1984 Salsa Moto SL #52

One of the first bikes made after Ross' move from Santa Cruz to Petaluma. Also one of the first of the five or so Moto SL frames (which stood for Super Light). Ross' famous fillets are on a light tubeset with roller cam bosses and a light unicrown fork. Ross had trouble getting the unicrown blades, which he wanted because they were lighter than his standard fork, but was able to convince Gary Fisher to sell him a rare set of early blades. The bike rides very nicely on tight trails - lively and quick.

The original color was "poof de flage", but was brought in to Ross for a repair in '91 and got a repaint with the midnight blue and the jelly bean treatment. I still have the original pump with the original paint. It had these roller cams on it when I got it, but ideally needs some earlier ones.

The build is fairly light to match the frame with a real lightweight wheelset for its day. The rims are rolled down Wolber Super Champions which were the first rims Keith Bontrager re-rolled. You can see half of the Super Champion sticker is missing in one of the photos from when these became a smaller hoop. The hubs are Dura Ace hubs which at that time already had a freehub. Pretty cool for 1984 and much stronger. Even the stem is lighter than the standard Salsa offering. See Ross' old notes on the bike in the last picture.

Frame: 19.5" '84 Salsa Moto SL
Serial Number: #52
Fork: Early Unicrown
Weight: 26.2 lbs
Headset: Stronglight
Stem/Bars: Salsa SL w/Salsa Bars
Grips: Grab-On Mtn 1
Shifters: Suntour XC
Brake Levers: Suntour XC
Brakes: WTB Roller Cams
Front Derailleur: Suntour XC
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Deerhead XT
Crankset: Specialized
Freewheel: Dura Ace Cassette
BB: Specialized
Hubset: Shimano Dura Ace w/Freehub
Rims: Keith Bontrager Rolled Down Super Champions
Tires: Panaracer
Pedals: Suntour XC Compe
Seatpost: Suntour XC
Saddle: Avocet Touring II