The Colombian framebuilders at Scarab Cycles had a number of interesting bits of news to share at MADE, probably most interesting being their first-ever addition of carbon to classic steel construction. Dubbed, the Colibrí Damping System, Scarab extends a carbon seattube from the BB up and out as a seatmast, boosting rider comfort and shedding grams from their road, all-road, and gravel frames. Plus, they’ve also added a new Andes road touring bike model built for the longest Brevet-style events…
Scarab Colibrí Damping System steel & carbon comfort
Scarab frames until now have been exclusively made of steel. But their new Colibrí Damping System (CDS) shakes things up, offering the alternative of a carbon fiber tube replacing the bulk of a bike’s seattube and a good portion of the seatpost.
(Update: CDS was previously known as Composite Damping System, but redubbed Colibrí as the Spanish word for hummingbird. Light, agile, stable, and more befitting the Scarab brand.)
The direct reasoning is to improve rider comfort with the carbon tube better suited to damp high-frequency vibrations. But a more modern look and presumably a little weight savings deliver added side benefits.
What remains steel is a small seattube stub that extends up from the bottom bracket joint to mount a front derailleur on 2x bike frames, another short section at the seat cluster where the seatstays and toptube meet, and on top a steel seatmast head. In between, they bond a carbon tube into the steel frame, extending up as a seatmast to meet the new head, and maintain height adjustability.
The Scarab Colibrí Damping System is now available as an extra $800 add-on option on their Santa Rosa road, Apuna all-road, and Paramo gravel bikes.
Scarab Cycles all-new Andes brevet road touring bike
Technically an addition to Scarab’s all-road bike family, they built the Andes for ultra-distance ride comfort and durability. It was born out of a development collaboration with Ronnie Garcia of Scarab’s Brooklyn, NY boutique partner Eighth Hour Bike Studio. “Garcia’s expertise and creative approach helped shape our vision of what our brevet bike should be”, says Scarab.
Scarab crafts the brevet road touring frame & fork from a mix of premium butted steel tubes for a smooth ride that can still handle plenty of abuse, using more classically-sized and thicker main tubes vs. the oversize that dominates most modern steel bikes. Angel Bicycles – a framebuilder near Scarab in El Retiro, Colombia – builds its custom steel fork.
The Andes is designed to sport full-coverage fenders, dynamo powered-lights lightweight touring racks & bags, and to be ridden far. Optimal tires with fenders are 700c x 32-35mm, while max tire clearance without is 42mm. But you can also run 650b wheels up to 48mm wide, too.
It features completely external cable routing but internal dynamo wiring routing, a braze-on front derailleur mount, complete rack & fender mounts, 12mm thru-axles, post mount disc brakes, a threaded BB, 1 1/8” external headset, and a replaceable alloy rear derailleur hanger.
The custom Scarab Andes frameset starts at $4000 on its own. Then you can add on things like custom paint, custom steel racks, and painted-to-match components or accessories.
New Condor watercolor paint scheme
This new complete Andes brevet bike build also played the blank canvas for Scarab’s new Condor watercolor paint scheme.
“The Condor Paint Scheme is a tribute to the majesty and freedom of the Andean condor. The water-color-like design is a collaboration between local artist “Washedog” and Alejandro Bustamante, Scarab’s creative director, and paint lead. The final work features a unique mix of techniques, including watercolor, transfer, paintbrush, and traditional stencil, giving the design a depth that reflects Scarab’s strong attachment to the Andean mountains.”
The Condor aesthetic concept is said to expand far beyond the bike, and Scarab will offer ‘off-bike’ items like jerseys, t-shirts, posters & more in the same artistic style.
New Fractal Fruit paintjob & more integrated gravel bikes, too
Another fresh new Scarab look available across their range is this Fractal Fruit. Get a closer look at that Santa Rosa road bike with the new CDS setup. The personal ride of Scarab’s PR manager, the colorful block scheme makes for a bike that will always stand out.
This one features a sleek integrated build with that new low-stack Wolf Tooth In-Route internal routing headset that also debuted at MADE. Then, paired to a 1-piece Vision Metron 5D ACR EVO carbon cockpit.
Scarab also added the fully integrated cable routing solution to their Paramo Integrated gravel bike, as well. It features the same straight 44mm headtube, with a Wolf Tooth In-Route headset pressed in. Then paired to a carbon Enve In-Route Gravel fork and carbon Enve SES AR 1-piece all-road cockpit.
With 48mm tire clearance out back, a UDH, and finally a T47 BB… this integrated frameset starts at $3600 including the fork & headset.
