Dangerholm’s Golden Night Scott Ransom
In his own words, Dangerholm introduces his latest build, taking us on a journey into the building process as well as deep diving into specifications that will not only make a bike geek’s mouth water…
“For many people who know my work, the Dangerholm name is synonymous to lightweight bikes. If not the very lightest out there, then at least very light. And while you definitely can combine performance and reliability with low weight, there is of course more to bikes than chasing grams.
So when giving myself the task to build an enduro bike, I chose to give that theme a rest and simply go for high performance and function in general. Choosing both a frame and components that maybe aren’t the lightest out there, but has other qualities that will ensure to make riding both fast and fun.
This meant that there was a lot of focus on key elements such as suspension, brakes and wheels. In addition to the frame itself, these three areas are to me the most important when it comes to gravity riding. With that said, I didn’t skip the attention to detail when it came to the rest of the build either. From ceramic bearings to grips in my preferred diameter, nothing was left to chance.
No weak links, nothing that will hold you back. A confidence inspiring, fast and stable yet incredibly fun bike.”
– Gustav Gullholm (aka Dangerholm)
The Build
The bike is built on a Scott Ransom 930 frame, which is a popular choice in the Ransom range. It comes with the same race proven features as its carbon fiber siblings, but at a more affordable price. This means that you have a truly great allrounder, a bike you can take to an enduro race as well as to a fun day at the bike park with your riding buddies.
The geometry is not extreme by today’s standards, but instead it offers a very well balanced ride. Most riders will quickly feel comfortable going fast on it, and it for sure is plenty of fun too. The riding characteristics also means that it will feel at home in many different types of terrain as well.
The 170mm frame was painted in a special effect chromacoat paint called ”Golden Night”, which shifts from a warm gold/bronze tone, almost brown even, to blue/purple. So depending on the light and from which angle you view the bike, it never really looks the same.
Suspension
One of the first things you’ll notice on this bike is the very unique looking fork. It’s an Intend Blackline Ebonite Bandit, which features a one-and-half-crown system. And while it’s also available as a regular single crown fork, then without the Bandit name, this is not about looks or even added stiffness. It’s all about air spring performance.
The upper extension holds an additional positive air chamber. If you’re somewhat familiar with how most air spring forks function, you’ll know that there’s one positive and one negative air chamber. And in most cases these equalize and operate at the same pressure. On the Ebonite Bandit it’s the same, but you also have the secondary positive air chamber which you inflate to twice the pressure.
This means that in the beginning of the travel the fork operates at the lower air pressure, making it very supple and small bump sensitive. But going deeper into the travel, with bigger hits, the secondary air chamber comes into play and they now work as one single big air chamber but at a higher pressure. So the fork firms up, offering more support.
The end result is a spring curve that is almost linear, much like a coil spring. You can also separately adjust the final 20% of the travel with the Bandit add-on, which can help you avoid harsh bottom-outs.
“The very first SCOTT I ever bought was actually the very first SCOTT Ransom 30 back in 2006. And while I absolutely loved that bike, things sure have come a long way since.” – Gustav Gullholm
Intend also makes the rear shock, which is called Hover Gamechanger.
It also has rather unique looks, with its big cylinders and the small diameter shaft compared to other air spring rear shocks. The latter is in order to minimize seal friction, one of many small steps taken to make this one of the most supple air shocks out there.
As expected it features rebound and compression adjustment, as well as a climb switch that completely locks the fork. You can also add tokens to adjust how it ramps up towards bottoming out.
But the real magic once again happens in the air spring system, with for example a huge negative air chamber. All in all it makes for a truly ”coil-like” feel, as it’s so incredibly supple and plush.
About Gustav Gullholm aka Dangerholm
Gustav Gullholm, better known as Dangerholm, is a custom bike builder from Sweden. In recent years he’s taken bikes to their extreme by building the World’s Lightest XC bikes as well as the lightest 29″ Downhill bike. It’s not all about weight though, the bikes must always ride great and look the part.
