Salsa Warbird, Why R+ and other gear tested at The Mid South

Betsy Welch and Ben Delaney went to The Mid South gravel race to report on the event and test some gear.
Find out why they choose the equipment they did, and how it fared on the muddy, muddy, 104-mile day in Oklahoma.
And check out all The Mid South VeloNews coverage at www.velonews.com/tag/the-mid-...

[@willywonka2164]

It’s cool that John Cena does bike reviews.

[@texaspinzgauer]

Hard to go wrong with the Salsa Warbird.

[@tacconelli]

Ben has the best sounding voice in the cycling world :)

[@TheMirrorVision]

Just FYI, this video is unlisted. Your videos are consistently great, and everyone should be able to see them on your channel :)

[@wasupwitdat1mofiki94]

So the bikes felt like you was riding a bicycle right? That's all you had to say, they felt like riding a bicycle. On terrain like this I think a $1000 bicycle would feel exactly the same.

[@insquares]

Ben - Save the jacket by taking it to a tailor and having the zipper replaced. I did that with the broken zipper on my Rapha jacket. You can even improve the original by having a 2-way pull, etc.

[@billytscherne4643]

Mud, dirt = to destruction. That's one expensive sport !

[@ibanezrg7421]

That downtube under bottle.. oof. Mudshake. haha

[@thelazyreconnoiter583]

Small, fine toothed, zippers on outdoor clothing and gear drive me nuts.

[@yeti575lt]

A tip from my enduro motorbikes times, put thick grease on the zippers and will help to work smoothly or at least won't get stuck so soon

[@AyeZimbra]

Another outstandingly well done, crazy helpful review! Seriously - I could (and do!) watch your videos simply for pleasure sometimes.

[@richardvaughn168]

Great rundown on the gear - thanks for the information! Not all bikes survived.

[@ZOB4]

Love that Salsa - that hot pink is awesome. Also you guys did a hell of a job getting those bikes and bags and stuff that clean the day after those conditions.

[@LeoInterHyenaem]

The WarBird is a beauty! I have the black one - it's beautiful and fast. And has mudguard, rack, top tube and fork crown mounts (the 2020 version, like the beautiful pink one here, unfortunately has done away with a fork crown mount. Very shortsighted of Salsa).

[@MyDadWasALifeguard]

Love Salsa

[@DD-sn4iz]

1:25

[@fennec13]

I love my 2018 Why R+

[@mazerickd]

I really wish they made the grx in something other than pink. The paint job on the 2019 grey zebra is awesome

[@ramdhanziedan]

Nice👍👍

[@jakemarple3147]

My zippers froze up too after being packed with mud. A power washer and some chapstick and/or running a bar of soap along the zipper teeth has the zipper opening and closing as smooth as butter again.