Common sense told me not to go, but desire outweighed common sense on this day and I ventured to South Minneapolis to visit the Angry Catfish bike shop. What I saw while I was there was very appealing to the eye. Surly, Salsa, Colnago, Moots, Lynskey, etc. It's definitely what a bike shop should be. Simple, yet unique and not pretentious. They had old glass display cases that were full of "bling" like the lovely Chris King headsets and a variety of other components.I test rode several bikes and fell in love with the Salsa Vaya. There couldn't be a more perfect bike for northern Minnesota gravel with the exception of the Salsa Fargo.
The Vaya I rode was truly a beautiful bike. Top quality craftsmanship, excellent components, and I would pick it over the most expensive Colnago, Independent Fabrication, or any other bike they had in the shop. One other bike that is now on my list would be the Surly Cross Check. I really liked the feel of it, but was not fond of the bar end shifters. Otherwise, it rode and felt great and would also be a great gravel bike. If you haven't been to this shop, you should go. The coffee, service, people, and selection were phenomenal. Makes me wish I lived in the city again.
2 comments:
Always fun to be looking at the options. I just took delivery of my Fatback and spent the afternoon riding gravel and can't imagine how any bike could handle gravel better. Might be another option to look at.
I have had the Pugs out on gravel and it was fun. The Vaya would be more of a distance bike. I can't imagine doing a 100 miles of gravel on the Pugsley in one day :)
Happy to hear you finally got the Fatback :)
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