Dangerholm had already presented the bike in July at the Eurobike 2022 - but without giving any further details about the specs. Visitors were allowed to speculate, guess or talk to Gustav at the Scott stand, where he presented yet another mountain bike. Now he has laid the cards on the table and garnished them with beautiful photos taken in the Norwegian mountains.
The latest Dangerholm tuning bike is based on the current Scott Spark RC Prowhich also drives Nino Schurter to top performances. Most recently, the Swede lightened a Spark and the Scott Spark Sub8 German Edition that weighed less than 8.0 kilograms. His comment after the first ride on the Spark RC: "It climbs like the old Spark, but feels like a mini Genius on the downhill" - with which Dangerholm alludes to the down-country equipment of the current bike with 120 mm travel and 2.4 inch tyres.
The plan was to keep all these new features and still make the Scott Spark RC a real Dangerholm Spark RC Hypersonic. And yes: it has still become extremely light. With 9.19 kilogrammes is the opposite of the Scott Spark RC Pro, which weighs in at 11.4 kilos.
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Dangerholm Spark RC: Frame with Intend Samurai fork
The first step in his tuning projects is always to remove the paint from the original frame. On the one hand, to save a little weight, but on the other, of course, to create a recognisable look for his bikes. So this Scott Spark RC with colourful paintwork from an earlier version also has to make do.
At the end, the almost raw frame of the Dangerholm Spark RC is ready to be rebuilt. And awaits its upside-down suspension fork from Freiburg, the Intend Samurai. It has also just been presented at the Eurobike and, at 1385 grams with 120 mm suspension travel, is the lightest cross-country fork currently.
The shock of the Dangerholm Spark RC is the factory-installed Fox Nude 5 Factory EVOL, which can be adjusted in two travel settings together with the fork using the Scott Twinloc lever. But the Swedish tuner doesn't stop there. The lockout lever is also polished, milled and shaped.
The cockpit: simply "extralite"
The handlebar/stem unit of the Dangerholm Spark RC is an absolute eye-catcher - and not just because of the colour. In brief: The iridescent pink is created by a paint called "Spectracoat", which has a mother-of-pearl effect in the shade - but refracts the light in rainbow colours in the sun.
The handlebar itself is a Syncros Fraser iC SL with a stem length of 90 millimetres and a negative rise of -30 degrees, which Gustav has cut to a width of 730 millimetres. According to the manufacturer, the normal version weighs 220 grams. However, to save a few more grams, Dangerholm uses the Extralite UltraStar 4 expander on his Spark, which replaces the normal fork claw and weighs 4.5 grams. The head tuner has swapped the Syncros headset for an Extralite UltraBottom 51-52 headset lower section - because he can. And finally, the grips also come from the Italians: The Extralite HyperGrips MDS weigh 18.8 grams, including plugs. For comparison: ESI Softgrips weigh 58 grams with plugs!
Even a Dangerholm Spark RC Hypersonic needs powerful brakes
Observant Instagram residents already know that Dangerholm started building the Hypersonic some time ago. So it comes as no surprise that he was responsible for the brakes. Trickstuff Piccola Carbon fibre installed. The delivery times currently stated by independent retailers: 12 to 18 months - or simply "not available".
The brake discs on the Spark Hypersonic are Trickstuff Dächle UL discs - UL stands for "UltraLight", of course. Dangerholm explains that although these are not the lightest discs ever, they offer a good balance between weight and braking performance. The brake disc and caliper are fastened with Kogel titanium bolts.
However, the mounting of the brakes on the Intend Samurai fork is visually more exciting. It has a flat mount and looks more like something from a surgeon's tool kit.
The drive of the Dangerholm tuning bike
When it comes to beautiful and unique parts, tuning specialist Dangerholm likes to rely on Garbaruk. The lightweight experts, formerly based in Ukraine, also supplied a prototype for a crankset for the current bike. Garbaruk has been based in Krakow, Poland, since 2019. According to Dangerholm, the installed cranks and crankshaft together weigh 384 grams - just 20 grams more than the Sram XX1 DUB Carbon cranks. The chainring - unmistakable - also comes from Garbaruk's CNC mills and has no less than 40 teeth.
The bottom bracket also comes from Kogel and is actually for racing bikes. Dangerholm's comment: "A little more maintenance, but even less friction"!
Eye-catcher 2: The rear derailleur as a work of art
Kolossos - the fitting name for the oversized derailleur pulleys from Kogel. The Sram XX1 Eagle rear derailleur is the second eye-catcher on this bike: the cage is custom-made in bright aluminium, with rosé titanium bolts and those eye-catching pulley wheels in champagne pink. Pink pulley wheels. These are also Cerakote-coated: A ceramic-based paint which, according to Gustav, is very durable and is a real alternative to classic anodising - even when it comes to colour selection!
The Sram XX1 Eagle The rear derailleur, says Dangerholm himself, was quite a tuning effort: The suspension (B-Knuckle) was polished and, above all, many parts were replaced with carbon components from Hopp Carbon Parts. The aim was: less chain friction - less weight.
The Swede hasn't come up with much for the cassette. A 12-speed cassette from Rotor with 11-46 teeth rotates there. That's right, 11 teeth instead of 10 to minimise friction on the chain. And "only" 46 instead of the maximum 52 teeth (as usual on the Sram XX1 Eagle) to achieve a narrower gear gradation. For the steep climbs, as even the man with the famously taut thighs in white hotpants has to admit, Dangerholm still has a Rotor cassette with 11-52 teeth at the ready.
Dangerholm Hypersonic wheels: 1039 grams!
The wheels on Dangerholm's Hypersonic are a little less eye-catching than their inner values. He himself calls them "One of the most impressive things on the bike", as they weigh 1039 grams - even though they have steel spokes and 30 millimetre wide rims. These come from Radsporttechnik Müller, who build the Müller MXCR rims for this Scott Spark - each weighing only around 280 grams. To ensure that the classic spokes don't hang too ponderously between the rim and hub, each Sapim CX Super spoke was ground and polished by hand (!). Time is not a cost factor at Dangerholm.
The hubs - like the various parts before them - come from Extralite in Italy. Depending on the freehub body, the HyperBoost 3 also weighs only 224 grams as a pair. That's about as much as a standard hub.
For the sake of completeness, the Pirelli tyres should also be mentioned: Scorpion XC RC Lite 2.4" as a tubeless set-up. Dangerholm recommends these as good all-rounders for hard and fast terrain - like here in Norway.
Lightweight also in the seating area
On the one hand, there is the lightweight dropper post: a Swiss YEP Podio is installed, the tube of which has been trimmed and thus only weighs 328 grams on the workshop scales. It is held in the frame of the Scott Spark by an Intend Corona seatpost clamp. The cables - including the suspension control - were fitted with Jagwire Lex SL sleeves in the 3 mm version. According to Dangerholm, the smaller diameter helped to route them and save a little weight.
The Yep Podio seatpost is topped off with a super-lightweight Tune Speedneedle saddle. The MTB classic is still handmade in Germany - and stripped down to the carbon fibre mats by Dangerholm.
Conclusion from Dangerholm on the Spark RC Hypersonic
"(A bike) that is sure to put a smile on my face when I get it out of the garage. I can't wait to cover many kilometres on this rocket of a bike." - Gustav "Dangerholm" Gullholm
Top 10: The lightest MTBs 2023 & 2024 - frame weights in comparison
Cross-country bikes like the Scott Spark are the supreme discipline for MTB engineers. A huge amount of development work is required to continually raise the supposedly optimised models to a new level.
In order to achieve maximum range of use and minimum weight with full race track suitability, special carbon fibre, innovative frame construction and cleverly composed equipment are used to combat every superfluous gram.
The basis for a super light mountain bike is a super light frame. Filigree damper linkages and the elimination of everything that is not really necessary will enable frame weights of well under 2000 grams in 2024. Including the shock, mind you. And with very good stiffness.
These are currently probably the lightest and most expensive mountain bikes we have tested - the top stars will be competing with them in the 2024 Olympic year. The bare figures.
Overview: The 10 lightest MTB frames 2023/2024 - weighed & tested by BIKE
- Arc8 Evolve FS (size L): 1536 g
- Trek Supercaliber (size L): 1672 g
- Canyon Lux CFR (size L): 1675 g
- Specialised S-Works Epic 8 FACT 12M (size L): 1682 g
- Cannondale Scalpel Series 0 (size M): 1775 g (on test: Series 1, size L, 2052 g )
- Scott Spark RC World Cup (size L): 1780 g (in the test: Scott Spark RC Pro for 6799 euros)
- Pivot Mach 4 SL (size M): 1845 g
- Specialised Epic EVO 8 FACT 11M (size L): 1872 g
- Simplon Cirex 120 (size L): 1880 g
- MMR Kenta SXC (size L): 2125 g
Close behind:
Without integration, as without BIKE test & without BIKE measurement
Marc Strucken
Editor
