All dimensions based on Medium frame

• Effective top tube length (TT) 23.1in
• Seat tube, centre to top (ST) 19.5in
• Chainstay (CS) 16.25in
• BB height (BB) 11.8in
• Head angle 70.5°
• Seat angle 73°
• Frame weight 1.39kg (3lb)

Frame

Carbon fibre is the material of choice at the moment – it’s evident in most bike brands’ catalogues these days. While some companies may take an off-the-shelf frame and slap on their own decals, Scapin clearly haven’t with the Fybra. Have you ever seen anything look, well, so out there? Designed and manufactured in Italy, the Fybra is about as unique as you’re likely to get this side of hand-building your own frame in your shed.

The only non-unique aspect of the bike is that it shares the traditional double-diamond layout for assembling the various tubes. Made from high modulus carbon, the Fybra is a carbon-fetishist’s delight: mad swoops and curves, intersecting box-section tubes, t-shaped bits, moulded gussets, everything oversized – it more than stands out when wheeled out next to some rival carbon offerings

With 70.5°/73° angles, a long top tube and a 100mm fork propping up the front end, the Fybra’s intended usage is clearly that of an XC nature. But it has ambitions beyond the race track – Scapin has built it a little heavier than it could have done (claimed frame weight is 1.39kg/3lb – still distinctly on the light side) and designed in some comfort to the rear end rather than going all-out for stiffness.

The most striking feature is the extended seat mast. All the rage on road bikes right now, this is first MTB we’ve seen with a half-integrated seat tube (Scott’s Spark Limited has a full-length version). The concept is the same though: to reduce weight and increase the stiffness of the seat stays/top tube/seat tube junction. We had no problems during the time we had the bike, but a couple of failures of the seat mast has led Scapin to scrap it on all future models coming out of the factory. So we won’t say much more about it.

The rest of the frame is vaguely more conventional, just. A T-shaped top tube neatly conceals both gear cables and rear disc hose, while a large square-section down tube flares to create a larger contact area with the integrated head tube. Concealed inside the oversize bottom bracket is the ROTO device, Scapin’s spin on an eccentric bottom bracket. It allows fine-tuning of the seat angle and bottom bracket height, and you should be able to use it to get a tensioner-free singlespeed setup too (although you might need to use a half-link as well). We didn’t feel the necessity to alter the setup as the bike came, but it’s there should you want to.

The rear half of the frame is made up of box section seat stays which curve ever-so-slightly throughout their length. They’re like this to provide a hint of trail damping, which Scapin have labeled CFS, or Carbon Flex System. It’s not magic, invisible shock dissipation, either – you can actually detect the amount of flex available by leaning on the saddle in the car park, and out on the trail it’s pleasingly compliant. It got us through 12 hours of CLIC24 and we felt as unbattered as if we’d been riding a short travel full-susser.

The chainstays look like they might be a lesson in style over function, with tall box section tubes leaving the bottom bracket and being met halfway along by flared and curved round tubes. The whole lot looks as if HR Giger may have had something to do with it, but we’d imagine that the rationale is to keep that compliance in the back end without it being all floppy side-to-side. Chain and seatstays meet at extremely neat dropouts.

To put at rest a common worry about the durability of carbon when hit by trail debris, Scapin have stuck a thin sheet of aluminum to the underside of the down tube and similarly on the driveside chainstay. Any scratches or scrapes on those can be polished out, or if they’re really battered you could just replace them.

Components

Importers Veloce Bikes built our Fybra with Shimano’s new 2007 XTR groupset, with the exception of an FSA K-Force chainset. We won’t dwell on the component choices too much, Veloce Bikes will build you a Fybra with any spec you like, but suffice to say the new XTR stuff is delightful to use. The multi-release triggers take a little getting used to – if you’re a SRAM user you’ll find yourself accidentally shifting multiple gears at once – but a little time and patience and the choice of either pushing or pulling the lower lever (for upshifts) turns out to be highly pleasing.

Finishing kit came from FSA, with a CarbonPro stem and super-wide handlebars. Michelin Dry 2 tyres were fine (in the dry) and a Fox F100 fork did the business up front. Our only niggle was the annoyingly hard-to-use seat clamp on the Scapin-branded seat post. A Selle Italia saddle had to be whipped off for something more fitting for this tester.

Ride

Our first impression on the Fybra was how solid the bike felt. From looking at it we’d almost expected it to be fragile and skittish, but throw a leg over and it’s exactly the opposite: direct and razor sharp responsive.

Carbon is a flexible material in that it allows designers to tailor the characteristics of the ride. In this case Scapin have made a rear end that remains taut under load but also reduces a lot of the trail feedback that can contribute to a harsh ride – you don’t get bounced around too much on rocky sections. We put it to test in the CLIC24 event, and after 12 hours were really appreciating the comfort, with the stretched out cockpit ideal for nailing the long climbs on the course.

Everything on the frame is well thought out. Cable routing displays good attention to detail, the aluminum shields for protecting the integrity of the carbon are a nice touch (the chainstay guard was showing clear signs of damage, although that shows it was doing its job) and plenty of tyre clearance.

Putting a shorter stem in place livened the handling up, instantly turning the Fybra into a more playful bike for lazy jaunts across the countryside. Handling is predictable and reassuring, yet nimble enough to dart through singletrack. Wafting up climbs, railing our favourite singletrack, dodging in and out of trees – in every situation the Fybra excels.

While it’s clearly going to be of more interest to XC racers, we’d urge those who want a fast, light, comfortable hardtail for all-day use and some racing to seriously take a look. It’s not often that something this unique comes along.

Positives: Unique looks, rarity value, rides supremely well

Negatives: Question mark over the integrated seat tube

Verdict: We have to applaud Scapin for designing one of the most distinctive frames we’ve seen in a while. Scapin could have produced a lighter frame that would win more XC race fans, but in deciding to take a broader approach they’ve opened up the Fybra to a far wider audience. We were left wondering what we could Ebay to afford one…

Performance: 5/5
Value: 4/5
Overall: 4/5