Forever tinkering and building bikes that push boundaries, Dangerholm has been at it again. But this time, he’s joined forces with the futuristic and unapologetically modern guitar brand, Strandberg, to create a bike that definitely pushes the boundaries of what we know as gravel. And, yep, strings are involved.
If you’re not part of the guitar world, Strandberg is a Swedish brand that’s best known for its headless guitars. Instead of using the standard configuration of a headstock, where all of the tuners are traditionally mounted, Strandberg has made its name for going without headstocks, with all the tuning done at the bridge, on the opposite end of the guitar. While the look isn’t without its controversy amongst guitar nerds, there are some real benefits behind the design, which mostly lie in ergonomics. Strandberg has also developed its own unique neck profile that you won’t see on your bog-standard guitar. With that, Strandberg is unafraid to do something a little different and absolutely own it, much like Dangerholm with his bike builds.
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Using Scott’s Scale RC frame as a bed for experimentation, Dangerholm has wrapped Strandberg’s uniqueness into its build. Apparently, sound has been a big deal, and Dangerholm has acknowledged that bikes can be noisy and that riders aren’t the biggest fans of noisy bikes. But he wanted to make regular bike noise a positive thing by ‘tuning’ the bike, as it were. As such, Dangerholm has chosen a completely silent freehub from Onyx and its Versper hubs. The freehub here uses an interesting Sprag Clutch Mechanism, so there are no ratchets or pawls making noise; rather, the Sprag system offers infinite engagement points without making a sound, according to Onyx. The BrakeStuff Punch Disc rotors have then been picked for their smooth sound.
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That Scale RC frame has been picked for its geometry, which could be seen as a nod towards Strandberg’s ergonomics. Dangerholm says that good geometry means good comfort, which rings true when it comes to guitars, so he’s picked a mountain bike frame to build into a gravel bike. This bike has been built for Strandberg’s founder, Ola Strandberg, and we’re told that he’s sized down on the frame size to make up for the longer reach that comes as a result of installing a drop handlebar. The higher front end then brings better comfort and control through the rough stuff, says Dangerholm.
Moving on to the componentry, a RockShox SID SL Ultimate is offering 100mm of suspension… on a gravel bike. This is equipped with RockShox’s Flight Attendant technology that offers automatic adjustment of the fork’s settings, which can be manually tweaked via the SRAM Red AXS shifters.
The handlebar has been supplied by Darimo, a brand that’s well known for creating super-light products. Present is Darimo’s Ellipse Gravel handlebar at 380mm in width. It’s wrapped with Syncros’s RC bar tape.
Atop a Darimo T2 SB15 seat post is a saddle in the form of the Bjorn Kort. This uses a full carbon shell that apparently features a lot of flex, but then there’s 3D-printed padding that uses variable firmness to achieve pressure relief and support where necessary.
Stopping those fancy brake rotors is a pair of SRAM Red AXS E1 brakes, and the drivetrain is built up with components from a handful of brands. To start, there’s a pre-production Darimo Sigma crankset and SRAM’s XX SL AXS power meter. The chainring then comes from Carbaruk with its 40T option. The SRAM Red XPLR rear derailleur offers 13 gears, and it’s been upgraded with CeramicSpeed Alpha PW pulleys.
Another nod towards Standberg’s guitars is the use of Berd’s string spokes. These lace the Light Bicycle WG55 Flyweight rims to the Onyx Vesper hubs and the bike is finished off with a pair of Schwalbe Thunder Burt tyres, measuring 57mm or 2.25″ in width.
