[chowdownca]

I have stopped by my LBS on several occasions and have "heavy petted" the Fargo they have on the floor. When I was originally looking at getting a new bike last year, I had narrowed things down to the Fargo and the Dos Niner. I decided on the Dos and it's been great. Fast forward a year and my needs for a bike are a little different. Now, we're down to one car and I ride mostly groomed singletrack/gravel near my house. No real epic journeys to exotic trails. Is it time to revisit the Fargo vs Dos decision? Having two bikes like these would be nice, but not in the budget. If I get the Fargo, would the difference be that glaring? How much lower is the BB? How different is the geometry? Just trying to get some side to side comparisons. Thanks for any help!

 

[seat_boy]

I've had both (with the Fargo now), and they're pretty different bikes. The Dos is zippier, faster, but the Fargo would probably be a lot better for what you describe. With my drop bars up high, the Fargo is just so comfortable and fun to ride, I really enjoy it. With some knobbies, it's OK off road, but it's kind of an acquired taste: you can't go as recklessly fast as you can on a HT or FS bike. That's not altogether a bad thing.

 

[mgersib]

I've had both (with the Fargo now), and they're pretty different bikes. The Dos is zippier, faster, but the Fargo would probably be a lot better for what you describe. With my drop bars up high, the Fargo is just so comfortable and fun to ride, I really enjoy it. With some knobbies, it's OK off road, but it's kind of an acquired taste: you can't go as recklessly fast as you can on a HT or FS bike. That's not altogether a bad thing.

Yeah, that's a good description. I think ultimately it comes down to how fast you want to ride, if you plan to do loaded touring, and whether you're planning to run drop bars. The Fargo is definitely a better drop bar bike, and is better at carrying a load, but the Dos is lighter and feels zippier.

I tend to ride my Fargo a lot, whether commuting or just going out on rides. That said, I don't do a lot of group rides on my Fargo. It's a comfortable, fun, enjoyable and eminently capable bike, but when you're out on gravel roads with a bunch of guys on 'cross bikes, a Salsa Vaya is a better option when you want to be able to hang with the group (I have both a Fargo and a Vaya currently, and have also owned three different Dos Niners over the years).

I love the big, bouncy feel of the Fargo and if I could only have one bike, it would most likely be the one bike I'd have. Fortunately though, I'm able to have a lot of bikes... :thumbsup:

 

[chowdownca]

Speed is by no means my main concern. You miss too much of what there is to see. While I would love to be in your position MG, the wife isn't as cool with that idea. How does your Fargo handle the singletrack at Wilderness, MG? That is where I do most of my trails riding, and other than that, it would be to/from work and some gravel-y stuff (rails-to-trails, gravel roads). I would like to get it all down to one bike for simplicity's sake. Thanks for all the input!

 

[mgersib]

Speed is by no means my main concern. You miss too much of what there is to see. While I would love to be in your position MG, the wife isn't as cool with that idea. How does your Fargo handle the singletrack at Wilderness, MG? That is where I do most of my trails riding, and other than that, it would be to/from work and some gravel-y stuff (rails-to-trails, gravel roads). I would like to get it all down to one bike for simplicity's sake. Thanks for all the input!

Oh man... The Fargo RIPS Wilderness! It's like it was made for that park. Initially, I had some concerns about the low BB and hitting pedals in the corners, but those fears have not borne themselves out, for the most part. And I absolutely love how you can rail it around corners because of the BB drop, so you definitely get some nice benefits for having to pay a little extra attention at times.

If I were going to say I had a go-to Wilderness Park bike, it'd be my Fargo. It makes that park so much fun to ride it probably should be a crime...