The big news from Frostbike may have been the release of Salsa Cycles’ redesigned Warbird, but there was no hiding the largest bike in the booth. The Powderkeg is a tandem mountain bike built to for bikepacking, gravel racing and general trail riding.
Salsa has tinkered with tandem designs for nearly five years. The company experimented two-person versions of its drop-bar Fargo off-road tourer as well as with the more traditional El Mariachi 29er. It appears that El Mariachi-inspired version won out.
The Powderkeg is constructed from large diameter 4130-chromoly tubing. The frame features Salsa’s Alternator Dropouts for singlespeed conversions and uses a pinch-bolt style eccentric bottom bracket shell to tension the timing chain.
In 2012, Salsa-sponsored endurance racer Kurt Refsnider and his stoker, Caroline Soong, successfully completed the 2,700-mile Tour Divide race on a Powderkeg prototype in 20 days. Click here to read all about their adventure
The Powderkeg will come in three sizes: Medium/Small, Large/Small and Large/Medium
This bicycle built for two adventurers will be available this summer. The Powderkeg will retail for US$3,999 with a Shimano SLX drivetrain and Avid BB7 brakes with 200mm rotors. The Powderkeg will also be available as a frameset for US$1,999.
UK and Australian pricing and availability have yet to be announced.
For more information visit http://salsacycles.com.
