Bikes come in all shapes in sizes, but few look as cool as Serenity Bicycle Works’ new carbon offerings, the Marvel (pictured above) and Bliss framesets. They’re sleek, sexy, and available in just about any color. See more shots, specs, and price, including the equally cool Bliss frames, after the break.
Marvel
The Marvel, a futuristic looking carbon monocoque frame and fork combo, uses gigantic, curving tubes to make it at least look fast (we’ve yet to put any serious miles into one) while remaining fairly light at a claimed 1300g (2.86 pounds).
The Marvel comes in four frame variations; the flagship Marvel S (a track frame), the Marvel R (a road frame with geometry almost identical to the Marvel S), the Marvel M, which features a seatmast, and the Marvel T, a variation that uses a seat mast and front fork with 43mm offset rake to turn the Marvel into a TT rig.
The bike above is the track-minded Marvel S, displayed in a bare carbon weave finish, but the frames come in eight high-gloss colors, and the company offers another 8 “semi-custom” color combos as well.
The Marvel is beefy all around, starting with the bottom bracket, which comes configured for either BB30 or external bottom brackets.
The seatpost is adjustable via a single bolt in front of the post. Again, a huge junction at the seatpost and seat stays leaves little worry about stiffness on this rig.
The Marvel S will also appeal to the fixed gear crowd as a bold, sexy statement bike, shown here in green with a “urban assault” build.
I was also particularly impressed with the seat tube following the curve of the rear wheel, a common trait seen in frames looking to reduce rear wheel drag.
A 1 1/8″-1 1/2″ tapered headtube/fork combo offers lots of stiffness up front, perfect for the track.
All the Marvel models feature a heavily curved top tube. You can also see the teardrop profile on the downtube.
Rich Protasiewicz, owner of Serenity, says he fully expects to receive a UCI seal of approval for the Marvel when the UCI’s sticker compliance program takes effect. All models are currently available from size XS to XL, with a retail price of $2,750 for the S and M models, and $3,000 for R and T model frames with seat masts.
Bliss
The Serenity Bliss frames are a little more traditional, but still maintain the compelling looks Serenity seems to be focusing on. Designed for the road, the Bliss comes in the 1300g M model, which features a seat mast, or the 1000g Bliss S, which uses a regular seat post.
The Bliss still offers custom and semi-custom two-color paint schemes, and they look really nice. While a bit more reserved in the aesthetics department, the Bliss still has all the bells and whistles of a modern road machine, with a tapered headtube/fork (1 1/8″ – 1 1/2″), BB30 option, and full monocoque construction.
A matching straight blade fork up front tapers to 1 1/2″ to road vibrations to a minimum.
To complete the custom feel to these bikes, the company also offers color coordinated aero handlebars for an additional $150, with the paint scheme matched to the bike. They use an ergonomic drop profile, and are rather thick up top so you will have a nice place to rest your palms.
The Bliss M and S models both retail at $1,440 and go up from there with custom paint. Discounted prices are also available for shops and teams. Both the Bliss and Marvel models are available now.
Want one? More info, specs, and online purchase available here.
