Designed and owned in Germany, Silverback are a relatively new brand to the UK. They make carbon and alloy road bikes, and have come up with some beautiful and purposeful designs for next year. BikeRadar met up with the company at Eurobike, and they’ve just released UK prices exclusively to us.
Scalera
Headlining the road range is the Scalera, the new range-topping carbon race frame that comes in four build models – Pro, 1, 2 and 3. Not only did this bike catch our eye, it also chimed quite nicely with the judges at Eurobike, who gave it a coveted 2012 Award.
The Scalera Pro (price to be confirmed) follows a trend we spotted elsewhere on high-end road bikes at Eurobike – disc brakes. The Pro comes as standard with Shimano’s cyclocross-specific CX75 mechanical stoppers.
All four models use the same aero carbon chassis, an interesting design that has the aesthetic of a time trial bike at its rear end.
The Pro, with a 7.5kg (16.5lb) total weight, is put together with FSA’s BB386EVO bottom bracket, mechanical Dura-Ace (53-39t, 12-25t), to-be-revealed deep sectioned carbon rims, Deda carbon cockpit parts and the brilliantly durable Vittoria Rubino Pro Slick tyres. As with the entire Scalera range, it comes in six sizes, from 49cm to 61cm.
The Scalera 1 (£3,879, 4,899 Euros) gives a decent clue to the price of the Pro, given that it retains much of its spec. The disc brakes are gone, replaced by Dura-Ace callipers, and the rims are Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLs. But apart from that the bikes look very similar. Rim brakes bring total bike weight down to 7.2kg (15.8lb).
The 7.7kg (16.9lb) Scalera 2 (£2,609, 3,299 Euros) looks to be a competitively priced Ultegra Di2 bike, with a drop in wheel spec (Mavic Cosmic Elites) and alloy Deda cockpit components to reflect the cost. It comes with a 53/39t double chainset and 11-25t cassette.
Propping up the range is the 7.4kg (16.3lb) Scalera 3 (£2,059, 2,599 Euros) with its mechanical Ultegra group. Its compact chainset reflects its target audience well, and you get the same Rubino Pro Slick tyres you see throughout the Scalera range. Again, Mavic provide the hoops – their alloy Cosmic Elites. Deda deliver an aluminium cockpit.
A bulbous Scalera head tube swallows cables for internal routing
Space
Next up in Silverback’s road range is the Space. There are three models, which share a carbon frame with a fat, tapered head tube and carbon fork.
The Space 1 gets Shimano Ultegra throughout, with a 10-speed transmission and a Mavic Aksium wheelset. It weighs 7.6kg (16.7lb) and costs £1,729 (2,189 Euros).
All three Space bikes feature distinctively curving seatstays and run Shimano compacts. The Space 2 has Shimano 105 and Mavic CXP 33 rims, weighs 8.3kg (18.3lb) and costs £1,429 (1,799 Euros). The Space 3 gets Tiagra, Alex Race 28 alloy wheels and a £1,149 (1,449 Euros) price tag. It weighs 8.7kg (19.1lb).
Strela
Next on the evolutionary scale is the Strela, with its hydroformed alloy frame and straight carbon fork.
The Strela 1 has Shimano 105, weighs 9.1kg (20lb) and costs £909 (1,149 Euros). The Strela 2 is fitted with Tiagra, weighs 9.3kg (20.5lb) and costs £759 (949 Euros). Elsewhere, the Strela 2 has Shimano Sora 9-speed, weighs 9.2kg (20.3lb) and costs £759 (799 Euros).
The whole Strela range, like the Scalera and Space, is available in XS, S, M, L, XL and XXL sizes.
Scento
The Scento is Silverback’s flat-bar 700c option, with a 6061 custom-butted alloy frame, V brakes and a triple chainring. It’s also available in three models.
The Scento 1 has a carbon fork, 10-speed Shimano Tiagra and Alex Race 28 alloy wheels. It weighs 9.8kg (20lb) and costs £649 (819 Euros).
The Scento 2 and 3 share an alloy fork, with differences in the spec of 9-speed or 8-speed Shimano transmission translating to weights of 10.1kg (22.2lb) and 10.4kg (22.9lb) respectively. The Scento 2 costs £559 (699 Euros) and the Scento 3 £419 (529 Euros).
Rob Spedding, editor of Cycling Plus, spoke to Silverback head of innovations Raoul de Villiers at Eurobike. Watch the video below to hear what he had to say about the Scalera 1:
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