Sciu Bikes is a new German bicycle brand operating out of Hamburg, launched at the back end of January with two bikes; the Sciu Aspen Enduro and the Sciu Juniper Gravel. Gjovalin and Sven are the proprietors, with collective experience covering mechanical engineering, marketing and sales. Sustainability sits at the heart of their brand; Sciu compensate for the CO2 footprint of their entire value chain from production and logistics through to distribution with a reforestation program.
Somewhat ironic however, is the fact that both of these new frames are composed of carbon, manufactured in state-of-the-art vacuum injection molding process. Though it isn’t yet underway, Sciu Bikes say they are supporting a university research program to be one of the first bicycle manufacturers to offer their customers a recycling and up-cycling program for carbon frames. Here’s a quick overview of the Aspen Enduro Bike and Juniper Gravel Bike…
Sciu Aspen Enduro Bike
The Sciu Aspen is a 158mm travel enduro bike with a four-bar suspension linkage, with a kinematic dedicated to air shocks. Its geometry is optimised around a 170mm fork, though it can take a 180mm or even a 160mm. Though the complete bike ships as a 29er, Sciu tell us the bike can be set up in a mullet configuration too, with a 27.5″ rear wheel.
The Aspen is available in sizes M-XL covering rider heights from 167cm to >190cm. Reach figures stretch across a 449.1 mm to 501.2mm range, with a consistent rear-center length of 436.6 mm. With the intended 170mm fork, the head angle sits at 64.4° paired with a 76.4° seat tube angle. Switching to the MX configuration slackens those off to 63.5° and 75.5°, respectively, and shaves around 10mm off the reach. The top tube is quite flat by modern enduro standards, connecting to a 455mm seat tube in size large.
The four-bar suspension linkage layout leaves heaps of room inside the front triangle for a full size water bottle. The shock itself runs through an interrupted seat tube, with a full size fender at the rear protecting the shaft and seal from whatever the rear tire picks up off the trail.
Frame Details:
- ISCG-05 tabs for chain guide and bash guard
- SCIU Tapered SHIS ZS44/28.6 – ZS56/ 40 headset
- 68/73mm threaded bottom bracket
- Internal Cable Routing
- 31.6mm diameter seat post
Sciu Juniper Gravel Bike
The Juniper is Sciu Bikes drop-bar offering for gravel enthusiasts. Available in sizes S-XL, the Juniper caters to riders from <164cm to >190cm tall, with reach stretching across a 374mm to 397mm range. Its monocoque full carbon frame is composed of Toray carbon fibers giving ride to a claimed frame weight of 980g (52 cm).
The Sciu Juniper is said to offer outstanding ride comfort coupled with excellent stiffness owing to the lowered seatstay, tapered top tube and extra voluminous bottom bracket area. Tire clearance is ample; it can fit a 45mm wide tire (700c) or, a 2.1″ mountain bike tire on a 650b wheel. Running an AXS front derailleur will limit your options here, though, reducing 700c clearance to 42mm maximum.
A 1x setup gives clearance for anything up to a 42T chainring. If you’re running 2x, a 39/53T double chainring is your maximum. The frame runs 12 mm thru axles and flat mount brake disc brake calipers for a 140mm rotor, though there is clearance for a 160mm rotor with use of an adapter. The Juniper runs a BB86 press-fit bottom bracket.
The “pure edition” refers to the frame along with carbon fork, while the “walnut edition”, gets you the frame and fork, as well as the SCIU carbon seat post and SCIU carbon stem with special headset for hidden integration of brake hoses and shifter cables.
Pricing & Availability
The Sciu Aspen Enduro Mountain Bike is available as a frame and shock package, retailing at €3,399. That gets you a RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate air shock and the Sciu headset. Complete bike pricing starts at €5,999, built up with a RockShox ZEB Ultimate fork, Syntace aluminum wheelset, SRAM GX Eagle 12 speed drivetrain, RockShox Reverb dropper seat post and Magura MT5 brakes. The Moss Yellow option is available from March 2022, with the Slate Grey not due until October 2022.
The Sciu Juniper Gravel frameset retails at €1,999. A complete bike will set you back €4,199, rolling out with a Syntace aluminum wheelset, SRAM Force 1 Groupset with 42T chainring, a Spank Flare Vibrocore drop bar and WTB Riddler tires. The Thorn Grey option is available immediately, with the Deep Berry due in October 2022.
