8 Category-Killing Mountain Bikes

Salsa Cutthroat: Drop Bar Bikepacking 29er In the early days of mountain biking it was fairly common to see offroad riders sporting drop bars. With the rising popularity of gravel grinding and ultra endurance dirt races like the Tour Divide, Salsa has taken the traditional 29er mountain bike and advanced it to a design …

By Corey Maddocks
September 6, 2016 Last Updated: August 5, 2024

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Salsa Cutthroat: Drop Bar Bikepacking 29er

In the early days of mountain biking it was fairly common to see offroad riders sporting drop bars. With the rising popularity of gravel grinding and ultra endurance dirt races like the Tour Divide, Salsa has taken the traditional 29er mountain bike and advanced it to a design that can sustain 100-150 mile days in the saddle.

The Cutthroat starts with a true mountain bike frame with XC race geometry and room for meaty 29×2.4 tires on SRAM Roam MTB wheels. From there, the designers incorporated several frame construction concepts more commonly found on road bikes, which brings pedaling efficiency and all day comfort to the platform. Top that off with some drop bars and a mix of SRAM MTB and CX components and you have a bike that has the durability and offroad prowess of a mountain bike, but the comfort and efficiency of a road bike. Whether on your local hill climb, or a self-supported ride from Canada to Mexico, the category-killing Cutthroat is the bike for it.

See Also: “Test Ride Review: Salsa Cutthroat Carbon Rival 1“