Salsa's Senior Product Manage: Joe Meiser – Designing for the Long Haul
At the intersection of product design and boundary-pushing adventure, you’ll find Joe Meiser, Senior Product Manager at Salsa Cycles. For more than two decades, Joe has been shaping the future of cycling. Working from the Quality Bicycle Products (QBP) headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Joe’s partnership with WTB spans just as long.
From the early days of gravel racing to the birth of genre-defining bikes like the Salsa Warbird, Joe has been there helping define what is now one of the most popular categories. His collaborative spirit and demand for real-world functionality have pushed WTB to create products that don’t just meet expectations—they reshape them. Many of our earliest gravel-specific tires and rims were inspired by challenges presented by Joe and the Salsa team. And as gravel evolved from grassroots gatherings to global showdowns, Joe stayed ahead of the curve, guiding riders with pro-active designs ready for what lays ahead.
From BMX to Backcountry
Like many of us, Joe’s bike journey began in childhood—ripping around rural Michigan on a BMX bike with his older brother and friends. As his curiosity (and wheel size) grew, he transitioned to mountain bikes, racing through college, and eventually taking on 100-mile MTB events and some of the very first gravel races in the U.S.
These long-distance suffer fests weren’t just about testing his limits—they became living labs for Joe’s product design brain. Around the same time, he started showing up to gravel races, he joined QBP as a product designer. From the get-go, Joe blended his field-tested experience with technical insight, helping to develop some of the earliest bikes designed specifically for gravel exploration.
The Spearfish: Built for More
Fast forward to today, and Joe is leading the Salsa product development team, where adventure and performance remain the goals. One recent example? The new Salsa Spearfish, a bike built for demanding single and multi-day races.
“The geometry may look like some trail bikes on paper,” Joe says, “but it was intentionally tuned for endurance racing. It’s light enough to compete with XC rigs but keeps the capability and comfort needed for back-to-back big days.”
With a split pivot suspension platform, geometry built to challenge the status quo, and a frame weight that rivals World Cup XC bikes, the Spearfish is built for big ambitions—and yes, it’s WTB-equipped. ;)
The WTB Connection
Over the years, Joe and his team have spec’d WTB components across many Salsa models. And when we asked what gear he’s riding now, his favorites came quick:
• WTB Gravelier Saddle – “Perfect for XC use—light, supportive, and dialed.”
• WTB Wavelength Grips – “So much comfort on long days in the saddle.”
• WTB CZR Wheels – “An incredible balance of weight, durability, and ride feel.”
This season, Joe’s been spending a lot of time on the Spearfish—sometimes solo, sometimes coaching his kids’ high school MTB team. Whether riding post-work laps or building bikes for the rest of us, Joe’s commitment to the ride is constant.
Built for Adventure, Backed by Experience
From developing some of the first gravel-specific bikes to spearheading the newest generation of trail-capable XC machines, Joe continues to influence what we ride. His real-world testing, rider-focused design philosophy, and collaborative spirit with brands like WTB help ensure that your next bike isn’t just new—it’s better.
So if you roll up on a Salsa Spearfish out on the trail, know that it was crafted by a rider who’s done the miles and has put a lot of thought into what you’re now pedaling.
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