From two Different Paths

How do you maximize a gravel experience in the high mountains of Austria? We’d say by bringing your SCOTT Solace Gravel eRIDE so that you can discover the incredible trail network, but maybe that’s just us being biased. However, this is what Scotty Laughland and Safa Brian did during some hot and stormy summer days in Saalbach, Austria. Saalbach is well known for its high mountains with a mix of sweet gravel and alpine single-track. In this diverse playground the capabilities of the Solace Gravel eRIDE were truly tested. 

Saalbach was the perfect meeting point for our two riders: Scotty with his mountain bike background and Safa with his outstanding roadie prowess. Their different skills gave each rider the advantage at different stages along the route, with Safa excelling on the speedy descents and Scotty conquering the technical big-mountain terrain. Armed with this expertise and a healthy sense of adventure, the duo were able to truly push the Solace to the limits. 
 

Using Saalbach as their base for the trip gave them the possibility to discover all the interconnected resorts by bike. With the low weight of the Solace Gravel eRIDE and the efficient TQ HPR50 motor, our riders could enjoy some luxury on the climbs, with breath to spare for chatting! Saalbach’s winter infrastructure means that there are literally hundreds of kilometers of gravel roads to discover, and great connections between the resort and Fieberbrunn and Leogang.

The Solace Gravel eRIDE was Safa’s first E-Bike experience, and by all accounts, it set the bar high. Experiencing the bike on the steep passes, with endless gravel roads snaking through the mountain peaks, is probably the best way to test the Solace’s capacity. The climbs were long and steep, loose and technical. 

Without the smooth assistance from the motor, it’d be pretty impossible to climb what they did.
 

The descents were a completely different story. Chasing Safa is all fun and games, until you realize that his roadie descending skills are unrivalled. He was a madman on some of the alpine roads, tearing down them without a care in the world. Hitting speeds of over 70kmph, Scotty had to admit defeat and let Safa crush the descents on his own, knowing that the Solace had his back at every turn. 

 
Meanwhile, off the fire roads, Scotty challenged the Solace on technical alpine singletrack and was blown away by how well the bike handled it all. Skipping over rocks and roots, he used the assist to maintain speed and attack the technical climbs with ease, gliding up in a way that allowed him to forget he was on an electric gravel bike. 
 

Fueling was all important during the long days on this alpine adventure, and Scotty got to share some of his favorite Austrian delicacies with Safa. Throughout the trip they’d sample Schnapps, strudel and schnitzel – all of which were as big a hit as expected – all while racing storms, soaking in the evening light, and generally having a brilliant time blazing around on the Solace Gravel eRIDE. Prost!