Precision is Personal

Jul 29, 2025

A couple of weeks ago, I got a message from Preston, one of our riders. It was short and simple, but carried a punch.

“From my rider profile for my Santa Rosa... I finally won that race this week!”

I was thrilled for him. I knew how much that race meant. But then something clicked. I wasn’t just happy for Preston. I was happy for us.

Why? Because we build bikes with character. And this, right here, is what character looks like in motion.

If you've ever commissioned a bike with us, you know it starts with the customer profile. If you haven't, here is your window in. This document is more than numbers. Height, weight, shoe size, riding style. It’s a mirror. It asks questions most riders never ask themselves. What do you love about your current ride? What frustrates you? What do you want to achieve?

Back to Preston. He wanted a road disc bike with a very particular attitude. He already had the components, donated from another build. What he needed was a machine tailored to a local crit, one with a short, steep climb and a fast hairpin. He needed something punchy, quick to respond, but still solid enough for long, all-day rides.

What do you want to accomplish with your new SCARAB?
There’s a local weekly crit I go to with a short, punchy climb and a fast hairpin. Punching up the climb quickly and carrying speed into the hairpin is key for the course. I want this bike to be designed with that in mind. Seattle is full of potholes, random road debris so I value nimble handling. However, I still intend on using it on all my road riding, including long 100+ mile rides.

Preston didn’t just tell us what he wanted. He told us what he didn’t. He reflected on past bikes with clarity and honesty. That kind of insight is gold for us.

What you like about your current bike:
It’s a good bike that does everything I want well, but not perfectly. I’m mostly comfortable on long rides. Stable and fast on straight descents. Responsive, predictable handling.

What you don’t like:
The frame is too aggressive. I’ve got 15mm of spacers, an 80mm stem, and the saddle slammed back. I wish it handled sharper. I struggle with downhill corners. Maybe it’s me, but I don’t feel confident leaning the bike. I go in wide and stay wide. And… the paint is boring.

From there, the design process took off. We went deep. Preston brought not just understanding but self-awareness, something we deeply value. This wasn’t just geometry and numbers. This was a conversation, a shared vision. The kind that pushes us to build something better than before.

The result? His Santa Rosa Disc. A compact frame with low trail and short chainstays. Lively, reactive, unapologetically direct. Especially for a frame this size, that kind of sharpness is rare. But Preston knew how to handle it, and more importantly, he wanted that level of precision. This bike responds to power, to touch, to intent.

We also opted for a bottom bracket on the lower side. Not a typical move for crit racing, where pedal clearance is key. But Preston was running shorter cranks, which gave us the margin we needed to avoid pedal strikes in tight corners. In return, that lower center of gravity delivered something we both wanted more of. Stability. Especially at speed. Especially in fast cornering. It was a calculated decision and it paid off.

And then there's the paint. Preston is more than a fast rider. He’s an incredible bird photographer. The Santa Rosa wears an illustration of a kingfisher, a bird known for its flash of color and precision. The colors of the frame were lifted straight from the bird itself. A moving tribute to what he loves, both on and off the bike.