Full-suspension gravel was the mash-up trend of 2025, with Trek's out-there CheckOUT pushing the limits established by BMC's URS LT, Cannondale's Topstone and Lee Cougan's Super Innova Gravel.
Now, for 2026, Salsa has tested the boundaries again – not only with more suspension travel, but with the added dimension of electric assistance.
Salsa certainly has form when it comes to genre mash-ups, and it will raise eyebrows again with the new Salsa Wanderosa – an electric/mountain/gravel bike with drop bars.
The brand's back catalogue includes the 2008 Salsa Fargo – a monster drop-bar mountain bike with myriad fixtures that defined bikepacking before it existed.
Then there was the Blackborow, a mix of cargo bike and fat bike from 2016 that paved the way for the likes of the Tern Orox and Momentum PakYak.
Housed within the carbon frame is a mid-mount ebike motor and internal battery from Fazua.
Delve further into the specifications and the Wanderosa looks to be a bike built to take on technical trails, alongside gravel.
All models come with a 120mm-travel fork and a dropper post, not to mention 29er wheelsets shod with 2.2in (55.8mm) tyres.
Full-suspension gravel geometry
Salsa insists the Wanderosa isn’t simply an electric mountain bike with drop bars, though – its progressive geometry is designed around drop bars.
That means a long reach combined with a short stem, a steep (75-degree) seat angle and a slack 65.3-degree head angle for stability. There's 120mm of travel at the front and 110mm at the rear from its 45mm-stroke shock. You can reduce the rear travel to 100mm by restricting the shock stroke to 40mm.
The back end is supplemented by a flex-stay design in place of pivots. Salsa claims this helps reduce weight without compromising the suspension's effectiveness.
| SIZE | XS | S | M | L | XL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOPTUBE LENGTH (EFF) | 538.2 | 563.3 | 588.4 | 613.4 | 638.5 |
| STANDOVER | 725.6 | 749.2 | 776.3 | 803.1 | 829.7 |
| STACK | 595.4 | 599.9 | 618.1 | 636.3 | 654.5 |
| REACH | 380.3 | 404.1 | 424.4 | 444.6 | 464.9 |
| HEADTUBE ANGLE | 65.3 | 65.3 | 65.3 | 65.3 | 65.3 |
| FORK AXLE-CROWN | 531 | 531 | 531 | 531 | 531 |
| HEADTUBE LENGTH | 100 | 105 | 125 | 145 | 165 |
| BB DROP | 37.6 | 37.6 | 37.6 | 37.6 | 37.6 |
| SEATTUBE ANGLE | 75.1 | 75.1 | 75.1 | 75.1 | 75.1 |
| SEATTUBE LENGTH | 430 | 460 | 490 | 520 | 550 |
| BB HEIGHT | 332.4 | 332.4 | 332.4 | 332.4 | 332.4 |
| CHAINSTAY | 440.6 | 440.6 | 440.6 | 440.6 | 440.6 |
| FORK OFFSET | 44 | 44 | 44 | 44 | 44 |
| WHEELBASE | 1123.7 | 1149.7 | 1178.3 | 1206.8 | 1235.5 |
Full-power mid-motor assistance
The Wanderosa uses Fazua’s latest Ride 60 drive unit. The mid-drive unit, as the name suggests, provides a claimed 60Nm of torque powered by an internal 480Wh battery.
In the US, it’s a Class 3 unit, maxing out at 28mph/45kph, and in Canada it's Class 1 (20mph/32kph). The Wanderosa isn't available yet in Europe.
Salsa says the lightweight 4.1kg system is custom-tuned for gravel riding, and it comes with Fazua’s Road Control ‘blips’ mounted under the bar tape for motor-mode switching without reaching for the top-tube mounted control unit.
Salsa Wanderosa range details
Topping out the range is the $12,999 Wanderosa Force XO AXS Transmission model. This Wanderosa comes with a drivetrain that blends SRAM's road and mountain bike parts.
Here, it mixes a SRAM XO Transmission mountain bike derailleur, brakes and a carbon ebike-specific Praxis ETOR crankset with SRAM's Force levers.
Up front is a 120mm RockShox SID Ultimate fork, with a SIDLuxe Ultimate shock at the rear. The high-grade spec is completed with a RockShox Reverb AXS wireless dropper and WTB’s CZR Light i30 carbon wheelset shod with Teravail Camrock 29x2.2in tyres.
Next in line is the Wanderosa Rival GX AXS at $9,999. This mixes a SRAM GX Eagle AXS rear derailleur, alloy Praxis ETOR crankset and SRAM Rival AXS shifters and brakes.
Suspension is provided by a RockShox SID Select+ 3P 120mm-travel fork and SIDLuxe Select+ 3P rear shock. A TranzX dropper and WTB EZR i27 rims on DT Swiss 370 hubs, shod with Teravail Camrock 29x2.2in tyres complete the build.
Entry into the Wanderosa range is via the $7,999 Wanderosa Apex Eagle. The drivetrain all comes from SRAM's mechanical Apex Eagle group. Praxis provides the ebike-specific alloy ETOR crankset.
Suspension comes from a RockShox SID 2P fork up front and a SIDLuxe SEL+ 2P rear shock. It gets a TranzX dropper post and WTB ST i27 rims on a Shimano TC500 hub wheelset with the same Teravail Camrock 29x2.2in tyres as the pricier models.
Pricing
- Salsa Wanderosa Apex Eagle: $7,999 / CA$10,249
- Salsa Wanderosa Rival GX AXS: $9,999 / CA$12,799
- Salsa Wanderosa Force XO AXS: $12,999 / N/A Canada
