I am no bike expert, and any bike is a good bike when it comes to being involved in the cycling world. I believe the bicycle is one of the most important inventions of all time and one that has still not reached its potential, especially here in America.
Today’s cycling industry offers more bike options than ever before with brands creating a new range of do-all, do-anything bikes that won’t break the bank. My bike, and the path I took to find and purchase it, might help you decide which route to go when it comes to getting on the road.
The Salsa Fargo Titanium is my “one bike” solution for road, gravel, bikepacking, touring, and even mountain biking. A drop bar adventure touring style bike, something that was in great part pioneered by brands like Salsa. This may or may not be the right bike for you but perhaps my story will lead to your story.
Cycling isn’t a revolutionary act. Cycling is rudimentary human-powered transportation. Cycling does have the potential to change the world but we have to be careful about how we position ourselves as cyclists. Having a good bike, or a bike that makes you feel content and connected is a good starting point to understanding what’s possible. Free, cheap, fancy, heavy, fast, or slow, the key is to get out and ride.
Comments 4
Good stuff. Due to a running injury, I’ve recently dusted off (literally) my heavy, slow, 20 year old Trek mountainbike and starting doing ~10 mile rides every morning before the first Zoom call. More road than trail but some gravel multi-use trails. Been nice getting back into it. Doubt I’ll be doing your epic rides, or buy a new ride (though I love looking a sweet bike) but spinning through NJ helps get me going.
Author
Mark,
Hey, ANYTHING will work. Happy you are out, and the old Trek could be legendary. My wife is partial to hers, for sure.
A few years I almost dropped money on that exact bike but I couldn’t justify the price at the time so bought a cheaper steel Fairdale.
However, two years ago I reconsidered, picked up a titanium Curve GXR frame from Curve based in Melbourne and love it. No bike shops involved but I do have a bike shop/mechanic I can trust.
I did a one-year write up about the GXR here. https://seanbreslin.net/2019/05/06/curve-gxr-one-year-review/
Like the Fargo it’s a bike for life. No need to change now as titanium will be around a lot longer than me.
Author
Sean,
The only thing I’ll do with this is tweak the components, packs, etc. depending on my needs. GRX looks good and Rohloff with Gates carbon belt has always been intriguing but pricy and heavy. If I tour, maybe.