Juan's Scarab Paramo ‘La Rola’

For this week’s bike of the week we’re featuring Juan’s unique Scarab Paramo, christened ‘La Rola’. This is a bike made in Colombia for a Colombian rider and decorated as a tribute to the brightly painted ‘Chiva’ buses of the country, which operate over the country’s mountainous terrain reaching the most remote areas high in the Andes.

“I wanted to express my life during my teenage years as a native of Bogotá,” says Juan. “For the design of my gravel bike I don’t think there is anything more symbolic than a Chiva bus. I could put all the images I like on the bicycle, either on the top tube, seat tube, or any tube.”

Juan was passionate about soccer in his youth and supported Bogotá’s Millionarios FC, watching every home game at the Estadio El Campin with his father, so the Millionarios shield is there with the Signature Cycles logo, the image of baby Jesus and a Mikasa soccer ball. Juan continues: “Chiva buses have a name on the front such as ‘the blonde’ or ‘the dancer’. I decided to name my Chiva bike ‘La Rola’ since that is the term used to refer to a Colombian from Bogotá.”

The parallels with the Chiva bus don’t end with the paintwork: “Chiva buses carry all their equipment on the top or in the back of the bus: I will pack my belongings on ‘La Rola’ for extended bikepacking trips. The purpose of this machine is to allow me to reach the most remote places on the planet and carry any amount of equipment for my adventures.”

Juan’s Scarab Paramo is made from Columbus steel with a Columbus Futura carbon fork and he decided that for an all-terrain bike he needed tough 650b wheels. Scarab Cycles made his dream bike in El Retiro Antioquia just south of Medellin, where Santiago implemented the custom geometry and Alejandro turned Juan’s ideas for the Chiva design into reality.

For the build he chose ENVE AG28 wheels and a SRAM Mullet groupset plus a Quarq power meter chainset, with 46t up front and a 10-52t cassette at the back.

“My bike is one of a kind,” enthuses Juan. “Being an employee of Signature Cycles makes me feel lucky. Scarab Cycles offered us a demo frame for the shop. Ruedi and Abraham allowed me to make it my own and experience first hand what ordering a 100% custom bike is like. It started with a detailed bike fitting done by Geoff Hull. As you can imagine, choosing the groupset and wheels was much easier than choosing the paint – that’s one of the steps in which one can get so immersed."

"After a few months, the frame arrived in the United States and the rest is history. It has been my best bike since that day. The ride feels incredible and super smooth; the perfect mix of steel frame, carbon wheels and tires with a lot of volume makes it a joy to ride.”

Juan rode Unbound in 2022 and now he is hoping to ride it again on ‘La Rola’ next year. He is keeping his fingers crossed and hoping the Chiva designs on the bike will bring him luck. We wish him all the luck in the world, too.