Colombia is a country that has reared numerous pro cycling legends, thanks to its awe-inspiring topography and the relentlessness of its athletes. We haven’t seen too many Colmbian custom builders, but Antioquia’s Scarab Cycles will set that statistic right.
Scarab Cycles are a small team of five, dedicated to creating bikes indigenous to the Andean landscape in which they are based. The workshop is located in the heart of Oriente Antioqueño, in the central northwest of the country.
The company considers it a cycling paradise, thanks to it being crossed by the Cordillera Central and Occidental regions of the Andes. Many of us, however, would be intimidated by the stature of their local rides.
A few of their regular routes are steep enough to have been included in this year’s Tour Colombia, which commences tomorrow. In fact, some stages will pass right outside their workshop, hopefully, led by their escarabajo compatriots.
This is their Santa Rosa frameset, designed to handle the repechos: the local term for ‘rolling hills’. Sounds pleasant, but they are steep and can be up to a kilometer long — sometimes with a base altitude of 2500 meters above sea level.
It’s their production steel frame with a carbon seatpost, able to be modified to your desire with an ISP mast, disc brakes, custom geometry, and paint. Although they are proud of their country’s colorful culture, so black may not be an option…
If you’re after a personalized bike designed specifically for comfortably climbing Andean-sized mountains, take a deep lungful of oxygen and a closer look at Scarab Cycles’ Santa Rosa — modeled here by Gonzalo, son of Willy Gil, the photographer.
Scarab Cycles Website | Instagram
