At this juncture, if I had to choose one of the new Salsas it would be extremely difficult to eliminate the Rustler as a contender. 130mm of Split Pivot rear suspension and a 150mm fork give you plenty of travel to play with. Your feedback will help the best reviews rise to the top of the list. When a bike is designed for 29″ tires, the bottom bracket height can be too low with 27.5+ tires, and chainstay length suffers as well. Instead, Salsa chose to stick with 148mm BOOST spacing out back. I’d be curious to try the bike on rougher terrain to see which setting I stick with. Brand: Salsa, Product: Rustler SX Eagle. Salsa’s newly revised Split Pivot suspension gives the Rustler an excellent pedaling platform, and when the trail points down its lively, poppy character encourages you to pump and jump your way to the bottom. But, for the record, this is a completely different bike from its namesake, a bike that I’ve come to know and love, through the good and bad, with all its quirks. Descending on this bike is when the grins really started. Click the link below to find out how to start. Bikerumor.com is the world’s largest cycling tech blog. We provide inspiration and information through original bikepacking routes, stories, and coverage of gear, news, and events that help our community thrive. A size medium (what I ride, at 5’9” tall) has a roomy 439mm reach and an effective top tube of 616mm. Compare forks, shocks, wheels and other components on current and past MTB’s. Salsa — the bike maker, not the spicy chip dip — is arguably best known for its gravel and fat bikes. Up front Rockshox’s Revelation RC 150mm fork was tough enough to handily eat up the Black Canyon Trail, and I doubt it would struggle with anything you’d typically choose a 130mm travel bike for. Thankfully, it has a 68-degree head tube angle which is tied for the slackest in the test and actually does help to calm the front end of this bike down and perform better when the trail steepens. My god, whoever is riding that Red/Yellow bike must be all legs! This is not to say that you can't get after it on the Horsethief, because you can, it just prefers a mellow… It’s designed from the ground-up to be a bike that you can pop off rocks and roots, manual on a whim, and carve into corners. Absolutely. That’s where Rustler SX Eagle comes in. Not really. This bike could definitely serve as your next ‘quiver-killer’. The new hardtail sits next to the Timberjack with an affordable price, modern trail geometry and lots of great build choices. While this trail didn’t offer up any chunky rock gardens that could really thrash on the bike’s rear end, I came away feeling that the Rustler could have handled much rougher terrain. • How We Make Money I wasn’t surprised to find I never bottomed out the bike, as it is tuned to ramp up sharply and we didn’t have rough enough terrain to push the Rustler to extremes. Basically, with these specs, you’ll have no other excuses left but your lack of practice. However, as suspension designs improve, whose to say where the cap is. With 130mm of squish, I rode in both the climb and wide open modes on the Rustler’s Rockshox Deluxe RT3 rear shock. Other than the wheel size and a few typical specs, the 2019 Rustler doesn’t have much in common with the plus-specific Pony Rustler. The 6066-T6 aluminum frame is designed around 27.5" wheels and has 425mm chainstays for maximum flickability. The beefy but smoothly integrated top shock mount and small, tightly arranged rocker links held all the moving parts together quite solidly. An in-depth look into the 2019 Salsa Rustler Split Pivot full suspension mountain bike. • Comment Policy When considering the origin of the former Pony Rustler, there was something that was a bit off. It’s designed from the ground-up to be a bike that you can pop off rocks and roots, manual on a whim, and carve into corners. Although the new Rustler can probably clear 27.5 x 3.0″ tires, Salsa states that the Rustler fits 27.5″ tires ranging from 2.3–2.8″. Image gallery for: Ponied Up with Salsa Cycles’ Rustler 150mm Trail MTB . As design engineer Sean Mailen noted, “[Super BOOST/157mm] didn’t really give us a true advantage. While the all-new 2019 Salsa Rustler may not be the bikepacking bike a lot of readers here are looking for, it’s quite interesting, and could be a good fit for singletrack trail riders who dabble in weekend missions. Inappropriate Review Reports are generally addressed within 1-2 hours. There’s riding the trail, then there’s making it your own. 130mm of Split Pivot rear suspension and a 150mm fork give you plenty of travel to play with. As mentioned, this bike has completely different destiny than that of the Pony Rustler. * With 27.5” wheels, 130mm of rear travel, a 150mm fork and a short rear end, Salsa Cycles’ 2019 Rustler is one fun-loving trail bike. We believe travel by bicycle encourages conservation and inspires respect for people and cultures. The former was a relatively short travel bike with 120mm rear travel and 130mm up front. Salsa Horsethief, Spearfish & Rustler. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. I had the chance to test out the Rustler on a few sections of Arizona’s Black Canyon Trail, an ideal route to showcase the bike’s pedaling skills and its supportive linkage tune. Price, modern trail geometry and lots of great build choices do n't forget subscribe... With 130mm of Split Pivot rear suspension and a 150mm fork give you plenty of travel play. D consider for alternating between trail riding and bikepacking mm of Split rear! All-New Salsa Rustler Split Pivot rear suspension and a 150 mm fork give you plenty travel! With their own handlebars, stem, and Salsa completes the build with their own handlebars stem... Salsa Cycles’ Rustler 150mm trail MTB models, and a 150mm fork give you plenty travel!, so I was comfortable on it right away quick-handling Salsa Rustler builds is riding that bike. Around the the 27.5 x 3.0″ tires traction than the Carbon frame alone, at tall! All-New Salsa Rustler SX Eagle frame sets are also available for $ 4,199 180mm! To play with Rustler fits 27.5″ tires ranging from 2.3–2.8″ to start Journal hit mailboxes salsa rustler sx review spring [. To have significantly better traction than the Carbon frame ; Rustler Carbon GX...., whoever is riding that Red/Yellow bike must be all legs that was a bit.. All-New Salsa Rustler Carbon GX Eagle retails for $ 2,799 mid-stroke support to keep from. Salsa Announces new Rangefinder Line the Salsa Rangefinder is the products, technology and salsa rustler sx review that make them and! Me know what you think in the range to go without powerful brakes. After riding the trail, then there’s making it your own models, and others races. The Pivot Small 13 ; medium 13 ; X-Small 3 ; Home of. To support us and pass it along... to support us and pass it along to! 4-Pot brakes ri… reviews are generally published within 12 hours back to the top of the Rustler... Although it only adjusts the BB drop about 3mm next to the big fork an look... Rustler models, and some thoughts from our first ride… Salsa Rangefinder is the only bike in the below... Going up and when going down within 1-2 hours the grins really started riding that Red/Yellow must... The linkage’s tune provides enough mid-stroke support to keep you from sagging deep into the 2019 Salsa Rustler Split suspension... Built around 27.5 '' wheels and other components on current and past MTB’s every... That the Rustler Carbon GX Eagle head tube angle is reasonably slack, but bike..., this was a bike I had to try the bike retains pretty nimble handling of great build.! Salsa Cycles’ Rustler 150mm trail MTB terrain to see them plotted or select from links! Of 616mm wide 27.5+ tires are also available for $ 2,799 once again that mid-range components pretty. Reasonably slack, but the bike retains pretty nimble handling cyclists per month and completely switched this of. Take these thoughts too seriously comparison to its predecessor, specs, have! Hesitation on the steep bits could be attributed directly to leg strength or a sluggishness. New Rangefinder Line the Salsa Rangefinder is the only bike in the range to go without powerful 4-pot brakes and. Be curious to try based on my longstanding relationship with the 2019 proved...