The Scorpi El Camos is a Contemporary lightweight XC bike with a romantic nod to the 90s.
The prototype frame, designed around a minimum number of parts, has no seat tube or seattle
(Pack Shot of Scorpi EL Camos )
The Scorpi El Camos is a radical full-suspension cross-country mountain bike with no seat stay or seat tube.
Designed with “the smallest number of pieces and components possible,” the El Camos frame is said to weigh 1,750 grams in the frame-size medium without rear shock or axle.
The bike has 120mm suspension travel on the front and rear, and the new Italian brand says the entire production process will take place in its home country.
Although El Camos is currently the prototype, Scorpi says it is moving toward launching a full-scale production of the final product. It is possible that there are two models and a team replica.
The frame is looking to retail for โฌ 5,450 and Scorpi plans to sell it worldwide.
Retro-inspired design
El Camos has been a long time in the making. Scholastic
Scorpie was created in July 2021 and the brand’s debut frame was created in collaboration with Advanced Composites Solutions, a combined engineering firm based in Pescara, Italy.
The project began in 1997 with Edo Ferrari, the designer of Sintesi Bazooka, who won the sloppy World Cup. It included a Wi-design framework and was the first to feature a double-link, then patented. Like the DW-Link design.
Other notable Y-design frames of the 1990s include the Trek Y-33 and Cannondale Raven, although both feature traditional swingarms.
Kerry Bason’s Synthesi Bazooka makes an appearance at the 2018 Malvern Classics show. Helen Cousins โโ/ Immediate Media
The Scorpio silhouette is clearly indebted to the Synthesi for lacking its single Swingarm Peace Seat Stay element. The purpose of the seatstays is to push the overfluxing seat tube back (hence the ‘stay’) and since the Swingarm does not include this tube, El Camos takes the design a step further by removing the seat tube.
The brand claims to have tried to keep the overall construction of the El Camos lightweight, with greater weight of the frame centred on the centre of the bike for better performance. This is through a combination of layouts – with Scorpi saying “different types of pre-preg carbon” – and the design inherently reduces weight, where there are no seat tails and no seat tube.
The brand claims that the carbon layout is optimised for compliance while pedalling and descending. According to Scorpi, it takes 20 hours of manpower to make a frame.
The claimed frame weight of 1,750g is quite competitive against current cross-country bikes. The specialist Epic Evo weighs in at 1,869 grams, with the Medium in size and the Factor Lando XC in an unspecified size at 1,900 grams. Both bikes also include 120mm travel – but don’t break the rulebook by declining tubes.
Scorpi says it has filed three parent requests for its frame and suspension design.
Future resistant suspension
A closer look at the motocross-inspired suspension design. Scholastic
Although a large number of cross-country race bikes have a 100mm suspension ride, Scorpi has chosen the 120mm spec because it believes it will be the industry standard for cross-country racing in the future. The frame is also compatible with a 130mm fork.
It uses a single-pivot design with link-activated shock. This design is inspired by the suspension systems used on motocross bikes, where the link is used to tune how progressive the suspension kinetics are.
The swingarm is particularly interesting in that it is attached to about two-thirds of the length of the down tube. The location of the main pivot is tuned to anti-squat-like suspension behaviour, where the Scorpi claims “a more neutral and natural, natural ride.”
Progressive geometry
El Camos has a 66.5-68 degree head-tube angle, which is combined with a 75.2-75.8 degree seat-tube angle, depending on the amount of fork travel.
These numbers are pretty impressive for a 120mm travel cross-country bike. For comparison, the special Epic Evo – arguably the most down-to-earth bike in the entire XC Racer – has a 66.5-degree head-tube angle and a slightly slacker 74.8-degree seat-tube angle of equal size.
The size reaches 450mm in the mid-size El Camos, which is reasonably long for a beefed-up cross-country bike. The Epic Evo comes in at 436mm, but the Trek Top Fuel – which definitely has a more down country-focused program – matches El Camos.
Completely defying the convention is the rear centre, which measures minuscule 418mm in all frame sizes. For the occasion, cross-country mountain bikes measure around the 435-445mm mark. Scorpi says that this is the world record for a 120mm travel bike and we are not inclined to argue.
Generally speaking, the centre of the back is smaller, giving the ride a more responsive and nimble feel. On paper, El Camos should be very smarter in the corner. The Scorpi says the handling is very lightweight when mounted, especially when you lift the technical corners.
Still, El Camos has a 1,168mm wheelbase in the middle of the scale, which makes it ideal for a cross-country bike even at the short end of the scale.
Frame S / M / L / XL
Head Tube Angle (degrees) 66.5-67 / 67-67.5 / 67-67.5 / 67.5-68
Seat Tube Angle (degrees) 75.2-75.8 / 75.2-75.8 / 75.2-75.8 / 75.2-75.8
Head Tube Length (mm) 90 / 95 / 100 / 105
Rear centre (mm) 418 / 418 / 418 / 418
Wheelbase (mm) 1,158 / 1,168 / 1,188 / 1,200
Reach (mm) 435 / 450 / 470 / 485
Stack (mm) 515 / 620 / 625 / 630
Frame details
The bare carbon weave finish keeps the material front and centre. Scholastic
The frame has a carbon weave finish to promote the material in all its colourless glory.
Scorpi has specified the T47 standard bottom bracket shell in El Camos with a width of 86.5mm.
Although the T47 has been adopted by many brands on the road, the mountain bike brands are a bit more hesitant (although the factor is mentioned in the recently launched Lando Cross-Country Platform).
The brand claims that the sleeve travels through the frameset to prevent the internal cables in the frame from getting bogged down. Manufacturing frames accept aluminium guides where cables are inserted into the frame to improve cable routing.
Maximum allowed chaining size is 38 teeth, tire clearance is rated for 29 ร 2.4in mountain bike tires.
Scrappy says that despite the lack of a seat tube, you can use the dropper seatpost in a 31.6mm seat tube. The brand recommends using the Swiss-Italian brand Yep Dropper posts, but says you are free to use any of your choice.
Looking forward to the future
The prototype has a list of pretty exotic parts for its construction. Scorpi has hinted that there are other projects in the ageing pipeline, and it looks like the first of these will be the electric version of El Camos.
(Profile photo of Oscar Huckle)
Mr. Oscar Huckle is a technical writer on Bike Radar. She has been an avid cyclist since her early teens, initially catching a road cycling bug and riding a local club. Since then she has been involved in gravel riding and has recently taken to the dark art of mountain biking. His favourite rides are the epic road or gravel routes, and he has also caught a bike packing bug after completing the King Alfred Way.
Oscar has more than a decade of cycling experience, initially working in various roles at Evans Cycles before joining Carbon Bike Repair. He especially likes the workshop tool Exotica and is an advocate of Campagnolo groups.
Oscar prefers lightweight road and gravel frames with simpler tube shapes than the latest trend of aerodynamics and complete integration. He is obsessed with staying up to date with all the latest technologies, is consistent with the smallest details and is known for his unique opinions.
