Gravelbike Salsa Cutthroat C - tested: Either home round... or Tour Divide!
Jan Timmermann
· 04.09.2025
Long before the bikepacking trend spilled over into Europe and gravel bikes conquered the cycle paths of German city centres, seasoned adventurers relied on the Salsa Cutthroat. The American bike is something like the great-grandfather of long-distance bikes with a drop bar and off-road capability. The traditional brand Salsa was inspired by the Tour Divide route to develop this bike. A unique bikepacking classic with around 4500 kilometres and 50,000 metres in altitude across the hinterland of the American continent from Banff in the Canadian Rocky Mountains to the border between the USA and Mexico. Today, best time records are set on this track on mountain bike hardtails with suspension forks and racing handlebars. In our test, we wanted to find out whether the Cutthroat has retained its raison d'être and how the experienced specialist fares against the colourful array of young competitors.
The Salsa Cutthroat in detail
- Price: 3799 Euro
- Application: Gravel bike
- Wheel size: 29"
- Frame material: Carbon
- Tyre width (installed / maximum): 2.2" / 3.0" (front); 2.4" (rear)
- Weight of complete bike: 11.2 kg (size XL)
- Maximum permissible system weight: 160 kg
- Warranty: 5 years
- Number of bottle cage mounts: 4
- Compatible with dropper post: yes
- Compatible with front derailleur: yes
- Special features: compatible with MTB suspension fork, mounts for pannier rack, large tyre clearance, plenty of space for frame bag, Boost standards, flex rear triangle
A hybrid of MTB and gravel bike
The Salsa Cutthroat is designed to carry its rider through any terrain far away from civilisation. The carbon frame has impressive mud and tyre clearance to keep adventurers going even on challenging terrain.
The rear triangle accommodates up to 2.4-inch wide mountain bike tyres in the large 29-inch size. The extra-wide fork can even accommodate 3.0 inch fat tyres to prevent sinking in the snow and on sand dunes. The Boost dimension on the thru axles, familiar from the MTB sector, creates space. The frame would even be compatible with a proper mountain bike suspension fork with 100 millimetres of travel. A dropper post would also theoretically fit into the chassis.
The frame is protected by the most powerful down tube protector in the test field to ensure it emerges from rough conditions without damage. Salsa approves the Cutthroat for ASTM category three. This means that the Americans are in favour of a wilder suitability than most other gravel bikes. For example, drops up to 61 centimetres high are covered. Only the pressed bottom bracket does not necessarily match the robust, service-friendly approach in our eyes.
Anyone who spends weeks travelling through Wallachia wants to sit comfortably. That's why Salsa has given the Cutthroat a system called "Class 5 VRS". The special design of the seat and chain stays is intended to reduce tiring vibrations and still offer good rigidity. For example, there is no crossbar between the seat stays and the material flexes over its full length.
With its enormous space between the tubes, the Cutthroat offers room for a huge frame bag. If required, this can be bolted to the top tube just like a bag. Salsa offers an exemplary guide on its website to help you find the right bags. Four bottles fit on the frame without special accessories. The system is designed for a total weight of up to 160 kilos. No other bike in the comparison can take this much payload.
Equipment
Salsa offers the Cutthroat C in five equipment variants and in five different frame sizes (52 / 54 / 56 / 58 / 60). Between 3499 and 5999 euros must be invested for a complete off-the-peg bike. The top model, which costs 7999 US dollars, is reserved for the American market. Individualists can build their own personal dream bike thanks to the frame set also available for 2499 euros. Our test bike bears the model designation Salsa Cutthroat C GRX 1x and is characterised by the following features:
- Gear system: Shimano GRX 822, 1 x 12
- Cassette / gear range: Shimano SLX 11-51T / 510 %
- Crank / chainring size: Race Face Ride / 36T
- Brakes / disc size: Shimano GRX 400/ 160/160 mm
- Wheels: WTB ST i25 / Shimano
- Tyres: Teravail Sparwood / 29 x 2.2"
- Seatpost / Diameter: Salsa Guide / 27.2 mm
- Cockpit / length / width (upper/lower link): Salsa Cowchipper / 80 mm / 520/635 mm
Data from the test lab
At Delius Klasing, we go to unprecedented lengths to test bicycles. We are the only bicycle editorial team in the world to operate its own test laboratory. The data obtained supports our impressions from the practical test. When it comes to geometry data, we don't just rely on the manufacturer's specifications, but use the laser measuring device ourselves.
- Complete weight: 11.19 kg (size 58, without pedals)
- Wheel weight: 5314 g (incl. tyres, tubes, cassette, brake discs, thru axles)
- Impeller acceleration: 3845 kg x cm² (the lower the value, the better the acceleration)
Geometry
- Seat tube length real: 565 mm
- Steering angle: 68.5°
- Seat angle: 74°
- Top tube length: 580 mm
- Head tube length: 155 mm
- Chainstay length: 445 mm
- Wheelbase: 1110 mm
- BB drop: -71 mm
- Caster: 91 mm
- Reach: 391 mm
- Reach+: 565 mm
- Stack: 653 mm
- Stack+: 712 mm
- STR: 1.67
- STR+: 1,260
How the gravel bike from Salsa performs in practice
The Salsa Cutthroat is characterised by a unique geometry combination. For a long time, the 391 millimetre reach in size 58 was considered progressively long, but today it is only undercut by the Radon Tigard. On the other hand, the stack value is high. Together with the short stem, this puts the rider in an upright, comfortable riding position. The Salsa is a far cry from a sporty stretching bench à la Marin Headlands.
Instead, the geometry is clearly designed for long riding times on long tours. Additional comfort comes from the widest gravel tyres in the comparison group. Many vibrations and small bumps simply disappear into the tyres. On the other hand, we were unable to recognise the advantage of the flex rear suspension on our laboratory test bench. Also due to the stiff aluminium seatpost, the measured comfort is significantly lower than that of the Pivot, which is also equipped with a flex element.
The extra-wide cockpit does not offer any comfort advantage either. By far the widest handlebar in the test field has a stiff design and offers no measurable advantage in terms of fatigue reduction thanks to its large lever. On the other hand, there is space for a very large handlebar roller at the front. The classic cable routing is designed so that a suitable harness can be fitted without any problems.
The handlebar tape is wrapped far inwards so that there are plenty of grip positions on the mighty bar. The Cutthroat is virtually "adventure-ready out of the box". The light gears of the MTB cassette and the small chainring help on high-percentage climbs and technical climbs. Speaking of which, the Salsa climbs really well thanks to the longest chainstays in the test. Even on steep ramps, you can remain relaxed in the saddle without the front wheel becoming light.
Unfortunately, the highest total weight of the peer group cannot be ignored. Compared to the lightest bikes in the test group, the bikepacking expert has just under three kilos more on its carbon ribs. Apart from the Scott Scale MTB hardtail, it also has the slowest wheel acceleration. The weight of the simple wheels is even on a par with some enduro mountain bikes.
This much is certain: the Cutthroat prefers to be cosy rather than fast. Agility is not one of its strengths per se. However, the compact top tube and short stem benefit the handling. Together with the particularly slack head angle and the wide tyres, the Salsa is therefore easy to position in the ideal line on technically demanding passages.
Only a mountain bike offers this much riding safety on exposed forest paths and single trails. The bike handles like a board, especially on steep and fast downhills. The extremely wide handlebars help with control when travelling straight ahead. In slow bends, the large lever combined with the long rear end takes some getting used to. The Salsa then needs a lot of pressure to change direction.
The route of the Tour Divide is so long that it has to be adapted every year due to natural events such as forest fires and landslides. And we also encountered a violent storm on the Cutthroat during our test. Within minutes, the rainwater was ankle-high. The Salsa was unperturbed by this and continued on its course.
The carefree approach is also reflected in the fact that the gears are controlled via a mechanical cable. However, the three-dimensionally movable brake lever on our test bike had so much play that it did not offer a really stable grip on rough downhills. Overall, the Cutthroat C GRX 1x is reasonably but not exactly elegantly equipped.
BIKE conclusion
The Salsa Cutthroat is the expedition bike among gravel bikes: perfect for adventures in remote corners of the world, out of place at a town sign sprint and not the fastest choice for the commute to work. The bikepacking classic is a benchmark in terms of riding stability on long tours, but too heavy and too sluggish for a short race against the clock. - Jan Timmermann, BIKE editor
Pro
- Stable and smooth-running on any terrain
- Comfortable seating position
- Numerous bikepacking features and high payload approval
Contra
- Heavy, sluggish and simply equipped in the test setup
- Handlebar width might be too extreme for many
Jan Timmermann
Editor
