Somewhere in the middle part of 2023, we enlisted the former road racing professional Laurens ten Dam to race Further Scotland with a mechanical groupset. As a devout Di2 user, he was – to put it mildly – a little apprehensive.
But, if you ask our engineering team, his apprehension was unfounded. Here’s why:
a) one reason people have chosen mechanical for decades is its incredible reliance, and Laurens was about to line up for an ultra distance gravel race in which simplicity and serviceability would be key;
b) with many of today’s gravel riders choosing to ride mechanical, Laurens would be in good company;
c) after so many years of electronics, he was clearly due a reintroduction to the desirability and next-level performance of the new GRX mechanical.
Here’s what’s interesting: thanks to Laurens’ hesitation, we’re even having this conversation that may seem out-of-place in the technological race of cycling.
He laughs: “I was skeptical, you’re right. I was so used to Di2 that it felt like a step back, naturally making you wonder. Then, there was a surprise when we built my bike with the RX820 1x12 UNSTOPPABLE, followed by massive happiness as soon as I rode it.”
He takes us back to the most remote train station in the United Kingdom. It’s the night before the inaugural Further Scotland, a self-supported 700 km multi-surface ride with 9,000 meters of elevation. It’s October, and the wind is howling as he bivvies down for the night, somewhat apprehensively.
He’s about to begin what’s best described as an ‘adventure’.
One that he will later go on to win with GRX mechanical – despite a major electronic fail.|
But more on that later.