Salsa Blackthorn Carbon Bike [Rider Review]

Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for.

Not terribly long ago, Salsa released the Blackthorn and the Cassidy. Their first big bikes in their line up. Our friend, Bradley, just got a new Blackthorn. See what they think of their new steed.

Overview

Thanks to COVID, I came back to Mountain Biking after a fourteen-year break. I dusted off my 2006 Specialized Rockhopper and hit trails like a newbie reborn. It didn’t take long, three weeks, to make the jump to full suspension with a Salsa Spearfish Deore. My budget got sold on Down Country. To be forthright, I stand 6’1” and weigh 240 lbs from weightlifting for 10+ years. So, I fully appreciate the give of full suspension. I went from no cardio to over 700 miles in a riding season, upgrading the drive train (Box Prime 9), Industry Nine wheels, and moving to OneUp carbon bars.

In September 2020, Salsa announced the Blackthorn and the Cassidy, and I drooled over the Blackthorn from go. I resigned myself to riding a couple more years with my current bike. During the summer, I got some unexpected cash and a buddy rolled up to a group ride with a Carbon SLX equipped Blackthorn, the exact build I wanted. He kindly let me throw my leg over and run a mile down the trail with it. I fell in love and found one available the same night at Worldwide Cyclery. It’s the fastest purchase I’ve made in a long time. I spent the week waiting, impatiently, for it to be delivered. Once it was here, I dedicated the rest of my day to put my very first bike together from the box and had a blast teasing my buddies with photos on social media while I was building it up.

The first ride was a shake-down run to the quarter-mile loop at the school down the road from my place when middle schoolers learn bike skills as a part of the PE program. There are a couple of small jumps, some skinnies, and a couple of other wood features. I was blown away at how nimble this bike was on the first jump. The efficiency for pedaling was better than I expected compared to the 100mm of rear travel on the Spearfish. The next day, I took it on a true maiden voyage to Centennial Park, ten minutes from my home in Fayetteville, AR. I met up with my buddies and we blasted down a loop where I hit all the rock gardens with much more ease, the suspension soaking it up and building plenty of confidence after having a series of pretty gnarly wrecks on rock gardens a couple of months prior in Austin, TX. Here she is at Centennial with Ruby the Jump Truck.

Since then, I’ve been all over Northwest Arkansas, riding all of the trails I’m familiar with, and tackling trails I previously wouldn’t attempt because I felt I was under-biked. The 140mm of rear travel is more than enough to hit anything available up here with Rockshox front and back, and I never feel like I’m putting more effort on the climbs than I did on the Spearfish. In five weeks, I’ve put 185 miles on it with no issues. I’ve flown down the downhills, barreled through loose over hard, hit some black technical trails I didn’t think I was ready to hit, along with classic flow like All-American at Slaughterpen.

This bike eats all of it up and asks for seconds.

Final Thoughts

For the Build spec, I haven’t changed much outside of personal preferences like carbon bars, a wider seat for me, and moving the sweet Industry Nine Enduro wheelset over from the last bike. Jared’s right about being hooked on high engagement hubs… It’s hard to go back. Outside of immediately changing to a wider seat, I rode everything stock for two weeks before making changes. The SLX hubs did a great job, with a 7.2-degree engagement, and the SLX groupset has been rock solid. The shifting is smooth as expected. The 4 pot brakes stop ridiculously fast, and I haven’t experienced any fading. I’ve been impressed by the TransX dropper post with how quick & smooth it responds, and the increased travel over 125mm on the Spearfish has been excellent for bike separation. The only other change happening soon is an oval chainring.