I've had my eye on a Salsa Cutthroat for awhile now. However, with the supply shortages, it looks like it might be awhile before I can get my hands on a Cutthroat. I just ran across a review of the new Otso Waheela C and it looks amazing! I'm looking for a bike that can handle bikepacking trips and even some longer bikepacking races with a dream goal of the Tour Divide some day. But, I'd also like a bike that I could use for local gravel races in the 50-100 mile range. While the Cutthroat would be the best bikepacking and ultradistance cycling rig, the Otso Waheela would be better for the shorter gravel races. I'm really intrigued by the Waheela and the possibility it could do everything pretty well for me. My biggest concern with the Waheela would be comfort on long days in the saddle loaded for bikepacking. With its longer reach than the Cutthroat, it might not be as comfortable all day. Although, I do like to be stretched out a bit on a bike. I'm wondering if there's anyone here that uses their Otso Waheela for long distance bikepacking and bikepacking races. If so, do you find it to be a comfortable bike for long days in the saddle? Are there any modifications you've made to the Waheela to make it more comfortable for those long days in the saddle? How would you compare it to a Salsa Cutthroat for instance? Also, there is an Otso Waheela C available right now at a somewhat local bike shop and I'm going to test ride it. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Otso Waheela C vs. Salsa Cutthroat
trailrunners
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I've had my eye on a Salsa Cutthroat for awhile now. However, with the supply shortages, it looks like it might be awhile before I can get my hands on a Cutthroat. I just ran across a review of the new Otso Waheela C and it looks amazing! I'm looking for a bike that can handle bikepacking trips and even some longer bikepacking races with a dream goal of the Tour Divide some day. But, I'd also like a bike that I could use for local gravel races in the 50-100 mile range. While the Cutthroat would be the best bikepacking and ultradistance cycling rig, the Otso Waheela would be better for the shorter gravel races. I'm really intrigued by the Waheela and the possibility it could do everything pretty well for me. My biggest concern with the Waheela would be comfort on long days in the saddle loaded for bikepacking. With its longer reach than the Cutthroat, it might not be as comfortable all day. Although, I do like to be stretched out a bit on a bike. I'm wondering if there's anyone here that uses their Otso Waheela for long distance bikepacking and bikepacking races. If so, do you find it to be a comfortable bike for long days in the saddle? Are there any modifications you've made to the Waheela to make it more comfortable for those long days in the saddle? How would you compare it to a Salsa Cutthroat for instance? Also, there is an Otso Waheela C available right now at a somewhat local bike shop and I'm going to test ride it. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
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That is an intriguing bike. I think you have identified the main differences between the Waheela and the Cutty...geometry looks a little steeper, reach a little longer, a little less tire clearance. You could mess around with stem length to dial in the reach. Without knowing more, it doesn't look like a bad choice, you will probably get 80-90% of the distance/comfort capability the Cutty is known for, and have a lighter and more responsive whip for your short track action. And maybe most important, sounds like you can get your mitts on the Waheela soon, not so easy with a Salsa right now. That would factor into my decision for sure...
Edit: just saw a review at bikepacking.com. You've probably seen it. They note the more aggressive front end and that the bike gets a little wiggly fully loaded. Not unexpected. Their take that the Salsa analog to this bike is the Warbird, which seems accurate given the front end geometry. But interestingly, with the tuning chip in the rear position, the Waheela chainstay length is 440mm, which is close to the Cutty at 445mm, and way longer than the Warbird's 430mm. That will go a long way to stabilizing the ride, especially loaded. Again, a very interesting bike...dang, I'd probably buy it....btw, I own/love/can't live without my Cutty.
Edit: just saw a review at bikepacking.com. You've probably seen it. They note the more aggressive front end and that the bike gets a little wiggly fully loaded. Not unexpected. Their take that the Salsa analog to this bike is the Warbird, which seems accurate given the front end geometry. But interestingly, with the tuning chip in the rear position, the Waheela chainstay length is 440mm, which is close to the Cutty at 445mm, and way longer than the Warbird's 430mm. That will go a long way to stabilizing the ride, especially loaded. Again, a very interesting bike...dang, I'd probably buy it....btw, I own/love/can't live without my Cutty.
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I’ve got a waheela c and while I haven‘t used it for bikepacking yet, the main intent is to use it for long distance riding. Longest ride on it so far is almost 6 hours with 40mm tires and it was quite comfortable. my Intention is to use it for long gravel races 100+ miles, and short bikepacking trips around the northeast. The chainstay chip is something I really like. The attitude adjustment by changing the geometry is something that I have quite enjoyed. In the rear position, it definitely can fit a 2.1 29 tire, and a 2.25 aspen fits in the rear triangle, though not with as much clearance as I would want. The front Clearance definitely fits a 2.25 MTB tire though. I have ridden it on single track and ORV trails that aren’t suited for bikes, and it will do the job. The cuttthroat has never been my cup of tea though. The geometry just doesn’t work for me.
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2,978 Posts
I too have a Waheela C. Currently it's at 430mm mode with 29x43mm tires(just got a pair of 29x2.1 today). My only con is with the fork. It's not bad, just a tad stiff. My other bike is a Bombtack Beyond+. which has a geo similar to the Cutty. For the most part I like the Waheela geo; however, for the steep &/or loose stuff downhill I prefer the more stable geo of the B+. It's more stable handling wise. Plus, the Cutty can do 100mm of travel vs the Waheela, which can only do 40mm. The big con there is the Fox AX gravel fork can't take a tire larger than 700x45mm at best, so no 29er mode. If you ride steep trails & chunk a lot the Cutty would be the better bike due to better clearance & geo. But if you aren't the Waheela is nimble & comfortable.
Less related to the bike, I prefer Otso's ethos/vibe over Salsa's.
Less related to the bike, I prefer Otso's ethos/vibe over Salsa's.
You could run a Lauf Trail Racer fork on it which has tons of tire clearance and is lighter than the Fox fork.
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Not the same A-C for it to work on the Waheela. Should work on a Cutty tho.
You could use the Lauf Grit on the Waheela and the Trail Racer on the Cutthroat.
I have a Cutty and it's definitely a fine bike. What part of the country are you in? My local shop in Tulsa has several cutthroats in stock, although finding one in your desired size/build/color may be more difficult. I basically had to settle on getting the most expensive build to get my size 54... Oh well, at least the di2 is sublime.
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Which bike Waheela or Cutthroat? I have the Waheela in a steel with a faster 29x2.0/2.1 xc tires(Raceking, Thunder burts & Terreno) setup & been fine for roads connecting to the trail & even rides that is mostly road. Can't speak for the Cutthroat, but I'm sure it's similar with the right tire but with the pros & cons of that come with the higher trail number.
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1,500 Posts
I was bike shopping for the same type of trips with long miles on the street, dirt roads, and tow path between the single track days. slight difference between all the brands but most ended up falling in one of two camps, more "normal" gravel bike geo (lower stack shorter reach steeper HTA) or more of a drop bar mountain bike (higher stack longer reach slack HTA) I have a gravel bike with very similar geometry to the XL Otso Waheela and will easily take 50c tires thats great for everything but not ideal or even fun loaded on single track. I also had a rigid hardtail mountain bike that was great loaded up riding single track but I did not like on the street, rail trail, chill gravel roads and tow path at all...I tried tires ranging from 47mm to 2.3" XC tires different bars, spaces under/over the stem think I just dont like MTB geo on the more chill sections. The longer MTB reach and the slacker HTA just didn't work for me on long days in the saddle grinding away on the more mellow sections.
Ended up with a Mason In Search Off, more of a gravel bike reach, taller stack, 70 degree HTA (slacker than a normal gravel bike but not MTB slack) takes up to 29 2.5 tires with mud clearance, longer than a average gravel bike but not MTB long, built strong like a MTB hardtail...... really split the difference between drop bar MTB and gravel bike that just takes larger tires. Found several others like this but also all European brands that I rarely see mentioned over here, from watching vids seems really rough janky dirt roads and what I call more XC single track are really common so bikes in between the long low slack MTB and zippy race type gravel bike is far more popular for them. I only have 316 miles in it, 64 loaded the rest split between street, dirt roads and local XC single track and am pretty thrilled with the in between Mason so far.
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