ZACH'S SCARAB PARAMO

Zach’s Scarab Paramo gravel bike makes our BOTW this week.

This is his second custom bike with us (see his previous build; Zach’s Bastion Superleggera), so he can now tear up both tarmac and off-road surfaces!

Zach has recently moved to the Greenwich area and has been inspired by the beautiful surrounding nature as well as seeing all the great gravel rides we regularly go on.

All of our custom builds start with a great conversation at our shop, and gravel conversations with us don’t go far before we mention our love for Scarab Cycles. We personally ride them and really put them to the test too. Juan took his Paramo to Unbound 2022, completing 187 gruelling miles through Kansas’s hardest roads. He reported back a love for both Kansas and his Paramo!

Scarab creates annual limited edition paint schemes for its frames and this years theme was inspired by a solo bike-packing trip in Colombia. Alejandro (Scarab’s Art Director), rekindled a love for cartography when planning his challenge cycling from Medellin to Bucaramanga. Carrying everything by himself through mountains, valleys and across rivers, he documented his trip with this beautiful map illustration on the frame. See the video below to watch the making.

See the video below to watch the making.

Selecting the gear ratio was a fun process for this build. Comparing Campagnolo with Shimano and SRAM made for lengthy discussions. Zach ended up choosing the same gear ratio as Abraham used at Unbound 2022 (SRAM RED XPLR 10-44). This was paired with Princeton Grit 4540 wheels, Pirelli Cinturato H gravel tires and the new ‘One Piece’ Darimo stem/handlebar making this bike tear through even the toughest of surfaces.

Scarab Cycles build steel frames, which gives that beautiful responsiveness and stiff feel. However, it can sometimes raise concerns about the weight.

The modern steel that Scarab use combined with the high end components made this bike a mere 18lbs. It’s lighter than most stock gravel and endurance bikes.

Overall, we’re so pleased to deliver such an amazing bike and can’t wait to ride with you on our next gravel rideout. From Colombia to Greenwich with love!