cross post on the touring forum

But I think I like this bike for my touring/commuting bike can't wait to see one.

https://salsacycles.com/fargo09.html

That pretty little thing would make a great commuter for sure. I really like when they put the disk brake taps on the chainstay. I wouldn't run the tires they have on it of course but the option for wide tires is always a plus.

Any idea on cost?

+1 on the tires. I'm not sure why you'd sell a bike for touring/commuting with knobbies and 29" wheels, but I guess they're experimenting with this market. Sounds more like they are trying to capitalize on the 29er fad right now.

For folk like me who have thought about a rocky mountin tour, mainly done on fire roads, or so I could ride it up to a mountain bike destination, unlaod the ride the trails. If you read the description it talks about changing the wheels for the road as well. Now I am some what biased as I love my monogo29er SS for MTBing. 29er IMHO is not a fad, if you ride one side by side with a 26 the ride off road is so much better.

I'm not meaning to dis' 29ers, I'm just saying the bike industry tends to grab a particular segment each year and pump it up for application they were not meant for. Ubiquitous carbon and fixed gear bikes also come to mind on this front.

I would say for fire roads, I think a more traditional touring bike with 32MM or larger tires would be fine. 700c wheels give you a lot more options right now than 29ers, so I guess I'm saying that I don't understand the need. I could be wrong. This appears to be an experiment in the market so we'll see where it goes.

Personally I wouldn't want to commute or tour on a bike with big, heavy, fat knobby tires -- but your needs could be very different than mine. The roads are good where I live, and I rarely if ever have the need to venture onto dirt roads, trails or so-called fire roads. Actually, I wouldn't know a fire road if I saw one.

Have you looked at the Salsa La Cruz? It seems to have the same features you like in the Fargo, yet it uses 700c tires (and can fit some pretty big ones). It also has disc brakes. Yet you could put regular road tires on it and ride fast if you choose.

NON OFFICIAL STATEMET:

Salsa is setting the suggested retail on the frame, fork, and seat post clamp at $650.00. A complete model spec’ed with a full XT drivetrain, bar end shifters on Salsa Bell Lap drop bars, Salsa Shaft seat post holding a WTB saddle, WTB Vulpines on Salsa Semi 36 hole rims, DT Competition spokes, brass nipples, Avd BB-7 brakes, Tektro levers, and Salsa CroMoto stem will set you back $2000.00 MSRP. Expected availability on the framesets is November 2008 The Fargo Completes will be out January/February of 2009.

6 water bottle mounts?

Those knobbies would be nice for commuting in snow.

Where'd you get the pricing info?

Can you give any guidance as to the cost of the Pistola or Podio (or any increases in the Casseroll pricing)?

got it from here

https://twentynineinches.com/2008/09/...er-sneak-peek/

nothing inside, just researching for my next bike. I had thought I'd made my decsion then saw this....

And complete specs here:

https://www.salsacycles.com/fargoComp09.html

I just saw that too. Up until today, I was convinced I needed a Rawland Sogn 650b frame to build an all around bike, but this one has me pretty interested. I seem to be in between the small and medium on the Salsa though......decisions, decisions.

6 water bottle mounts. And I would still take the 100oz camelbak. There are some areas for riding that just don't have any good water sources where one would like to explore. Just come out west to the AZ/CA deserts in the fall/winter/spring. That bike was made for an off road century ride in the desert. Of course it would make a great commuter. And that way you could justify adding it to the stable, for it would pay itself off.

SIX water bottle mounts? The designer must be the same one whoo designed the inside of my Toyota pick-up truck, with its NINE bottle/cup/can holders! A third bottle holder is nice (I'd use it for storage of small items), but six is too many. If I needed that much fluid, I'd do like bhc and use a Camelback.

I hope everyone here knows that 29" and 700c have the same 622mm bead-seat diameter. The only real difference is the width of the rim to handle different ranges of tire widths. 29er rims are essentially 700c rims with a similar width of a 26" MTB rim.

Though I've never owned a 29" MTB, the one thing I like about them is that rim diameters are becoming standardized to the 622mm BSD. But, now 650B is starting to get thrown into the mix.