The second Grinduro, accoladed as the “Event of the Year” by the Design and Innovation Awards committee, kicked off this weekend in Quincy, California. Santa Cruz’s Caletti Cycles will be represented by John himself and his Team Zissou-themed Scrambler.
The Life Aquatic is one of John Caletti’s favorite movies and it’s easy to see why: Apart from director Wes Anderson’s endearing visual quirks, it’s an eccentric appreciation for the ocean, which John personally has an immense respect for.
The new Caletti Cycles workshop is a certified ‘green building’, and the business goes out of its way to make their work as sustainable and recyclable as possible. Hats off to them, or red beanies off, in this case.
For the Grinduro event, John has built himself one of his new Scrambler frames, a concept he has recently been developing for a fun around-town bike, that draws inspiration from scrambler-style motorcycles and flat bar CX bikes.
John tested the design “around town for coffee and errands, and a couple of loops around roads, paved pathways, single track, fire road – all of it!” The tubing is mostly Columbus, with an oversized down tube which delivers increased stiffness and power transferral.
The Paragon Rocker rear dropouts allow for through axles, a disc brake and both a single speed setup, or a 1×11 drivetrain like his Grinduro Team Zissou edition. Here, it’s built up with an XTR 11-42 x 42T front ring, powered by Easton Carbon Cyclocross cranks.
Contact with the terrain is held in stead by a pair of Velocity Aileron wide, tubeless-compatible rims and Chris King R45 hubs, shod with 40mm WTB Nano tyres, built by Jones Presicion Wheels.
An ENVE CX fork leads the way, custom painted to match the theme, like the rims and the Jacqueline Deep Search Thomson stem. The sweep on the Salsa Bend 2 handlebars allows for a more natural hand position — handy for long rides and tucked-in descents.
Looks like John will have an adventure this weekend. If you like the look of the Scrambler, there’s a few models available for purchase right now, including one about to be painted up by Caletti Cycles collaborator, artist Jeremiah Kille.
Apparently there’s a titanium model that’s ready for finishing too. Get in touch with the workshop to make enquiries.
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Big thanks to Peter Thomsen for the photos.
