Just in: Shand Stooshie with Shimano GRX600

The Stooshie is Scottish bike company Shand’s steel drop bar bike billed as an all-road bike capable delivering long-distance comfort over rough roads and being able to handle a dash of gravel too, and we’ve just taken delivery of this brand new Shimano GRX-equipped model to review.

The Stooshie was updated in 2016 with changes that move it away from its previous cyclocross roots to a lightweight all-road bike. You get a steel frame using Columbus and Dedacciai tubing made in Scotland with a beefy carbon fork at the front slotting into a 44mm headtube.

There’s space for up to 35mm tyres, evidence that it leans more towards road riding than out-and-out gravel grinding, though in the dry a 35mm gravel tyre works very well. The frame is adorned with various mounts for racks and mudguards and you can fit up to three water bottles. It’s disc brakes using flat-mount callipers and 12mm thru-axles. All cables are neatly routed outside of the frame.

Where the regular Stooshie has modular dropouts so you can run a myriad of drivetrain configurations from hub gear to single-speed, this model has a regular dropout designed for a derailleur, which also brings the frame price down a bit. It costs £1,595 for the frame and fork and you have a huge choice of frame and decal colours. 

To enable us to test the new frame, we’ve got a GRX 600 groupset with a single ring chainset and wide-range cassette. Complete bikes will be built around the posher GRX 800 and cost £3,395.

For rolling stock, it’s a pair of Hope 20Five tubeless-ready wheels with 35mm wide Schwalbe G-One All-Round tyres. Finishing kit all comes with Shand labels, with a slightly flared aluminium drop handlebar, aluminium stem and seat post.

Complete weight for this size medium is  10.02kg (22.09lb) on our scales.

With geometry that leans towards the endurance road bike with a hint of gravel bike, it should be a comfortable bike for long rides on a wide variety of roads and not shy away from some hardpack gravel should the whim take you.

There are five sizes available and the medium we have here has a 582mm stack, 380mm reach, 1,027mm wheelbase, 68mm bottom bracket drop and a 71.5-degree head angle.

And what of the name? According to the dictionary, it means an uproar, fuss, or a fight. Is the Stooshie up for a fight and will it cause a fuss on the road?  Stay tuned for a review soon.

What do you think of it then?

More info at www.shandcycles.com/bikes/stooshie