Have you ever tried to steal a horse while riding a bicycle? No? Well if you ever decide to do so, the Salsa Horsethief Carbon 1 is your tool for the job.
Hear me out.
If I ever tried to steal a horse via a bicycle, I think that bicycle would have to do a number of critical things:
- It would need to go ridiculously fast in order to catch a horse.
- The bike would need to be able to cover rough terrain easily.
- It would need to be capable of covering potentially long distances to reach the horses that require stealing.
The Salsa Horsethief can do all of these things.
With 120mm of Split Pivot rear travel courtesy of the Rock Shox Monarch RT3 and 130mm of front travel courtesy of RockShox Revelation RCT3, the Horsethief Carbon 1 is capable of tackling challenging terrain thanks as well to a slack geometry and a forgiving nature. The SRAM Roam 40 29er wheels also help to roll over plenty of gnar. The proven X01 system drives those wheels, with the entire bike retailing for $4,899.
In all seriousness, the Horsethief is a quick, snappy, very pedally trail bike that accelerates quickly and is more than capable of covering long distances easily. However, the bike is more than capable of tackling challenging trail features and aggressive, lengthy descents. If I was to dabble again in endurance mountain biking, but this time in the Rocky Mountains, the Horsethief would be a perfect candidate for this combination of conditions and my predisposition for descending gnarly terrain aggressively.
