I had been looking for a gravel bike for some time now and was thinking about sticking with the big S, either the Diverge or Sequoia. Neither of those bikes really appealed to me, especially the looks of the Diverge. A lot of my biking friends had gotten Salsa fat bikes, so I decided to look at their gravel bikes. I really liked the way the Warbird looked and read some positive reviews. I had my LBS do a quick search and there happened to be only one 56 Brooks LE left, which is what I ended up getting.
For me, most of my riding will be on the road and some fire roads, but nothing too hairy or rocky. The OE WTB Riddlers were a bit too knobby for me, so I decided to replace them with Compass Bon Jon Extralight (35c) tires. That's the only change I've made to the bike. I wanted to see how it rode in stock form before changing a bunch of parts. It's no WW, it weighs 8.64kg / 19lbs 1oz ready to ride with pedals, cages and Garmin mount. The Brooks saddle weighs 405g, but is so comfortable that it's staying. I may end up changing some parts down the road to lighten it up, but probably won't because it's not what this bike is.
I rode it for the first time yesterday on the road and it was awesome! Having those 35c tires with 50F/55R psi made it so plush and comfortable, I didn't care about the weight. It climbed well because of the compact gearing and 11-32 rear cassette. Even with those huge tires, I was able to keep up speed and not lose too much.
Frame: Salsa Warbird Brooks Limited Edition 56cm
Drivetrain: SRAM Force 22 Hyrdo
Bars: Salsa Cowbell 2
Handlebar Tape: Brooks Cambium Rubber
Stem: Zipp Service Course
Seatpost: Zipp Service Course
Saddle: Brooks Cambium C15
Wheels: Zipp 30 Course Disc
Tires: Compass Bon Jon Pass 35c tubeless
Pedals: Shimano XTR Race
Cages: Blackburn Carbon
