Salsa Cutthroat 2020 Review | After 1000 Miles

[@iamZwosh]

I love my 2019 Cutty, I did in 2020 the Bikepacking Trans Germany with it and Transcimbrica through Denmark. I changed the front sprocket to 36T (36T // 11-42T) drivetrain. Great Video!

[@offthemaps]

Nice! I cannot wait to get out and try another race somewhere in Europe. Any recommendations? Also, I agree with the gear change. I am excited to burn my out and swap it :)

[@Maximilian-Willert]

The fact that you roll a 2.3 in the front is just absolutely amazing! Finding gravel bikes with such tire clearance is not easy as far as I've seen. Fantastic bike, can deff understand that you enjoy riding it around. Thanks a lot for sharing your hands on experience!

[@Jean-jk4zv]

I went up to 2.6 front and 2.4 back with clearance left for mud 🙂

[@RicardoWeninger-sd3rh]

I really enjoyed your refreshing review. It's nice seeing real people ride and review.

[@douglawrence4066]

Really good review! I purchased a 2020 Apex build also (52cm) with over 500k of mixed riding and your comments on who this bike is for are spot on. I am an aggressive Mountain biker and the Cutty does all my 'other' tasks, Commuting, touring and Gravel riding, which is perfect. I have ordered a full GRX Group as I really miss the 'feathering' of Hydraulic brakes and could use a smaller gear for loaded tours. I have also ordered the dropper as I will have the shifter with the GRX to handle it. I am definitely going to change out the stock tires for something that bites a little more in the muck.....

[@offthemaps]

Hah yep for an MTB enthusiast it is great for 'other tasks.' Sometimes I wonder if I'd prefer something a little more road-oriented like a Cross Bike. I do like being able to swap wheelsets because of the 29er on both the cutthroat and my MTB. I just bought my first dropper for the MTB and I cannot believe I've waited this long - should be great on the salsa, too. Thanks for the feedback and ride on!

[@manisi134]

Stellar review. Everything I wanted to know. Cheers!

[@leifanderson7060]

Love seeing some actual riding in the review (and in some rough weather no less)! I think the pricier builds with GRX double chainrings and 11spd cassettes help the bike feel a little better on the road and would make it an awesome do-everything companion to my full sus commencal, but it was cool to see you take on some single track with it. Haven't gotten the chance to try too many trails with drop bars yet.

[@offthemaps]

Agreed. And yes, it is a perfect companion to most full suspensions bikes (trail category and more). Do some trails with the drops! It will make them a little more exciting :)

[@Newbelievers1111]

soo cool, thanks very much for the review. Actively helping me make my decision, have a great day!

[@offthemaps]

Glad I could help!

[@PuffinPass]

Currently about 482km into my 2020 Apex build and so far loving it. I do plan on putting on a dropper because I enjoy doing some dropbar MTB on it and find needing some room when in a good flow trail as well. Probably going to put on a suspension fork at some point as well but not in any real rush. The Sparwoods are good in most situations but I think you have the right idea with the more aggressive tire choice and tubeless is absolutely necessary for any off road IMO. Excellent review, just randomly saw this in my recommended list but I look forward to seeing some more from you.

[@offthemaps]

Glad you liked it! I'd like to hear what you think of the bike once you add the suspension. I have a 2015 Stumpjumper back in the states. It has a tiny fork on it. I kind of want to add drop bars to it to basically create a cutthroat with suspension. And yeah the Sparwoods seem like nice all arounders. I had ridden this bike across the Czech Republic and I didn't want to risk that race to test new tires. I went with the old faithful (Maxxis). Thanks for the feedback! This is the first time I've done a review! Just trying to keep them low key and honest 😎

[@noels8817]

Great vid, liked the speed you carry with the Cutthroat, then of course when the trail gets gnarly, you have do dial back as you did, I personally come from a roadie background and i think getting a gravel - (haven't riddent the cutthroat yet) - is just giving one a slight edge when one dabbles into trail riding, and this is why i just went full out n took the plunge into a full suspension, this way i cover the full end-to-end spectrum of fast tarmac and gnarly trails with the roadie w 32's and the full sus with 2.35 tires.

[@offthemaps]

Thanks! But yeah...coming from a roadie background the cutthroat would seem really odd. I think you made the right choice. I'm not super into these 'all arounder' bikes unless you really just have one bike. I like your thinking on the aggressive road full suspension!

[@N0BIgDEal]

@offthemaps Dude, thanks for that review, I think that's going to be my next adventure rig unless I go with a Pinion 2024 eshifting gearbox.

[@offthemaps]

No problem! Gear boxes are cool, but I always fear not being able to easily fix them myself.

[@N0BIgDEal]

@@offthemaps We share the same fear, I heard quite some good stuff on those, following vanDuzer who uses gearbox all the time on his adventures

Thanks ! Very good review !

[@dkcycles757]

With the stock gearing using a 36-11 combo you can spin 90 RPM and achieve 40 km/hr on 50mm tires. Not too fast on road but I don't see why you'd want to go that fast on loose off-road unless you're a goat lol. I relate to your last point, as I really wanted a Cutthroat or similar drop-bar 29er, but couldn't justify paying so much. I found an 2012 Kona Kahuna DL frameset and a rigid carbon fork for under $600 and will be using some spare parts from my previous gravel bikes to build a drop bar 29er for myself. Sure it won't be up to the same spec or geometry as the Cutthroat, but it will surely be capable for all the riding I want to do with it!

[@offthemaps]

Nice to hear that. I agree with you 100% on a MTB rebuild for a bike like this over buying it outright. If you are into turning wrenches, building a rigid-drop-29er would be loads of fun.

[@NikZechel]

Thanks !

[@alifallah1954]

very good detailed . i am agree with hardtail over gravel bike for most of people

[@offthemaps]

Glad to hear! I think gravel bikes are way overrated.

[@paule4]

@@offthemaps But what about for someone who will only ride occasional single-track? Why would you want suspension and flat bars?

[@offthemaps]

@@paule4 at the end of the day it's personal preference. Unless you are racing I don't think you lose much efficiency by having flat bars and suspension. Although it might lack style there is nothing wrong with riding a hardtail with flat bars on gravel.

[@ShardCollector]

Great review. I wish we had those kind of awesome trails here, but it's just short paths full of roots and rocks 🙁 Gravel roads are plenty, though, and this bike sure is interesting 😊

[@offthemaps]

Glad you liked it! Yup lots of great trails here and broken up farms roads, but not much gravel.

[@timarcella]

Great riding, gorgeous landscape.

[@rosshughes7054]

Great to see some actual footage of how this bike handles in the wild. What kind of tire pressures do you usually run on your Cutthroat?

[@offthemaps]

That's the goal! I usually keep it similar to my MTB - about 18 psi in the front and 20 in the back. I weigh 72 kg. I've added a decent amount of additional pressure when loaded with bags or on the road.

[@chadm1978]

Thanks for the great review. I just picked up a new Cutty yesterday in a 54cm; your review was very helpful in me make my final decision. I'm thinking this will be the perfect bike to fill the slot between the 87 Trek 1500 and the Niner Rip 9:) Could you please tell me what size Apidura frame bag your using? Looking forward to more great content! edit: It looks like you're running the Apidura race 4L; on my way to pick one up now. Thanks!

[@offthemaps]

Hi Chad! Yes that does sound like the perfect in between bike for you. I like the lineup you have! Sorry I was late on the pack sizing. I am sure you are very excited to get riding! Enjoy it!!!!

[@chadm1978]

@@offthemaps Took her on a 30mi gravel/rocky ride yesterday and it was great! The Apidura race 4L frame bag is actually too big on my 54cm frame. It sounds like you said that you have the 54cm at the beginning of the video, but I'm thinking you have the 56. Your triangle definitely looks bigger. The 54cm triangle is only about 36.8cm in length at the inside of the top tube; I haven't been able to find a waterproof half bag with at least 4L in volume, in that length or under. I'll probably size down to the 2.4L Apidura race because it is 29cm. I just want to keep my water bottle cages accessible! Sorry about the rant... I thought maybe the info might be helpful to someone else in the same situation. Thanks for the reply. Cheers!

[@offthemaps]

@@chadm1978 more info is good - that's why people are here. You are right. I do have a 56. Yikes - nice find. But yeah you are right about the bottles. It is a pain to access the bottle that is below the bag.

[@baldwin276]

Great video!

[@howardmontaque8147]

Just what I thought... I have an amazing 29er hardtail (Banshee Paradox) and a GT Grade Carbon gravel bike. I cant see where I would need this unless I didnt know what the terrain was going to be like. The lack of tire size on the GT has been frustrating sometimes but then I should have just taken the HT. The GT is great on the road too.

[@offthemaps]

Right on. Hardtail 29ers are the go anywhere bike. They might be a little slower on the road, but they'll always be capable.

[@carlosferreiro745]

Love your videos man!

[@offthemaps]

Glad you like them!

[@coletrudo]

Great review!

[@offthemaps]

Thanks!

[@jorgejelicic8525]

awesome review.

[@offthemaps]

Thanks!!

[@georgesolomon5696]

Thanks, great video

[@GreatEgretAdventure]

Great video, man! What are using to put your speed and grade in the lower thirds?

[@offthemaps]

Thanks! It is Garmin's video editing software - VIRB Edit.

[@ahmadzuhairi]

Excellent review. What's the maximum width tire it can take?

[@offthemaps]

Thanks! 2.4 inches.

[@SmashThatHead]

The trails look good! Do you have some maps/pointers where to find them? I live in Prague too and would like to check them out!

[@offthemaps]

Hi Mihails! Absolutely - here is the full GPX file - drive.google.com/file/d/1tUzXSnaPEuCogXvIxImeSrumdaBBJcX5/view Lots of great trails here in Prague, too!

[@garyives1218]

Sorry, I'm the guy that will never understand 1x systems on gravel bikes which are often ridden on pavement.

[@offthemaps]

You must be a roadie 😊

[@garyives1218]

@@offthemaps In AZ. Tons of gravel, hills, and mountains, and what goes up usually comes down, and trying to spin 120+ rpm going down a hill gets old fast :)

[@offthemaps]

@@garyives1218 I'm with you. Last year I found all of this out the hard way. I swapped my CX bike (700, 2x gearing, road-oriented) for this cutthroat. I can firmly say that was a poor choice.

[@andreteixeira5635]

Thank you for your honest review. But you did not say anything about the comfort of the bike, specially on long rides.

[@offthemaps]

The bike is certainly comfortable on long rides. It is very comfortable for long gravel rides, but I'd recommend a MTB for long trail rides. The positioning with the drop bars when consistently riding technical trails for extended periods of time is tough.

[@ajameslee]

I have the same bike. What do you think about the stock wheels? I feel they are a bit heavy and may upgrade. I’m just not sure. You mentioned switching wheels. What do you suggest?

[@offthemaps]

I agree 100% - they are heavy. I would replace them, but I'd suggest doing it either immediately (so you can resell the wheels brand new) or wait until you actually need new wheels. Mine have 2 or 3 thousand kms and still run nicely.

[@mikedonahue9174]

What are your thoughts on the groupset and brakes after all your time on the bike? I just picked up the same bike but only have prior experience with Shimano and hydraulic discs.

[@offthemaps]

The brakes are 'just okay' and for the price of the bike I think they could have had better components. They are passable, but sometimes I wish I just bought a nice XC bike with a good groupset and slowly converted it to a drop bar MTB.

[@pgreenx]

Is this a good bike for the GDMBR and what are some other good ones?

[@offthemaps]

Yes - definitely good for GDMBR. It was actually designed for that race and even includes a little map of it on the downtube. There are so many good bikes I wouldn't know where to start!

[@DiegoGonzalez-uj8qn]

U are using the camera mic or a lavalier mic on the cam ??????

[@offthemaps]

Hi Diego - just the mic on the camera.

[@oldseamonster]

I just sold my Epic, so I'm good to go right?!?

[@offthemaps]

Maybe 😂 I actually prefer the epic over the cutthroat hands down, but that's me. I feel like there is an equation for this: One bike person - Cutthroat is hands down the most versatile bike on the market. Two bike person - Cutthroat + trail bike (full suspension) OR cutthroat + road bike (aggressive)

[@oldseamonster]

@@offthemaps yeah I have a trail bike, too much overlap with my Epic FSR, in theory Salsa’s website says there are two Cutthroats in stock in town, hopefully I can try one.

[@offthemaps]

@@oldseamonster Nice find - I know it was difficult to get mine last year. I am thinking of upgrading my HT Epic to an Epic Evo to remove the overlap (and test a new bike, of course).

[@getoutdoors2693]

Was that a size 56? How tall are you?

[@offthemaps]

Size 56 and I am 5'10" I think I would have been better on a 54 depsite Salsa's reccomendations. They oversize the frame to fit bags.

[@getoutdoors2693]

@@offthemaps thank you for your reply. I’m 5”11 and bought a 56 frame and was afraid to build the bike cause I was worried I should have gotten a size 58.

[@offthemaps]

@@getoutdoors2693 In that case I think you made the definite right choice with the 56!

[@flatheadfletch]

That bike was specifically built for the great divide ride. It a long distance bike packing machine. You bought the wrong bike if your comparing it to your Specialized Epic. The Epic can’t compete with the Cutthroat PERIOD

[@offthemaps]

Bikepacking races vary in technical difficulty and so do bike preferences among riders. I've taken both on multi-day trips and personally prefer XCM bikes even for long distance bikepacking. Both are suitable so it depends on the terrain and rider PERIOD.

[@flatheadfletch]

@@offthemaps Great reply. Finally someone I might actually believe ! So. Specifically for the TourDivide. Which would you ride and why. Cutty or SP Epic ? My brother and I are going to do the gdmbr in 18 months.

[@offthemaps]

@@flatheadfletch that's really hard to answer, but I'll give it a try. If you're in 'tour mode' then the cutthroat might be the better choice. If you want to enjoy any sort of technical trails, then nothing beats having some suspension and flat bars. That's where the epic would come into play. The cutthroat will also add more storage options which is definitely a plus. I think in general the industry is convincing people that drop bar bikes are way faster and more efficient than hard tails. And although that may be true for racing, most people want comfort and fun on long rides which I personally think hard tails are better at providing. Cutthroat - tour mode, speed, more storage Epic - more fun on technical, more comfort on technical

[@flatheadfletch]

Thank you. I feel the same. Not racing. Just for the accomplishment and the touring experience ! I’m 62

[@offthemaps]

@@flatheadfletch that's awesome! I hope you have a great time. Keep on cycling!!