[Mogollon]

Good day everybody. I was recently offered a great deal on one of my bikes and I am looking to buy a Salsa from the money made on the sale. For a couple of years, I have been riding more enduro style bikes, but I remember having a 2015 Spearfish for about a year that put me on the podium of a couple of xc/endurance races.

Unfortunately, the Spearfish did not have great geometry when it came to more technical rides, so after a big crash and crushed hand, I transitioned to longer, slacker bikes such as the Bronson and my current enduro style bikes (Transition Sentinel and Kona Process).

However, Salsa's new offerings are interesting in that they seem to have much more contemporary geometry. If they manage to still maintain the awesome pedaling platform of the Salsa that I remember, the combination of geo and pedaling efficiency may be a winner for some big upcoming adventures that are in the planning.

My question is that I am stuck between the Horsethief and Spearfish. Both seem pretty similar but the Thief looks to have more travel. I am wondering if anybody has any experience riding both bikes. Are there pros and cons? I wouldn't mind the Fish just to have something that feels completely different from my enduro bikes. What do you all think?

 

[rth009]

I have a new horsethief frame that I built with a mix of new and old parts, including an older 130mm pike 51mm offset. I also demo'd a new spearfish (the red one) at a local demo. They both ride great. For my purposes (general trail riding, with only 1 full squish bike), I see no reason not to get the horsethief with 20mm more travel. But you already have longer travel bikes, so . . .

The thing that really sets the salsa's apart in my view is the 2 bottles within the main triangle (which I have expanded to 3 with Wolf-Tooth B-RAD, plus tool kit storage) and the bolt-on top tube bag. I can have 3 full sized water bottles, full tool kit, and snacks and a jacket with no sweaty monkey on my back.

 

[*OneSpeed*]

Do you want an XC bike or a Trail bike?