Sweden-based bikebuilder Gustav Gullom, who has built a reputation through his Dangerholm Instagram account for creating incredible lightweight custom mountain bikes, has turned his attention to the road for the first time and built a race bike like no other – the Scott Foil Liquid.
(Image credit: Scott)
Using Scott’s Foil RC frameset, which featured as one of our race bikes of the year, as the centrepiece, the man renowned for creating some of the lightest mountain bikes painstakingly selected the bike’s specifications before spending hours sanding, painting and polishing the chassis.
The result is, according to the man responsible, “an aero bike with elegance and performance turned up to 11”.
“The goal was that it would in some ways resemble and bring the feeling of looking at a beautiful super car,” he says. “Things like having matching body panels, small logos, clean tires with no big brand patches and so on – but a bicycle.”
Like Dangerholm’s mountain bike and BMX creations, the Scott Foil Liquid is lightweight, with the finished product tipping the scales at 7.11kg – and that includes the pedals.
(Image credit: Scott)
The bike’s Liquid moniker is derived from its special effect ‘liquid gold’ paint.
“It shifts dramatically from being completely transparent, allowing the black carbon fiber to be visible as if just clear coated, to flipping between green, gold and in some angles even blue tones,” Dangerholm says. “In low light the bike becomes much more discreet with glossy olive tones.”
Before applying the transparent primer, the frame and components were stripped down to bare carbon. After the primer came the liquid gold paint followed by a clear coat. This, Dangerholm stresses, has to be applied carefully and with thought.
“Too little of the paint and it would appear bland,” he says. “Too much and you would not achieve the same transparent effect.”
(Image credit: Scott)
Dangerholm chose the Scott Foil RC for several reasons. Aesthetically pleasing – he describes the Foil as “incredibly beautiful” – it features lines and shapes that “flow”, providing a complementary canvas for the liquidity of the paint job.
He also appreciated the Foil’s blend of aerodynamic properties, responsive handling and low weight. When discussing the bike he notes the angle of the seat stays, chosen to best direct the airflow into the rear wheel for “aero benefits”. Given Dangerholm’s own obsession with detail, it’s…