SHAND STOOSHIE
› Scottish all-rounder designed for maximum versatility
Steve Shand’s range of bikes may have expanded, but he’s never strayed very far from his core value of wherever-you-want-toroam bikes majoring on versatility.
That’s clear as soon as you do a quick scan over the £1495 Stooshie frame. Interchangeable ‘Polydrop’ dropout pieces that bolt into frame terminals let you choose between a quick release or 142x12mm rear thru-axle. There are Rohloff and Gates Belt Drive options and the dropouts can be changed between different brake mount standards. The PF30 bottom bracket shell can be used with an eccentric insert for a standard bottom bracket if you need to take up chain slack, or to make micro-adjustments of the effective seat-tube angle or bottom bracket height.
And it’s not just the back end that’s so well detailed. The frame itself is made from a carefully selected, Romeo and Juliet-style mixed marriage of material from Columbus and Dedacciai. The bolt-on front mech cable stop is particularly pretty and the fully external, bolted-clip cable routing is neatly hidden on the lower, inner face of the chainstay. Mudguard, rack and three bottle mounts come as standard. And if five stock sizes doesn’t work for you, custom sizing is available from £150. Portland Design Works mudguards cost £75 and there’s a range of frame colours, with the TRP carbon fork and stem painted to match.
As well as separating it aesthetically from mainstream machines, that colour-coded front end also had a significant effect on the handling. While there’s little unusual in the geometry – apart from the fact our sample had the head-tube length of a small but the seat-tube length of a medium – the combined effect gives the bike great stability. Add a longish stem
The frame is made from carefully selected material from Columbus and Dedacciai
that gives a stubborn straight-on persona, and you’ve got a bike that takes a wide, swinging arc around corners rather than one where you constantly need to tweak its trajectory. That all serves to make it a very relaxing ride on open trails. The flipside is that getting up out of the saddle reveals a lazy, lurching trait that’s less desirable. The seat angle is also relaxed for a feel that is more cruiser than combative.
Although the Stooshie is designed to be more dynamic than Shand’s Stoater, it’s the laziest here when it comes to power transfer. Even when we swapped the knobblies for slick tyres the slim stays still sap your energy, which isn’t helped by its weight.
The payback to this languorous character is a muted transmission of vibration and surface roughness. That means a smooth ride across tracks best suited to a Land Rover. This combines with the Stoosher’s stability to let it plough along tractor-trashed bridleways rather than rattling into ruts. It feels quiet and steady through the bar, saddle and pedals compared with the springier rides of the titanium bikes on test. That’s a great match to the Shand’s steady, safe handling and results in a persona best described as overwhelmingly calm, solid and dependable.
This Ultegra-equipped bike is well priced for a product from a small company so it’s also kind to your wallet as well as to you.
This Shimano Ultegra-equipped bike is well priced for a product from a small company