This week we're featuring Juan's FiftyOne Sika and here Juan shares his experience with his new bike:

The Sika is synonymous with fast. I'd been riding only steel bikes for a while, and I hadn't considered what a carbon bike felt like, and I was surprised by how fast it felt. Very light and stiff. SRAM RED 12-speed AXS and a dream wheelset, what a difference! Lightweight Pfadfinder wheels. I couldn't ask for more incredible wheels, and the acceleration they have is mind-blowing!

I was hesitant about building an integrated bike because of the limited room for modifications, but I desperately want a carbon road bike with disc brakes. I wanted something different from what I already had. I wanted disc brakes and something lighter.

After 325 miles, I can say it's a fast, responsive, agile, and very light bike. I couldn't be happier. I know I made the right decision choosing the FiftyOne Sika. After confirming the data from my bike fit and determining it was a size M with a 100/42 handlebar, I returned to the dilemma of what color I wanted for my new bike. Without denying my weakness for blue, and taking advantage of the fact that the new Sika color for 2026 was going to be a white frame with blue logos, it occurred to me to invert the colors, resulting in, to my surprise, one of the best blues you can find on a bicycle. It's a chameleon-like blue with purple highlights, depending on the angle you look at it from.

Now, of the four bikes I own, three are SRAM, while one is Shimano. This particular bike has a 46/33 chainring ratio with a 10/33 cassette. The first two rides were to get to know the bike and get used to the gap between the sprockets. After that, it seems like a perfect gear ratio for my type of pedaling, where I aim to have a high cadence most of the time.

For this build, I also wanted to try wider tires. With the frame allowing me up to 40mm slick tires, I had to take advantage and get out of the ordinary. It wasn't much, but I have 700 x 30c and they feel incredible. With the possibility of putting less pressure in the tires, the ride quality is unmatched. God bless tubeless and wide tires.

Aidan, the owner of FiftyOne, is the magician behind the curtain. He's a beast at making bikes. Thanks to him and his team, I can now ride the most beautiful bike I've ever owned, and it will be hard to top.