In his search for an iconic look for his latest project, Scott's head tuner Dangerholm looked to films for inspiration. The style template in this case was provided by the Mad Max film series, says the Swede, in particular the two most recent instalments that have been shot in recent years. His latest design object combines incredible post-apocalyptic creations in all shapes and sizes, but always in the context of rust, shiny metal and dangerous, pointy things.
On the other hand, Gustav Gullholm goes on to explain, there are modern e-bikes like the Scott Solace Gravel eRide. They are fantastic bikes, but to be honest, they don't immediately spring to mind when you think of the coolest and most impressive bikes. So Dangerholm sat down and designed the Scott Solace Wasteland, which is anything but "sensible".
The Scott Solace Wasteland by Dangerholm - the frame
The Scott Solace Gravel eRIDE is a bit of a wolf in sheep's clothing: on the one hand, it features the TQ HPR50 drive system, while on the other, it is a fairly close relative of the race-orientated Scott Addict Gravel RC bikes in terms of geometry and riding experience.
The most obvious change to the frame that Dangerholm has made is the additional tube in the front triangle. This fulfils no other purpose than to improve the appearance of the bike. In addition, the bike now has a new metal protection plate for the drive unit, along with seat stay protection plates that are fixed to the mudguard mounts.
The hand-welded Mad Max steel fork
The unique fork is completely out of the "frame". While the standard carbon fork is very inconspicuous, Dangerholm was able to create a "Mad Max" look with steel and give the gravel bike a menacing look.
The result is a fork and handlebar combination that cannot be found anywhere else. Coins serve as the ends of the fork tubes and the handlebars, and the positioning of the brake mount with a very special cable guide is probably a small work of art.
The circular saw brake system
They immediately catch the eye: the saw blade-style brake discs. It goes without saying that these brake discs should not rotate unprotected. That's why they have customised protective rings on the fork and frame. The brake discs are actually fully roadworthy, even if they are perhaps not tuned to ultra-lightweight, as Dangerholm usually does. He opted for a mechanical option for the brakes, as this fits in much better visually with the rest of the bike: Bowden cables in metal cable housings instead of plastic brake fluid hoses.
Drive from the Bavarian Alpine foothills
Instead of a bubbling 8-cylinder engine, the Scott Solace Wasteland is surprisingly equipped with a TQ HPR50 system - straight outta Landkreis Starnberg! This e-bike motor with 50 Nm torque and a 360 Wh battery is fitted as standard in the Scott bike. The unit is combined with crank arms from Rotor and a customised chainring from Garbaruk.
The gears are also standard, but top of the range: the cassette and chain come from the Sram X0 Eagle Transmission product line, which is approved for e-bikes. The matching X0 Eagle Transmission rear derailleur was combined with Sram Wireless Blips, which are hidden as small shift buttons in the Retro Fly Bikes Ruben Alcantara BMX grips.
The tuning bike rolls on wheels with a Paul Components front hub and a DT Swiss 350 rear hub, using Velo Orange Voyager rims and brass nipples from Monē in New Mexico, USA. The rims are - as Dangerholm describes it - quite modern in their construction, but have an edgy and old-fashioned look. The idea behind using chrome rims was to emphasise the wheels visually and create a nice contrast to the rest of the bike.
Details of the Scott Solace Wasteland by Dangerholm
A project like Scott Solace Wasteland by Dangerholm is nothing without special details and accessories. Like the Syncros seatpost with a holder for a King Cage Oliver Flask Cage, which is specially designed to fit a Stanley bottle. You could also call it a "hip flask".
A King Cage Manything bottle cage hangs from the down tube, which is normally used as a pannier rack, but here it carries a retro Elite bottle with a leather strap.
The old and worn Brooks leather saddle is the only part of the bike, apart from the steel fork and handlebars, that has a real patina. It had been Dangerholm's commuting saddle for many years and had also survived the odd accident. And that brings us to what is probably the most striking feature of the bike: the rust on the frame.
Fake rust and real patina
Carbon fibre does not rust. But to create a junkyard Mad Max style, it wasn't enough for Dangerholm to simply paint the frame matt black. The colour used on the Scott Solace does indeed rust.
It contains a kind of iron powder, so that after application, the paint is roughly sanded and sprayed with an activator that accelerates the rusting process. According to Dangerholm, every time the bike is washed or left out in the rain, it will continue to rust and reveal new colours and textures.
The Specs: Equipment list Scott Solace Wasteland E-Gravelbike by Dangerholm
- Frame: Scott Solace Gravel 10 eRide size L
- Fork: Monē Bikes customised
- Headset: Syncros with Monē Bikes locking cover
- Handlebars: Monē Bikes customised
- Grips: Fly Bikes Ruben Alcantara Signature
- Shift lever: Sram Wireless Blips
- Brake lever: Extralite UltraLevers 3
- Brake cable housing: Jagwire Elite Link
- Brake callipers: Paul Components
- Brake discs: BrakeStuff Custom saw blade discs 160 mm
- Brake disc bolts: Mèti Titan
- Saddle: Brooks Swift Titanium
- Seatpost: Syncros Duncan SL D-Shape
- Drive system: TQ-HPR50 50 Nm, 360 Wh battery
- Crankarms: Rotor eKapic
- Pedals: SE Bikes Bear Trap
- Chainring: Garbaruk TQ-compatible 42T
- Chain: Sram X0 Eagle Transmission
- Cassette: Sram X0 Eagle Transmission 10-52T
- Rear derailleur: Sram X0 Eagle Transmission
- Rear gear cage: CeramicSpeed OSPW X
- Front hub: Paul Components
- Rear hub: DT Swiss 350
- Rims: Vélo Orange Voyager
- Tyres: Onza Ibex and Continental Ruban
- Bottle cage: King Cage Manythings Cage and Oliver Flask Cage
- Bottles: Stanley and Elite
Marc Strucken
Editor
