For the past couple months I have been riding the 2011 Salsa Casseroll on the road, on side streets, commuting, off the beaten path and really it has been the bike strapped to the roof of my car while traveling all over NC, SC and TN. I will be sad when I have to send this bike back as it truly is the Cadillac of road bikes (minus the drivetrain.) You can read the preview over yonder before you dive into my full review.

What is so different about the Salsa Casseroll?

Normally bike shops have these Casseroll’s grouped with their road bikes. To me, that is a huge mistake. These bikes take the road very well but the tall head tube, mount for rear rack, beautiful front rack and ability to rock fatty 700×38 with fenders this bike is more than a road bike. This bike is a go to commuter, light touring and really to do everything beside the hard single track riding.

This bike would fit in well next to your Trek Madone for when you want to be more up right, haul some panniers or maybe take the slower path next to your kids and want a more stable riding geometry.

The bike is ready for multiple riding positions

Earlier this week I witnessed the most beautiful Casseroll build to date with swept back urban bars and paul brake levers with bar end shifters. The woman riding it was glamorous looking with a rear rack and panniers. The silver bits all over really accented the paint and made me feel giddy that this person really got it. The bike had some minor swaps from the stock build (handlebar, brake levers, bar end shifters) and she totally rocked it hard core. It made me want to run home, order up some parts and duplicate the build.

The Build of the Bike

Tiagra STI Shifters

The bike has some Shimano bits, shifters are STI Tiagra 3×9. Brakes are Tektro. Cranks are Sugino.

For the person riding 20-30 miles maybe twice a week or the girl commuting through crappy weather these parts will be perfect. If riding in rain or anything other than dry weather I may suggest to put on mini v-brakes for better modulation and stopping power.

The build won’t break the bike, and gives you the ability to upgrade parts as you would like.

With the Pro’s there are always Cons

The bike is relatively heavy, it isn’t a super light weight steel tubing. If you are carrying it up and down steps it won’t break your back, but it will surprise you next to that Madone.

The geometry is for light touring comfortable riding. You won’t get a snappy feel out of it, especially with the Sugino triple crank and bb. It will excel and the fat tires float over rough terrain, but will feel slow next to your 700×23 tires.

I wish they had run a compact crank up front and mountain bike gearing in the back. Truth be told I hate triples and as it is a 9 speed in the back they could have kept it at the same price.

Final Thoughts

If this was my personal bike I would totally rock a Salsa Casseroll but with a custom build. Ordering a frame and fork, zip tying a little basket to the front rack, running new 10-speed 105 5700 group in silver. The external bottom bracket will stiffen up the cranks a bit. If I was looking to haul I would run 10 speed mountain gearing in the back, and keeping a compact in the front.

To me the Casseroll is for someone that understands fatter road tires, ability to run geared or single speed, racks, fenders and all that good stuff. It is for someone that has the eye for a custom bike but can’t drop the cash yet.

It’s a good bike and at $1200 you really can’t beat up on the parts for the extras you get.

This bike was provided at no-charge for review. Yes, I am a QBP rep but also have strong opinions that hopefully were shared during this review. I wasn’t bribed or threatened on this review. Amen.

Getting lost on a road with two full water bottles and the knowledge of a well packed bag sitting behind you is bliss. 

Details from Salsa Cycles

The Casseroll is our relaxed road bike, perfect for long road rides, credit card touring, and randonneuring events.

Intended Use: Randoneur, Commuting, Century Rides, Credit Card Touring
Key Specs: Steel frameset, Shimano Tiagra 9 Speed, Tektro cantilevers, Salsa Delgado Cross rims, painted to match Salsa front rack

Overview from my Eyes

To say the least, I was elated when the words came through this past September that Salsa would be sending an updated Salsa Casseroll for review.

For the past three years I’ve been commuting, morphing and loving my original Salsa Casseroll purchased as an all around steel bike. (Purchased with my hard earned cash, not given to review.) There were things I wish were different, like the strange semi-compact geometry which was fun to ride as a road bike but not as upright as I would like for long distance or commuting. Or that the long pull brakes didn’t allow me to run fat 38c tires with fenders.

As I have been beating around, commuting, tooling around Charlotte, taking along the back roads, finding hard packed gravel roads and learning what this bike yearns for – I am pleasantly surprised. Never did I think there would be so much change between the two bikes. The characteristics are still the same, but the handling, geometry and capabilities have grown. Personally, I added a rear rack to compliment and allow for panniers or a rear trunk bag. The front rack that comes stock is beautiful, but I’m still left wondering what type of bag to put on it. Normally I am left strapping a stuff sack with a bungee cord.

A full review has been posted on this bike over yonder.

This bike was provided to me for no charge from Salsa Cycles. I’m reviewing this completely unbiased and my relationship with Salsa Cycles as a rep will not taint any views or opinions I have of the bike or how I share them with you. Swear.

In late August I took delivery of a Salsa Casseroll in the single speed variety.  Since then the bike has been my (almost) daily ride.  It has caused me to get rid of my car and be a true car-free commuter and cyclist. There have been transformations of the bike which have been documented well.

Salsa Casseroll Version 1.0

The stock set up with drop bar and single speed. 38mm tires and a very pretty chain guard. A rear rack was installed immediately and I pedaled it around this set up for about 3 days.

Salsa Casseroll Version 1.1

The drop bar was swapped for a mountain handlebar (carbon Monkeylite) I had in the closet. Due to the

brakes being long pull I had to run a cyclocross top lever and then made a rear shifter become my rear brake. The grips and Trek clock were my favorite part of this set up. Long term this will be how the bike is set up, but with a more swept back bar and correct brake levers.

Salsa Casseroll Version 2.0

My road bike developed a crack in the down tube so all my geared Campagnola parts went on to the Casseroll. Lighter wheels, cyclocross cranks and 2×10 set up has been a dream to ride for the past month. I probably will run this setup through winter. The fatty tires, rear rack and soon to be fenders are going to be key for my 150 mile commuting per week. Plus long rides are pretty fun with gears.

Salsa Casseroll Specs

Normally I ride a 55cm so I went with a 53cm frame, currently I am running a 90mm stem at 7degree rise. When I’m running flat bars the stem is at 100mm.
I’ve been advised multiple times by Salsa to keep the bike off the single track. The fork is not made for it and I might loose some teeth.

Be prepared to reconnect with cycling if you buy this bike. It catches many folks eyes, is a wonderful steady bike to load down the rear rack and enjoy your commute or long ride.
The rear rack needed a hose clamp on one side as the brake cable is in the way of the braze-on of the left seat stay. Hasn’t hurt my load carrying one bit.