When Salsa let the world know that they had a gravel eBike coming to market, people got excited. As one of the original gravel bike makers, they are also huge in the bike touring scene — allowing riders to haul an obscene amount of gear along the way. So yeah, a Salsa gravel eBike is a big deal, and I’ve been able to ride my Confluence all over the Northwest this summer.

Salsa Confluence Gravel eBike Features:

• Groupset: Shimano GRX RX600 (primary).
• 6061-T6 alloy frame with carbon fork
• Discreet MAHLE X35+
• Class 1 (20 mph/32 kph assist) hub-drive system
• Low-torque assist (40 Nm max) is perfect for chasing gravel
• 250 Wh internal battery in down tube
• Range: 40 miles, but up to 80 with Xtra Power battery with a MAHLE Range Extender battery (not included)
• iWOC One compact remote top tube controller
• Massive 700c x 50 mm tire clearance; max 42 mm tire clearance with fenders (fenders not included); bike is spec’d with 42 mm tires
• On-bike cargo features include rack mounts and Three-Pack mounts on fork
• Stem: Salsa Guide; Bars: Salsa Cowbell; Seat: WTB Volt
• Tires: Teravail Washburn 700c x 42mm
• MSRP: $3,499

New kid on the block:

Like I mentioned, I had a great summer on the Confluence. We rode in Bend, BC, the Cascades and in BC. My riding was primarily gravel, with some road mixed in. By ‘gravel’, I mean cruising on gravel roads but also some much gnarlier technical single track that people would associate more with cyclocross riding. I road with a frame bag, occasionally a rack and panniers, but I never did any fully loaded bicycling tours on this bike.

I think a worthwhile question to start is, just who is the Confluence for? I used the Confluence as a way of extending my day-to-day riding, and helping me spend less time in the car. Lately, life has been really busy in my medical residency; my time to ride is often crammed at the end of a really long day. I appreciated knowing that I could hit the trails and enjoy my favorite singletrack when I wasn’t 100% at my best. The other thing I really enjoyed was being able to hop on my Confluence at home, blast through the 5-6 miles of road riding to the trailhead, and then kick off the motor once I hit the singletrack. And, of course, for folks with healthy issues or disabilities, an electric gravel bike could be a wonderful accessibility tool.

There are other ways of enjoying it too though: it’s an unusually stylish commuter that lends itself well to racks and fenders. Touring on the Confluence is an interesting question. To me, I wouldn’t want to lug around the extra weight of the battery and motor for long distance touring. Maybe there are some people out there who would want a little boost getting up a hill while fully loaded, but I don’t see that as a primary use for the Confluence. That said, there are plenty of attachment points to make that happen: we have three fork mounts, seat stay mounts, seat tube and down tube mounts.

The Juice:

The Confluence is powered by a Mahle x35+ Class 1 eBike motor. The selling points here are that this is a low-profile motor that retains the classic profile of a gravel frame, but can boost you up to 20mph with pedal assist. The motor is powered by a 250 watt battery in the down tube and is controlled by a sleek IWOC One power controller in the top tube. This single-button interface is simple; turn it on, cycle through the color-coded power levels, and get a rough indication of charge based on a color scale. While it is simple, I found it hard to work through the buttons if I was on a trail or rougher road; lots of pressing the button and only visual feedback with a hand off the bars. Not ideal!

Connectivity is enhanced by a Mahle ‘MySmartBike’ app which connects via Bluetooth to show you actual percent charge. It will also track mileage on your bike, but only if you record routes through the Mahle app… which no one is ever going to do because we already track with our watches, Strava, etc. I guess you could just record every ride in the Mahle app in addition, but the obvious need here is for some integrations with other apps to track mileage. As far as I’m aware, these don’t exist yet.

Prior to the Confluence, I’d spent most of my eBike time aboard a center-drive Class 3 commuter that packs a ton of oomph. As a Class 1 setup, the rear drive motor on the Confluence delivers a more modest push. Even when you have the pedal assist on max, if you’re climbing a steep hill you are definitely going to do a lot of the work yourself.

Where I really loved the Confluence’s pedal assist was in flying up paved or gravel roads to get to the trails I really wanted to ride. At speed on pavement, you will notice an on/off, bumping sensation from the motor around 20mph; when the Mahle system reaches its speed limit, the assist kicks off. When it drops below, it kicks back on. It just so happens that I spend a lot of time right around 20mph with the assist on paved roads  on the trail, and it’s kind of distracting to have the on/off/on/off boost of the motor. It throws off my cadence. I would sometimes kick on the assist for a long loose climb, but mostly I enjoyed pedaling the trails unassisted.

How about the Salsa?

The motor is one thing, but the ‘bike’ that it’s housed in is the most interesting part! Salsa has a ton of experience building great gravel frames, and the Confluence is a classic geometry for adventure riding; not too wild, not too mild. I’m riding a 55cm frame for my 5’11” height and a few things stand out. First, the 68.5º head tube angle is just a hair slacker than the 69º angle on the Salsa Cutthroat, their aggressive trail frame made for gravel racing. Similarly, a 440mm chain stay (across all sizes) makes for a whippy rear end, keeping the rear wheel (and, therefore, the bike’s power) closer under your butt. The wheelbase is also quite moderate, 1061mm for my 55cm frame; that’s in between the wheelbases for the more sporty Cutthroat and the well-behaved Journeyer.

The story continues as you look at other key measurements; the seat tube angle, reach and stack height are balanced to create a ride that feels nimble but stable. The Confluence definitely doesn’t feel like a cyclocross racer, but it’s not supposed to do that. We want this bike to pound pavement and two-track comfortably, and to flow with us when we hit technical singletrack. It does that.

I was really pleased with the pedaling efficiency of the Cutthroat. The tires are Teravail Washburn 700c x 42mm, which have a nice slick patch in the middle and moderate tread for cornering. They definitely lean more slick than sticky. If you’re a year-round commuter, you’ll appreciate these burly tires as the road grit comes and goes, and I loved that I could pound out the miles to my local trailheads with efficiency. These are perfect for cruising easy gravel and forest roads. These are not meant for loose gravel or aggressive cyclocross-style riding.

The Fixings:

Salsa is offering the Confluence in a variety of build-outs, including a more affordable SRAM Apex 1 drivetrain with Tektro brakes. I’m riding the higher-zoot yellow version equipped with Shimano’s GRX 600 2x. I personally love the 2x in front for a gravel bike; having the added gear range powering the 11-34t cassette really helps road/flat gravel miles cruise by. On the whole I have been really happy with the GRX 600; I’ve ridden this drivetrain previously on gravel bikes and find it reliable, quiet and easy to service. The clutched rear derailleur is a nice touch for when things get wild, and I really like the lever feel of the GRX shifters. Lots to grab onto and wide, flat control surfaces.

Stopping power is provided by the same Shimano GRX calipers and rotors; these are no-frills brakes with reliable hydraulic performance. I had no issues with them. The rest of the build-out is a mix of in-house Salsa bars, a WTB Volt saddle, an FSA stem and cranks.

The Ride:

This section is to try and capture the overall vibe of riding the Confluence. The vibe is really good: it’s a comfortable cruiser of a bike that’s really happy to pound out long rolling miles, and offers a ton of stability. It is not extremely agile, thanks in parts to its 32lb weight and back-heavy distribution; but, with the right technique, you can get up or down anything that the most aggressive cyclocross bike could climb.

The Mahle system can be really subtle when it wants to be. On the lowest level of boost, you barely notice it’s there until you find yourself puffing a little less hard on a climb. At one point I rode this bike 38 miles from Spokane to Coeur d’Alene on low assist, and still had 30% of the battery remaining. At that rate, I could have risen nearly 55 miles before fully depleting the battery. That way exceeds Salsa’s claimed maximum range for the system. Obviously, terrain, rider size and boost level affect this.

I think that some people will have a hard time with the stock handlebars. The Salsa Cowbell’s 115mm drop felt really deep to me, and the front end felt extremely rigid and non-compliant. This is certainly a combination of the characteristics of the Confluence Carbon Deluxe fork, which may be built more for strength than cush. Going forward, I’d substitute more comfortable carbon bars and go tubeless.

Salsas are inherently fun because they just feel adventurous. I love that the frame is bedecked with a zillion spots to hang cargo. I didn’t do any bike touring on the Confluence, and it would be a strange bike for that task, but for commuting the cargo options are brilliant.

For reference, I’m 5’11” and 200lbs and I road a 55cm frame. 

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