Robin is quite a character.
Mechanic in a prestigious shop on the French Riviera, always smiling, always discreet, but as soon as you have to press the pedals he'll leave you in the dust on any surface.
A former mountain bike guide, he has precise riding skills, a steady gaze and, as is well known in the small circles he frequents regularly, the right burst of speed.
At Massacan, we hate clichés, but hey, if they're there it's for a good reason.
And Robin? He's from Reunion Island, so, de facto, he likes car tuning.
That's just how it is, it's in the genes, so lacking a Renault Laguna, the artist set his sights on Paula.
He came to us with a simple request: to create a fast machine everywhere.
Road, gravel, rolling tracks, rough paths.
A custom-made Paula with a strong identity.
And a striking painting, too.
The frame and fork
The base is a Paula V3, crafted from Dedacciai Fire Competition Light aluminum.
It's a high-end aluminum, responsive, precise, which takes a lot of strain when you ask it to deliver and remains comfortable for long days.
Robin has, let's say, a rather unusual physique. No value judgment intended. Just an observation.
Small in stature but big on talent, he could not be satisfied with a standard geometry.
The boy is compact but powerful, very committed to the riding and always in motion on the bike. So we made him a custom geometry, designed for his physique and especially for the way he loads the front wheel and accelerates at the slightest opening.
The frame accepts tires up to 50mm, which allows you to cover almost all surfaces on the French Riviera.
The full carbon fork is stiff enough, gives good grip in the corners and remains very precise when you arrive fast in a corner a little too optimistic, which is literally Robin's signature.
Where this design becomes truly unique is in the sloping of the top tube.
At Massacan, we like clean, somewhat traditional lines and balanced geometries.
But for Robin, the sloping was accentuated by massively reducing the length of the seat tube.
This results in a more compact, more responsive, more playful bike, without compromising stability.
It's a geometry that resembles it. : It's going fast!
The transmission
This is probably the most amazing part of this montage and clearly the one that best tells Robin's story.
He wanted a bike that braked strongly and effectively, with a crisp, progressive, and reliable feel in all conditions. For the mountain biker in him, the benchmark remains Campagnolo hydraulic brakes, developed at the time with Magura and renowned for their consistency.
It's a system he knows, respects, and absolutely wanted to find on his Paula.
At the same time, Robin has a real fondness for the simplicity of wireless.
No cables, no sheaths, no constraints. He wanted clean, minimalist, modern. And for him, the gear shifting had to be AXS. Period.
So we built a hybrid setup. The Campagnolo levers are used for braking, but discreetly house time trial blips integrated into the rubber of the hoods to control a SRAM GX mountain bike rear derailleur.
The result is a combination you rarely see. It's a bit like a sausage rougail. At first you think, "What? Really?" But then, this mix of things not necessarily meant to be combined works wonderfully.
The drivetrain is based on a SRAM Force carbon crankset, fitted with a full aero chainring, perfect for flying on the flats.
The rear derailleur is a SRAM GX AXS, paired with a 10-52 cassette. This combination provides a monstrous gear range. You can ride fast, very fast even, and when things get a bit steeper, you have all the gears you need to keep climbing without pushing yourself too hard.
The wheels
As for the wheels, Robin didn't hesitate for a second.
He wanted something rigid, stable, fast, and that would allow him to fully exploit large tires.
His choice fell on the Zipp 303 XPLR SW.
This is a pair that ticks all the boxes.
54mm profile for aerodynamics, 32mm internal width to swallow 45mm tires in the greatest of calm, a tiny weight of barely more than 1.4kg and a particularly sound behavior when Robin descends the singletracks like Mojitos (that is to say several times in a row, in the greatest of calm and without turning his head upside down).
Peripherals
Robin's cockpit is based on a high-end FSA combo.
The handlebar is an FSA K-Force AGX, a model designed for mixed terrain. It offers a subtle flare.
It's a rigid and lightweight handlebar!
The stem is an FSA SMR. It integrates perfectly with these handlebars and, most importantly, it allows for something Robin absolutely wanted: fully integrated cabling.
Not a single wire out of place. Nothing to disrupt the lines of the bicycle.
The whole thing results in a visually very clean cockpit and it perfectly matches his desire to have an aggressive, modern and well-finished Paula.
The seatpost is a Ritchey Superlogic carbon.
A lightweight, elegant piece, and above all known for having just the right amount of flex.
It adds a bit of vertical flexibility, which is very welcome when you spend long hours in the saddle.
This small extra comfort is exactly what it needed to smooth out the vibrations without altering the frame's nervous behavior.
The saddle is a Selle San Marco Aspide. A classic.
Lightweight, comfortable, streamlined for riders who often ride with their weight on the front.
Robin spends hours there and he needed a saddle that would disappear beneath him.
In the end, all the peripherals were chosen with the same logic as the rest of the bike.
No unnecessary bling. No compromises. Just reliable, consistent, lightweight parts designed to complement the way Robin rides.
In conclusion
This Paula perfectly captures Robin's essence.
A custom-made, lively, compact frame, with this atypical sloping design intended for its electric control.
A deep purple-black paint that gives it a true identity.
A hybrid Campagnolo plus SRAM group that you almost never come across but which works perfectly.
Wide, fast wheels that swallow everything up.
And high-end, integrated, precise peripherals, chosen for long and powerful use.
It's a bike that looks like him.
And when you see how he works and how he understands a bike, you think we wouldn't be surprised if he came back to our workshop a little more often than expected!
