Salsa El Mariachi SS build

[stephenmarklay]

I want to build up my Salsa frame into a SS.

There are so many darn options anymore I would love some input.

I need to get some SS cranks, Hubs and build up some wheels and decide on tires. The bike will be used to do short road rides up to 30 miles, some MTB but nothing too difficult, popping wheelies with my son and even picking up some groceries.

What hubs, cranks and wheels, tires

The bike started like the picture. When money provides I would like to put a rigid fork on it as well.

[nalax]

SS hubs are easy. Pull off the cassette, put on spacers and a SS cog and you're good to go. You can cut your own spacers out of PVC or get aluminum ones. Set it up for the best chain line.
Set up your crank with a single chain ring. Narrow-wide rings work well.
There are a variety of ways to tension your chain from inexpensive tensioners to SS hubs like an ENO.

[pakora]

The only SS-specific part I have on my SS MTB (which has been my only MTB for a long time) is the cog. I would count XT 180mm cranks as SS-specific I guess as well - I got them knowing it was a dedicated SS race bike and the idea of more "leverage" helped with hills (probably disproven by someone who knows bodies and physics better?). But they're just 1x cranks with a 32t chainring.

Definitely nicer cogs are nicer because the base is much wider. All of mine are Surly or King (King only because someone on here who must have raced SS sold a bunch as a package deal).

My wheels have normal cassette hubs (older Hope, and DT 350) and rims (Stan's Flow and Reynolds... whatever they called their rims before there were multiple models).

I have a rigid fork but that's because that just how I roll. I like it. It's 1500 grams less on the bike. Now that I live in WA I definitely wish I had a suspension fork, but I would have ruined it by now by not servicing it anyway.

[pakora]

SS hubs are easy. Pull off the cassette, put on spacers and a SS cog and you're good to go. You can cut your own spacers out of PVC or get aluminum ones. Set it up for the best chain line.
Set up your crank with a single chain ring. Narrow-wide rings work well.
There are a variety of ways to tension your chain from inexpensive tensioners to SS hubs like an ENO.

oh yeah that's SS-specific! I just bought spacer kits but I'm not handy. I actually bought crappy singlespeed conversion kits for the spacers and threw away the cogs and tensioners.

I was taking for granted Salsas had some chain tensioning thing built in since used to push that kind of versatility in their frames. But I have had bad luck with tensioners, ride/race ending when they broke, or simply couldn't get enough chain wrap on my cog and skipped teeth as a result. I recommend against them if you can get away with a magic gear, but lots of people are fine with them!

[Jaybee]

The El Mar above has Alternator dropouts to tension the chain. I would keep using your current wheels if you like them, or just buy regular 11 speed hubs if you want new wheels. The advantages of a SS hub (better bracing angles, less dish) don’t outweigh the versatility of a normal freehub, IMO.

I would get a nice set of dedicated cogs, Surly at a minimum. Way better than the stamped versions and way way better than pulling apart an old cassette with ramps and pins. A wolf tooth or race face narrow-wide on your current crank and you are GTG. Feel free to bling up your cranks with any 1x crank if that’s what you want.

[stephenmarklay]

Thank you for the ideas. I put all the original stuff on my daughters bike so I have a fresh start.

Yes the El Mariachi has the alternator dropouts that allow single speed.

[Jaybee]

One other thought- you have a variety of possible uses here; cruising around town, light single track, lightly loaded grocery runs and I’d want different ratios for all 3 of those. Maybe really different if your single track is loose or steep or both.

[stephenmarklay]

I know you are correct Jaybee. My only defense is that when I was a kid and only had a bmx bike, I raced it, jumped it, rode in the fields and dirt roads to my friends. I road it to the lake and the arcade and every place in between.

I am no hurry but I do need to pick a good gear to do wheelies :)

[aarondgirard]

My wife had the same bike for a while and ran it with a rigid fork and skinny tires as her gravel bike. She has since moved on to another bike and the rigid fork is still around. It is made by Whisky Parts Co, is pretty light, and matched the lines of the frame nicely. Send me a PM if you are interested.

[Jaybee]

I know you are correct Jaybee. My only defense is that when I was a kid and only had a bmx bike, I raced it, jumped it, rode in the fields and dirt roads to my friends. I road it to the lake and the arcade and every place in between.

I am no hurry but I do need to pick a good gear to do wheelies :)

Hey, none of this is a problem if you don't care how fast you get where you are going. :-)


I had a rigid El Mar singlespeed for a while (one of the OG Superior Blue ones), and it remains one of my favorite bikes ever. I used to run it at 33x19 all over town, all kinds of trails, whatever. I switched it to 1x10 when I had a kid and the time I was taking to pedal (slowly) to the trail became more valuable.

It really was that adult BMX feeling, just a bike, so simple, always ready to roll. More about the experiences than the machine.

[stephenmarklay]

Hey, none of this is a problem if you don't care how fast you get where you are going. :-)


I had a rigid El Mar singlespeed for a while (one of the OG Superior Blue ones), and it remains one of my favorite bikes ever. I used to run it at 33x19 all over town, all kinds of trails, whatever. I switched it to 1x10 when I had a kid and the time I was taking to pedal (slowly) to the trail became more valuable.

It really was that adult BMX feeling, just a bike, so simple, always ready to roll. More about the experiences than the machine.

Now you are talking :) No really I kind of soured on riding and this is a way to get back to basics. No need to win a race. I was think about the same gearing actually. I noticed 30 x 19 (on my daughters bike) felt ok for lifting the front wheel but slow otherwise. I might try 32 x19. I may go 1x at some point too but for now simple simple simple is the idea.

[BikeNY]

Since you are starting from scratch, it really depends on how much you want to spend! Sounds like you're not looking to spend a ton on a blingy build, so I'll assume that.

I'd start with a mid/low range SRAM crank that uses a GXP BB and has the direct mount setup, and then get a decent N/W direct mount chainring. they are available from a number of manufacturers, but I'd suggest Wolf Tooth. They also make nice steel SS cogs, or you could go Surly for the cog to save a bit.

Unless you find a great deal on a wheelset with a nice SS rear hub, just do as others suggest and get a regular geared wheelset. Look in the classifieds and you should find a great deal. Get a new 8 or 9 speed chain.

You're going to have to think hard about your gear ratio though...