Johnn0

I have a 2020 Salsa Spearfish and I love it. It was pretty hard to find, I got it from the original owner after his limited use. I’ve put some upgrades on it like i9 hubs with handbuilt wheels, a Fox 34 factory stepcast fork, carbon bars, and power meter. It rides great and it’s fast, comfortable, and way more capable than my abilities.

Here’s the question, why doesn’t this bike get as much recognition as the other similar bikes in the xc/trail endurance marathon bike category.

There’s like 5 YouTube videos on it in total. It’s not included in the ‘Bible of the bikes’ tests, rarely featured, yet has a pretty large pedigree. It was the bike that just won the Colorado Trail Race, just one a super tough XC 100 miler. It seems to be up there with the Pivot 429 or HeiHei, Revel Ranger etc.

Anyone have thoughts on its ‘lack’ of mainstream popularity??

prj71

The bike didn't win any races. The guy riding it won the race and he probably could have done it on any manufacturers bike he was riding.

As an XC bike it's kinda of portly. Their top model is 26 lbs and then it starts getting heavier from there. Most of top models in the XC FS category are 20-22 lb. bikes. Nothing about the bike really makes it stand out. I don't think Superboost is catching on either.

Johnn0

Well, yes, of course. The rider won the races. Misinterpretation there. 'The bike they were riding' is what I should have said.

prj71

Doesn't really matter what bike he was riding. Like I said...He could have won it just as well on another brand.

That fact that it was on Spearfish speaks nothing of the bike or lack of reviews on it.

In any case, it appears the current version of the bike was updated in 2019 and hasn't been updated since that time.. Since it hasn't changed from 2019 really nothing to review about it.

https://www.singletracks.com/mtb-gea...xc-capability/

Johnn0

lol have a good day bud.

shelbyfv

Carbon or aluminum? Their ad says "threads the needle between trail bike and XC bike...." Sounds like a good choice for folks who aren't sure what they want.

Darth Lefty 

I like Salsas (clearly) and the Spearfish / Horsethief seems like a fine bike. It's one I would definitely consider on my next go-round whenever that happens.

But it's a popular category and it's a solid, not a very exciting entry from a smaller and not that premium brand. It's not, for instance, a Procaliber or a Following or a Canfield Tilt. Salsa has not been emphasizing XC racing. Their bikes have a lot of features for JRA in your local woods and not WC racing or shuttling UCSC... for instance all the bottle and bag mounts and solid affordable builds. It's also a few years old now and the category has moved on a bit. I suspect another generation is coming for MY22 and it will have a lot of the changes that happened to the new Timberjack

SkinGriz

To the OP.
It looks like a really nice bike to me.
If you like it I’m happy for you.

prj71

It's both...Carbon frame with Aluminum swing arm.

In any case...nothing wrong with the OPs bike. It is really nice. I was looking at Salsa when I was in the market but not a fan of that type of rear suspension set up. I went with something that's a little different (patented suspension) due to the climbing nature of my local trail system...

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/spot-mayhem-review.html