Salsa Chili Con Crosso

Ok, so, as much as I love my TriCross Sport, I'm thinking that I'm beginning to outgrow it. I want a 10-speed cogset, better rims, and the Sora shifters are beginning to be a pain. I love everything else about the bike, though, so I'm seriously considering replacing it with either the TriCross Comp (except I really prefer a compact crank) or really splurging and getting the TriCross Expert (except that I want more rear cogs). With either one, I'd have to make a change to the gearing to get what I feel I need.

Sooo, the other thing I'm thinking of is buying a frame and picking out all the components. TJF's thread about her new Salsa bike got me perusing their site and I found this: Salsa Chili Con Crosso (more pics here). That is one cool lookin' bike :D One of the main things I love about the TriCross is the aesthetics of the frame, with the flattened top tube. The Chili's top tube is less flattened, but the chain- and seat-stays have some nifty sculpting to them (which does contribute to performance, of course!).

Unfortunately, the closest Salsa dealers are two hours away from me. Has anyone else ridden a Salsa bike? Would it be worth the trip to drive all that way for a test ride?

Never ridden a Salsa, but the name alone has me sold! :D

With a name like that it should be red.
The name makes me hungry.
All very useful information:D

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Originally Posted by Kalidurga

Unfortunately, the closest Salsa dealers are two hours away from me. Has anyone else ridden a Salsa bike? Would it be worth the trip to drive all that way for a test ride?

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For something that hot? Hell yeah! :D

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Originally Posted by zencentury

With a name like that it should be red.

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You should make it to the southwest sometime. we do have Green Chilies

Mmmmm, love green chilis. Green Chili Cheeseburgers at Blake's Lotta Burger. MMMmmmm.

Those Salsa frames sure are nice. I've been fondling the Casarolls at my LBS. Nice nice nice. (and dig the headbadges!)

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Originally Posted by Fredwina

You should make it to the southwest sometime. we do have Green Chilies

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Red=HOT

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Originally Posted by Fredwina

You should make it to the southwest sometime. we do have Green Chilies

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Originally Posted by zencentury

Red=HOT

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Green=HOT, but deceptively so. The green ones sneak up on you with their hotness ;)

I'm really getting obsessed with this frame. I'm gonna have to call the Salsa dealers up in Pennsylvania to see if any of them have this bike built up in my size so I can ride it. I see a day-trip to PA in my future!

Very pretty color! I'm totally hot for Salsa too!

I am anxiously counting the hours before the LBS opens again so I can start the process on my bike! (24.5 hours to go!)

Mmmnn Green Chilies.... Hatch chilies to be exact... HOT, but GOOD!!! Mmmnnnn Now I have a hankerin for some carne asada tacos with a side of hatch! :D

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Originally Posted by Kalidurga

Green=HOT, but deceptively so. The green ones sneak up on you with their hotness ;)

I'm really getting obsessed with this frame. I'm gonna have to call the Salsa dealers up in Pennsylvania to see if any of them have this bike built up in my size so I can ride it. I see a day-trip to PA in my future!

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Green means go.
Why are you obsessed with this frame?
- Because of a paint job??
Bad. Shallow. Gimme a can of green Rust-o-leum and I'll transform your Specialized into a rolling green monster-piece.
- Because of shaped tubes??
What the heck do they do?? What's to be gained from these tube shapes. Just cuz they look cool, doesn't mean they actually DO anything useful. Before you go trotting off to locales distant, be sure the frame has some advantage - performance-wise - over what you currently have. (Besides...you'll need SOME rationalization before you go burning the fossil fuels, right??)

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Originally Posted by Regina

Green means go.
Why are you obsessed with this frame?
- Because of a paint job??
Bad. Shallow. Gimme a can of green Rust-o-leum and I'll transform your Specialized into a rolling green monster-piece.
- Because of shaped tubes??
What the heck do they do?? What's to be gained from these tube shapes. Just cuz they look cool, doesn't mean they actually DO anything useful. Before you go trotting off to locales distant, be sure the frame has some advantage - performance-wise - over what you currently have. (Besides...you'll need SOME rationalization before you go burning the fossil fuels, right??)

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Well, Miss Custom Seven, you're a fine one to talk!:p :p :p

Kalidurga wants more and better gears and new rims (see original post) so if she's putting that much money into her Tricross, she's thinking why not just get a new bike. We need to be enablers. Got it?:)

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Originally Posted by divingbiker

Well, Miss Custom Seven, you're a fine one to talk!:p :p :p

Kalidurga wants more and better gears and new rims (see original post) so if she's putting that much money into her Tricross, she's thinking why not just get a new bike. We need to be enablers. Got it?:)

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Heck, yeah!!
I got rationalizations coming out my ears!!!

Oh, no...yet another bike to lust after...I don't need this!

I actually think I'd like to try out a Salsa Casseroll. I think it would be a great commuter bike. But then again, there's that Surly Long Haul Trucker...good thing I'm totally broke right now! (Not that that stops many of us!)

Fire=Red therefore Red=Hot
Stop thinking about eating:p

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Originally Posted by northstar

...good thing I'm totally broke right now! (Not that that stops many of us!)

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what? What?!? I can't hear you from where I am buried under this avalanche of Visa bills...

... but oooh, lookit my purty bikes!

:D

Never hurts to listen to the voice of reason (even if it is a bit harsh). I'm nowhere near the point of pulling out the credit card, but getting a little obsesssed is part of the process for me. It makes me want to explore things fully, and that leads me to gathering enough information to make a more rational decisions.

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Originally Posted by Regina

Because of a paint job??
Bad. Shallow. Gimme a can of green Rust-o-leum and I'll transform your Specialized into a rolling green monster-piece.

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My poor father never learned that talking to me in that way was likely to make me go do whatever hair-brained thing I was considering, just out of spite. That said, I think aesthetics is a big part of the equation in buying a bike, or in choosing kitchen tile. You didn't want your husband to pick out your tile, Regina, because you don't like the idea of a "pepto-bismol pink" kitchen floor. I get excited about riding a bike that appeals to me visually. If a funky green frame inspires me to get out and ride, then it's going on my list of bikes to consider.

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Originally Posted by Regina

- Because of shaped tubes??
What the heck do they do?? What's to be gained from these tube shapes. Just cuz they look cool, doesn't mean they actually DO anything useful. Before you go trotting off to locales distant, be sure the frame has some advantage - performance-wise - over what you currently have.

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Here's what I've read about this frame and it's shaped tubes:

"Crafted from custom-drawn scandium tubing, everything about Chili Con Crosso is optimized for racing ‘cross. Its specially shaped chainstays and seatstays are designed to flex vertically while remaining laterally rigid. That slight vertical compliance delivers some cush for the tush while you’re laying the power down through the rough stuff." (From the Salsa website. I have no plans to race 'cross, but the fact that this frame can handle a 'cross course means that it's more than likely got the performance capabilities to handle the variety of riding I do. "Cush for the tush" is an important consideration for longer rides, and the ocassional sprint, on the C&O.)

"Scandium opens up new opportunities for frame engineers. In the past, aluminum tubing required larger diameter tubes to achieve the strength necessary to support riding. The larger diameter tubes resulted in stiff ride characteristics, which are fine for time trials but less than ideal for century rides. With scandium tubing, frame engineers are able to use smaller diameter tubes, thinner cross sections, and shaped tubes to tune the ride characteristics of each frame while using less material. This results in comfortable, efficient and light frames.

Scandium frame tubing also has increased fatigue life and improved failure modes when compared to traditional aluminum frame tubing. For many of the same metallurgical reasons that scandium allows non-weldable alloys to be welded, scandium adds to the fatigue life and durability of frames." (About the frame material, from the Salsa site. Light, comfortable, durable... Sounds good to me.)

"Carbon stays on cross frames seem to be filling a need/want in the market but they add weight. Salsa chose a different direction. Keep the frame as light as possible by using a complete Scandium tubeset then utilize the ability to radically manipulate Scandium tubing to enhance the ride characteristics.

The chainstays and the seatstays are flattened to give just enough vertical compliance to soften the ride yet keep the frame laterally rigid to power up over a climb or throw down a wicked sprint.

Salsa hit the mark in the weight department, 3.06 lbs for the 53cm which is about as light as you will find at any price." (From the bikeman.com link I included above (the "more pics" link).)

I realize that both of these sites are trying to sell the frame, but their descriptions of it make it sound worth trying out (not buying, I'm not to that point yet). For all I know, this frame would create my "dream" bike (or not). I hate to cross it off my list just because none of my local shops are Salsa dealers.

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Originally Posted by Regina

(Besides...you'll need SOME rationalization before you go burning the fossil fuels, right??)

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You forget you're talking to someone who loves to drive. A cruise up back roads into Pennsylvania is just my cup of tea. I'm hoping that the shop in Harrisburg would have a built-up frame I could try, because then I could also pay a visit to the Civil War museum up there. And I'd like to think that my week-day subway commute at least somewhat off-sets whatever fossil fuels my week-end driving burns.

I'm going to be getting a new bike at some point within the next year. Whether it's an upgraded model of what I already have, or this Salsa, or something else entirely, there are too many things I want to change on my current bike not to make it worth going new.

Enough rationalizing for you? :rolleyes: ;)

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Originally Posted by Kalidurga

Enough rationalizing for you? :rolleyes: ;)

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Okay. You have passed the test. You may proceed. :rolleyes:

You do realize, I'm only looking out for your best interest, right??? (in my own smarta$$ way) ;)

And for the record, the Pepto-Bismol pink is on the walls of the hallway bathroom, not for the new kitchen floor (or walls...yick!)! :p

p.s. But you do realize, that if you buy this frame....I will know that it is a RACING frame, and will expect a corresponding increase in your performance.

And we will expect *lots* of pictures!!!:D

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Originally Posted by Regina

And for the record, the Pepto-Bismol pink is on the walls of the hallway bathroom, not for the new kitchen floor (or walls...yick!)! :p

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Ugh, been there. Actually, still there. The walls of my apartment were that lovely pink when I moved in, and I've only re-painted half of the place (too busy riding and obsessing over bikes to waste time painting).

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Originally Posted by Regina

p.s. But you do realize, that if you buy this frame....I will know that it is a RACING frame, and will expect a corresponding increase in your performance.

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Hmmm... Well, I admit that improvement is part of my intent in getting a new bike. I want to be able to ride hills more easily and to sometimes go fast. But, I'm more likely to obsess over deciding on a bike than to obsess over training on it after I have it. Training's too serious, and I'm looking for fun. I'm sure there'll be some improvement, but don't set the standards too high for me, ok?

Knot, I'll definitely post pics. It's gonna take me a while to look around, test ride, and decide, though, so this isn't gonna happen any time too soon. If I feel myself getting too eager over any particular bike, I'll get in touch with Regina for a dose of rationality ;)