So hopefully everyone knows about the Grinduro concept by now, because the gravel road alt-sportive race put on by Giro, SRAM & Fabric is one of the cooler events running, combining the perfect balance of friendly social group riding and all-out competition on key timed sectors of the mixed surface course. Well you should also know that there is a new event on the Grinduro calendar in Scotland coming up next weekend. And even better, to get more people to register and come out to ride the new event, the organizers have framebuilder Andrew Denham of The Bicycle Academy on hand, and he’s going to custom build a frame on-site over the weekend for one lucky winner, picked out of the riders registered…
The Grinduro is a mix of a gravel race and a proper enduro mountain bike race. It gets a single long loop mixing pavement, gravel, and dirt and has race finishing times based on four timed sectors that each run from around 5-7 minutes long a piece. That means it is a group ride in between segments, and a full-on party before and after the racing. From the campout and live music to handmade bikes on display and plenty of local food & beverages, it aims for a festival feel around the bike.
As the founder of Europe’s top frame building school, Andrew Denham will hand build a custom frame to “send one lucky soul home with a new bike”. Denham is pretty excited, beyond just making one rider psyched to get a custom Columbus steel frame with a Columbus Future Gravel carbon fork, but also to share his “experience in the clinics open to riders, and I’m particularly excited about the chance to teach some basic brazing skills to the local Isle of Arran youth” where the event takes place.
The Bicycle Academy will be running three free 20 minute brazing clinics throughout the weekend so every Grinduro rider can get the chance to wield a torch and learn the fundamentals of brazing steel, crafting their own Grinduro key ring/bottle opener as a souvenir. There’ll also be a youth tutorial while riders are out racing at the local Arran High School to teach the locals kids about frame building.
Besides Denham, another seven small builders will also have bikes on display, as part of a project to build the “ultimate Grinduro bike.” Appropriately enough, at least four of those builders will actually be racing the event on their custom Grinduro bikes. You’ll even get to vote on the Best Design if you turn up, with the organizers sending the winner to the original California event in October.
The race is next weekend on July 15 in Arran, Scotland. Grinduro Scotland registration is still open. And while the CA event sells out fast, there is still time to figure out a cheap flight to Glasgow and to get yourself to the Isle of Arran in time for the start. Oh yeah, and you might get to win a sweet custom Fabric saddle, and for sure there will be plenty of local whiskey & beer!
