Going to Battle
Salsa Warbird (2013) — 53cm — $Sold
They say that war is hell, but if you’re going through hell, keep going. The bike industry is going down the Inferno, we’re just not sure what level this is. Gravel bikes and ebikes are the only two categories of growth over the last few years. That could be interpreted as a hopeful shift to new customers, or the last bastion of bike types sold to the same old folks. I’ll let you decide on that.
Salsa Cycles was a great brand, started by Ross Shafer right here in Northern California, the birthplace of Mountain Biking and MountainBikes. Their lovely colorful skewers were coveted by all, even if you didn’t ride on custom steel. Like many of those early brands, the Founders have moved on and they’re now Brands owned by a larger conglomerate. The old joke about all the bikes in the world being made by three factories is somewhat true. This particular Salsa is actually an Ora frame built in Taiwan. I would argue that they (Ora Engineering) make some of the best titanium bikes in the world. Period.
As one famous American titanium custom builder told me at NAHBS, “Apparently some hands are worth more than others.” — That’s an Internet flamewar I have no interest in wading into. They’re good bikes Brent.
The other thing about going into battle is that to choose your squad wisely. I got this Salsa from an old college buddy. He has two or three other titanium bikes that he barely rides. Old friends know you best. I remember when he bridged up to my ill-advised breakaway at the Grant’s Tomb Criterium we put on (I got pulled on lap 3). He was one of the groomsmen at my wedding. I told him he was going to “marry that girl” when he did a West Coast (Seattle to LA) bikepacking trip with a friend of a friend. I think they’ve been married for 8–9 years now. Two lovely kids. We’ve been through a lot, including me crashing at his brownstone in Park Slope, crying in the warm shower, after walking back in the freezing cold, from the hospital my sister never left.
Titanium is renowned as a “lifetime” material. The one bike that will last you forever. The one bike you can justify spending 5-figures on. This is my third or fourth one?
The only thing that will last forever are the memories I’ve made on the bike, and the people riding with me. Ride or die. Everything else is immaterial.
