Value Field Test: Salsa Timberjack XT 29 - The Jack of All Trades

Before we dive into the geometry and ride characteristics, the frame itself has some notable features. There's no need to worry about going thirsty - or hungry or cold - on the Timberjack, as there are two bottle spots in the main triangle on sizes S - XL (there's just one on the XS size), plus an accessory mount on the underside of the downtube, a bag mount on the top tube, and rear rack mounts for carrying all kinds of gear.

The bike also uses Salsa's clever Alternator 2.0 swinging dropout design, which allows for 17mm of chainstay length adjustment to dial in the ride feel. The cables are tucked away neatly inside the aluminum frame, which oddly enough, was lighter than expected, with our complete bike weighing in at 30.6 lbs - more than a pound lighter than the claimed 31.9 lbs for size medium. That weight puts it pretty squarely in the middle of the weight range compared with the other hardtails we tested.

As for the geometry, the headtube is 66.4°, which would have been on the aggressive side in years past but now sits nicely in the "modern but not overkill" zone. The chainstays, at 420mm to 437mm, range from lively to middle-of-the-road. Sizing is a tad on the longer side, so rather than our standard large frame, we tested a medium that had a 453.6 mm reach.





Climbing

The Timberjack doesn't set out with climbing efficiency as its primary goal. Instead, it's designed as an all-around play and adventure bike, with climbing as just one part of the full experience.

The bike may not have quite the same snappy energy as a more XC-oriented bike like the Marin Team Marin 1 that we tested, but it nonetheless felt jaunty enough when pedaling, both seated and out of the saddle. The 75.1-degree seat tube angle made for a balanced climbing position over the bike and even with the chainstays in their shortest (420mm) setting, the rear end always felt plenty substantial and I never noticed the front end lifting or feeling hard to rein in.

With reasonable expectations set - that the Timberjack should be a bikepacking, high alpine adventure, or playful trail bike - it's a solid performer that lives up to what it sets out to do. It's not featherlight and doesn't have that aggressive feel that makes you want to sprint up the hill, but it gets the job done and makes it easy to enjoy the ride. And enjoy the ride I did, since - out of all the bikes, hardtail and full suspension - the Timberjack is the bike I most often wanted to grab as I headed out the door.



Descending


Since, as mentioned earlier, the Timberjack was the most expensive hardtail on test, it hardly feels fair to compare it to the rest of the field, but we have to anyway. With slightly higher-grade components than any of the other bikes, the Timberjack made the money count, and the Shimano XT drivetrain and MT-501 brakes were as rock-solid as they come. In fact, the brakes performed better than most of the other, more expensive Shimano brakes I've ridden recently, with sufficient power and without the notorious wandering bite point.

I also appreciated that the Timberjack came with what I consider extremely sensible tires: a Maxxis Minion DHF up front and Rekon in the back, both in EXO casing. The DHF was exactly what I wanted for cornering and playing around, while the Rekon kept the bike feeling lively and unencumbered.

The RockShox 35 Gold fork, however, was the weakest part of the build. While there wasn't anything particularly bad about it, it had minimal adjustability and relatively little sensitivity off the top, sometimes feeling like it couldn't quite hang with the desert chatter. I would have loved to try out the bike with a pricey top-end fork, but I suppose that's not the point of testing value bikes.

All in all, it's hard to find fault with the Timberjack. It delivers on versatility and it's just easy to like. The willingness to go anywhere, the sensible tires and brakes, and the nostalgia of goofing around on a hardtail all make me want to take it out for yet another ride.

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