Das Rant
By C.G.

Big Mama = Big Trouble

Big mama baby, big mama.

Like most days, I was spending mine loafing around feeling sorry for myself when the thought to dig around the nooks and crannies of the office popped in my balding melon. A majority of the stuff me fellow editors stuff into closets and pack onto shelves is, if you’ll pardon my bluntness, crap: Empty helmet cam packaging, mismatched gloves, a few well used socks, I even found a clipped article about Myley Cyrus in the mix. Deciding that she looks better with the wig on (they call this Hannah Montana mode I’m told), I was just about to grab up the whole pile and file it into the eternal dustbin when I happened upon a stack of manufacturer brochures. Easily distracted as it were, I stopped my cleaning to gaze at the 2008 Titus catalog first: Lots of nice stuff, if a bit on the pricey side for a lowly mechanic/ wordsmith. Beneath the Titus brochure sat the 2009 Salsa preview release. Stop the presses! There among a litter of forested greenery that served as the background of the photograph was one of the most beautiful machines to ever grace a glossy piece of paper: The Big Mama!

Quick rundown, the Big Mama is Salsa’s latest entry into the 29er scene offering up a whopping (I’m not being sarcastic) 4 inches of squish front and rear! Now that may not sound like much to you “long travelers” or you 26-inch hounds but believe me when I say that the 29-inch wheel crowd is oft neglected when it comes to suspension. Take for example my current steed- the Salsa Dos Niner. When I picked up this lovely specimen a few years ago, it was unique among 9ers because it had- get this- one inch of travel in the rear! Hey, that’s a lot better than a rigid where I come from. Anyway, that one-inch is derived from a little air damper behind the seat coupled to natural flex in the seatstays. So limited is this design that it is not considered a dual suspension bike but rather a softail.

So anyway, I’ve been watching helplessly as 29ers everywhere have steadily benefited by increases in rear suspension travel while trying (and failing) to convince myself that 1 inch of squish is plenty enough and now this. My own brood goes and comes out with a full 4-inch travel, dual-suspended 29er.

Yes folks, it was lust at first sight. Post mount disc brakes, one-piece genuine linkage, and a Fox RP2 Air Shock- come on guys! I would like to tell you that my Dos Niner’s days are numbered so that I can upgrade to the Big Momma but hey, times are tough. I travel a lot for my job and don’t think I need to tell you how rising gas prices have raised the cost of all forms of public transportation.

But the bottom line is this: Salsa you’ve managed to pull this fish out of his cave by baiting your hook with this new model. I’m not sure yet exactly how I’m going to go in for the strike, but you’ll know when it happens. And if by chance you want to hook me up with a new Big Momma on the house just for being so loyal, I’ll be your friend for life. Ah hell, you know I’ll be anyway.

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