Subscribe
Salsa Casseroll : First Impressions
by Bike Shop GirlIn late August I took delivery of a Salsa Casseroll in the single speed variety. Since then the bike has been my (almost) daily ride. It has caused me to get rid of my car and be a true car-free commuter and cyclist. There have been transformations of the bike which have been documented well.
Version 1.0
The stock set up with drop bar and single speed. 38mm tires and a very pretty chain guard. A rear rack was installed immediately and I pedaled it around this set up for about 3 days.
Version 1.1
The drop bar was swapped for a mountain handlebar (carbon Monkeylite) I had in the closet. Due to the brakes being long pull I had to run a cyclocross top lever and then made a rear shifter become my rear brake. The grips and Trek clock were my favorite part of this set up. Long term this will be how the bike is set up, but with a more swept back bar and correct brake levers.
Version 2.0
My road bike developed a crack in the down tube so all my geared Campagnola parts went on to the Casseroll. Lighter wheels, cyclocross cranks and 2×10 set up has been a dream to ride for the past month. I probably will run this setup through winter. The fatty tires, rear rack and soon to be fenders are going to be key for my 150 mile commuting per week. Plus long rides are pretty fun with gears.
Some specs and such:
Normally I ride a 55cm so I went with a 53cm frame, currently I am running a 90mm stem at 7degree rise. When I’m running flat bars the stem is at 100mm.
I’ve been advised multiple times by Salsa to keep the bike off the single track. The fork is not made for it and I might loose some teeth.
Be prepared to reconnect with cycling if you buy this bike. It catches many folks eyes, is a wonderful steady bike to load down the rear rack and enjoy your commute or long ride.
The rear rack needed a hose clamp on one side as the brake cable is in the way of the braze-on of the left seat stay. Hasn’t hurt my load carrying one bit.
I nearly bought a Casseroll, but for cost efficiency, went with a 925 instead. I test rode it and loved it, but couldn’t justify the cost. Thanks for reminding me of what I missed (not that my 925 is lacking, but the Casseroll is a SALSA!). I think I will be upgrading to a Vassago Fisticuff though, when it is released. I’ve been craving disc brakes on a commuter.
Jared,
I do wish the Casseroll had disk brakes. Charlotte, NC has been getting a decent amount of rain and I’m about needing a new set of brake pads after about 500miles.
Loved the ride though. I’ve even thought of slapping a singulator on a La Cruz, but am waiting to see what the new Vassago is all about. The La Cruz rode sweetly as well, though it lacks proper rack mounts.
Riding a 9-2-5 as well and, while I want a chainguard, want to dump the chintzy smoked plastic one that came with the bike.
How well did the chainguard on the Casseroll work? It’s a lot sweeter looking than chainguards that provide more enclosure, but I wonder if that translates to the possibility of snagged pant legs…
Chester – I love the chainguard. Can’t wait to goto single speed for it!
Velo Orange has some chrome ones much like it.
http://www.velo-orange.com/
Thanks. I’ve seen the Velo Orange chainguards and like ‘em…but prefer the one on your Salsa as there’s no “overhang”. If all that’s needed to keep pants hems out of the chain, then I’ll go that way — it’s a way cleaner look.
So I guess I’ll have to try and hunt down a similar chainguard.
But maybe I’ll just get one of the Velo Oranges…been wanting to get one of their leather-wrapped half-clips anyway:
http://www.velo-orange.com/petoeclandac.html
Please explain how you set up the rear shifter pod to act as a brake lever…do you have to manually “click it” to release the brake?
Ghost – Its a SRAM 1:1 ratio shifter. I had the cable set up so out the 9 clicks I used 3. The first was slow down barely, the second was really slow down, and the third locked up the rear brake. Then you simply downshift to get the brake off.
It came from when I rode a fixie with bull horns I used a friction shifter at the end as my front brake.
I’ve seen the friction lever trick (which I’ve actually tried with some measure of success), but I’ve got to say that the “click modulation” you’ve figured out how to dial in is TOTALLY badass.
How long did it take you to figure out how much tension the brake cable needed in order to work the way you wanted it? Any setup tips you might share?
Oh, and in order to stay on topic, the Casseroll is one of the best thought-out frames to hit the market in some time. It’s like a Surly LHT with a little something “extra”…and the color is pretty stunning in real life. A Casseroll frame is on my short list as “ultimate commuter platform”.
Ghost -
Thanks! It wasn’t too difficult at all. Much like setting up standard road calipers. Tighten bolt, try a couple clicks, stretch cable to seat correctly, check the “shifter leverage” and adjust. I would say it took the same amount of time as dialing in a road caliper.
Make sure to have your barrel adjuster on the brake caliper half way out. You can always dial it in (you have 9 clicks to stop you if your cable stretches out) but if your caliper is too tight it might not be good.
LHT vs Casseroll –
Many folks ride the LHT as a commuter. I’m not a big fan of it as a commuter, as it is designed for touring. If you are weighing down your bike for your commute, then yes, the LHT is great.
Personally I’m not. I might have 15 lbs on the rear rack at any given time and that’s the ONE day I take my laptop in to the shop.
The Casseroll to me on the spectrum of road to touring bike, is closer to a road bike in feel. A relaxed, comfy, road bike. I wanted something to contrast my normal road racing steed. Something I could run 38mm tires in the winter for the night commutes and unseen cracks in the road.
Now if I could only have one bike and touring with heavy panniers, really fat tires and need for front and rear racks was needed – Yes I would stick with a LHT.
I ordered the singlespeed version recently with the intention of converting it to a 1×9 or 1×10 setup almost immediately.
I’ve put probably 6000 or more miles on my disc-brake Las Cruces and absolutely love it, but I need something with better fender and rack capability.
Forgive my newbiness, but this sentence leaves me totally in the dark:
“I’ve been advised multiple times by Salsa to keep the bike off the single track.”
Off the single track?
Single track is a trail wide enough for one person (see below in the “Bike Sites” links). It’s what we mountain bikers live for. The implication is that riding single track would break this fork, causing a wreck and subsequent alteration of the dentition.
Yes, single track is meant for off road, narrow path of trail that often has dips, roots, rocks and logs across it.
So it isn’t off road friendly.
My wife and I both have Casserolls. She got hers first and it rode so well I had to have one too. We have them set up in the “Copenhagen” style – Nitto Northroad bars, riser stem, racks, lights, fenders, 32c tires, bells. Gearing on mine is 1X8 and hers is 3X9. On mine I was able to install one of the plastic “smoke” chainguards (cast-off at a local shop) but I painted it to match the fenders.
Set up this way the Casseroll does make the perfect city bike. The 76mm BB drop gives it wonderful old-school handling, as Arleigh says, relaxed and comfy.
Mark – Long term I think that is the plan for the Casseroll (maybe in a year) but with a 1×8 using an internal hub.
I’m trying to decide on an internal hub right now for an xtracycle build, if the Dual Drive from SRAM works out well maybe that’s what I’ll end up with for the Casseroll as well.
I want a Salsa SOOOOO BAD!!!
I bought the same bike but can’t get fenders on it with the stock tires. Am I dumb, it doesn’t seem like there is any clearance.
Here was my original review. After 800 miles or so I am very impressed. . . .
http://www.bullfightsandbicycles.com/2008/05/scent-of-klugman.html
I got a Casseroll single for commuting two months ago. I also do 150 per week. I’m happy with it. Looks great, rides sweet. Relative to my other bike used for commute (Fisher 29er hardtail) it is light and nimble. Also easier to keep clean. I do about 40% of ride on level, nontech trail that sends up a fair amount of grit. Main complaint is that my Shimano 18t freewheel is a bit noisey and has some catch spots. May be a defect (got 25% off on price of bike) and will probably replace because cost is minimal. Gearing (48/18) is nice for my pretty much level commute.
I just purchased the Casseroll single and I love it. The bike performs exactly as advertised:
An efficient yet comfortable bike. How do you feel about using this for light off road? Is that what separates a Cyclocross bike from a Casseroll? How else are the frames different? I know about the low bottom bracket. What else differentiates the two?
BB height, headtube angle and the fact they have personally told me NOT to off road on the fork.
Wow! Tops, people are still checking this thread.
I’ve had my casseroll since the first container came off the boat here in the antipodes. Love it. Built up from frame as single fendered flat bar with some lovely components.
Just getting in on the fork act though – I’m now on my second warranty replacement due to cracks across the crown. Cant seem to find much info about it. would love to know why. headset is always well adjusted, and all I use it for is commuting on (admittedly often patchy) sealed roads. Never ridden off road. The forks have HEAPS of flex, this probably has a lot to do with it.
Was wondering has anyone else actually had to replace theirs or am I *special*????
Hey Freewheelin,
I’ve contacted Salsa about your inquiry. Hopefully they can weigh in better than I.
Thanks for reading