Salsa Cycles releases new alloy all-mountain and enduro e-MTBs aimed at backcountry adventures
The alloy e-MTBs come with either Fazua or Bosch drive systems and have a neat suspension trick
Adventure bike brand Salsa Cycles has added another two e-bikes to its lineup. The Moraine and Notch are two electric mountain bikes aimed at all-mountain and enduro riding.
These two full-suspension mountain bikes follow the Salsa Cycles adventure e-bike launch last month, where it released a bikepacking-orientated rigid e-MTB and e-gravel bike. Although teased as part of the release of the first two e-bikes, the Moraine and Notch are now official with the bikes on display at the Sea Otter Classic show.
The two new bikes both follow the same design layout, utilizing Slasa Cycles split pivot rear suspension design (more on that later), travel adjusting flip-chip, and a 6061-T6 Alloy construction with some interesting features.
The Moraine is aimed at all-mountain riding, featuring 140mm of rear wheel travel and equipped with a Fazua Ride 60 drive system and 430Wh battery.
Salsa says the bike has been designed for daily hot laps, park sessions, and adventure singletrack. It features a 160mm fork, with clearance for 2.6in tires, and a neat mounting point in the top triangle for securely strapping riding accessories like a tube and tools.
Geometry is pretty progressive with the Moraine sporting a 473mm reach (medium), a 63.9-degree head angle, and a 435.3mm chainstay.
While most e-MTB's that use Fazua's motor are aimed at the lightweight e-MTB category, it shouldn't be a surprise that the alloy-framed Salsa is on the heavier side. The top-spec model weighs a claimed 22.59kg.
The Notch is a full-power big travel e-MTB aimed at enduro riding and big back-country adventures. The bike has 170mm travel up front and 160mm at the rear compared to the Moraine's shorter travel.
You get a more powerful motor and bigger battery too, the Notch is driven using Bosch’s Performance Line CX 85Nm motor and powered by a Bosch PowerTube 500Wh battery.
The Notch has a very long 498.9m reach on a medium, paired with a 64.4-degree head angle and a 441.7mm chainstay.
An interesting feature of both the Moraine and Notch's split pivot suspension design is that Salsa Cycles say you can swap control and shock links to alter the amount of suspension travel. While the Moraine comes with 160mm/140mm, it can be changed to 140m/120mm if you prefer a shorter travel bike. The Notch on the other hand can extend its standard 170mm/160mm up to 190mm/180mm, you can even fit a 200mm dual crown fork for super gnarly terrain.
Pricing and specifications
Both bikes come in two build options and we have listed the full specs below. The Notch Deore 12 and Notch Cues 10 are available now, Salsa says the Moraine Deore 12 and Moraine Cues 10 are coming soon.
Salsa Cycles Moraine Deore 12
- Frame: Moraine Aluminum
- Motor: Fazua Ride 60
- Battery: Fazua 430Wh
- Fork: Rockshox Psylo Gold RC, 160mm
- Shock: Fox Float X Performance, 140mm
- Drivetrain: Shimano Deore M6100, 12spd
- Handlebar/Stem: RaceFace Chester 35.0/Salsa stem
- Crankset: FSA CK-730 Fazua Ride 60 crank arms
- Seatpost: Tranz X YSP18, SM, MD: 150mm travel; LG, XL: 170mm travel
- Saddle: WTB Solano
- Brakes: Shimano Deore M6100, 200mm front and rear
- Wheels: WTB ST i30 Tough TCS
- Tires: Teravail Kessel 29 x 2.6in, Teravail Warwick 29 x 2.5in
- Color: Orange
- Sizes: S-XL
- Weight: 22.59kg
- Price: $5,999 / £TBC / €TBC
Salsa Cycles Moraine Cues 10
- Frame: Moraine Aluminum
- Motor: Fazua Ride 60
- Battery: Fazua 430Wh
- Fork: Rockshox Psylo Silver RC, 160mm
- Shock: Fox Deluxe Select, 140mm
- Drivetrain: Shimano CUES U6000, 10spd
- Handlebar/Stem: RaceFace Chester 35.0/Salsa stem
- Crankset: FSA CK-730 Fazua Ride 60 crank arms
- Seatpost: Tranz X YSP18, SM, MD: 150mm travel; LG, XL: 170mm travel
- Saddle: WTB Solano
- Brakes: Shimano MT420, 200mm front and rear
- Wheels: WTB ST i30 Tough TCS
- Tires: Teravail Kessel 29 x 2.6in, Teravail Warwick 29 x 2.5in
- Color: Green
- Sizes: S-XL
- Weight: 23kg
- Price: $4,999 / £TBC / €TBC
Salsa Cycles Notch Deore 12
- Frame: Moraine Aluminum
- Motor: Bosch Performance Line CX
- Battery: Bosch 500Wh
- Fork: RockShox Domain Gold RC, 170mm
- Shock: Fox Float X Performance, 160mm
- Drivetrain: Shimano Deore M6100, 12spd
- Handlebar/Stem: RaceFace Chester 35.0/Salsa stem
- Crankset: FSA CK-762 w/ RaceFace direct-mount chainring
- Seatpost: Tranz X YSP18, SM, MD: 150mm travel; LG, XL: 170mm travel
- Saddle: WTB Solano
- Brakes: Shimano Deore M6100, 200mm front and rear
- Wheels: WTB ST i30 Tough TCS
- Tires: Teravail Kessel 29 x 2.6in, Teravail Warwick 29 x 2.5in
- Color: White
- Sizes: S-XL
- Weight: 26.7619kg
- Price: $5,999 / £TBC / €TBC
Salsa Cycles Notch Cues 10
- Frame: Moraine Aluminum
- Motor: Bosch Performance Line CX
- Battery: Bosch 500Wh
- Fork: SR Suntour ZERON36 Boost EQ, 160mm
- Shock: Fox Deluxe Select, 160mm
- Drivetrain: Shimano CUES U6000, 10spd
- Handlebar/Stem: RaceFace Chester 35.0/Salsa stem
- Crankset: FSA CK-730 Fazua Ride 60 crank arms
- Seatpost: Tranz X YSP18, SM, MD: 150mm travel; LG, XL: 170mm travel
- Saddle: WTB Solano
- Brakes: Shimano MT420, 200mm front and rear
- Wheels: WTB ST i30 Tough TCS
- Tires: Teravail Kessel 29 x 2.6in, Teravail Warwick 29 x 2.5in
- Color: Green
- Sizes: S-XL
- Weight: 25.97kg
- Price: $4,999 / £TBC / €TBC
Graham Cottingham joined the BikePerfect team as our senior tech writer in 2020. With over 20 years of riding experience, he has dabbled in downhill, enduro, and gravel racing. Not afraid of a challenge, Graham has embraced bikepacking over the last few years and likes nothing more than strapping some bags to his bike and covering big miles to explore Scotland's wildernesses. When he isn’t shredding the gnar in the Tweed Valley, sleeping in bushes, or tinkering with bikes, he is writing tech reviews for BikePerfect.
Rides: Cotic SolarisMax, Stooge MK4, 24 Bicycles Le Toy 3, Surly Steamroller
Height: 177cm
Weight: 71kg