First Ride: Rocky Mountain Sherpa (Purpose-built for overlanding)

[Christophe Noel]

I love it when worlds collide. If you haven't noticed, a growing number of bike manufacturers are starting to fold the term "overlanding" into bike industry parlance. There are a number of bikes actually named as the "Overland" or "Overlander." Rocky Mountain just released their new Sherpa today, and in their press kits, said it was specifically designed for "overland travel."

Expedition Portal was the only entity outside of Rocky Mountain's small staff to get to ride a Sherpa for the last month. Me, more specifically. Not anyone from Bike Mag. Not anyone from Mountain Bike Action, Outside Magazine, or anyone else. Hooray for ExPo!

Here's the review of Rocky's overland bike:

http://expeditionportal.com/first-big-ride-rocky-mountain-sherpa/





And here's a really amazing video that was created during the launch which was organized by Expedition Portal in partnership with Rocky Mountain.

https://vimeo.com/122393611

 

[Two-Wheeled Explorer]

I love it when worlds collide. If you haven't noticed, a growing number of bike manufacturers are starting to fold the term "overlanding" into bike industry parlance. There are a number of bikes actually named as the "Overland" or "Overlander." Rocky Mountain just released their new Sherpa today, and in their press kits, said it was specifically designed for "overland travel."

I watched and enjoyed the video. I was wondering what camera(s) you use for filming?

I am assuming the new WTB rubber is their entry into the "29+" market?

Ride safe,
Hans

 

[Christophe Noel]

The video was shot mostly by videographer/rider Brian Verner. He used a Canon C100 with a monster tripod. Some video was shot with a Sony A7r and most of the stills were shot by Margus Riga with a host of Nikon bodies and lenses. There was...a ton of photo gear on this trip.

As for the Trailblazer, it's a 27.5+ tire on 45mm Scraper rims.

 

[Ryanmb21]

That was the coolest video I've ever seen.

 

[Co-opski]

Flounder with all your time bikepacking on the Bucksaw 26x4.0 (Iceland) and now with the Sherpa 27.5x2.8 could you expand on the pros and cons of these two tire sizes for bikepacking. Have you fit the 27.5+ on the Bucksaw yet? Will the bucksaw take 29+? Would the Sherpa have performed as well on a ride like your Iceland trip with the variable terrain (glacial silt, volcanic ash, sand, scree and river rocks) with this new tire size. In regards to the bikes; I'm assuming the Bucksaw can take fat 26*4, 29+, 29 and 27.5+. Is the Sherpa limited to 29 or 27.5+? Thank you for the amazebike review.

 

[Christophe Noel]

Thank you for the amazebike review.

Thank you for that. Much appreciated, genuinely.

Your questions are most excellent. First off, From what I gather, it would not be ideal to run 27.5+ on the Bucksaw but 29+ is definitely out. For what it is, I think the Bucksaw is perfect as she sits, but I understand how some would want more versatility with wheel choice. I assume the 27.5+ diameter would work, but we'll have to hope Justin Julian (Salsa GM) chimes in here.

Back to what I know...which is not much.

For my Iceland trip, the Bucksaw was simply the most perfect choice I could have made. In actuality, I didn't make that choice, it was just a killer opportunity. However, that bike allowed me to ride where ever the hell I wanted. That turned out to be something that saved my butt as my route was often forced on me and not always kind. So, as a true adventure bike for rugged terrain, it was virtually unstoppable. The trade off was minor. I lost a little top end speed on the few stretches of pavement and gravel. Big whoop. Would the Sherpa have faired as well in Iceland? Not really. It would have been great, but Iceland by way of my route, demanded fatness.

As for the differences between the two platforms, it really just boils down to float and rolling speed. The tradeoff from mid fat to full fat is equal in either direction. The lack of float with mid-fat is offset by much better rolling speed, and to a minor degree handling speed.

It's a obvious analogy drawn from Iceland, but a Bucksaw is an Arctic Truck on 44s. A Sherpa is a Land Cruiser on 35s. Both are amazing.

 

[Co-opski]

snip.....
It's a obvious analogy drawn from Iceland, but a Bucksaw is an Arctic Truck on 44s. A Sherpa is a Land Cruiser on 35s. Both are amazing.

Nailed it thanks for the added info. Going on summer two with my Fatback playing high on mountain passes and river bottoms, the allure of the Bucksaw as an all around Alaska bike growing.

 

[Christophe Noel]

The Bucksaw is in a class by itself. That bike is pure awesomeness. It will have its moments when the extra few pounds are noticed and the climbing speed reduced by a smidge, but in certain scenarios it hauls ***. It's incredibly nimble for what it is, and when loaded beyond its intended purpose, it does extremely well. It begs to be taken where it should not go and at speeds that defy good common sense.

You simply cannot go wrong with a Bucksaw.

Justin Julian and crew done good with that one.

 

[YotaPilot]

I'm new to the bike packing scene and just started following this subforum. I come from mostly a road bike/tri bike background so my full suspension knowledge is lacking to say the least. My question is what make this bike more suited to Bikepacking than other full suspension or even hard tail mountain bikes?

 

[Christophe Noel]

I'm new to the bike packing scene and just started following this subforum. I come from mostly a road bike/tri bike background so my full suspension knowledge is lacking to say the least. My question is what make this bike more suited to Bikepacking than other full suspension or even hard tail mountain bikes?

That's an excellent question.

The most significant development with this bike is the combining of several technologies, some new, some not, into one package. Full suspension has obviously been around for a long time, but the 27.5 wheel size is relatively new. It obviously fits right in between 26-inch and 29-inch. Even newer is the use of that diameter paired to a wider plus-sized rim and tire. Normal rims fall within the 25mm width range with tires in the 2.25 range. This bike uses 45mm wide rims on 2.8 tires and can accommodate up to 3.2 tires. A full fatbike tire is 4.0 to even 5.0.

This gives the bike some of the advantages of a full fat bike, namely improved traction, float in soft conditions, and extra bump compliance from the extra tire volume. However, it reduces some of the negatives of the full fatbike tire, like the extra weight and somewhat slower roll as those big tires do suffer some rolling resistance challenges.

Pairing that new wheel package, 27.5-Plus, to full suspension provides a bike with super traction, good floatation on soft surfaces that exceeds that of a standard mountain bike, and makes for one super comfortable perch for all day, multi-day, rides.

Now, there's another layer here. Rocky Mountain is known for producing bikes for very aggressive riding. When they wanted to create a bike for adventuring, they didn't want to sacrifice the ability to ride the bike aggressively. Watching their legendary pro Wade Simmons launch a fully loaded Sherpa off a ledge and shred corners was amazing and speaks to the purpose of the bike.

Other notable attributes for bikepacking include the cargo cage mount below the down tube, a shorter, more upright position for all day comfort, but again, it's the wheels that are unique. For now. This time next year the field of bikes like this will be crowded.

 

[dcoy]

You simply cannot go wrong with a Bucksaw.

Tell that to the bike stores in Flagstaff. They, largely, still consider Fat Bikes to be one step above a passing fad (or more tactfully stated, a "niche" product). A couple have some low end, non suspended versions in stock, but they see something like a Bucksaw coming somewhere along the lines of "never". I know this is something that will likely not be the first choice mountain bike for everyone but still... Awaiting the Salsa demo truck.....

 

[SalsaJJ]

The Bucksaw will accommodate the 27.5"+ tires and rims on the market. The roll out on some of the tires is close to a 29er. One thing to note there are a lot of tires coming out in this range and width/height vary quite a bit. Keep that in mind when doing a swap.

I don't know the demo schedule for the Southwest, however we just bought a new demo van that will live in Utah. So chances are there will be a demo event coming your way soon.

Ben Witt the Salsa Brand Ambassador and I will be down in Arizona and Utah starting tomorrow. If you are at your favorite Salsa shop, don't hesitate to say hi if you see us there or on the trail!

 

[Co-opski]

JJ If you send the demo van to Girdwood, you guys can crash on my couch. I even make a good smoked salmon omelette.

 

[agavelvr]

Looks like a fun bike.
Appreciate a custom luggage system available at purchase.
Icing on the cake...if it was prepacked with camping gear designed to work with the luggage.
I have spent countless hours dialing in my motorcycles for multi day trips.
I'm the kind of bike customer that would pay for a turnkey pedal adventure rig
It takes a lot more work to dial in a bicycle IMHO, hence the value add referenced above.
Perhaps a recommended equipment list and packing arrangement would help market the bike if they didn't want to go to the trouble of providing the turnkey option. The cross marketing potential is huge in this bike segment.

 

[Christophe Noel]

Looks like a fun bike.
Appreciate a custom luggage system available at purchase.
Icing on the cake...if it was prepacked with camping gear designed to work with the luggage.
I have spent countless hours dialing in my motorcycles for multi day trips.
I'm the kind of bike customer that would pay for a turnkey pedal adventure rig
It takes a lot more work to dial in a bicycle IMHO, hence the value add referenced above.
Perhaps a recommended equipment list and packing arrangement would help market the bike if they didn't want to go to the trouble of providing the turnkey option. The cross marketing potential is huge in this bike segment.

There are solutions on the immediate horizons. Part of my test on the White Rim was to evaluate a new shelter designed by one of the major gear players in the outdoor industry. The founder of that company is a fellow overlander with a burly JK, GS and now bike packs.

His eventual goal is to have a complete system which can be easily attached to a bike.

The challenge with this is relative to personal preference. Some like bar bags, some don't. Some like fully enclosed shelters, some like tarp-style floor less shelters. There are scads of variables. And to clarify, the bags for the Sherpa are actually not going to be sold through Rocky Mt, which was my misunderstanding. They'll be made available through Porcelain Rocket directly but with no need to go through the hectic custom bag process as Scott at RM will have the templates in hand.