1991 Salsa Ala Carte Through the Ages - 2015 Update

[richardpaulbaker]

Well the trusty Ala Carte just keeps on rolling on !!

24 years old now !

It's been a while since my 'Salsa Ala Carte Through the Ages' thread, so I thought I'd post a few recent pics of it.
New for this year are some old Mavic Crossmax Ceramic wheels, spruced up Rock Shox Judys and a Ringle seatpost.
The white FSA post that was on there snapped off one morning last winter on the way to work.
That made the last couple of miles into the office interesting.
I also polished up the old Salsa Zona Tres saddle. I'd forgotten how comfy it is.

Cheers

 

[Max P]

Awesome bike, lovely patina, Salsa really are one of the greats. Have you tried a magic gear on there to lose the tensioner?

 

[Ollie]

Very nice .

 

[richardpaulbaker]

Re:

Hi Max P,

Tell me more about the 'Magic Gear'.

Do you mean selecting a chainring and cog combo that just fits perfectly ?
I did achieve this on my Salsa Moto Rapido with a 34T / 16T combo which just matched the chain stay length perfectly. See attached pic.

Or do you speak of some secret magic gizmo that I don't know about?

 

[Max P]

Re: Re:

Hi Max P,

Tell me more about the 'Magic Gear'.

Do you mean selecting a chainring and cog combo that just fits perfectly ?

Or do you speak of some secret magic gizmo that I don't know about?

The former. Maybe with a half-link and some jiggling of ratios you can more often than not get something very usable, just makes for a much cleaner looking and smoother, quieter, free-running drivetrain.

 

[richardpaulbaker]

Hi Max P
Mastered the dark art of the Magic Gear with a little help from a 'Gusset Slink' Half Link.
Much tidier, and a tenth of the cost of a chain tensioner

The chain tensioner is off to Ebay !

 

[richardpaulbaker]

P.S Thanks for the tip

 

[Max P]

Good stuff!

 

[Disco Drive]

You can tell Ross's wife hand painted that!

 

[richardpaulbaker]

Re:Re: 1991 Salsa Ala Carte Through the Ages - 2015 Update

Hi
Actually that's not Ross' wife's handiwork.
I did it myself.
Unfortunately the bottom of the seat tube rotted through back in 2008 and I had the frame repaired.
Bob Jackson Cycles put a new tube in and powder coated it white.
I did the rest.

My effort is not exactly the same as the original, but I think it still has it's spirit !!

It's a shame it's not entirely original, but it's still a working bike and has done many, many more miles since the repair.