Dangerholms Super Gravel: "There is still room for another gravel category"
Sandra Schuberth
· 27.10.2023
Gustav Gullholm, better known as Dangerholm, is a bike tuner who combines design with great attention to detail and technology. His bike builds are unrivalled. With his latest project, he is realising his version of a super gravel bike. But what makes it so "super"?
Is a modern gravel bike comparable to an MTB from the 90s?
Let one quote speak for itself.
There's a joke circulating that some modern gravel bikes are becoming so powerful that they resemble the mountain bikes of the 90s, especially when fitted with flat bars. But is that really so bad? Definitely not if you ask me, at least as long as we can keep all the modern features and technology. - Dangerholm
Super Gravel, what's that again?
We haven't just been riding gravel paths since the advent of gravel bikes. Mountain bikers have been riding their bikes on gravel for countless kilometres long before modern drop bar gravel bikes existed. It should be noted at this point that gravel was also used in road cycling. Earlier long-distance races, such as the Vienna-Berlin endurance race in 1893, did not only take place on paved roads; in Austria in particular, the roads were often unpaved. And paved roads back then are not comparable to today's tarmac roads.
Back to the Super Gravel - a gravel-orientated mountain bike, as Dangerholm describes the gravel category, which does not yet exist. The most obvious advantages of a super gravel bike are, firstly, comfort thanks to the wide tyres and, secondly, better control on demanding terrain thanks to the geometry and handlebar shape.
Super Gravel the second - or first?
Wiebke Lühmann, a bikepacker who inspires countless people via her Instagram channel, has also built herself a kind of super gravel bike for her current adventure - okay, it's a gravel bike with a flat bar and not an MTB with a gravel body. Wiebke has been on her way to the Cape of Good Hope since the beginning of October. She started in Freiburg and has now reached Spain. Her Wilier Adlar was able to put it together individually and opted for a flat bar in favour of comfort and also because more luggage fits into the handlebar roll.
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At home on a mountain bike
Especially for people who come from an off-road background and feel at home on mountain bikes, the position and handlebar shape of a gravel bike... takes some getting used to. This is where Dangerholm comes in. Because: Why not build a mountain bike with the right tyres, gears and handlebar width so that it is not much slower than its drop bar siblings?
As great as modern gravel bikes are - I love riding my own Scott Addict Gravel, for example - I think there's room for another gravel category. - Dangerholm
Anyone who regularly keeps up to date with new mountain bikes will recognise the introduction of the models Scott Spark ST and Genius ST. ST is short for Super Trail. These bikes have been equipped with more suspension travel and more rubber for more performance and fun. Dangerholm has now grabbed the Scott Scale RC - currently the most expensive production hardtail on the market - and thought why not make an SG - Super Gravel - out of it, the name matches its trail siblings.
Super Gravel by Dangerholm
Details, details, details. We explain some of them in more detail, who If you want to know all the details about the Scott Scale RC Super Gravel, you will find them at the end of this text.
The frameset
Dangerholm's Super Gravel is built around a Scott Scale RC World Cup frame. Apart from the look and the headset cable routing, the 2023 Scale offers two really good and interesting new details, says Dangerholm. Firstly, the service opening in the down tube directly in front of the bottom bracket. This makes it easy to fit dropper seatpost cables or for new ideas such as light integration. The second is the bottle cage inserts instead of the traditional rivets, which allow a customised setup with clean, flush covers for the holes that are not required. These were also crucial for the installation of the headlight.
Dangerholm combines the frame with the Scott Scale Rigid fork. It gives you the option of going in the gravel direction, as Dangerholm demonstrates. But it also works if you want to turn a hardtail into a bikepacking machine. The weight of the fork is just over 600 grams. The fork allows both externally routed and completely internally routed cables.
Some components of the bike that are easy to overlook are made of titanium, such as the thru axles and the derailleur hanger.
Paintwork and design
Dangerholm combines fir green metallic with golden accents and writes that he was inspired by Porsche.
Drive and gearstick
Titanium and 3D printing continue. The crank also comes from Sturdy Cycles. The chainring, again titanium, has 42 teeth. Its name DangerDward suggests correctly: it was created in a collaboration between Dangerholm and Dward Design, a manufacturer of titanium components from the UK.
According to Instagram, the design is inspired by iconic car rims and vintage 5-arm chainrings. The aim was to achieve a timeless and elegant look.
There's one more thing to say about the chainring. Or rather about the frame rather than the chainring. The frame is not actually made for such large chainrings, but only for a maximum of 38 teeth. This combination is therefore explicitly not intended to be copied. If you want to rebuild it, you should choose a maximum of 38T.
Gears are shifted on an e*thirteen Helix Race cassette with a range of 9 to 45 sprockets. The rest of the drivetrain has also been thought through down to the last detail.
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Brakes
For the brakes, Dangerholm has - once again - opted for the Piccola Carbon from Trickstuff, which are lightweight and also impressed him with their braking performance. The tuning pro installed a small but fine detail on the brakes: the lockrings of the brake discs come from Sturdy Cycles and are made of 3D-printed titanium.
Front light
Another exciting feature is the front light that Dangerholm has fitted to the Scott Super Gravel to keep you safe on the road at dusk and in the dark. The headlight of choice is the Moonlight Mountaingear Bright As Day 4000. The lamp head is milled from aluminium and the cable routing on the headset allows the cable to the battery to be routed almost completely internally. Anyone wondering where the battery is? It is well hidden in the drinking bottle, which is painted to match the bike design and sits in one of the titanium bottle cages from Sturdy Cycles.
More from Dangerholm
Overview of the Scott Scale RC as Super Gravel
- Frame: Scott Scale RC World Cup, size L
- derailleur hanger: Sturdy Cycles 3D-printed
- Titanium fork: Scott Scale Rigid
- Thru axles: Meti Titanium
- Headset: Syncros with CeramicSpeed SLT bearings
- Handlebars: Syncros Fraser iC SL 80mm -20° 720mm
- Grips: Syncros Foam
- Seatpost: Schmolke Carbon TLO
- Saddle: Berk Composites
- Crank: Sturdy Cycles MTB, 3D-printed titanium
- Chainring: Dward Design "DangerDward" 42T
- Bottom bracket: CeramicSpeed
- Pedals: Shimano XTR with METI Rapido titanium axles
- Chain: Sram Red
- Cassette: e*thirteen Helix Race Gravel 9-45T
- Rear derailleur: Sram Red AXS XPLR with gold carbon Ti limit screws
- Rear derailleur cage: CeramicSpeed OSPW 3D-printed titanium
- Wheels: Syncros Silverton SL
- Tyres: Kenda Rush Pro TR 2.4"
- Tubes: Revoloop Ultra MTB
- Brakes: Trickstuff Piccola Carbon
- Brake discs: Trickstuff Dächle UL 160mm
- Lockring: Sturdy Cycles 3D-printed
- Titanium bottle cage: Sturdy Cycles Titanium
- Headlight: Moonlight Mountaingear Bright As Day 4000
- Weight including pedals: 7.67 kilos plus 650 grams for the complete lighting system with bottle and bracket
Sandra Schuberth
Editor
