The main area of focus taken by the designers in their approach to the Warbird would seem to be that of striking a balance between speed and rider comfort, thus providing the ability to travel longer distances in a race environment with gravel as the surface medium. Thus, according to the manufacturer, there’s a need for a more specialized machine, something which can deal specifically with the unique characteristics of a gravel surface. Salsa Cycles, in their marketing blurb, make reference to an active community of gravel racers who are less than satisfied with the performance of their bikes on gravel. What is it and what is it supposed to do well? Lets start with taking a look at the raison d’être for this bike. A lack of bridges on the seatstays and chainstays allows the full length of the stays to contribute to flexibility, and a rear thru-axle delivers precise tracking while allowing the seatstays to provide that incredible compliance”. The horizontally oriented chainstays work to resist torque and maintain a laterally stiff rear end. This is what Salsa say about their VRS – “Specially shaped seatstays with a tall, thin, vertically oriented profile promote vertical compliance by allowing them to “flex” outwards on impacts. Each of the three models of Warbird feature Salsa’s proprietary ride-comfort system, a system they refer to as their Class 5 VRS™ (VRS – Vibration Reduction System).

The Warbird on review here is the Tiagra version. The bike comes in three distinct flavors: a Carbon framed Warbird with SRAM Rival, an aluminum frame/carbon fork Warbird with Shimano 105, and a Tiagra version with the same frame/fork as the 105. The 2016 Salsa Warbird is categorized on the Salsa website as a: GRAVEL RACING / FIREROAD RIDING / ROAD RIDING bicycle. See Part I of the Salsa Warbird Review Here.

Salsa warbird