Salsa has just launched the first-ever full suspension 29+ mountain bike: the Deadwood Sus.
We have postulated before that creating a mountain bike with both rear suspension and 29+ wheels would be extremely difficult, but Salsa has decided to break barriers yet again! (Recall their innovation with fat bikes, including the first production full suspension fat bike.) Yet our theorizing that it would be extremely difficult to fit significant rear wheel motion with a tall 29+ wheel+tire combo without stupid-long chainstays has proven true to an extent, as the Deadwood Sus has very minimal suspension travel compared to other FS rigs on the market: just 91mm in the rear and 100mm up front.
However, Salsa is firmly labeling the Deadwood Sus as yet another installment in their lineup focused on “adventure by bike.” This rig seems to be marketed as a “go-long and explore remote locations” steed, and not a “go big or go home” whip. Despite being an FS rig, the Split Pivot suspension still provides plenty of space in the front triangle for a frame bag. Undoubtedly, we’ll see the Deadwood Sus hitting some of the burliest bikepacking routes in the nation very soon.
Check out this video to see the Deadwood in action:
Specs
The Deadwood Sus features a 68-degree head tube angle, 25mm BB drop, 449mm chainstay length, and a wheelbase of 1178.9mm in a size-large. Check the website for full geo specs.
The frame consists of a carbon fiber front triangle and aluminum chainstays in all models, similar to the initial launch of the Bucksaw. The fork and stays can clear tires up to 29×3.0″, but if you want to run narrower, standard 29er tires and wheels, the Deadwood can accommodate (as long as the hubs are Boost-spaced). However, it cannot accommodate a 27.5+ wheel/tire setup–the smaller wheel size would completely throw off the geometry of the Deadwood. This bike is 29er specific.
Build Kits
The top-tier XO1 Eagle build kit retails for $5,999 (frameset for $2,499) and comes spec’ed with SRAM’s 12-speed X01 Eagle drivetrain (obviously), as well as a RockShox Pike RC fork, RockShox Monarch RT3 rear shock, RockShox Reverb Stealth dropper post, carbon cockpit bits, DT Swiss 350 wheels, and WTB Ranger 29×3.0″ tires. The site doesn’t list the brakes specifically, but in the photos they look like some version of SRAM’s Guide brakes.
Claimed weight for the size-medium is 30lb 15oz.
The Deadwood is available in an intermediate price point at $4,499 with an XT build kit, but the most affordable complete build is a GX1 build for $3,799.
In addition to the GX1 1×11 drivetrain this model comes spec’ed with RockShox’s Yari fork and Monarch RT3 rear shock, SRAM Level T brakes and rotors, Salsa-branded cockpit bits, a rigid seatpost, DT Swiss 370 wheels, and the same WTB Ranger 29×3.0″ tires.
A size-large GX1 build weighs in at a claimed 32lbs.
