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Sol Sessions - The Unveiling |
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Written by Alan Starrett
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Sunday, 15 June 2008 |
 | | The Unveiling |
When I last checked in I was giddy with anticipation about traveling to Salsa headquarters for their first ever “Sol Sessions.” Exactly what the entire week would entail I was not entirely sure but one thing was for certain, they would be unveiling two brand new bikes that they have been working on for years. Well, the day has come and I made the trek from the rock bound coast of Maine to the Midwest to be one of the first to see the finished product.
 As I mentioned the Salsa Sol Sessions encompasses a whole week and I don’t have ALL the details yet on what will be going on so I will get you up to speed my traveling hijinks and all the other fun when I return. For now though I want to blurt out the quick and dirty on the bikes so you can start to digest it straight away.
 | | El Kaboing |
So you thought I might be kidding about the red silk sheet right? Well, I was sort of kidding but sure enough after a little Salsa style Tex-Mex buffet we sat down in front of two bikes covered in red silk sheets. Well, maybe not silk but they WERE red. With a short music-video of said hidden bikes ripping some sweet single track as an intro the sheets were pulled back for the full reveal.
 | | Big Mama Logo |
Salsa head man Jason Boucher introduced the bikes as the El Kaboing and the Big Mama. Simply put they are bikes built for all day trail riding. The El Kaboing is a 5” travel 26” wheel bike and the Big Mama is 4” travel 29er. It sounds almost a little anti-climatic when you just throw it out that way but it is really so much more.
 | | Big Mama Shock |
Lead designer Blake Jenson went through a presentation laying out the painstaking detail that went into the design of their new platform. It was comprehensive and extensive. No small detail was left without consideration. The end result are two elegant, function specific bikes. My brain is a little smoked at the moment so I will have to download the rest of what I have clunking around up there a little later. Salsa’s website is going live on Tuesday 6/17 at 10:30 am Central Time with what should be complete info on the bikes. That and the other web outlets should hopefully hold you over until I can get back to a computer and give you my 2 cents.
 In the meantime I will be wisked away in a van (with windows thankfully) to Northern Wisconsin where I will actually get to ride both of these beauties over 3 days. Check back in and I will give you the full dope .
Big Al
 
 
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