The latest tuning project by Swede Gustav Gullhom, known as "Dangerholm", was actually supposed to be exhibited at Eurobike 2020. However, this came to nothing as the trade fair was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. This time, the professional tuner had a very special bike in his luggage.
He wanted to push a Scott Spark RC SL Race-Fully under the 8-kilo mark and use lightweight parts from German tuning companies wherever possible. The title of the project: Sub8 German Edition. The result is a lightweight 29er in the Ferrari colour "Rosso Corsa" that weighs just 7997 grams with pedals, bottle cage, Garmin mount and practical tyres. We asked Dangerholm what's behind his latest tuned MTB. Here are his explanations of the most important key points of his special build:
Frame and fork
Although several years have passed since its release, the frame of the Scott Spark SL with the HMX SL carbon layup is still one of the lightest race-focussed chassis on the market. I've built several of these bikes and know that I can trust the frame even when the going gets tough. I wanted the bike to have a traditional and clean race look. So I decided on a colour scheme inspired by motorsport. An unusual little detail are the old PowerCordz synthetic fibre cables that I use for the remote controls, which are attached with small knots.
Cockpit and seat post
The durability and low weight of the complete Schmolke kit convinced me. But the aesthetics were at least as important. The stem with its angular profile gives the cockpit a more powerful look. The traditional, minimalist design of the seat post head and the slim saddle are part of what makes this bike look fast, even when it's just standing still. While UD carbon has been trendy for many years, I personally prefer the 1K weave look. The Garmin mount from CarbonWorks, for example, is one of those details for bike lovers. While you could also use a plastic mount and cable ties, this little CNC-machined work of art matches the rest of the bike perfectly. It's also super lightweight, of course.
Brakes
I've been a fan of Trickstuff since my first pair. As these are the lightest disc brakes on the market, it quickly became clear what to put on this bike. They can also keep up with much heavier stoppers in terms of braking power. The new carbon levers match the handlebars perfectly and I like the look of the milled brake calliper with its new design. The final challenge was to combine the whole thing with Hopp Carbon Parts clamps. The bolts for the discs and calipers are from Extralite and are the lightest titanium bolts you can get for brake use. The brake discs are actually the same ones I used a few years ago on my Scale as the lightest 29er bike in the world have used. I haven't found any others that are as light.
Drive
I use the THM Clavicula M3 cranks. Not only are they very light, they also fit perfectly with the other parts. When I saw them live for the first time, I was impressed by how nice the left crank interface is and how it is attached to the spindle. The Garbaruk chainring is quite light and was made specifically for this crank model to achieve an integrated look. While 12-speed drivetrains are now standard and generally a good thing, I don't think 12 speeds are absolutely necessary for every trail or every type of biking. Also, 12-speed is a bit heavier than 11-speed, which I think looks the best. The rear derailleur is more compact and the cassette looks more appropriate. But in order to have a larger gear ratio, I opted for a Garbaruk cassette with 10-46 teeth.
For the rear derailleur, I'm going for a Sram XX1 with an almost complete Hopp carbon parts set and rear derailleur pulleys from Extralite. Even the pins that hold the parallelogram together are made of carbon. I also worked a little on the derailleur cable routing. My rear derailleur is about 65 grams lighter than the original. The derailleur cable itself is made of titanium and comes from KCNC. I use a chain from PYC, which is slightly lighter than the KMC and Yaban models.
Pedals
The pedals are the Xpedo M-Force 8 Ti. The click-in feeling is not the same, but it is similar to a traditional Shimano SPD pedal. But the Xpedo model is almost 100 grams lighter than a set of XTR Race pedals.
Impellers
In order to build a complete bike under eight kilos, the choice of wheels was of course crucial. Not only to achieve my target weight, but also to reduce the weight of the rotating mass and achieve the fast and responsive feel that such a bike should have. PiRope's approach with its Vectran textile fibre spokes has intrigued me since its release. Now it was time to try out a set. The Bike Ahead Composites rim with an internal width of 24 millimetres is just wide enough and extremely light at the same time. As a result, my wheelset weighs just 1020.9 grams. While the PiRope fibre spokes are also available in black, I absolutely love the natural rope finish and wouldn't consider anything else.
In the past, many super-lightweight bikes were often fitted with almost unrideable tyres to save weight. But my bike is really built to be ridden. So it needed good tyres right from the start. As I was very happy with Schwalbe Racing Ralph and Racing Ray tyres on other bikes, I use a 2.25-inch version here. I built them up tubeless with Syncros sealant.
Interview: "Fewer modifications, more search for optimised add-on parts."
We spoke to Dangerholm about how he came up with the idea, why he chose which components and how much time he invested in the Ferrari-red Scott Spark.
BIKE: What tipped the scales in favour of building a tuning project largely with parts from German companies?
Gustav Gullholm: German high-end bike parts manufacturers really feel like a culture in themselves to me. In many ways, they have always had and will always have a very special place in my eyes. There are a lot of companies that are very innovative and at the forefront of development. It reminds me a bit of the old days when wild-looking or extreme components from legendary and dodgy brands had their own appeal. Today, you get bombarded over the internet and see a lot of bikes and parts, but few of them feel exotic and truly special. Still, several German companies manage to preserve this spirit. As a bike nerd and enthusiast at heart, of course I really appreciate that. For me, it was a big deal when I bought my first Schmolke seatpost a few years ago. It was "just" a seatpost, but it was like a little bike nerd's dream come true. That's why I wanted to incorporate this feeling into the look and feel of the complete bike. On the one hand, it should look almost normal at a glance, but on closer inspection, like-minded people should find lots of cool little things.
You are known for your special handicraft and detail solutions. Which ones have you realised this time?
Although I made some adjustments, this bike was really a project to create the perfect spec list. Some of my other superlight tuning mountain bikes have a "raw carbon finish" or custom laminated, one-piece saddle or cockpit combinations and more. But with this bike, I wanted it to look a little more traditional. That meant fewer modifications and more searching for the optimum components. Of course, I did the "Rosso Corsa" paint job myself and it's a bit lighter than the original. I removed some material from the lower right fork leg where there is normally a not very nice looking bolt and plate holding the threaded axle insert in place. I also put some extra effort into machining the rear derailleur.
How many hours of work did you put into this bike?
I don't know if it's good or bad, but I don't really look at the clock. It also depends a bit on how you count. There's so much more work involved than suddenly getting a box of bike parts and screwing them onto the bike. Small details like carefully sanding a carbon part to give it the right finish make the hours fly by. Removing the original paint and repainting is definitely the most time consuming thing. All in all, I probably put in more than 100 hours.
