What do RideBMX magazines, Mortal Kombat, and Super Mario World all have in common?
Yep, the 90s.
And what better way to wax nostalgic about the past than to take a ride with one of the most prolific influencers in the cycling industry than...well a good friend of ours. After all, the best rides are with your friends!
When it comes to tricking out your bike, there is only one person whose personal style meets expertise technique - Dangerholm. We caught up with Gustav and got a behind-the-scenes view of his new 90s retro-inspired beast!
We were surprised to learn that his new masterpiece was actually the winter training bike he bought in 2019. With show-stopping creativity, he shows us that while brand-new bikes are great it might be well worth tuning and upgrading your old ones too.
We at Kogel are so grateful and excited to support Gustav in the launch of his brand new sick creation - the Retro Scale 950!
Dangerholm's New 90s Throwback Retro Scale 950
At long last, it's time to present Dangerholm's new aluminum Scott Scale 950 build. While he didn't really have a specific name for the project, he leaned into "retro-inspired" and "Retro Scale 950" since all the anodized components and splatter marble paint effect indeed took a bit of inspiration from the good old 90s. Obviously, this took us way back into the nostalgia feels, so we asked our friend Dangerholm a bit about his past and what inspired him to create such a fresh ride!
What was the inspiration behind your 90s throwback Retro 950?
It goes way back, but this is actually my second version of the very same bike.
In autumn 2018 I bought this Scott Scale 950 to use as my winter training bike. In Sweden that means either wet riding in the late autumn or endless miles back and forth on frozen icy gravel roads, using studded tires. So you don't really need anything too fancy, but I wanted the bike to be colorful to put a smile on my face through the cold and dark.
So the first version was a tribute to perhaps the holy grail of 90's paint jobs - the green/white/pink Klein Attitude.
Being one of my first DIY paint jobs, durability wasn't that great so now it was time to strip it all back and give it a fresh new look along with some fresh new components.
I always liked some of the splatter-style designs from that era but wanted to keep some resemblance to my old Klein look. So I kept the white background and came across this super cool "marble effect" paint, quite different from regular brush splatter. Unfortunately, it turned out to be extremely difficult to get a nice smooth and even clear coat surface on top. But after having to start completely over one time, and about 10 rounds of clear coats later - here we are haha.
Then there's of course all the anodized parts. While nothing perhaps screams the 90s as much as purple ano, I think that the red and blue Kolossos made in the Custom Configurator aren't too far off!
What were some of your favorite TV shows and snacks from the 90s?
Got to say The X-files on that one!
As for snacks, that's a really good question. Being born in -86, what I remember most from the 90s is being out riding all the time so I probably ate a million sandwiches during that decade.
Do you have any special memories related to cycling from the 90s?
Cycling has always been my main interest since I was a little kid, but in the latter half of the 90s, I got my first MTB as well as got heavily into BMX. So I used to read the same RideBMX magazines over and over every day, and as long as the weather wasn't too bad we were out riding. It was all about learning how to wheelie and jump. One thing I honestly can miss a lot from those days is how we used to go out "cruising". Just riding through town or small sections in the woods, looking for spots to stop and try something on. Now it's all about "I'm going on this training ride" or "I'm going to the bike park". There was a certain relaxed freedom, that I hope to get back to someday.
Final Words
Reflecting on the interview with Gustav took me back to a time when things were simpler and more honest. I can still taste the 90s sandwiches in my mouth from my bike rides as a teenager with friends. While I don't play Super Mario World anymore, I occasionally throw on a 90s playlist with bands like Nirvana and Green Day. Maybe next time I load that list I'll make myself a prosciutto and muenster sandwich on gluten-free bread, hop on my bike, and take a ride down memory lane. For now, I'll just have to turn on the TV and let Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure marathon run in the background. Thanks for taking the time to read.
