep and fast tech downhill trails. My riding style requires a coil shock with a large diameter shaft like the Super Deluxe.
Of course a normal L-key would be better and is what I installed the pedal with. The point was to see the durability of the tool and to see if it could. Say you were flying with a bike and didn't want to carry the separate key, this wolftooth tool could be what you use to install and take off your pedals. The pedals just wouldnt be install quite as tight as you would with a normal L-key, but they would still be tight enough.
Ive been using the Kyle Strait Meaty Paws (35mm) and they are great. Wish i had something this size back in the old days. These also have a full shell so not too squishy which is good, dont want to lose the sensitivity.
@@MongoDan the 35mm aren't quite big enough, as my fingers still touch the heel of hand, so im going to try wrapping over it with some road bike bar tape, which has a better feel anyway and should add the extra few mm I really need.
great video ... are you happy with the 650lb spring ? and how much to you weigh if you dont mind me asking .. i just ordered a bike with the shock and i went with the 600 spring and im 260lbs
Thanks for sharing your opinion. You seem more relatable. These professional bike reviewer. Sometimes feel like they are being paid or trying to get paid. I just had purchased a bike with front suspension. I don’t know if it’s good or bad. I have not road a bike in over 10 years. I noticed. That it takes more energy to pick the front tire up. To hop over a curb. It could be my weight or my age!!! LOL The rear is a hard tail. I purchased a thudbuster and cloud 9 seat. It feels like a different bike. Way more comfortable. Then I was thinking of changing the whole transmission. I have a 21 speed but; the bike wants to stay in one gear. Then I saw all the nonsense I would have to do to change the transmission. I’ll rather purchase a whole mother bike. You need certain tools and you have to make sure a certain type of hub or freewheel. Too complicated. Thru axle or quick release. LOL
Thanks! I am certainly trying to be more relatable! I am certainly not being paid 🤣. Glad to hear you are back on a bike. It will take time to get back into the groove of it all and the skills should come back quickly. You are right on how bikes are made these days and the huge cost difference of buying a bike with the parts vs building it up. Sounds like you are making the right choice here.
@@TE_53349 good point, proper preloading is key, something you forget about with time as it becomes a natural motions. That would be a good topic for another video!
@@TE_53349 I have not tried to pre-load the bike. It has become more easier than my first time( actually my second time. I almost went over the handle bars)LOL. I will give it a try. Thanks!!!
Which cranks do you have? Most cranks are not at all difficult to remove or install. The only issue people run into is that it's normally the tightest fasteners on the bike.
Thanks!, unfortunately I am no longer in GZ but there are several riding groups but are mainly focused on road riding (which is great in GZ). That main one is GZC -Guangzhou Cycling. The sad truth is that in GZ there is very little mountain biking.
Hi. What's the diameter [in millimetres] of the long, cylindrical part of the Birzman crown race tool? It looks like I can use the Birzman 1.5inch adapter with a tool that I already have. John
The long chrome part for 1-1/8" is 35.06mm on the outer dia. The lower 1.5 adapter inner dia is about 35.20 to 35.25mm. Let me know which other tool you are looking to combine this one with. I'm curious and others might be as well.
Hi MongoDan. I have a Lifeline crown race setting tool for 1" or 1 1/8". The long chrome part measures 38mm in diameter. The tool is supplied with alloy adapters, one of which is 35.0mm. I think it will fit in the 1.5 inch Birzman unit. Do you have the outside and inside diameters of the part that interfaces with the Cane Creek adapter in your video? I've got a Wolf Tooth 1.5 inch crown race installation adapter that plugs directly on to the Park Tool CRS-15.2 and I'm looking for an alternative to that.
My $450 DA FC-9000 Cranks are now nearly worthless. Obviously they are not worth what I paid but maybe half. I'm pissed. My cranks look fine but when I go to upgrade, I have no market to sell these to. Only an idiot would buy these cranks used at this point.
Hey man, I've just moved to Guangzhou. I've bought a road bike, but I'm a mountain biker at heart. I'm probably going to get a Giant Trance 29. I've visited DaFuShan a few times to scout it out, seems alright. Are you still in GZ?
I'm no longer in GZ, and am also a mtn biker at heart. But DaFuShan was the only real mtn biking I was able to find anywhere near the city. For road riding have you connected with the GZC group yet? They are a good road riding group and I am sure they could use another person that is mtn'er. I used to find new routes and we would go on exploring rides to see if the routes worked. I was known for finding lots of obscure ways around and for riding a road bike like a MTN bike at times 😂. I actually miss road riding with that group.
@@MongoDan that's a shame! I know of that group but the biggest problem is I live a bit far away from the centre and all their rides start quite early! It is a shame that GZ sucks for MTBing. I have considered just using the city itself as a urban freeride type environment. Let's of people though. Shame we never met! Ride easy!
Be careful with urban freeride as I know the local police are pretty hardcore on stuff like that. Btw if you havent found it yet, there is a small skate park under the bridge near the Canton fair complex
So far, I have only ever seen one crankset with the failure. And I expect to have a very low rate of problem cranks as customers bring them in for me to check. However, the benefit for the consumer now is that these cranks essentially have a lifetime warranty instead of just 2 years. So even if it looks good now, but fails a few years, they'll still get replaced.
Cool! It's always good to see people out at places like this. How often do you guys ride there? I travel to skopje fairly often and will bring my bike again.
