Salsa

El Mariachi 3 - 2012

You'd be hard pressed to find a more versatile and functional bike for off-road riding than a hardtail 29er. Make it from steel, and you have a bike that will last very near forever, tackle almost any terrain you can find, and won't dynamite your wallet on the way. The Salsa El Mariachi 3 is just such a bike. Salsa's Kung Fu Cro-Moly tubing is triple-butted to reduce weight without sacrificing strength at the joints, so you never have to worry about cracking the frame at a weak point. Salsa's innovative Alternator dropouts also allow quick-and-easy singlespeed conversions—whether they're planned, or just a way to get you home after a massive mid-ride mechanical. The Alternators utilize a swing-style design, and are kept in place with the aid of tension bolts, so you don't have to worry about getting both sides right with just bolt -- torque. This swinging style also means that you can tune the ride characteristics of your El Mariachi easily -- keep it in tight for short effective chainstays and quick handling, or move it out to lengthen the chainstays and add stability. El Mariachi, like all Salsa bikes, lends itself to the lengthy and epic, and is an ideal candidate for multi-day backcountry bikepacking. This is not to say, of course, that you can't race it -- El Mariachi eats up short-track XC races just as well as it handles hundred-mile days through the woods.

• SRAM 2x10 drivetrain maximizes usable gear ratios while reducing weight and complexity
  
• Rock Shox Rekon TK Gold 29er fork features 100 millimeters of squish to take the edge off on long rides
• Avid Elixir 1 brakes with a 180-millimeter front rotor and a 160-millimeter rear offer good modulation and stopping power
• 27x36 low gear will get you up and over anything that's worth riding over
• Wide Salsa Pro Moto Flat handlebars give you better control in the twisties and plenty of leverage of tractor climbs
• Schwalbe Rapid Rob tires have plenty of low-profile knobs for low rolling resistance, but larger shoulder knobs for good grip in turns