For Dangerholm’s most recent bike build, he took the Solace Gravel eRIDE and transformed it to something out of the ordinary. For inspiration, he turned to the post-apocalyptic storylines and worked his (rusty) magic.
GIVISIEZ, Switzerland (16th January 2025) — The SCOTT Solace “Wasteland” is a custom build that combines raw, post-apocalyptic style with insane performance. Inspired by Mad Max, it features a rugged steel fork, saw-style brake discs, and a paint job that rusts over time. Built on the SCOTT Solace Gravel eRIDE frame, this bike is made to ride into the unknown – no limits, no rules.
(Words and photos by Dangerholm)
Concept Idea
On the topic of being swept away, there is something special about certain movie universes. How concept, lore and world building can be so compelling that you feel like you’re drawn into it. But a big factor can also be if it just looks good, because after all it is visual art.
One such example is the Mad Max movie franchise, and especially the two latest additions shot in recent years. Incredible creations in all shapes and forms, but with a strong theme of rust, shiny metal and pointy dangerous things. Despite having an air about them of how they’ve been built in scrap yards, they are some of the coolest and most badass looking cars and motorcycles ever created.
Modern e-bikes like the SCOTT Solace Gravel eRIDE are absolutely fantastic riding bikes, with looks so sleek most people don’t even notice there’s a battery. But if we’re being completely honest they are rarely mentioned if we’d ask about the coolest and most badass bikes. Great as they are, they simply don’t have the same allure as perhaps downhill bikes or World Tour road race bikes. And that is perfectly fine because very few bikes do.
But what if we take a Solace Gravel eRIDE and make it look like something straight out of these action movies?
The Build
The SCOTT Solace Gravel eRIDE is a bit of a wolf in sheep clothing if you ask me. Yes, it is an E-Bike and it is comfortable but this is a bike that’s way faster than what you’d expect after a first glance. And tons of fun too. This is mainly because of two factors. The little wonder that is the TQ HPR50 drive system and that it in reality is a quite close sibling to its race focused SCOTT Addict Gravel RC bike when it comes to geometry and ride experience. It’s just that here you have the option to get an extra boost.
Most obvious is of course the extra ”Klunker” style tube in the front triangle, serving no purpose other than to add to the appearance of the bike. This was cut up and I re-shaped the top tube to fit as good as possible inside the Solace front triangle. While I’m no stranger to modifications I’m no carbon work expert, so I left it to my local carbon repair man to bond it in place.
To go with the rusty metal theme, I made a new drive unit guard plate out of metal, along with seat stay skid plates held in place using the fender attachment points.
The Fork
The most visually striking part about the bike is definitely the very unique looking fork. While the standard SCOTT carbon fork is perfectly fine, this area of the bike held an opportunity to go ”full Mad Max” with steel and give the bike a much more menacing appearance.
The result was a fork and handlebar combination like nothing else out there, full of amazing little details. The aero shaped tubing of the fork crown matches the headset cover, which locks the fork in place, with Damascus steel styling. Coins act as fork tube and handlebar ends, and the brake mount placement with its special cable routing is a little work of art.
Color & Design
Carbon fiber makes for lightweight and great riding bicycles, but needless to say it’s not present on any of the scrapyard style Mad Max vehicles. Here raw metal, matte black, rust and worn fabrics reign supreme. The easy way out would’ve of course been to simply paint the frame matte black. But in the world of specialty paints you can find many interesting things.
The paint used on this bike truly does rust. It contains a type of iron powder, so after application you roughly sand the paint and spray it with an activator that speeds up the rusting process.
So now any time the bike is washed or sits in the rain, it’ll rust all over again taking on new tones and textures. But of course, in our desert universe it’ll see a lot more dust than rain.
The Brakes
Why the custom fabricated disc guard on the fork and its bolt-on counterpart on the frame? Well, pushing the spirit of allowing myself to get a bit carried away and going with my wildest ideas, clearly the bike needed saw disc style brake discs.The brake discs are actually fully rideable, even though they are clearly not performance items like their other offerings.
For the brakes I went with a mechanical option, as this would go much better visually with the rest of the bike and would allow me to use metal cable housing instead of plastic brake hoses.
The Drivetrain
TQ’s HPR50 system is the heart of it all, providing 50Nm of torque paired to a 360Wh battery hidden inside the down tube. The crank arms come from Rotor, paired with cage-style pedals, and the chainring is a custom size version of Garbaruk’s TQ compatible model.
The cassette and super strong chain comes from the e-bike approved SRAM X0 Eagle Transmission product line. The matching X0 Eagle Transmission rear derailleur has been paired to SRAM Wireless Blips, working as tiny shifter buttons hidden in the retro Fly Bikes Ruben Alcantara BMX grips.
I built the wheels with a Paul Components front hub and a DT Swiss 350 rear hub, using Velo Orange Voyager rims and brass nipples from Monē. The rims are quite modern in construction, but have a boxy and old-school look. The idea behind using chrome style rims was simply to make the wheels pop a little more visually, making for a nice contrast against the rest of the bike.
Accessories
The Syncros seat post has been modified with mounts for a King Cage Oliver Flask Cage, made specifically to fit a Stanley flask.
On the down tube you’ll find a King Cage Manything Cage, which normally is used as a luggage rack but here holds a retro Elite bottle instead using leather straps.
The old and worn Brooks leather saddle is the only item on the bike, aside from the steel fork and handlebar, with true patina. It was my commuter saddle for many years, including surviving a crash or two.
But the best part with the Solace Wasteland is that it actually is so much fun to ride. Not only is it still a great bike thanks to the SCOTT Solace Gravel eRIDE frame being the base, there’s just something about looking down at that fork, handlebar and rusty top tube while you’re riding. It makes your mind wander and it makes you want to ride a little more aggressively. Maybe Immortal Joe and his henchmen are on your tail, guzzoline drinking engines screaming behind you…
In the end, the only downside with this bike is that it’s very difficult to find a matching riding attire.
As I’ve been forced to realize, post-apocalyptic riding kits have not yet come in style.
SPEC LIST
Frame: SCOTT Solace Gravel 10 eRIDE size L
Fork: Monē Bikes custom fabricated
Headset: Syncros with Monē Bikes locking cover
Handlebar: Monē Bikes custom fabricated
Grips: Fly Bikes Ruben Alcantara Signature
Shifters: SRAM Wireless Blips
Brake Levers: Extralite UltraLevers 3
Brake Cable Housing: Jagwire Elite Link
Brake Calipers: Paul Components Klampers
Brake Discs: BrakeStuff custom saw disc 160mm
Brake Disc Bolts: Mèti titanium
Saddle: Brooks Swift Titanium
Seat post: Syncros Duncan SL D-Shape
Drive System: TQ-HPR50 50Nm 360Wh
Crankarms: Rotor eKapic
Pedals: SE Bikes Bear Trap
Chainring: Garbaruk TQ-Compatible 42T
Chain: SRAM X0 Eagle Transmission
Cassette: SRAM X0 Eagle Transmission 10-52T
Rear Derailleur: SRAM X0 Eagle Transmission
Rear Derailleur Cage: CeramicSpeed OSPW X
Front Hub: Paul Components
Rear Hub: DT Swiss 350
Rims: Vélo Orange Voyager
Tires: Onza Ibex and Continental Ruban
Bottle Cages: King Cage Manythings Cage and Oliver Flask Cage
Bottles: Stanley and Elite
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.
If you would like to know more about Dangerholm, follow up below.
