Salsa announced the Stormchaser, a new aluminum gravel bike that’s made specifically for mud and poor weather conditions. With clearance for 700x50mm tires and a single-speed drivetrain, it is designed to keep on truckin’ no matter what nature throws your way. Alternator flat mount dropouts and multiple bottle/gear mounts round out the package.
Salsa considers the Stormchaser to be their doomsday-prepped gravel bike – for times when even their Warbird might not cut it. Those with experience know that in the worst conditions, you need simplicity, mega tire clearance, and a single gear.
The 6066-T6 aluminum frame features Salsa’s Class 5 Vibration Reduction System (VRS). They quote maximum tire clearance at 50mm for both 700c and 650b applications, or 45mm with fenders. To keep bottom bracket heights in check, Salsa gives a minimum tire size of 650b x 47mm or 700c x 32mm.
12mm thru axles keep the wheels bolted up front and rear. The rear-end also uses Salsa’s Alternator flat mount dropouts, allowing for 15mm of chainstay length adjustment. They also offer an alternative dropout for use with 1x geared drivetrains, should you decide to go that route (complete bikes ship ONLY with SS dropouts, while framesets include both sets).
Size 56 – 61 frames feature three bottle mounts in the main triangle, with smaller frames featuring two. All frames have an accessory mount on the underside of the downtube, a top tube Salsa EXP mount, and fender/rack mounts.
Seven sizes complete the range, with full geometry listed above.
Spec & Pricing
Without a groupset per se, only one level of complete bike is offered. It includes both 17t and 18t cogs, for a complete bike price of $1,499. All sizes include wider-than-average Salsa Cowchipper bars.
The Stormchaser frameset includes both sets of rear dropouts, and is compatible with SS, 1x mechanical, and Di2 drivetrains (maximum 38t chainring). It is priced at $1,099.
The Stormchaser is available immediately through Salsa retailers. Update: Salsa has since released an updated availability date of April 2020. -Ed
