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A Tale of Two Titaniums: Salsa reintroduces Fargo Ti and Timberjack Ti

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Fargo Ti Complete – All photos c.Salsa Cycles

Salsa and Ti are back together, and we’re not talking about vegetables and rappers. On the heels of their recent full suspension Deadwood Plus mountain bike, Salsa keeps the heat coming by reintroducing titanium to their lineup. The brand has always been big in the gravel and bikepacking scene, even before it was a “thing”, and the recent boom in such adventure-type riding is likely the case for the return of these titanium options. Riders loyal to the brand but wanting a higher-end option to explore upon can now rejoice…

Fargo Ti Frameset

The new offerings are twofold, first with the Fargo Ti as a frameset. Essentially a drop bar mountain bike as seen in the aluminum complete option, the titanium version of this “cult classic” comes with the Salsa Firestarter carbon fork, and mirrors the highly versatile geometry of the alloy version. The Fargo is described as being “for the rider that likes long days on smooth to rugged surfaces, while carrying everything needed to do it all again tomorrow.”

Fargo Ti Alternator Dropouts

It’s designed with drop bars in mind, and for 2017 they’ve updated the geometry with shorter chainstays and split-able Alternator v1.5 dropouts to allow for belt drive compatibility. If you’re not familiar with the Alternator dropouts, you can read about them on the Salsa website here.

Up front is a 51mm offset forks with clearance for 27.5+, 29, or 29+ wheels. The guys at Salsa chose to keep it simple with traditional brushed titanium, the trademark Salsa writing on the downtube, and the spicy pepper emblem reminiscent of old school frames. It’s rear rack compatible for recommended use with their Salsa Alternator Standard Rack and the frame is available now through authorized dealers for $2,499.

Timberjack Ti (complete)

The second bike to get a titanium upgrade option is the Salsa Timberjack mountain bike hardtail. Despite being shown as a complete, the Timberjack Ti comes as a frame only, meaning riders will have tons of flexibility to build the bike according to their needs.

Slightly beefier tubes and more aggressive mountain bike geometry based around a 120mm suspension fork (or equivalent rigid suspension-corrected fork) give an idea of what Salsa intends the bike to be used for.

Previously only available in separate aluminum 29 and 27.5+ options, the Timeberjack Ti can accept both and serves as a more gnarly option for the singletrack and bikepacking crowds.

Features:

  • Compatible with 130mm travel suspension fork or rigid Firestarter fork
  • Gear or singlespeed using Alternator dropouts that change chainstay length from 420mm to 437mm
  • Multiple dropout plate options to change rear spacing from 135mm QR, 142mm thru-axle, or BOOST-148
  • 1x or 2x Drivetrain compatibile using removable direct mount front derailleur option

The Timberjack Ti also offers the benefits of internal cable routing using full-length housing, stealth dropper post internal routing, and a replaceable derailleur hanger. Available through dealers as a frame only for $1,999. Welcome back Ti, it’s nice to have you!

SalsaCycles.com

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nathan
nathan
6 years ago

Reminds me of a faux-retro SE BMX with modern wheels. Take old, new, throw them into a blender, tada!

zes
zes
6 years ago

Will it ever be available? The timberjack alloy frameset has been on their website over a year but has yet to be in stock anywhere….

Karl S
Karl S
6 years ago
Reply to  zes

Both Ti frames are already sold out. Salsa says they may have another production run in the future. Not sure about Timberjack alloy.

threeringcircus
threeringcircus
6 years ago

The Fargo is a great bike that, IMO, could be an awesome bike if the stack was reduced a bit. My only complaint with riding one for a couple years was that I couldn’t get my front end low enough to make drop bars feel comfortable. I always felt like I was more “behind” the bars instead of on top of them. You can always get a riser stem, leave additional length on your steerer and add spacers (or both) if you want a higher bar position, but you can only go so low with that long head tube. HT on a size medium is 140mm, for example. Knock 20-30mm off that and I would be first in line to give it a go.

Nick W.
Nick W.
6 years ago

I never “got” the Fargo until I had a chance to ride one on singletrack for a few hours. Riding in the front of the drops was the go-to position, and the bike handled better from there than the tops or the back of the drops. I suspect this is why they keep the front end tall.

jasonmiles31
6 years ago

Do riders often swap in suspension forks on Fargo’s. I love the idea behind the bike, but the suspension corrected geometry always has looked a little ugly to me. Is it just a way to have massive stack with a short headtube or something?

francess
francess
6 years ago

Fargo regular frames are steel, not alluminium.
The tall front end is the way to go to use the Woodchipper drop bar, that has to be installed to have the drops at the same level as a flat mtb bar, since it’s a mountain bike drop bar.

Ryan S.
Ryan S.
6 years ago

Can anyone share the actual weight difference between the same size frame in ti vs their standard cromoly? I have yet to find this bit of info anywhere.

Ryan S.
Ryan S.
6 years ago
Reply to  Ryan S.

For those interested, got a reply from Salsa regarding weight. Roughly 1.5 pounds difference between the ti and cromoly framesets.

BigCottonwoodKid
BigCottonwoodKid
6 years ago
Reply to  Ryan S.

Cool. Thanks Ryan.

A.
A.
6 years ago

Don’t get too excited about this. The Fargo ti is sold out for the year already. Great job, Salsa!

BigCottonwoodKid
BigCottonwoodKid
6 years ago
Reply to  A.

They are all sold to dealers. Look at the list on their website. Just bought mine today from a dealer in my state. Size large.

Samwise
Samwise
6 years ago

So is the Timberjack 120 or 130? And how does that make it compatible with a Firestarter Carbon fork?? The Firestarter is for 100mm sus correction..

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