I had my choices narrowed down to a few DTC brands, but then Salsa went and put the Blackthorn on sale. What do you think?
- The type of riding will you be doing: I'll mostly be riding trails. Nothing that would get any followers on youtube. If you remember the old Honda CRV commercials for "your adventures in reality", that is what I think about what I'll be doing.
- Where you will be riding: I'm in central North Carolina, north of Charlotte. I've been enjoying trails with some climbs and descents. Often there are lots of tree roots and some rocks (lake norman area). I doubt I'll ever do any down hill bike parks. I may check out a few local bike parks to see if I can clear a tabletop jump…
- Your budget (with included currency).: Under $3,000 USD… the cheaper the better.
- What you like/didn't like about your current bike: I'm currently riding a Polygon Xtrada 5 size large with 27.5 inch tires. While it is fun and a good climber. I have bottomed out the Suntour XCM many times and bounce around like crazy on some of the downhills.
- Your experience level and future goals: I am 50 years old and new to mountain biking and will often ride with my 9 year old son. I won't be taking big risks, just want to enjoy some riding on trails… enjoying with a little speed.
According to Salsa, the Blackthorn C SLX is now on sale for $2199.99. It is a little longer travel than I was thinking I'd get and a little slacker on the head tube angle than I thought I'd want. I was leaning towards the Jeffsy core 2, Polygon T8/T9, or Commencal Meta TR. The sale seems great and I will admit that I am probably suffering from FOMO on it. I can certainly wait till later in the year to see if there are bigger sales (does that happen with MTB?)
If the Salsa is a good option, any ideas on where to buy one in the area north of Charlotte, NC? I've looked at the websites of the listed dealers and none of them show the bike at that price.. maybe the sale is too new and they haven't updated their website.
by sixtywords
3 Comments
That’s the price we’ve been selling them at, no idea why the shops around you aren’t.
I’d call the shops to confirm the price. I bought a new bike during the recent sales and my local shops could usually offer the manufacturer listing if they could get the bike.
Also try calling other shops. I was looking at the blackthorn and some shops weren’t listed on salsa but they could order them. Unfortunately none could find a blackthorn
If you’re open to longer travel bikes like what you mentioned here, this is one of the best pedaling Long travel 29ers I’ve ever ridden. extremely efficient, no wasted energy, no bob
https://revelbikes.com/product/rail29-gx-eagle-kit-160/?attribute_pa_frame-size=small&attribute_pa_frame-color=lead-king-black-w-gold-sparkle&attribute_pa_fork=rockshox-domain-rc-160mm-0&utm_term=&utm_campaign=Performance+Max&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=8959325962&hsa_cam=21158849192&hsa_grp=&hsa_ad=&hsa_src=x&hsa_tgt=&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw8–2BhCHARIsAF_w1gyH-U2jJoJMkg5-pv9DWFpEnR-Z_ROOOGuMHd3OXC-fZAv-g-QMLmUaAopxEALw_wcB
Problem is they only have a size large or a small so if you’re a medium you might have to look at some of the other dealers but they usually offer this pricing or better, it’s a pretty decent entry level kit and an extremely good frame