2024 BIKES OF THE YEAR

Juan Vargas
Head of Purchasing and Merchandising

Alessia's Scarab Apuna

My bike of the year can't be anything other than Alessia's Scarab Apuna. Yes, whilst choosing a steel bike as my favourite of the year is seemingly a tradition for me, this is also a steel bike made in my home country of Colombia, with a unique and distinctive paint design, now with fully internally routed cabling and all the requirements to be a superbike.

As an all-road bike, it can be fast, or its custom geometry and wide tire clearance can be taken off-road. From a multi-day bike tour to a gravel race, you can take this bike on any adventure you want to. 

Over the years, I have seen Scarab Cycles work to improve and perfect their bikes, and I am a witness to their constantly impeccable and magnificent work.

Andres Vargas
Bicycle Technician

Eric's FiftyOne Custom

Why choose Eric's bike over all of the other builds we've made this year? For me, he nailed every single detail on the bike. The base build is excellent, starting with a handmade carbon fiber frame tailored to his measurements, Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, one of the best wheelsets on the market and all possible upgrades. But we're fortunate enough to build bikes like that often.

What sets this bike apart is its attention to detail, making it one of the finest and most interest paint jobs I've ever seen. The closer you look, the more questions you have for him, with each detail leading to another fascinating story. You'll find his favourite bands, hints at his love for jiu-jitsu, and a record of his 617 skydives. The bike is a picture of a life very well lived.

We were excited to work on this project, and hope to see many more like these in 2025.

Alex Hellner
Fit Technician

Mike's Seven Evergreen S Touring

My pick for Bike of the Year would have to be Mike's Seven Evergreen S Touring Bike.

I love the blend of trusted standards with new technology, and this bike is a great example of how to combine modern parts and old-school sensibility.  The aesthetic is clean and timeless.

It is an extremely versatile on or off-road touring bike that'll clear up to 700x47 tires. The bike geometry was designed just for Mike and features slack angles for all day comfort and a head tube extension for proper standover. The frame has straight-gauge titanium tubes which will never rust and are strong and stiff enough to carry heavy panniers with just the right amount of flex.  The wheels have high-flange hubs, carbon rims and 32 spokes each, so they'll stay true for many adventures.

Thanks to the fact that Seven Cycles now offers a UDH dropout, it has a very unique component selection and it's the only bike I've ever seen with a SRAM XPLR 1x13 electronic group paired to Paul Klamper cable actuated disc brakes.

Santiago Santana
Head Technician

LuisFe's Scarab Santa Rosa

My choice for bike of the year has to go to this Scarab Santa Rosa, built for Luis Felipe. This bike is a perfect example of mixing steel with carbon tubes, while keeping all cables integrated. It represents Scarab as more than just a Colombian builder of steel all-road bikes, and shows them to also be making some of the highest performance and best built road bikes on the market.

As someone who appreciates both vintage and modern bikes, this bike perfectly balances the two, with the clean look of a modern bike but the riding experience and simplicity of an older steel bike. Along with an understated paint job, this bike has it all, and is my favourite of the year.

Abraham Soler
Co-owner, Lead Fit Technician

Zach's Bastion ArchAngel

I have chosen Zach's bike because it embodies everything that we stand for at Signature, not only the ability to create a unique and highly limited edition custom bike, but also the tenacity to solve problems when things don't quite work out as planned the first time. We believe in our partners, and stand behind every project we deliver.

This beautiful bike is right at the very height of current bike technology, and is a tribute to Australian bike building, using Bastion's unique carbon layup, 3D printed titanium components, hand built Australian wheels and alcantara handlebar tape. It represents quality and exclusivity, being one of only 88 bikes made, and the first ArchAngel in North America. The very latest in the evolution of hand-built custom bikes, and an experience you can only get from Signature.

Ruedi Laager
Co-owner

Rich's Mosaic GT-1 iAR

I was extremely excited to see this build come together, as it's the result of another excellent collaboration between us, our client and Mosaic. Rich walked into our shop with a clear idea of what his next bike was going to be, and we rose to his every request. For it, Mosaic drew on their rich expertise in Pro Gravel racing, giving him the same highly tuned experience a pro would have when spec'ing their bike. 

Mosaic also went well out of their way to create this unique paint job that highlights the beauty of the bike, as well as integrating the bike pump while keeping the overall look clean and refined. Excellent components and a perfect set of wheels complete this dream build.

Personally, when seeing builds like this come together, I feel very fortunate that we can make projects like these happen for our clients, and I know this bike will create many unforgettable memories for Rich.