The staunchest pragmatist can’t deny the simple joy of riding a bike. But if they give off such good vibes, why are they usually painted so minimally? A customer of Colombia’s Scarab Cycles also wondered why and requested paintwork that matches the fun factor. As far as personalities go, the Colombian workshop is one primarily focused on fun, albeit somewhat cautious when it comes to paint schemes for their handmade frames that stray out of their catalogues’ offerings — but their customer was a good friend.

Not only was he a good friend, but he’s also a previous owner of numerous exceptionally expensive bikes with creative paintwork. On top of all of that, he also knows the difference between a Rothko, an Ellsworth Kelly and a Park McArthur. It won’t come as too much of a surprise to find out that he “hates boring bikes” and, as this was a Columbian-made race bike heading to California to live, a paint concept that combined the work of a Colombian and a Californian artist began to emerge. CA artist Richard Diebenkorn’s Ocean Park #79 was referenced, as was the geometric work of Colombian artist Omar Rayo. The art was finalised and the painting was executed in-house which, apart from the design, is standard procedure for Scarab.

Santa Rosa is Scarab’s fast road model but this one is destined to make a statement in front of what will undoubtedly be a pack of boring bikes.