Some Like it Hot

WHAT: Salsa Moto Rapido WHERE: www.salsacycles.com HOW MUCH: $818 frame

There seem to be two kinds of people spinning around this planet: those of us who like hot, spicy food, and those who do not. The same holds true for Salsa bikes. People either think the company lost its flavor when Ross Shafer sold it to parts distributor QBP, or they love the brand for producing well-made bikes that often cost hundreds less than the competition.

So, many questions swirl around Salsa. Do the bikes retain any of Shafer's lineage? Is the company skimping some place in order to shave a few bucks from the retail price? Can a company based in Minnesota really produce a mountain bike that is fun to ride? So we did the only logical thing-we snatched our publisher's Salsa Moto Rapido and thrashed it (sorry, Derek) around the hills of Southern California.

Salsa offers a dozen or so frames now, including everything from the steel hardtails, 29ers and full-suspension rigs to scandium road bikes. Most of them are made in Taiwan. The $818 Moto Rapido is the company's high-end hardtail and combines equal parts old-school heritage and modern technology.

The bike has classic cross-country geometry with a 71-degree head angle, 73-degree seat angle, 16.9-inch chainstays and a compact 41-inch wheelbase. It comes with a main frame constructed of scandium, a stronger aluminum that allows engineers to use smaller-diameter tubes, thus saving weight. To offset scandium's harsher ride, the Moto Rapido has carbon seatstays. Our 16-inch frame weighed just 3.2 pounds.

Salsa sells most of its bikes as frames, but QBP can build up a bike 100 different ways and have it shipped to a retailer in a few days. Our bike featured a Shimano XT drivetrain, Truvativ Stylo carbon cranks, Fox Talas fork, Hayes El Camino brakes and WTB LaserDisc Lite wheels. The bike had strong cross-country tendencies, but was by no means a race bike.

Most trails in our neck of the woods start with monster climbs, so we noticed how well the bike ascended within a few short pedal strokes. Most lightweight hardtails climb well, but the Moto Rapido's front end never thought of wavering, even on steep, grueling sections of trail. Meanwhile, the carbon seatstays helped smooth out things in the back.

As expected, the Moto Rapido railed around corners when things flattened out or the trail dipped downward. There was a slight amount of lateral flex in the rear end, but nothing that ruined the ride. In fact, the little give in the rear end taking the edge off rough trails and seemed to almost compliment the bike's precise steering.

While there are dozens of bikes out there that climb well and cut a nice track through corners, the Moto Rapido offers something special. Maybe it's the geometry, or the mix of scandium and carbon tubes, or maybe the bike had a Mexican jumping bean lurking in its family tree, but this is one incredibly fun bike to ride. The bike is light and lively and wants to dance all over the trails, off curbs and any small terrain feature that presents itself. On almost all terrain, this bike is a blast ride, and that's rare for a bike that would also feel at home on an XC racecourse.

There is a downside, however, to the Moto Rapido's spry side. Those same forces that make the bike lively can make handling a bit skittish on steep descents or on uneven terrain. It was a minor character flaw and something that is fairly typical of most XC bikes, but it's worth noting because it's the only real chink in the bike's armor.

Bottom line—the Moto Rapido is a well-made bike at a good price that reminded us how fun riding a hardtail can be.