Grinduro Gravel Racer

Grinduro is a unique kind of bike race, a combination of gravel grinding and mountain bike enduro over one loop made up of a mix of surfaces. It is also a celebration of the best things about cycling, as much about the party as the ride with food, art, live music, and a whole host of handmade bikes.

We were invited by Grinduro to build a custom bike and exhibit it at the event, and then to compete in the race. We knew we’d need a machine which could cope with fast gravel sections, punchy climbs, a technical downhill section, and a very real chance of inclement Scottish weather. So we took our DSS3 and tweaked it to suit the gravel style of racing required at Grinduro, dropping in the Columbus Futura Gravel fork and increasing the tyre size.

The DSS3 frame is built around a 3D-printed seat lug which allows the seat stays to splay wider apart for greater tyre clearance and also allows us to increase stiffness and shouldering comfort by using the custom-formed ovalized top tube. The frame also features a 44mm head tube, thru-axle dropouts and flat mount disc mounts.

For the design, we took the fun-loving spirit of the event and splattered the frame with it. Essentially, it’s a flame job, but using actual paint drips rather than flames for a punk rock vibe. We basically just employed minimal masking and went wild with a paint brush! Ultimately, the splatter paint did a great job of hiding the dirt following a wet and muddy event.

Equipped with Zipp Firecrest tubeless disc wheels, wide Clement MSO 40c tyres and SRAM Force1 groupset, this is a fast-rolling and reliable racer ready for everything but the wettest descents.

Zipp Service Course finishing kit and Fabric saddle round off the bike and serve to sustain comfort over the tough 60 mile Grinduro route.

It was a dream to ride on the day. Though the conditions were wet and muddy, the weather helped build camaraderie and turned it into a brilliantly exciting event.