{"id":18538,"date":"2017-02-05T12:39:17","date_gmt":"2017-02-05T17:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/?p=18538"},"modified":"2017-02-05T12:39:17","modified_gmt":"2017-02-05T17:39:17","slug":"2015-salsa-el-mariachi-single-speed-w-upgrades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/2017\/02\/05\/2015-salsa-el-mariachi-single-speed-w-upgrades\/","title":{"rendered":"2015 Salsa El Mariachi Single Speed w\/ Upgrades"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

A couple years ago I had\u00a0an older Bomb Pop Blue colored El Mariachi<\/a> that I\u00a0used in a bunch of different setups, including rigid SS and rigid 1×9, but mostly it saw use as a hard tail SS with wide wheels. A fun all-around XC bike; I loved it. After building up the Jones Plus (as a single speed)<\/a> I sold the El Mariachi, but missed it, especially after selling off the Jones. (While nice, I couldn’t justify such a high end single speed like the Jones, and my buddy Bob was really keen on it…)<\/p>\n

For everything from might-get-wet rides to trips to Ray’s<\/a>\u00a0(where a derailleur can be a liability) I liked having a cheaper, familiar, single speed bike and kept an eye out for something that’d meet the want…<\/p>\n

Suddenly,\u00a0one dreary spring day in 2016, I found what I was looking for: a second hand (but practically new condition)\u00a02015 Salsa El Mariachi Single Speed<\/a>, in it’s wonderfully weird grey-green color which occasionally looks to my deuteranomalous eyes as brown. Even better, with a 44mm straight head tube and kinked seatpost\u00a0it features Salsa’s newer El Mariachi geometry; the same as is found on my beloved El Mariachi Ti<\/a>, a\u00a0perfect\u00a0single speed for me. Unfortunately, while I love the frame and its color, I was was never really happy with\u00a0the anodized orange accents.<\/p>\n

After riding it for a year, tweaking some things, reusing spare parts, and finding some mid-winter deals it’s had quite an upgrade. While the stock wheels were nice I wanted higher engagement hubs and wider rims with higher volume tires. A\u00a0suspension fork, bought used from a buddy in late spring 2016, took the edge off of\u00a0rough trails. New wheels, a black handlebar (from the Blackborow<\/a>), and a new seatpost collar did away with the remaining orange. Swapping on 180mm\/160mm rotors (also from the Blackborow) brings stopping in line with\u00a0my other XC bikes. The end result is monochrome parts on a colorful frame, my preferred style of bike.<\/p>\n

Topping it all off are Schwalbe’s giant, aggressively knobbed 29″ x 2.6″ Nobby Nic<\/a> tires which — even on the wide-for-XC\u00a0WTB KOM i29<\/a> rims — fit nicely in the El Mariachi’s frame, getting it close to 29+<\/a> territory.\u00a0While I’m not normally fond of such an aggressive tread for XC use it’s the only tire of its size available that\u00a0appealed to me.\u00a0The stock bike build featured 2.25″ Nobby Nic tires and while they felt squirmy on hard pack, they were quite enjoyable\u00a0when conditions are soft or loose; precisely one of the times when I opt to ride single speed. So, I\u00a0opted to give them a go. I may eventually switch to something lower knob, but for now they are staying.<\/p>\n

More photos, including wheel build numbers, can be seen here<\/a>, and the complete bike is built as follows:<\/p>\n

Frame \/ Rigid Fork:<\/strong>\u00a02015 El Mariachi Single Speed<\/a>\u00a0(Medium)
\nSuspension Fork:<\/strong>\u00a0Fox Racing Shox<\/a>\u00a0OE, CTD w\/ Open Bath Damper (Grey Decals)
\nRigid Fork:<\/strong>\u00a0Salsa CroMoto Grande, tapered, 15mm thru-axle<\/a> (Matched to Frame)
\nHubs:<\/strong> Hope Pro 4<\/a> (front), Pro 4 Trials \/ Single Speed<\/a> (Rear)
\nRims:<\/strong> WTB KOM i29<\/a>
\nSpokes:<\/strong> Sapim D-Light<\/a> (Black, 292mm and 290mm)
\nNipples:<\/strong> Sapim (Black)
\nTires:<\/strong>\u00a0Schwalbe Nobby Nic HS 463<\/a> (29 x 2.60, SnakeSkin, TL-Easy, PaceStar)
\nTubeless Setup:<\/strong> Stan’s NoTubes Sealant<\/a> and Valves<\/a> (35mm), WTB TCS Rim Tape<\/a> (34mm)
\nBrakes:<\/strong>\u00a0Shimano Deore M615<\/a>
\n<\/a>Brake Rotors:<\/strong>\u00a0TRP-14 Standard Rotor<\/a> (180mm, 160mm)
\nFront Brake Adapter:<\/strong> Shimano\u00a0SM-MA-F180P\/P2 (Suspension Fork), SM-MA-F180P\/S (Rigid Fork)
\nHandlebar:<\/strong> Salsa Salt Flat 2<\/a> (700mm, cut from 750mm)
\nGrips:<\/strong> Ergon GP1\u00a0BioKork<\/a>\u00a0(Large)
\nHeadset:<\/strong> Cane Creek 40<\/a> ZS44\/EC44
\nStem:<\/strong> Thomson Elite X4<\/a> (SM-E133 0\u00b0 X 100mm X 31.8 1-1\/8 X4 Black)
\nSpacers:<\/strong>\u00a0Generic Aluminum
\nStem Cap:<\/strong> Niner YAWYD<\/a>\u00a0w\/ Evil Twin<\/a> Cap
\nSeatpost:<\/strong> Thomson Elite<\/a> (SP-E113 27.2 X 410 Black)
\nSeatpost Clamp:<\/strong>\u00a0Thomson Seatpost Collar<\/a>\u00a0(SC-E102 29.8 Black)
\nSaddle:<\/strong> Specialized Phenom Expert<\/a> (143mm)
\nCrankset:<\/strong>\u00a0Generic (Salsa OE)
\nBottom Bracket:<\/strong>\u00a0Generic (Salsa OE)
\nPedals:<\/strong>\u00a0Crank Brothers Eggbeater Sl<\/a>
\nChainring:<\/strong>\u00a0Generic 32t (Salsa OE)
\nCog:<\/strong>\u00a0Surly Cassette Cog<\/a> (17t)
\nCog Spacers\/Lockring:<\/strong> Surly Spacer Kit<\/a>
\nChain:<\/strong>\u00a0SRAM PC-850<\/a>
\nBottle Cages:<\/strong> Specialized Zee Cage II<\/a>\u00a0(Left and Right)
\nRear Light:<\/strong> Planet Bike Superflash Stealth<\/a>
\nBell:<\/strong> Mirrycle Original Incredibell<\/a>
\nSensors:<\/strong>\u00a0Garmin Bike Speed Sensor<\/a><\/p>\n

Post upgrade, tubeless, with suspension fork, without Garmin Edge 520 or rear light, it weighs 26.12 pounds. This is pretty nice for what’s effectively a steel 29+ single speed, with super-grippy tires, in a geometry that I’m very comfortable riding. I\u00a0have less than $1500 into the bike,\u00a0which I’m pretty happy with considering how well equipped it is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A couple years ago I had\u00a0an older Bomb Pop Blue colored El Mariachi that I\u00a0used in a bunch of different setups, including rigid SS and…<\/p>\n

Continue reading2015 Salsa El Mariachi Single Speed w\/ Upgrades<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,10,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-acquired-things","category-cycling","category-making-things","entry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18538"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18558,"href":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18538\/revisions\/18558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}