Last year marked the tenth anniversary since the founding of Czech bike builder Festka, or Festka X. And while it was another couple years until their more advanced in-house carbon framebuilding really took off, Festka are reflecting on some of the most popular bikes. This roundup looks at their Followers’ Choice, the seven most popular Festkas of 2020 on Instagram. And then, three ultra-limited X anniversary edition bikes!
Festka X: Best Custom Bikes of Instagram 2020
Based in the center of Prague, Festka says last year saw a huge boom in interest for their bikes. Chalk it up either to us all being cooped up inside looking for a distraction, or according to their surge in sale numbers, a growing interest in truly unique bikes.
In any case, Festka says their Instagram follower numbers doubled over the year, so they decided to highlight their 7 most liked bikes for the year. Have a look at them below, with Festka founder Michael Moureček’s own brief descriptions, from least to most liked…
#7 Festka ONE
ONE: “This bike is a testament to the fact that we can build a beautiful machine even on a budget. It was its simplicity and attractive colour that grabbed the attention of our Instagram audience. They liked it to such a degree that it became the 7th most popular Festka bike of 2020. You might come across it if you ride in and around Prague.”
#6 Festka Spectre Floyd
Spectre: “Another racing machine where all construction was done with performance in mind. The 80mm deep rims require a lot of experience on the part of the rider, as a strong cross-wind might land a novice cyclist in some trouble. The Floyd design takes its original inspiration from spectral dispersion of light: the phenomenon most of us know from using prisms. The stripes are painstakingly painted or gilded in 24 carat gold leaf. It takes 100 hours to complete the paintwork! The bicycle pictured is ridden by one of Festka’s co-founders.”
#5 Festka Scalatore Silver Bullet
Scalatore: “This subtle looking bicycle invites a second look if you wish to truly appreciate its perfect paint job. The sunny clime of Thailand, its current home, surely gives it plenty of opportunity to shine. It takes our paint shop several days to prepare the base needed to achieve such a level of perfection. The inconspicuous looking components rank among the best money can buy. However, you may not notice this straight away as they were either repainted or the original logos were removed.”
#4 Festka Spectre Splash
Spectre: “Built for Hollywood actor Orlando Bloom, everything on this super race bike says performance: four-spoke wheels, ceramic bearings, special aero handlebars… Not a bike for lazy-day wandering! All this is further highlighted by the brilliant colours and the design scheme inspired by 1990s skiing outfits.”
#3 Festka Scalatore Samurai
Scalatore: “The order for this bicycle came from Costa Rica: not a place we often hear from. The customer’s brief was for a light, custom geometry machine with an exclusive choice of components and exceptional design. The unique, hand-drawn motif is the work of leading Czech painter and illustrator, Michal Bačák. Work on a piece like this usually takes a whole year and its price is close to that of a family car.”
We highlighted this particular bike in more detail back last November.
#2 Festka Scalatore Mummy
Scalatore: “Scalatore is a very versatile bicycle. However, with a weight of less than 6 kg, it mainly tempts cyclists to use it for the highest, longest climbs. Except for the US-made wheel rims, all the other components are of European provenance. Something that’s quite rare these days. The design scheme was originally created for a lover of ancient Egypt, hence the stylized mummy bandage and the name.”
#1 of 2020 Festka Rover Camo
Rover: “Gravel bikes are becoming extremely popular. Festka Rover offers road bike performance on asphalt and great fun off-road. The frame’s readiness for bags and racks makes it the perfect companion for bike-packing. The light yet sturdy frame, wireless electronic shifting, and fantastic ENVE wheels put this bike at the top of its class.”
Festka X: 10th anniversary ultra-limited edition bikes
Now for those limited edition anniversary bikes you can actually buy (if your pocketbook can handle it)…
With ten years of custom bikes in the bag, Festka launches X – an ultra-limited edition run of their three most popular bikes. The light & stiff carbon Scalatore X road bike, the endurance road Doppler X mixing carbon & titanium tubing, and the newest carbon Rover gravel bike. In each model, just 10 individually numbered naked-finish frames will be made, decorated with subtle 24k gold detailing, and only offered as a complete, ultralight bike build.
The first anniversary bike available is this $16,500 / 16,000€ Festka Scalatore X. It gets a super-premium Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 build with CeramicSpeed OSPW, carbon SRM Power powermeter cranks & Carbon Ti rings, Darimo carbon cockpit, and Lightweight Wegweiser Evo wheels.
The second anniversary bike is a $20,600 / 19,900€ Festka Doppler X featuring shaped DLC-coated titanium top tube, down & seat tubes to soak up vibration, joined by stiff raw carbon for power transfer.
This superbike gets a Campagnolo Super Record 12 build also with CeramicSpeed OSPW, plus a Cane Creek eeWings titanium crankset, Carbon Ti chainrings & brake rotors, Lightweight Wegweiser EVO wheels, and a Schmolke carbon cockpit.
The third and final anniversary bike will be an equally premium Festka Rover X gravel bike. But we have to wait awhile to see its final build…
Update: That Rover X is a ever-s-slightly more affordable $10,900 / 10,500€. It gets a similar raw + 24K look to the Scalatore X, with a SRAM Force Wide AXS eTap 2x build, Enve cockpit & SES wheels.
