Full Name:
The Grav Bros
Introduction Paragraph:
We are The Grav Bros: enthusiasts of adventures in the mountains and deserts who seek out extreme grav, rad adventure, and good times. We started out as a couple of friends going on long adventure rides in the mountains of San Diego County, pushing ourselves and our equipment further and further, as we explored lands remote and unknown. With time, we started jokingly referring to ourselves as The Grav Bros and the name stuck. Although there is an almost family-like bond that forms when you’re deep in the wilderness, miles from civilization, relying on each other to ensure that you make it home in one piece. So perhaps the name is apropos. Fast forward a couple years and now there are three of us regularly pushing the envelope of what could be considered gravel. While we have been known to turn up at an ‘event’ from time to time, we mostly seek out remote and rugged trails, exploiting every fence hole and hop-able gate to get to them, all in the name of answering the most important question of them all: Will it grav?
Spinergy Products Using:
History with Spinergy:
The Grav Bros have had a long and rich history with Spinergy. Brent and Ben both rode for teams sponsored by Spinergy in the early 2000s just as they were releasing their first generation of wheels using composite spokes. Over the past 10 years, Brent helped Spinergy refine their current GX and GXX gravel offerings, and regularly uses his GXX, GX Max, and MXX wheels. Ben returned to the Spinergy family about 5 years ago, and has been loving his GXX and GX Max wheels.
Who Are The Grav Bros:
Ben Stafford:
Ben grew up in New England and started cycling following a running injury in high school. After racing in college, he moved to the west coast and pursued a career as a road cyclist, racing professionally with the Webcor Cycling Team in the early 2000s. He moved to the San Diego area in 2013 to pursue his career as a neuroscientist just as gravel riding and racing was taking off. Needless to say, he was hooked. When he raced on the road, he had an aversion to structured training and an affinity for all-day training rides way off the beaten path. So it should come as no surprise that he loves the big, dumb, day-long adventure rides for which gravel riding is infamous. Indeed, when The Grav Bros are designing routes he invariably tries to make them longer and harder, abiding by his motto: How can we make this worse?
Brent Prenzlow:
Brent has been smashing grav since before gravel was a thing. Originally hailing from Minnesota, he moved to the San Diego area in the mid-90s in search of better weather to pursue his racing dreams. He started out racing the Pro XC MTB circuit, before getting hooked on cyclocross. He pursued his ‘cross passion, traveling the country year after year while racking up over 125 wins, multiple State Championships, and two podiums at National Championships. As his racing career started winding down, he pioneered the ‘road bikes on dirt’ movement in the San Diego area, developing an exhaustive knowledge of hidden dirt gems throughout Southern California in the process. During this time, he was instrumental in helping Spinergy develop their current line up of gravel wheels, and as gravel has gained steam in the last 5-10 years, he has become known as a gravel route guru both near and far. Off the bike, Brent is an IT System Analyst for a major global communications behemoth which no doubt helps with his GPS-like route building skills.
Nic Beechan:
Nic was a college runner and engineer, who then took on the simultaneous juggle of World Cup XCO mountain bike racing and full-time fine home-building after graduating. For Nic, traveling the country and meeting like minded folks was an experience in itself greater than any of the National Championship medals that he won along the way. These experiences proved invaluable in refining his home-building prowess, and his skills and craftsmanship speak for themselves in his busy schedule of projects throughout Southern California. At the same time, Nic still loves to be on a bike, whether that be an all day drop bar adventure with The Grav Bros dipping through fence holes and scurrying through the most rugged trails, popping into a Quick n Dirty event, or pushing the pedal assist mountain bike to its very limit shredding singletrack to beat out the setting sun.
Quote of Spinergy Products Used:
We cannot imagine a better gravel wheel than one using Spinergy’s PBO spokes. They soften bumps and ruts, soak up washboards that would normally make your wrists sting, but are still plenty stiff and responsive when it’s time to apply power. Engagement of the recently redesigned ’44’ rear hub is super fast and all the internal parts of the hub are easily accessed and user-serviceable. We take our wheels way off the beaten path, seeking out terrain that is not gentle on them, so it’s imperative that they are up to the task. And after many years of abuse our wheels have come through with flying colors, rolling as fast and true as they did on day one.