Bosch SX Gravel Tour to Chorinsky Lodge in Salzkammergut

I love it when once a year the tranquil Bad Goisern in the "Inner Salzkammergut" becomes a mountain biking mecca - and far beyond Austria's borders.
Just like an ant trail steadily making its way to sweets, the number of bikers increases in the days leading up to the events. Parents with race numbers and bike trailers on their way to the lake, children proudly wearing their Junior Trophy shirts from the previous year days in advance, and true trainers gearing up for the ultimate race.

The expo area resembles a pit lane the day before and invites visitors to stroll, shop, and test. In the midst of this cycling-charged atmosphere, Bosch this year invited a small but select group of journalists for an equally small and select introductory tour towards the Weißenbachtal and Chorinsky-Klause.
On the one hand, to get a taste of the Trophy atmosphere along the original route, and on the other, to get to know the new Bosch Performance Line SX System; and then, of course, to talk with gravel expert Max Riese from gravgrav.cc and tourism expert Christopher Unterberger about the plans and visions surrounding this relatively new genre of cycling.

That a gravel bike is fundamentally not the worst choice for the Salzkammergut is already shown by a look at the route network with its over 200 km of forest roads. With drop handlebars and 40 mm subtly profiled tires, you can make good speed on the gravel paths.
The only catch to the whole thing is the occasionally steep inclines (greetings from the Salzberg at this point). And this is exactly where the new Bosch SX system comes into play. Unlike previous lines from Bosch, this one is significantly lighter and more sporty, allowing you to ride sportily on flat terrain and downhill without motor assistance, but also to tackle the Salzberg-like Trophy climbs with dignity.

Packed is the drive unit along with the battery and control unit during the press ride in a Dimanche 29.4 from the French manufacturer Moustache, a long-time partner of Bosch and since last year also a supporter of the Salzkammergut Trophy.
Equipped with a 1x12 drivetrain, a dropper seat post, Bosch Kiox display, and the Bosch CompactTube battery with 400 Wh, the Dimanche in the mid-range configuration weighs 17.7 kg according to the manufacturer. The Moustache Dimanche is available with a standard or open frame, without additional equipment or for an extra € 200,- with visually appealing fenders, luggage rack, and light. The PowerMore battery (Range Extender) with an additional 250 Wh currently costs an extra € 500,-.

Tech Specs Moustache Dimanche 29.4

Geometry

To tease out these fine details from the motor, our guide Max has chosen the first few kilometers of the Trophy A-route as the test track - garnished with a few tourist detours as well as the toughest uphill sections, washed out by Trophy rain™. After all, the first 30 km of the over 200 km long Once-Hell-and-Back route already offer something like a Best-Of Salzkammergut with wide and deep views, forestry, and water management.
This makes sense for us not only from a tourist perspective but also to tackle sections that can only be conquered with a bio-gravel bike at the edge of a performance explosion, simply and with dignity, cadence, and the Bosch SX motor.

Besides the technical fascination of this structure, the Klause is, for me, above all a place where many facets of the Salzkammergut converge. The unbridled power of the water, the wild nature, rocks and forest, and in the midst of it all, humans who try with ingenuity and great effort to wrest treasures from this nature and survive in the process.
Today, modern technology enormously aids in the extraction of resources. As early as the beginning of the 17th century, the process began of transporting the brine, that is, the watery salt solution coming from the mine, via pipelines from Bad Ischl to Ebensee. Today, the pipeline consists of plastic pipes and is considered the oldest active industrial pipeline in the world.

Tech Specs Chorinsky-Klause

Ein immer besser werdendes Netz aus Forststraßen, das im letzten Jahrhundert laufend optimiert wurde, erlaubte den Einsatz immer effizienterer Maschinen für die Holzschlägerung und Holzbringung.
Vorbei die Zeit, in der von der wilden Trift gezeichnete Baumstämme in den Salinen verfeuert wurden. Heute wird das Holz in deutlich besserer Qualität über unsere Gravel-Strecken abtransportiert. Auch wenn diese Waldstraßen dem holzwirtschaftlichen Zweck dienen, bilden sie trotzdem ein ideales Revier für die touristische Doppelnutzung wie in unserem Fall zum Gravelbiken.

We therefore leave the hermitage, cross the Weißenbach, and gravel out of the idyllic Brunntalalm on the orographically left side of the valley.
We use the last meters uphill once again to test the Bosch motor for its agility. Bosch claims to have reduced the pedaling resistance by 50%, a value that is difficult for us to measure. And didn't the Performance Line series already have quite low pedaling resistances?
In practice, I believe it is mainly due to the light components and the resulting relatively low overall weight and the well-rolling Maxxis Rambler gravel tires that breaking the 25 km/h sound barrier downhill and on flat terrain goes very smoothly.

And a tiny bit it could also be the hunger and the rapidly approaching thunderstorm on our backs that drives us so smoothly out of the valley.
"Erwin Crossing" is written under the caution sign in front of the Weißenbachwirt. On the sign, a man is hurrying with a tablet and a beer mug. The Erwin in me, of course, feels immediately addressed and crosses as instructed into the guest garden.
It is the ideal place to let our small adventure round end with suitable culinary delights under the arbor. After 26 km and 830 meters of elevation gain, I have 30% battery remaining (400 Wh battery, mostly full power, approx. 103 kg total weight including camera backpack). That is more than enough for the remaining two flat kilometers back to our starting point at the Trophy Expo.

At Eierschwammerl, dumplings, and all kinds of traditional food in solid and liquid form, we listen to the rushing of the Weißenbach, which flows into the Traun a few hundred meters after Erwin's garden at the Lauffen power plant. Like our group today, the wood also once paused at this spot. Here it was held back by wooden racks after starting at the Chorinsky-Klause and the wild drift, before continuing its journey on the Traun.
For us, after the refreshment, we head back upstream to Bad Goisern, but the soothing Weißenbach soundtrack is increasingly accompanied by loud thunder. And so it happens as it had to happen.