I've been looking into the Salsa Cassidy; however, I've been surprised with the lack of info out there.
-Has anyone here actually played around with the conversion link setup, and if so, how'd it go?
They've designed it so that the front and rear triangles are the same for both the Cassidy (180/165mm) and Blackthorn (160/140mm). This allows you to convert between the two by just swapping a link set, rear shock, and fork.
-They say no to coil shocks, as "the leverage rate of the Cassidy is optimized for the natural progressivity of air spring shocks. A coil shock will not produce enough end-stroke support at the rear wheel, leading to frequent and harsh bottom-outs that will likely result in frame damage."
What are your alls thoughts on putting a progressive spring on it (after warranty)?
I've calculated the leverage ratios below (not sure if they're right). This site seems to provide charts for the leverage rate, though.
-Cassidy: 165 / 62.5 = 2.67 (shock size-230x62.5)
-Blackthorn: 140 / 52.5 = 2.64 (shock size-210x52.5)
Also been looking and also curious about the mullet compatibility - they say it's possible, but don't give much or any specifics on which chip to flip or impact to leverage, geo, etc.. Wicked deals on those frames right now so if it checks the mullet box that might make it jump to the top of my list
Bigger than the individual average leverage rate is the leverage rate change through travel. In the Cass' case, you're looking at 23.3%, which is fairly flat. The only bike in that list from Linkage that's flatter is the Cube, coming in at 16%. I think that a progressive spring mayyy help matters, but if coil is a must have I would look for a damper with a hydraulic bottom out as well as the prog spring to double dip in end stroke support. For mullet set up, guessing you'd run the flip chip in its high position like most all co's specify.
There is a flip chip in the rear of the shock that changes it not even a half of a degree so its not going to be a noticeable change. If you ran it in the high position and put an offset bushing on the other side I think that would actually work and get you close enough. Interestingly enough they do state you can run a 55mm stroke shock on the Blackthorn increasing travel to 146 which combined with an offset bushing and a mullet setup would be a cool bike, even can run it with a 170 fork if so inclined. This negates the need for the Cassidy IMO unless you are on super gnarly shit all the time or at a bike park 24/7.
I bought my wife a Carbon SLX Blackthorn a couple months ago when they were blowing them out for $2100 and she is loving it, I think the build quality and frame look really good. People are too concerned with superboost spacing who cares, you can buy superboost wheels for good deals too.
612550_SAL_Flip_Chip_2.0_INST_VF_EN.pdf (salsacycles.com)
298581_SAL_Split_Pivot_Conversion_INST_VF_EN.pdf (salsacycles.com)
I am running a Mullet on my Blackthorn and it's great. I have had a few more pedal strikes than with the full 29 setup but for me it's worth it. I didn't get along with the big wheels. As for the link's, I had ordered a Cassidy link set and found that the shock price was really high. I would have had to buy a new shock and then have it re-tuned. That would have been between 650-850.00 depending on the shock and retune. So I ended up buying a Cassidy frame on closeout. Now I am just waiting on the new frame to show up. As for the coil that would be a no go. It's so linier that you would just blow through travel. I know that QBP would not warranty the frame if a coil was installed or if you raced it. There warranty is kinda of not the best.
My brother has a Cassady and really likes it. But he is using it as a trail bike.
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