Does anyone have one yet? How about a ride report and pics. There isn't a stocking dealer for 200+ miles from where I'm at so I'm trying to decide between it and a 2011 Vaya or one of the upcoming Rawland bikes. Bike will be mostly used as a commuter (17 mile rt) but may also get a few light tours and long rides in as well.
2011 Casseroll. Who has one? Ride Report?
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I built one up two weeks ago and have ~200 miles on the bike. The build is as follows:
2011 Casseroll 56cm (I'm 5'11 with fairly normal proportions)
FSA Orbix X CX headset
Thomson X4 stem
Thomson Elite Seat Post
Brooks B17 Standard Saddle
Sram Rival Group 50/34 crank and 11/26 cassette
Avid Shorty Ultimate Cantilever Brakes
Planet Bike Cascadia Fenders
Cateye Strada Computer
Salsa Bell Lap Bar 44cm
Salsa Bar Tape
Ritchey Speedmax 32c tires
Chris King R45 Hubs, DT Swiss Revolutions Spokes, Stans Alpha 340 Rims
My previous road bikes are a Fuji Team Carbon, Fuji Marseille 853, and a Klein Quantum Pro (Aluminum). The frame looks great and has a nice clear coat on the paint. The color is more steel than baby blue and definitely looks like a vintage bike color. There is lots of metal flake in the paint. The bottom bracket shell and head tube had a bit of paint overspray and required thread chasing and light sanding to get the bottom bracket and headset in. Also the horizontal drops required a bit of sanding to get the wheel to fit (looked like clearcoat was causing the interference).
The bike is feels very strong and much stiffer than the Marseille steel frame that I had previously. The steel fork and external bottom bracket may account for the difference but the frame still has that spring over bumps that makes steel so nice.
The Salsa feels great and works well with either the 32c cross tires or 25c road tires. Geo is bit more relaxed than a standard race geometry. It's still quick enough but makes it easy to ride no hands on the bars. I'm planning to take the bike from DC to Pittsburgh in May (via rail trails) and also use it for all general road use. It's a really nice bike and after 200 miles is already my favorite road bike. The Brooks saddle was an experiment but it is definitely comfortable and breaks in a bit more each ride. Bike as shown is around 20.5lbs. Take away the fenders and Brooks and you could be much closer to 18lbs.
2011 Casseroll 56cm (I'm 5'11 with fairly normal proportions)
FSA Orbix X CX headset
Thomson X4 stem
Thomson Elite Seat Post
Brooks B17 Standard Saddle
Sram Rival Group 50/34 crank and 11/26 cassette
Avid Shorty Ultimate Cantilever Brakes
Planet Bike Cascadia Fenders
Cateye Strada Computer
Salsa Bell Lap Bar 44cm
Salsa Bar Tape
Ritchey Speedmax 32c tires
Chris King R45 Hubs, DT Swiss Revolutions Spokes, Stans Alpha 340 Rims
My previous road bikes are a Fuji Team Carbon, Fuji Marseille 853, and a Klein Quantum Pro (Aluminum). The frame looks great and has a nice clear coat on the paint. The color is more steel than baby blue and definitely looks like a vintage bike color. There is lots of metal flake in the paint. The bottom bracket shell and head tube had a bit of paint overspray and required thread chasing and light sanding to get the bottom bracket and headset in. Also the horizontal drops required a bit of sanding to get the wheel to fit (looked like clearcoat was causing the interference).
The bike is feels very strong and much stiffer than the Marseille steel frame that I had previously. The steel fork and external bottom bracket may account for the difference but the frame still has that spring over bumps that makes steel so nice.
The Salsa feels great and works well with either the 32c cross tires or 25c road tires. Geo is bit more relaxed than a standard race geometry. It's still quick enough but makes it easy to ride no hands on the bars. I'm planning to take the bike from DC to Pittsburgh in May (via rail trails) and also use it for all general road use. It's a really nice bike and after 200 miles is already my favorite road bike. The Brooks saddle was an experiment but it is definitely comfortable and breaks in a bit more each ride. Bike as shown is around 20.5lbs. Take away the fenders and Brooks and you could be much closer to 18lbs.
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Freestone,
The stem was recalled so it was originally included and then removed from the frameset. That's why you will see it in the QBP catalog. It also explains some of the early price confusion. It was $599 with stem and later $549 without. I stopped by the LBS the other day and they told me the frameset had gone up $100 to $649.
My main thought with the Casseroll was that I wanted to be able to keep up on a semi-fast road ride and was not confident that the Vaya could do that. I also had nice wheels in 130mm spacing and didn't want to build another set.
The cantilever brakes were my biggest concern (never had a bike with them) but they work fine and I don't think about them at all when riding. All this is subject to change with mileage but so far so good.
The stem was recalled so it was originally included and then removed from the frameset. That's why you will see it in the QBP catalog. It also explains some of the early price confusion. It was $599 with stem and later $549 without. I stopped by the LBS the other day and they told me the frameset had gone up $100 to $649.
My main thought with the Casseroll was that I wanted to be able to keep up on a semi-fast road ride and was not confident that the Vaya could do that. I also had nice wheels in 130mm spacing and didn't want to build another set.
The cantilever brakes were my biggest concern (never had a bike with them) but they work fine and I don't think about them at all when riding. All this is subject to change with mileage but so far so good.
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Did you consider mini-v's? I was considering holding off my Casseroll purchase until the 2011's came out, and my LBS suggested I try mini-v-brakes if I was not happy about getting canti's. I've got v-brakes on my 26" commuter with 2.0 tires and fenders.djw said:
Ended up with a 2010 model because I could not wait until spring for the 2011's and I got a complete for ~$450. I like the extended head tube on the 2011. I have about 6cm of spacers under my stem, and on most other bikes it would have been even more. The 2011 Cass looks like one of the first road bikes I have seen that is actually built to fit me right without having to wipe out my LBS's supply of spacers.
Do you use the front rack? I was pretty stoked on putting one on my bike until I realized the pitiful lack of front rack bags out there. Everything I found was stupid expensive (none under ~$125) and usually made of canvas or tweed. And the ones that I thought were a really good design were over $175.
Kapusta,
I didn't consider mini-vs largely because I didn't know they existed at the time. The TRPs look nice and I would go with them if this doesn't work out. It would probably require re-taping the bars to get a proper length cable/cladding in there and also a switch to a headset without a canti cable guide. Not the end of the world but not something I'll do unless the cantis prove to be too painful. A la cruz fork could also work if you wanted to run a mullet and do disc front, canti/mini-v in back. The 2011 curved fork is pretty so changing that would be a shame.
Haven't used the front rack yet although I may mount it later this week. I was thinking about adding a bag up front to carry keys/wallet during the DC-to-PGH trip I'm doing in may. I'll report back when I have it installed and let you know if I find a suitable bag
The long head tube is great. In fact for general road biking I'm considering changing from a 100mm 10 degree stem to a 110mm 0 degree stem to get the bars down. I'd keep the current stem for touring. As it is I ride the drops about 90% of the time.
The bike runs no spacers but the FSA Orbit headset has approx 15mm of extra stack height compared to a normal headset due to the canti cable guide. It's a far cry from my last bike where I ran 30mm of spacers, a 10 degree stem and was still uncomfortable.
I didn't consider mini-vs largely because I didn't know they existed at the time. The TRPs look nice and I would go with them if this doesn't work out. It would probably require re-taping the bars to get a proper length cable/cladding in there and also a switch to a headset without a canti cable guide. Not the end of the world but not something I'll do unless the cantis prove to be too painful. A la cruz fork could also work if you wanted to run a mullet and do disc front, canti/mini-v in back. The 2011 curved fork is pretty so changing that would be a shame.
Haven't used the front rack yet although I may mount it later this week. I was thinking about adding a bag up front to carry keys/wallet during the DC-to-PGH trip I'm doing in may. I'll report back when I have it installed and let you know if I find a suitable bag
The long head tube is great. In fact for general road biking I'm considering changing from a 100mm 10 degree stem to a 110mm 0 degree stem to get the bars down. I'd keep the current stem for touring. As it is I ride the drops about 90% of the time.
The bike runs no spacers but the FSA Orbit headset has approx 15mm of extra stack height compared to a normal headset due to the canti cable guide. It's a far cry from my last bike where I ran 30mm of spacers, a 10 degree stem and was still uncomfortable.
A short update on the front rack. I don't think it will work with the shorty ultimate brakes. I'm guessing that the rack is meant to bolt in front of the cantilevers (because the mounting holes are too small to go on the fork cantilever mounts). However the shorty ultimates have a somewhat novel tensioning system that sits in front of the brakes and I don't see how it can work. There are no instructions from Salsa; obviously they didn't understand how stupid their customers are . I think the springs for traditional cantis mount in one of the 3 holes on the fork mount. Anyway I'm confused and gave up after 10 minutes of head scratching.
Otherwise the bike has 300 or so miles on it and feels great. Even with fenders the bike is quite fast with 25c tires on it. I've even done a fair amount of cinder riding with the wider 32c cross tires and the bike is surefooted off road. The extra width of the bell lap bar is nice and makes me think something like a woodchipper would be even better for gravel road riding. Also I moved from a 100mm 10 degree stem to a 110mm 5 degree to get just a little more stretched and create about 1" of seat to bar drop. I really love the bike.
. I think the springs for traditional cantis mount in one of the 3 holes on the fork mount. Anyway I'm confused and gave up after 10 minutes of head scratching. Otherwise the bike has 300 or so miles on it and feels great. Even with fenders the bike is quite fast with 25c tires on it. I've even done a fair amount of cinder riding with the wider 32c cross tires and the bike is surefooted off road. The extra width of the bell lap bar is nice and makes me think something like a woodchipper would be even better for gravel road riding. Also I moved from a 100mm 10 degree stem to a 110mm 5 degree to get just a little more stretched and create about 1" of seat to bar drop. I really love the bike.
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446 Posts
Been looking for a cool steel road bike. I built up an older Casseroll for my wife and really like that bike. You think for a dedicated road bike the Casseroll would be a good choice? At first I didn't consider the new Casseroll because it looked too casual with that front rack. If I can run 25c tires and set it up w/o fenders (don't really need them most of the time in AZ) it might be a new contender.
Here's mine:
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(links to big imgur images)
https://i.imgur.com/i6LLjl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/l3CTw.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/UJedV.jpg
(links to big imgur images)
https://i.imgur.com/i6LLjl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/l3CTw.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/UJedV.jpg
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446 Posts
How different is the Casseroll on pavement than the Fargo? I currently use my Fargo for commuting with 45c tires and am debating setting up a Casseroll with woodchippers or another alt bar or just building up a second skinny tire wheelset for the Fargo.VTFargo said:
Night and Day different. SUV vs sports car.Henrythewound said:
First off, the weight difference is noticeable, the tight wheelbase of the Casseroll just leads to a feeling of very responsive handling. The ride of the Casseroll is surprising good and compliant given the narrow tires. Still dialing in the seating/stem/handlebars, but its very comfortable and fast; at least given its engine ;-)
The Fargo just has that bulldoser feel. It just lubbers along, its fast once you get the wheels going, and I'm sure not worried about potholes/cracks/or other road issues. Just pick a line and roll over everything. The Fargo is more comfortable, but its been dialed in for over a year now.
The Fargo is now going to be my commuter/tourer/dirt road/easy single track bike.
The Casseroll is for fast and light day rides.
I thought about a different wheelset for the Fargo since its a favorite of mine, but I knew just changing the wheels won't bring it even close to a light road bike. The other option was to sell the Fargo and buy a Vaya. I think the Vaya is a great middle ground bike. If I was going to have only a single bike, I'd forget the 2 wheel sets, just sell the Fargo and go Vaya.
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446 Posts
Perfect, thx for the comparison. I would probably build the Casseroll up from a frame & fork, keep the Fargo as my commuter. I had been looking at carbon road bikes but the Casseroll and steel bikes just appeal to me more.
My 2011 Salsa Casseroll - Love it!!
Built mine up from the frame ($549 at Universal Cycles), and have spent way more than I should have, but decided to make this my "dream" rando and ultra-distance ride.
The build:
DT Swiss TK 540 Rims (32 spoke)
Chris King R45 Road Hubs (32 spoke) Brown
Chris King Threadless Headset (Brown)
Chris King standard MTB Bottom Bracket (Brown)
Shimano FC M-590 Deore Triple (48/36/26) MTB Crankset (9-speed)
Sram 11-34 cassette
Vittoria Randonneur Tires (700 X 32)
Brooks B-17 Imperial Saddle (Antique Brown)
Salsa Brown Bar Tape
Salsa LipLock collar (silver)
Velo-Orange 27.2 X 300 setback seatpost
Planet Bike Cascadia Fenders (45 MM - Silver)
Nitto Noodle Handlebars (46)
Shimano Dura Ace Bar End Shifters
I'll post some photos soon. Here are my general thoughts after about 400 miles on the bike: Though the 32s ride really smooth, I'll probably move to 28s when I wear these out. The brown Chris King components look fabulous on this frame - more of a coffee color than dull brown. Not very happy with the Nitto Noodlebars. They have an extremely long reach, and have thrown off my fit. Will use a set of Salsa Moto Ace Short and Shallow bars in a 46 size. Anyone who wants to buy the Noodlebars is welcome to make an offer. I am one of the few who really don't like the shap of that bar.
The cheap tektro cantilever brakes can be made much more functional with Kool Stop pads, and I used the salmon colored ones - no problems at all. I am tickled with how well the mountain bike crank is working out. I live outside of Denver, so needed some lower gears. The 48/36/26 crank with the 11/34 cassette allows rampant spinning. I just wish the crank came in solid silver color.
I adore the way the bike handles and the shifting is crisp. (I'm a sucker for friction shifting) I moved the tektro cantilever brakes and the bar end shifters over to this bike from my Surly Long haul trucker. I'm kind of hooked on the bar ends now.
Built mine up from the frame ($549 at Universal Cycles), and have spent way more than I should have, but decided to make this my "dream" rando and ultra-distance ride.
The build:
DT Swiss TK 540 Rims (32 spoke)
Chris King R45 Road Hubs (32 spoke) Brown
Chris King Threadless Headset (Brown)
Chris King standard MTB Bottom Bracket (Brown)
Shimano FC M-590 Deore Triple (48/36/26) MTB Crankset (9-speed)
Sram 11-34 cassette
Vittoria Randonneur Tires (700 X 32)
Brooks B-17 Imperial Saddle (Antique Brown)
Salsa Brown Bar Tape
Salsa LipLock collar (silver)
Velo-Orange 27.2 X 300 setback seatpost
Planet Bike Cascadia Fenders (45 MM - Silver)
Nitto Noodle Handlebars (46)
Shimano Dura Ace Bar End Shifters
I'll post some photos soon. Here are my general thoughts after about 400 miles on the bike: Though the 32s ride really smooth, I'll probably move to 28s when I wear these out. The brown Chris King components look fabulous on this frame - more of a coffee color than dull brown. Not very happy with the Nitto Noodlebars. They have an extremely long reach, and have thrown off my fit. Will use a set of Salsa Moto Ace Short and Shallow bars in a 46 size. Anyone who wants to buy the Noodlebars is welcome to make an offer. I am one of the few who really don't like the shap of that bar.
The cheap tektro cantilever brakes can be made much more functional with Kool Stop pads, and I used the salmon colored ones - no problems at all. I am tickled with how well the mountain bike crank is working out. I live outside of Denver, so needed some lower gears. The 48/36/26 crank with the 11/34 cassette allows rampant spinning. I just wish the crank came in solid silver color.
I adore the way the bike handles and the shifting is crisp. (I'm a sucker for friction shifting) I moved the tektro cantilever brakes and the bar end shifters over to this bike from my Surly Long haul trucker. I'm kind of hooked on the bar ends now.
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126 Posts
I've had mine a week now. I've only put about 60 miles on it, but it's fantastic. It's my first road bike and I can't believe I've waited so long for one.
Used to ride a mtn bike everywhere - to work, the store, friends/families houses, trails, etc.
It's unreal how much nicer a Casseroll is on pavement than a mtn bike. The reduced rolling resistance and everything is much nicer, smoother, and faster.
At $1200, it's a bargain!
The one thing to make sure of - be sure to really, really tighten the QR on the rear tire. I had it come loose on me while grinding up a steep hill in a curve.
Other than that, it's an amazing bike. I'm super happy with it.
Used to ride a mtn bike everywhere - to work, the store, friends/families houses, trails, etc.
It's unreal how much nicer a Casseroll is on pavement than a mtn bike. The reduced rolling resistance and everything is much nicer, smoother, and faster.
At $1200, it's a bargain!
The one thing to make sure of - be sure to really, really tighten the QR on the rear tire. I had it come loose on me while grinding up a steep hill in a curve.
Other than that, it's an amazing bike. I'm super happy with it.
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