Mastering the art of hand-built bikes — Take a look at this Festka "Kafka on a bike"

The Czech brand Festka first made an appearance in the world of cycling in 2010, creating high-end carbon bike frames. In this short time, it has become one of the "most interesting and expensive" bike brands in the world, renowned for its original designs and daring collaborations with artists.

@Tom Hnida

Carbon tubes are the core building material for every Festka frame, using a "unique production technology" of joining wound carbon filament tubes via tube-to-tube joints. Festka says its capability to work with individual fibres brings nearly unlimited design options, allowing them to optimise the tubes to virtually any specifications.

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@Tom Hnida

Lyndon, the client for this unique bike, chose a custom geometry Festka Scalatore. Festka says the Scalatore maximises performance and is low weight, providing "the perfect combination of stiffness and comfort."

With the right setup, Festka says the disc brake Scalatore can be under 6kg; however, it comes at a cost to have one of the best road bikes. Framesets start at €‎5,990 (around £5,100) or the fanciest of builds will set you back €‎11,400 (around £9,800). 

This Festka is no exception to its comprehensive range of bikes with its 'frame tattoo' from illustrator Michal Bačák inspired by motifs from Franz Kafka's books. Franz Kafka is considered one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, blending realism and the fantastic. 

Michal has a distinct style, with his illustrations featuring in books and on walls, as well as on porcelain. The 'Kafka on a bike' almost looks as though the frame has been tattooed, due to Michal's style, and that the drawings were done directly on the frame in a special felt-tip pen. His work can be seen on two previous Festka bikes, the Porcelain Bike and the Samurai Festka. 

@Ondrej Szollosz

Festka says "your Scalatore deserves the best", so it recommends the ideal set of components for you and your riding style. Lyndon's 'Kafka on a bike' features an ENVE cockpit and ENVE SES wheels. The ENVE road stem has been painted to match the rest of the aesthetic. 

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@Ondrej Szollosz

ENVE has overhauled its entire wheel range for 2022 by ditching rim brake options and introducing two new depths, which you can read about here. 

This bike has been built up with the ENVE SES 3.4 wheelset which is said to be "versatile, aero, light, and fast", weighing 1390 grams. They are currently £1,800 on Sigma Sports. 

They are a tubeless-only design and these wheels have been fitted with the Tufo Comtura 3 TR Tubeless Road Tyre. 

@Tom Hnida

Finally, this Festka Scalatore has been built with a wireless SRAM Red 12-speed groupset, which currently costs around £2,100. The chainsets are available with an optional power meter. 

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@Tom Hnida

www.festka.com

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