To my dismay, I've discovered that it is not possible to get a Salsa Vaya, or any Salsa
products in Montreal due to lack of distribution. I'm pretty heart broken over this because
the Vaya appears to meet my needs 100% as a ''one bike only'' candidate.

My question to fellow Bike forum dwellers is...

Does anyone know of another bike or frameset that could be built up to become a functional Vaya clone / wannabe?

Steel is at the top of the list.

Soma double cross has been suggested...

thanks.

Salsa is owned by QBP which is one of the most ubiquitous distributors out there. Is there nobody in your area that orders from QBP? If they do, they can get a Salsa, even if they don't think of Salsa as one of the brands they carry.

Steelwool Tweed is a disc brake road bike from Canada:
https://steelwoolbicycles.ca/bikes/tweed.html

Civia Bryant maybe, but it's also QBP

+1

Before you settle for something you aren't already in love with, can you get one over the internet, or with some traveling?

Vassago Fisticuff.

Steel
Disc + removable canti studs (hydro line bosses)
Track ends + der. hanger for single or geared
700c/29er wheels can run 1.75", 650b can clear 2.2"

Isn't Salsa owned by the same company that owns Surly? Surly has the Cross Check that should be pretty comparable, and is a huge favorite. But Surly also uses some of Salsa's parts on their bikes. I'm pretty sure a Surly dealer would be able to order a Salsa for you if your heart is in it.

I'm told QBP is the problem. Apparently QBP have very restrictive requirements regarding minimum volume of orders or some such. No dealers here in Montreal, Quebec will special order just one item from them. I thought of going to online purchasing, but I think the shipping+potential duty/taxes would push the cost into the astronomic. I'm also leery of dealing with 1000.00 plus dollar investment over the web.

The strange thing is Surly is readily available here. I guess they are popular so shops order bulk numbers. The cross check doesn't fit the bill because at 5'7'' I want a sloping top tube. I also want disk ability as this would be my only all condition bike.

thanks for the suggestions

Buy it in Burlington and ride it back to Montreal?

Not a chromoly, (steel), bike. But Specialized has the Secteur which is their long distance competition bike. Very nice ride profile.

^This. Or strap it on your car and carry it back.

The Kona Dew Drop has very similiar geometry and features. However the dew drop is no longer listed it is just a dew with drop bars.

The Gunnar Fast Lane (https://gunnarbikes.com/site/bikes/fast-lane/) might be an alternative to consider.

This is what I would suggest doing, a lot less then paying the crazy shipping price. You could also look at a Soma Double Cross.

Road trip! Road trip!

You might look at the Jamis aurora elite. It's what I used to fit my vaya, the local surly dealer had one in stock that I could ride. Having ridden both, the vaya is a much better ride, though the Jamis was much less expensive. The issue with qbp and the vaya at the time was that it was first serve to salsa dealers so there is little or no stock left to non-dealer shops. My shop even looked at being a salsa dealer but wasn't able to navigate the minimum orders etc. My guess is that the vaya is still restricted to dealers since it's in high demand. I ended up ordering the frame online which worked out pretty well for me. I took my time and tried as mant similar things as I could though.

Sadly, Kona has dropped the Dew Drop for 2011 :-(

And, of course, the Kona is made of Aluminium, which is not steel :-)

You looking at the complete bike? My Vaya frame was only in the $500 range.

Be easy enough to put drop bars on a regular Dew.

Check out the Brodie elan and ronin :

https://www.brodiebikes.com/2011/bikes/elan.php

Brodie is Canadian.

Buy in NH, lower sales tax than VT, and ride home on it , will be a used bike then..

The only minimum order thing I've ever heard of is for shipping. If you can meet a minimum order requirement, Quality will cover the shipping themselves, and the shipping on bikes is more than most shops like to deal with. Maybe if you offer to pay the shipping yourself? And Surly is indeed also a QBP brand, so those shops should be able to get one for sure. If you wait until the next time they're getting new Surlys, you might be able to get them to put a Vaya on the order as well.