Commuting - Salsa La Cruz Anyone?

Just wondering if anyone here is using a Salsa La Cruz to commute and if so, what are your thoughts on the bike?

I use it. I love it. I had the shop replace 105 with SRAM Rival. I am EXTREMELY happy with that choice. I opted for the compact crank with 50/34.

I have one, lovely bike for commuting I do between 16km and 17km one way. If I had a more hilly commute I'd probably go for 3 chainrings up front, more touring style. The Disc brakes took a little getting used to with the dialing in, but are great. I love it. A great ride.

that is a hot friggin' bike. i don't have one but would LOVE to get one.

I just got one last week for my 23.5 mile roundtrip commute. I couldn't be happier with it so far.

Are there braze on's for a rear rack on the La Cruz. I can't tell from the web page or photos. That's about all that would hold me up from getting one.

John

There is one eyelet at the dropout. It's not a big challenge to mount your fender and rack in that eyelet. There is no upper braze-on or eyelet for rack mounting. I use an Axiom Streamliner Road DLX which mounts to the brake bridge. I know of at least three BikeForum users who do this with success, and I know of one for whom this did not work out (on a La Cruz). Here's a link to the rack:

http://www.axiomgear.com/products/gear/racks/rear-racks/streamliner-road-dlx/

When I was considering how to mount the rack, I was torn between the brake bridge mount with this rack or using p-clamps to the seatstays. Since this rack can be had for cheap (a good deal cheaper than Axiom's SRP), I figured I'd give it a try. It hangs nicely behind my disc caliper, also keeping my panniers out of the way of my heels. I'm totally satisfied with the setup.

Let us know what you decide.

There is no upper braze-on or eyelet for rack mounting. I use an Axiom Streamliner Road DLX which mounts to the brake bridge. I know of at least three BikeForum users who do this with success, and I know of one for whom this did not work out (on a La Cruz). Here's a link to the rack:

http://www.axiomgear.com/products/gear/racks/rear-racks/streamliner-road-dlx/

There's a cleaner fix than P-Clamps... it's a seatpost clamp replacement that includes rackmount eyelets. Comes in a 31.8mm (http://www.benscycle.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=146_240&products_id=3843&zenid=56a21958ca68c9bc8e38649e9c2a7e70) and 34.9 mm (http://www.benscycle.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=146_240&products_id=3844&zenid=56a21958ca68c9bc8e38649e9c2a7e70) size. I can say from experience, these are the bee's knees. Oh, they also solve brake interference, if you have that going on.

Put a deposit down.:)

I just got one last week for my 23.5 mile roundtrip commute. I couldn't be happier with it so far.

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Salsa La Cruz--coming soon
Gunnar Crosshairs--soon to be gone

You need to update your sig then! ;)

I am thinking about building one up for my commute. Anyone have a feel for the differences between the La Cruz and the Casseroll (besides disc brakes)?

There's a cleaner fix than P-Clamps... it's a seatpost clamp replacement that includes rackmount eyelets. Comes in a 31.8mm (http://www.benscycle.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=146_240&products_id=3843&zenid=56a21958ca68c9bc8e38649e9c2a7e70) and 34.9 mm (http://www.benscycle.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=146_240&products_id=3844&zenid=56a21958ca68c9bc8e38649e9c2a7e70) size. I can say from experience, these are the bee's knees. Oh, they also solve brake interference, if you have that going on.

I considered this and rejected it. The outer diameter of the seatpost on the La Cruz is 30.0 mm, so not immediately compatible with any of the seatpost clamp solutions. The closest I came to the seatpost clamp solution was thinking of taking my 27.2 mm diameter seat post, shimming that to 28.4, and clamping a second seat tube clamp onto the seatpost just above the functional seat tube clamp. The second clamp would serve only to mount the rack onto the seatpost instead of the seat tube. I rejected that path in favor of mounting to the brake bridge, and I'm totally happy with the brake bridge mount so far.

I considered this and rejected it. The outer diameter of the seatpost on the La Cruz is 30.0 mm, so not immediately compatible with any of the seatpost clamp solutions. The closest I came to the seatpost clamp solution was thinking of taking my 27.2 mm diameter seat post, shimming that to 28.4, and clamping a second seat tube clamp onto the seatpost just above the functional seat tube clamp. The second clamp would serve only to mount the rack onto the seatpost instead of the seat tube. I rejected that path in favor of mounting to the brake bridge, and I'm totally happy with the brake bridge mount so far.

Oh, that sucks. Brake bridge mounted rack (note, I wasn't meaning to discount that in your statement), work perfectly well. Wald's basic rack has been like that for years... decades maybe...

I just bought a LaCruz. I'm using it mostly as a winter road bike (I have a Novara Randonee as my commuter bike). I've been very happy with the La Cruz but I only have 45 miles on it so far.

The best price I found was $1250 from Webcyclery

http://www.webcyclery.com/product.php?productid=18192&cat=77&page=1

I am thinking about building one up for my commute. Anyone have a feel for the differences between the La Cruz and the Casseroll (besides disc brakes)?

The Casseroll has double eyelets in the back for fenders and a rack, plus rack mounts on the stays. The La Cruz has single eyelets on both forks and no rack mounts on stays.

The Casseroll has a steeper seat-tube angle but shorter top tube length, so it ends up fitting about the same as the La Cruz across the top.

La Cruz will handle larger tires (42 mm) since it's a cyclocross frame. Casseroll will handle 35 mm tires, 32 mm with fenders.

Head tube on the Casseroll is about 1 cm longer than La Cruz for a given size.

Chain stay is about 0.5 cm longer on the La Cruz.

The biggest difference between the frames, as noted, is the brakes. If they made the La Cruz with cantilever brakes, I would buy one but do not want disc brakes. Total overkill for my purposes and increases costs unnecessarily.

La Cruz will handle larger tires (42 mm) since it's a cyclocross frame. Casseroll will handle 35 mm tires, 32 mm with fenders.


Casseroll comes with 37mm tires, at least the single speed flip flop does. I need my Hardrock to die before I drop for one though.

I just bought a LaCruz. I'm using it mostly as a winter road bike (I have a Novara Randonee as my commuter bike). I've been very happy with the La Cruz but I only have 45 miles on it so far.

The best price I found was $1250 from Webcyclery

http://www.webcyclery.com/product.php?productid=18192&cat=77&page=1

I got mine for $1150 w/ an IRD 10 speed 11-34 cassette.