By The Takeaway: A drop bar ultra-endurance mountain bike built to carry the kitchen sink and crush your personal (or the actual) Tour Divide.
• The longer, slacker high-modulus carbon frame and brand new super-compliant fork means you’ll barely feel a thing no matter how aggressive the gravel gets.
• 20+ frame mounts provide secure, convenient carrying capacity for days.
• Buy if you’re a drop bar explorer with a need for speed.
Price: $4,199
Weight: 21.8 lb. (size 54)
Tire clearance: 2.4”
Inspired by the Tour Divide—a rugged bikepacking race from Canada to the Mexican border—the Cutthroat has always been built to haul ass while hauling a lot of stuff. For 2020, Salsa redesigned the bike to be lighter and more compliant while upping its cargo-carrying capacity, so it now does both those things even better.
More than 20 mounts throughout the frame provide plenty of secure carrying capacity. Fully loaded, the “Cutty” is graceful, quick, and eye-catching, more pack unicorn than mule. Carrying front and rear dry bags and four bottles during testing, the bike was obviously slower than it was naked but, thanks to the carbon frame’s lightweight compliance, still smooth (and smooth is fast, as well as comfortable). Plus, it remained lively, not sluggish—a key quality for long self-supported outings.
Even gravel lovers who carry no more than a grit-eating grin will love this stealth bomber of a bike. Slacker, more stable geometry paired with a light carbon frame designed with Salsa’s signature Vibration Reduction System (VRS)—and brand new fork (claimed to be 32 percent more compliant) featuring the same tech—makes this a bike well suited for aggressive gravel riding.
It especially excels at Grinduro-style gravel racing, where courses filled with singletrack, chunky B roads, fresh gravel that’s as squirrely as fresh snow, and a moon-shot’s worth of vertical gain reward a light, agile bike that sticks to its line at high speed and won’t be deterred by larger obstacles.
If aggressive gravel riding and/or fast, efficient bikepacking is your game, the new Cutthroat is the ideal playmate.
Salsa Cutthroat GRX 810 1x Details
Style: Mountain bike frame, gravel specs
Material: Carbon
Fork: Cutthroat Carbon Deluxe V2 (CCC)
Rear derailleur: Shimano GRX 812
Cassette: Shimano M7000-11, 11-42t
Chain: Shimano HG701-11
Crankset: Race Face Turbine w/ Race Face DM 36t chainring
Shifter: Shimano GRX 810 Hydro
Brakes & Rotors: Shimano GRX 810 Hydro, RT76 160mm
Headset: Cane Creek 40
Stem: Salsa Guide
Handlebar: Salsa Cowchipper Deluxe
Grips/Tape: MSW Anti-Slip Gel
Seatpost: Salsa Guide Deluxe
Saddle: WTB Volt Race
Front wheel: DT Swiss X 1900 Spline 15 x 110mm
Rear wheel: DT Swiss X 1900 Spline 12 x 148mm
Bottom bracket: Shimano Press Fit BB92
Tires: Teravail Sparwood 29 x 2.2" Durable, Tubeless Ready
Sizes: 52 (new), 54, 56, 58, and 60
Long Haul Comfort and Speed
The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) from Banff, Alberta, Canada to Antelope Wells, New Mexico, traverses more than 2,700 miles of mostly unpaved and often inhospitable roads—with more than 200,000 feet of elevation gain and loss—and is widely considered to be the birthplace of the sport of bikepacking.
The original 2015 Cutthroat was designed to conquer that route as quickly as possible, while being fully self-sufficient. To that end, Salsa says it homed in on four key elements: comfort, reliability, weight, and efficiency.
And the newly refreshed 2020 Cutthroat retains many of the original’s signature features. Topping that list is Salsa’s Vibration Reduction System (VRS)—a rear triangle design that pairs thin seat stays that flare outward with wide, flattened chainstays that bend inward, acting like a leaf spring to soak up road vibration and small bumps.
New for 2020, Salsa brings VRS to the front end of the bike with a wholly redesigned fork based on that engineering system. The company claims the new Cutthroat Carbon Deluxe V2 fork is 32 percent more compliant than its predecessor.
“We borrowed the Class 5 VRS chainstay shape—horizontally flattened and wide—and sized it up to meet the different structural needs of a fork,” Salsa’s design engineer Peter Hall explains. “The shape encourages the wheel and fork lowers to flex fore and aft when encountering high frequency vibrations and impacts that you find on gravel and washboards. The width of the legs paired with the Boost 110 front axle keep steering precision and wheel tracking as solid as our previous Cutthroat fork.”
The engineers also used a new carbon layup designed to work with the leg shape to allow optimum compliance, Hall says. “I was aiming for the deflection we’ve measured on really comfortable steel forks and working to apply that feel to a carbon fork.”
The Cutthroat is also suspension corrected, so if all that compliance still isn’t enough, you can swap on a 100mm-travel 29er fork.
As anyone who’s put in long days on rough roads knows, changing up your hand position is key to keeping your arms, neck, and back from crying uncle after a few hours. To that end, the Cowchipper bar is the perfect pairing for this bike. Every position is not only comfortable, but also provides outstanding bike control. The shallow 116mm drop and short 68mm reach let you navigate tricky terrain from the drops while still remaining relatively upright. The wide, sweeping 24-degree flare provides unparalleled drop bar stability as you fly over choppy ground. Climbing out of the saddle on the hoods has a natural road-bike feel.
5 Things We Love About the Salsa Cutthroat GRX 810 1x
Gravel Gearing
Shimano M7000 11 speed 11-42t cassette offers a huge gear range for all terrain and delivers smooth gear changes over unforgiving surfaces.
Mount Options Galore
With more than 20+ accessory mounts, you can securely fasten a variety of bottles, bags, toolkits, and packs to your frame with fewer straps.
Secure Grip
The GRX 810 Hydro levers feature a large, textured, easy-to-grasp knob so your hands never slip off the hoods at the most inopportune times.
Frame Protection
A bash guard on the underside of the frame protects this vulnerable area from rock strikes and impact during log overs.
Massive Clearance
You can set up the Cutthroat with 2.4" mountain bike tires and still have tons of room for mud clearance.
The slack 69-degree head angle (down one degree from previous iterations) and relatively upright, mountain bike geometry allow the Cutthroat to take to singletrack with ease. The bike pops over eight- to twelve-inch logs as well as any rigid XC racer.
Recognizing that gravel riders demand a wide gear range, Salsa has outfitted the 2020 Cutthroat with a new drivetrain system it’s calling “road boost.” That takes the existing mountain bike standard and applies it with road/gravel-sized chainrings. Salsa worked with Race Face/Easton and their Cinch system cranks to get a 52mm Boost chain line, but with a maximum 2x chainring capacity of 50/34t and 1x capacity of 40t. The Cutthroat front derailleur mount moves a standard road drivetrain front derailleur out to meet the more widely spaced chainrings.
“We saw the appeal for ever-wider range drivetrains on gravel and the definite appeal of the close cog spacing of a 2x drivetrain when spinning out tons of miles,” Hall says.
Whether big gear mashing over stutter bumps or spinning a 20 percent grade, I had all the gears I needed with the spec’d 1x 36t Race Face DM chainring and Shimano M7000-11, 11-42t cassette. The Shimano GRX 812 shifted smoothly with no hiccups even in the bigger gear jumps. Now, if I were planning to race hundreds of miles fully loaded, I might scan other gearing options, including a 2x drivetrain, for even easier gear ratios.
At first glance the bike seemingly begs for a dropper post (and is dropper post-compatible, complete with internal routing on 1x drivetrains). But it does not come spec’d with one, as the company felt the primary market wouldn’t necessarily want one. Considering that rear carrying capacity is a priority for multi-day outings, it’s likely correct. But riders primarily keen on ripping Grinduro style should definitely consider a dropper.
Salsa has continued to outfit the Cutthroat with a press fit bottom bracket (notorious for being creaky), which may cause consternation among some. But Hall stands by the decision, citing the overall geo benefits the BB92 provides. “Without the extra BB width afforded by the BB92 over a 68mm threaded BB, the chainstays would have had to been either smaller in size or longer in length to get around the max tire size and back to the BB juncture,” Hall says. “We would have ended up with either less tire clearance, smaller tire fitment, much longer chainstays, no internal cable guide tubes or smaller chainrings. That’s to say nothing about pedaling stiffness! We didn’t want to lose any of those features,” he says, noting that the BB92 has worked reliably for years.
A Streamlined, Secure Packing System
When it comes to bikepacking or tackling self-supported events like DKXL 350 and Tour Divide, pedaling for hours or days on end is the easy part. Packing, carrying, and accessing your food, hydration, tools, layers, batteries, and other gear and provisions is the real test.
Salsa provides the answers with a cargo-carrying system designed to stay put and out of your way. A Direct Mount Frame Pack tucks into the main triangle without straps that can wear on the frame. There are top tube mounts for a bento box-style bag. Rear rack and fork leg mounts work with Salsa’s front and rear pannier-style racks and packs.
More than 20 mounts placed throughout the fork and frame let you customize your setup with water bottles, bags, straps, and cradles to carry your cargo exactly how you like. Salsa’s packs and bags are made from waterproof materials and water-resistant construction and are available in five sizes to match Cutthroat frame sizes.
Because it’s a mountain bike frame, you won’t find the usual fender mounts that come standard on gravel bikes—a traditional bolt-on fender wouldn’t clear the large mountain bike tires.
The Cutthroat Family
The Salsa Cutthroat Carbon GRX 810 1x has three siblings. The Cutthroat Carbon GRX 810 Di2 with Shimano GRX 815 Di2 hydraulic shifters and derailleurs and Shimano GRX 815 hydraulic disc brakes sits at the top of the line for $5,799. Next, the Cutthroat Carbon GRX 600 with Shimano GRX 810 derailleurs, Shimano GRX 600 Hydro shifters, and Shimano GRX 400 Hydro brakes is one level below for $3,299. And the entry-level Cutthroat Carbon Apex 1 with SRAM Apex 1 rear derailleur and shifter and TRP Spyre-C brakes retails for $2,699. The Salsa Cutthroat is also available as a carbon frameset for $2,199.
The updated sizing includes a new 52cm small frame, as well as 54cm, 56cm, 58cm, and 60cm sizes.
Getting the Right Size
It’s worth noting that Salsa completely overhauled the sizing for the 2020 Cutthroat, and you may be most suited to a different size than you’d typically ride. For me, that meant a 54, instead of a 52, which, because the reach is now shorter, left me uncomfortably cramped in the cockpit and not as well balanced on the bike overall.
When choosing a size, Hall recommends starting with reach from a drop bar bike you’re comfortable on and picking at Cutthroat within 10mm of the same reach.
“Then double check standover height against your measured body to floor to confirm clearance,” he says. “The Cutthroat is a taller bike than most other drop bar bikes because of the 29-inch wheels, longer suspension-corrected fork, and larger front triangle.”
From that point you can fine tune the stack and reach with different stems and spacer configurations.
Riding and Rowdy Racing On the Salsa Cutthroat GRX 810 1x
Salsa unveiling the new Cutthroat at Grinduro Japan is as natural as offering warm cookies with fresh milk. As soon as it rolled into my view, I thought, “I know what I’m racing for Keystone Gravel,” a gravel-enduro style event in central Pennsylvania.
The route covers 78 miles with more than 9,000 feet of climbing and features eight timed segments that include slick ribbons of singletrack, bar-chewing climbs, puckering descents, sketchy gravel roads, creek crossings, grassy paths, and pretty much every surface Central PA can offer.
I figured the bike would crush segments like Narnia, a 1.3-mile descent that averages a grade of -8.3 percent over high-speed tight, slick singletrack. And it did. Planted on those flared drops, I felt like you could have slapped me across the face and I’d still have stayed on line.
3 Waist Packs to Free Your Back
Hydration Your Way
Evoc
Hip Pack Race 3L
Included reservoir holds 1.5 liters of water, and there’s room for a bottle.
Volume: 3L
$95 | Competitive Cyclist
Small and Sweet
Dakine
Hot Laps 2L Hip Pack
Carries one water bottle, plus your phone and a small repair kit.
Volume: 2L
$39.95 | Competitive Cyclist
Water and More
Camelbak
Vantage LR Belt
Included reservoir hauls 1.5 liters of water; hip pockets keep snacks within reach.
Volume: 3.3L
$64.95 | Competitive Cyclist
But I was a bit concerned about Schoolhouse, a nearly two-mile climb that averages over a 10.2 percent grade, as well as “The Queen,” the final grueling stage that grinds over 4.5 miles at 4.8 percent. The slack front end and long wheelbase (about 10mm longer over the previous model) sometimes gives you the sensation of piloting a long-hooded Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme uphill, and you need to hunker down to keep the front end planted when the pitch gets vertical. But it ascended admirably enough for me to bag the QOM on The Queen.
When I hit the rolling, mostly straight 8.5-mile time trial section, the Cutthroat took off like a horse from an open barn. It annihilated the section, and I felt like I was rewarded with maximum speed for very moderate input. (I had a similar sensation on the bike at an event a few weeks earlier, where, for more than a mile, I was seemingly floating atop fist-size rocks that left others bogged down, cursing on the roadside.)
All said and done, it added up to a W on the day at Keystone Gravel.
The Cutthroat is also debuting at unPAved of the Susquehanna River Valley, a very hilly 120-mile gravel race, also in central Pennsylvania. Set up with the Teravail Sparwood 29 x 2.2-inch tires, the bike is burlier than that course—which is largely non-technical save for one lollipop section of gnarlier jeep track—demands. So I’ll be rolling more course-suitable 40 or 50s for the day.
I put about 400 miles on the Cutty during testing, most of which was on the gravel-enduro end of the riding and racing spectrum. Though I haven’t taken it on an overnighter yet, I did load her up for some long daypacking-style rides.
Specifically, I used the Anything Cradle with Dry Bag & Front pouch on the handlebar, a Salsa seat pack in the rear, a bento box on the top tube, and four bottles—two in the triangle and one on each of the fork legs. The bike maintained its lively demeanor and though loaded up didn’t feel ungainly or sluggish over deep gravel, root-strewn bridle paths, and carriage roads.
They say when the student is ready, the master will appear. Well, I’ve been toying with trying my hand at more multi-day adventures. And I have full faith that the Cutthroat will lead the way. Stay tuned for those impressions in a future review.
