Salsa Bucksaw - Review

With the exception of e-bikes, there's not much that stirs the pot like a fat bike will. They have their detractors, and very few riders can or will say that a fatty is their main ride, but those who talk shit about fat bikes have almost certainly never spent any time on one. Salsa is aiming to change that with their 100mm travel Bucksaw, a fat bike that isn't intended to be used solely in the snow or sand where you'd usually picture such a machine, but rather on the very rides that you'd use your traditional mountain bike for. However, with 3.8'' wide tires on 65mm-wide Surly Marge Lite rims, Split Pivot suspension out back and a RockShox Bluto up front, this bike is anything but traditional. Weighing in just under 33lb, the Bucksaw 1 retails for $4,999 USD.




Frame Details

The Bucksaw's classic looking lines are similar to Salsa's Spearfish and Horsethief models, but don't be mistaken, this is a new bike from front to back. The 6066 aluminum front triangle has been designed with a 50mm offset suspension fork in mind, allowing it to sport a slightly slacker head angle than it might otherwise be able to without making the handling too lazy, and Salsa have also gone with the customary tapered head tube. Cable routing is external, save for the entry port at the base of the seat tube for the Reverb Stealth that comes stock on the Bucksaw 1, and there's a somewhat unsightly stub for a direct mount front derailleur should you want to go the two chain ring route instead of a 1x drivetrain.


Things get more interesting when you go downstairs, with a massive, three-piece bottom bracket section that measures 121mm wide and accepts PressFit bearings - sorry, only fat bike compatible cranks with extra long spindles are going to fit. The added width is required for both crank, front derailleur and tire clearance, as well as to mate up to the 12 x 177mm wide rear axle spacing. All of those numbers make it possible to fit a 4'' wide tire into the back of the Bucksaw with some room to spare for mud clearance, despite having a pretty reasonable 444mm chain stay length. I have to give props to Salsa for also including a set of ISCG-05 chain guide tabs as well, thereby allowing riders to bolt on a guide if they feel the need. A RockShox Maxle Ultimate ties the back end together.




The Bucksaw's Suspension Explained

The first Bucksaw prototype hit the trails in 2011, and although the basic lines of the production bike remain the same, the design in an entirely different beast altogether. That early bike sported just 80mm of rear wheel travel, 20mm less than the bike reviewed here, and it was put together using a lot of existing parts from Salsa's Spearfish and Horsethief platforms, including a relatively basic flex-pivot arrangement at the dropout. That first mule was more of a proof-of-concept than anything, but the project grew legs when Dave Weagle partnered with the company to bring his Split Pivot suspension system to the table. And that's what you'll find on the back of the 100mm Bucksaw: a concentric axle pivot that is said to allow for active suspension when the rider is on the brakes, as well as great acceleration and sensitivity. That's pretty much what every brand claims about their design, isn't it? Of course, but having spent plenty of time on Split Pivot bikes, I'll admit to being more apt to sing their praises than some other layouts.

The custom tuned RockShox Monarch RT3 is driven by the bike's carbon fiber seat stays that Salsa claims to offer ''improved stiffness, better vibration damping, excellent toughness and weight savings over aluminum assembly,'' and the Bucksaw's rear end is said to be designed specifically to deal with how a nearly 4'' wide tire will affect the ride. That means that the leverage ratio, shock tune, and suspension geometry have been penned with this in mind, and the bike doesn't ape the exact same Split Pivot characteristics found on Salsa's full-suspension Spearfish and Horsethief platforms.

Specifications Release Date 2015 Price $4999 Travel 100 Rear Shock RockShox Monarch RT3 Fork RockShox Bluto, 100mm travel, tapered, 15 x 150mm Headset Cane Creek 10 ZS44/56 Cassette SRAM 11-speed, 10-42t Crankarms SRAM X1 Rear Derailleur SRAM X01 Chain KMC X11 Shifter Pods SRAM X01, 11-speed Handlebar Salsa Rustler 1 Carbon, 15mm riser, 740mm wide Stem Thomson X4 Grips Salsa Backcountry Lock-On Brakes SRAM Guide RS Hubs Salsa Fat Conversion, 150mm/170mm Spokes Stainless, butted, black Rim Surly Marge Lite w/ holes Tires Surly Nate 26 x 3.8", 120tpi, folding Seat WTB Pure V Race Seatpost RockShox Reverb Stealth Compare to other All Mountain/Enduro/XC

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Climbing

Discovering that the Bucksaw's massive tires allow you to claw your way up nearly anything is about as surprising as finding out the Easter bunny doesn't exist, but it's still going to be a revelation for those who have never been on a fat bike before. It took a few rides before I realized just what I could get away with on the blue bike, and new trails and fresh lines opened up to me as soon as I registered the otherworldly traction on hand. The Bucksaw doesn't ask you to move into an unnatural position to unlock those abilities like a traditional mountain bike does - there's not much need to slide back on the seat to keep the rear tire biting - with it simply finding purchase on everything from wet roots, slick and smooth surfaces, to loose conditions.

Once I wrapped my head around what I could chug up, it became more about actually steering the bike where I needed to go, such was the steepness that it could muscle through. If you have the ponies and the commitment, the Bucksaw has the ability, but you'll need the technical skill to guide the bike through trail problems as well. It's not a slow handling bike by any means, but it's just that you can ascend absolutely stupid things that you don't have any right cleaning, which takes the emphasis away from finding traction and places it squarely on the rider's shoulders. This means that skilled climbers will be unlocking new levels in the game, and those who just need some more encouragement are going to find it aboard the Bucksaw.


The difference in traction between a standard mountain bike and the Bucksaw, with its 3.8'' wide tires inflated to between 8 and 10 PSI, is clear, but how does it compare to a fat bike with massive 4.8'' wide tires that are aired down even lower? As expected, it was easier to get the Bucksaw moving, and although the blue bike isn't as nimble as a hardtail with a wider yet lighter tire and rim combo, there isn't much between the two when it comes to traction. After all, does one really need more bite than what a 3.8'' wide tire run well under 10 PSI is going to give you? I don't, and I don't think anyone else does, either. The one caveat here is going to come down to snow, with the largest of tires obviously making a big difference when talking about floatation rather than knifing down through the white stuff and doing your best scorpion, and the Bucksaw isn't able to accept anything larger than a 4.0'' wide tire or an 82mm wide rim ( 65mm-wide Surly Marge Lite rims are stock) due to Salsa's aim to make their bike ride more like a standard machine.

You don't need to be a genius to know that a bike like that Bucksaw, or any fat bike for that matter, is going to feel portly and slow when the trail smoothes out or you end up climbing a gravel road. The Bucksaw rolls faster than a bike with fatter, softer tires, however, but if you're still going to feel like yesterday was a leg day in the gym if you try to really wind it up. It wasn't leg day, and the Bucksaw would rather just chill out, so I'd suggest popping up a cog or two out back and spinning to the top rather than blowing your wad before you get to the fun part. Blame comes down to the tires, not the efficient suspension, so reaching for the Monarch's low-speed compression lever won't magically fix things.


Descending

The Bucksaw really should be talked about in before-fat and after-fat terms due to how different it's going to feel for a rider who's more in tune with how they handle compared to someone who's not spent much (or any) time on such a bike. But regardless of your BF or AF situation, the Bucksaw can be summed up easier with a single word than any other bike I've spent time on: entertaining. And this will be especially true if you're sitting in the BF camp, as long as you get through those awkward feeling first dates and stick around long enough to get comfortable together. Jumping off of a traditional bike and onto the Bucksaw is kinda like the first time eating some strange looking street meat in an Asian country: you know that you like it, but you're not sure why or even what it is.

Saying that the Bucksaw, or any fat bike for that matter, handles peculiar compared to your regular bike is a bit of an understatement, with the steering managing to feel both overly slow and massively quick at different points in a turn. Initial inputs at the handlebar see next to no result, and it'll just keep going straight, or continue turning if that's what it's already doing, unless you feed it some force, but then the bike will quickly switch it up all of a sudden and feel too eager for a split second. What I was feeling is the weight of the massive tire and rim, along with the traction that combo provides, requesting that I put more effort into turning, and then the whole package started to do as I was asking and promptly went light. This is not unique to the Bucksaw by any means - all fat bikes will feel this way to someone who's never been on one before - but it's a bit unsettling at first until you get used to the handling and the bike starts to feel normal after a few rides.


Not surprisingly, this isn't a bike that responds well to drifting through corners or using your rear brake to get your slide on. With so much traction keeping you from breaking free, you're far better off thinking more about carrying momentum than sliding through a bend. That might not match up to how I said it was a fun bike, but you'll be having a blast on the normal line regardless. Jumps and drops aboard the Bucksaw are a bit different in that you can feel the bike's weight - especially the rotational weight of the wheels and tires - and while it is harder to throw down some style, it's a comfortable bike to get airborne on. The front end does come up easily enough to make manuals an anytime sort of thing. Rough, chopped up landings are remarkably smooth, so much so that I'd guess that the bike has an extra inch or two of travel, thanks to the high-volume tires that do well to erase chatter. Watch for casing roll on steep lips or awkward landings, though, especially when running extremely low tire pressures.

And what about the Bucksaw's Split Pivot suspension? Truth be told, it almost felt as if the tires makes it a bit of a wash when it comes to what the rear end is doing. I've had plenty of trail time on other Split Pivot bikes with traditional rubber, with all of them impressing me for the most part, but the Bucksaw simply felt like a good performing, although nondescript, full-suspension bike. Slow rolling tires aside, it pedals relatively well, as it should with just 100mm of travel, and while I'd like to tell you it was both incredibly sensitive and had great support, the bottom line is that the 3.8'' wide tires inflated to under 10 PSI mask what is likely a very refined layout.



Street meat usually tastes really good once you stop worrying about what you're eating, and the Bucksaw is a ton of fun once you get used to the handling and stop worrying about what people are thinking. Sure, there's four inches of travel on both ends, which would usually put a bike deeper into the cross-country category than a lot of Pinkbike readers would consider sampling, but the blue Salsa's travel numbers really don't have much to do with its on-trail manners - this is a machine that puts an emphasis on fun. It is playful, despite the weight of its wheels and tires, and there are places where you'll be going just as fast, if not even a touch faster, than on your regular bike. Chunky ground full of rocks, roots, and steps will allow you to unleash the Bucksaw, and it'll take off like a scared cat once you trust how much traction and stability you have on hand. The same goes for loose conditions, which won't be a surprise to anyone, with the Bucksaw not really being hindered by slippery surfaces in the same way a bike with tires nearly half as wide would. If there was a wet weather specialist out there, the Bucksaw is it.



Technical Report

• You'll need to be on-point when it comes to tire pressure, as running them too low will give the Bucksaw a vague and uninspiring feel at best, or put you on the ground at worst. I found that around 8 PSI was ideal, but any lower and the tires had too much casing roll and bounce to them for my liking, and going above 10 PSI began to take away from the insane bite and bump-eating abilities of the 3.8” wide Surly Nate tires. A single PSI has a big impact on performance, so I'd recommend picking up a small digital gauge in order to get the most from the bike - your thumbs aren't going to cut it.

• I've spent time on at least fifteen or twenty different sets of Guide brakes since they were released, and all of them have impressed me so far. Reliability and consistency have both been improved over previous offerings, and they've managed to up the power without hurting the modulation. That said, this is the first set where I found myself wishing for more outright power, which has to be put down to the massive wheels and tires that simply take more to slow down. Salsa spec'd a 7'' rotor up front and a 6'' out back, but I'd upsize those to at least an 8'' and 7'' combo, if not even larger out back.



• The 100mm travel Bluto is about a thousand times better than having a gigantic fat bike tire and a rigid fork up front, and it went a long way to making the Bucksaw feel like a proper mountain bike that you'd ride anywhere. Having spent a bit of time on a few rigid fat bikes, as well as a few hardtail fat bikes, and now the Bucksaw, there's no way that I would even consider one without a suspension fork. However, if you've spent time on a Pike or any of the latest and greatest from FOX, Manitou or Marzocchi, you'll not exactly be blown away by the combination of the Bluto's Motion Control DNA damper and the 3.8'' wide tire. Then again, the Bluto costs quite a bit less, doesn't it? Call me spoiled, I guess.

• A dropper post makes sense to have on nearly every type of mountain bike, especially the fun-loving Bucksaw. The bike's Reverb worked well, and I appreciate the detailed oriented touch of mounting the button on the underside of the handlebar for my left thumb - most companies use a standard left handed button that sits atop the bar, even if there is no front shifter - but I would have preferred the 125mm drop model over the 100mm post that came on the bike from Salsa.




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