Will i die riding anything techincal

Thinking of getting a fargo for the big trip next summer, but wondering how much use it might get over here. Easy to brake and turn on the drops, or is it a case of having to adjust how i ride?

Run Salsa Woodchippers (wide ones) on the Gryphon. I'm no technical demon but they're perfectly fine. Maybe it helps having 29 wheels but I couldn't say as I've never run drops with 26s.

The drops are your primary hand position on an off-road drop bar - so you should aim to get them where your hands would be on a flat/riser bar. This is why most monstercross/drop bar 29ers have long head tube or high rise stems. Get your position right and you'll be able to brake and steer just fine. If you have the bars too low or too far forwards then they'll feel terrible, you'll be too stretched and you'll wreck your hands and neck.

Have a read of these:
http://www.63xc.com/mattc/midge.htm (ok, so it's an off road fixed gear site that's not been updated for 5 years, but it's still valid)
http://mtbtires.com/features/bikes/why_dropbars.html

Hi Chew, you saw my set up for my fargo with Jones bars. I started off with drops on it but found if I set them up right for off road riding they were uncomfortable on the hoods and tops, so it didn't give me a lot more hand positions over flats. I did really like the position they put your hands in though, somehow having your wrists in-line with the bars, instead of at 90 degrees as with flat bars, felt really comfortable. So I swapped out the drops and put Jones bars on. This kept my wrists in the same comfortable position but gave me loads of hand options. The only adjustment I had to make to Fargo was fitting a super long stem (130mm).

The Fargo is an ace bike and very versatile. I would say go for it, try drops and if you don't like them you can always fit a longer stem and flat bars.

Malc

Hi i very much agree with the previous comment.
have used on one midge bars on a monster cross build. They were ok but had to be set very high with a minging adjustable stem to get the position right.
now run. Ragley luxy flared drops on my commuter 700 c road bike. They work very well-comfy in all positions but would need to be higher for pure off road.
i use on one mary bars on my 26er. They offer a couple of hand positions and dont feel a million miles away from being in the hooks of a flared drop bar. Ideal if your bike has a low head tube. To get drops working on a 26 they need to be set very very high for off road use. They will feel great but look awful!

Chew, I have some unused woodchipper bars in my garage. Yet another project that came to nothing;-)
If you are interested sure we can come to a deal in due course.