Big Mountain Riding

Review & Photo: Scott Schekman

This is a continuation of my earlier review of the Salsa Mamasita …  or perhaps just another step forward in my quest for the ideal single speed (for the way I ride).  After I bought a  2009 Salsa Dos Niner frame and built it up as my regular-rider 29er trail bike,  I decided to convert the Mama to a one gear bike to see how it would do.  After several weeks of riding it, I believe I’d summarize it in two words – RACE BIKE.

"Race Bike!" The Mama drops some gears to show off its true lightness of being.

I borrowed all the components from my Redline Flight rigid SS, and then I installed an 80mm Rock Shox Reba up front.

At one time, Salsa did offer this frame as a dedicated single speed frame and called it the Selma. However, it was discontinued along with the Mamasita. Rumor has it Salsa is bringing back a version of the Mamasita, maybe the Selma will make a reappearance too.
The first ride of this frame built in this configuration was destined to be at the Candlers/Liberty Mountain trail system, my local playground. Candlers has almost everything you could want except large rock gardens.

My very first impression was that I under geared it even though I used the same ratio. It is that responsive to pedal input. When I pedal, it leaps forward. This frame puts the power to the ground and that trait is even more noticeable when it’s set up as a SS. No wasted effort here! I think the only thing that might be better is a full carbon frame.

If this might appeal to your inner racer or you are just desiring a responsive single speed it seems eBay or Craigslist  might be your only choice in building up a mean SS race machine from the Salsa Mamasita.

© 2011 Big Mountain Riding

Long Term Review of Salsa’s super-fast 29er hard tail, the Mamasita

The Salsa Mamasita is a capable back country explorer and XC racer

Review by:

Scott Schekman

Photos by: Scott Schekman and Randy King

Now that I have been riding my Salsa Mamasita for more than a year, it is time for a long term review. My Mamasita is built up pretty much as a race/play 29er hard tail with a ROCK SHOX REBA Race 29″ fork, RACE FACE Deus crankset, Stan’s 355 rims laced to a DT Swiss 240 front & Stans ZTR rear hub, Easton Monkeylite XC bar, SRAM X-9 triggers and rear derailleur and Hope Mini disc brakes. This build is average in weight at 24.5 lbs, but that works for me and I didn’t have to cash in my IRA to build it. New Mamasita frames are available online for about $750; complete bikes for less than $2,000.

This size small frame is made of Scandium/aluminum alloy with carbon seat stays. I have read of various advantages of Scandium alloys, but not being a metalurgist, I don’t actually know what is fact or not.  The Mamasita’s geometry is fairly standard for a 29er hardtail frame [See chart].

The Salsa Mamasita features clean lines and rider-friendly geometry

So far I have raced the Mamasita in two mountain-X races and the epic Shenandoah 100. All my other rides have been local trail rides at Candlers/Liberty mountain, Danville, VA’s Anglers Ridge, Bedford, VA’s Falling Creek Park or Roanoke, VA’s Carvins Cove. The Mamasita rock ‘n’ rolled through all of this terrain variety that included log hopping, rock gardens, swoopy smooth singletrack and typical east coast-roots, rocks, tree limbs, technical climbs and fast descents.

Riding this bike is like riding a small self-powered rocket. All the pedaling energy seems to transform immediately into forward motion. This bike will climb like a scared cat! I seem to favor technical difficult climbs, especially the kind most people only like to ride down. [Editor's note: He's not kidding!] The “Mama” excels at this.  I do run the Reba at 100mm travel which means I have to keep some weight forward on steeps to keep the front end down, but like on any bike, the rider has to learn how to distribute his weight to the bike’s advantage.

Descending is a flat out rush; this bike will go faster than my brain will let it. I have never yet missed full suspension on the downhills. It might be the combination of wagon wheels and carbon stays or just the geometry, but this is the fastest XC bike I have ridden yet. The only time I notice any limitations is when I am trying to keep a smooth cadence on choppy (roots and small rocks) flat ground. This is probably a disadvantage of any 29er hard tail. It tends to kick me off the saddle some, which disrupts my pedaling so I installed a USE suspension seat post which helps – but is still no substitute for rear suspension.

The carbon seatstays and big wheels soften up the ride a bit on this rocket-fast hard tail

All in all, the Salsa Mamasita is a blast to ride or race. It is a screaming fast descender, a mountain goat climber, nimble and quick without any twitchiness in steering control. The Mamasita rider feels confident and in control climbing up or blazing down the mountain. The Salsa Mamasita is definitely worth a closer look for XC and epic racers and big mountain riders – as long as you’re not a downhill-only rider, or into frequent jumping or drops bigger than two feet.

©2010 Big Mountain Riding