What we ride: James’s Swift ‘classic’ racer

Cyclist
What we ride: James’s Swift ‘classic’ racer

I first clapped eyes on this bike waaaaaay back. It arrived in the Cyclist office just like me – brand new, unproven and some months before we’d even sent the first issue of Cyclist to the printers. It was a pre-production frameset for a bike that would become a stalwart of the SwiftCarbon range: the Ultravox.

The bloke who brought it in and sat me down to explain it was Swift’s founder, Mark Blewett, a South African ex-pro who had upped sticks to China to live by the factory that was making his frames.

Blewett was my baptism into the ways of Far East manufacturing, opening my eyes to the fact that behind most bike brands stood a slew of ‘gun for hire’ Chinese factories.

These ‘vendors’ produced overseas designs using expertise, materials and machines that the West could only dream of. Blewett’s rationale of being so close to the action was to exploit such talents while ensuring quality control and quick decisions.

This frame was one of the first results and bore all the hallmarks of cutting-edge 2012 design: boxy down tube and chainstays for stiffness, skinny seatstays for comfort, bladed fork for aero gains, 28mm absolute max tyre clearance and a racer’s geometry.

Hinting at its pre-production ways, it also had a bonded alloy sleeve in the PF30 BB instead of moulded carbon, and graphics that didn’t quite line up. Look at this bike’s head tube and fork and you’ll see it’s actually the Swiift.

Big day out

At Blewett’s invitation I built the Ultravox frameset up with a Sram Red groupset and some Reynolds R32 wheels to ride it at the Cape Rouleur sportive in his native South Africa.

By today’s standards a mechanical rim brake groupset and a pair of skinny carbon wheels (the R32’s internal width was a mere 17mm) sound positively antique, but at the time my mind was blown. And 12 years on I feel the Ultravox’s first spec sheet still compares favourably.

Sure, the SRAM Red ‘only’ had 22 gears and braking on carbon rims in anything other than perfect conditions was… an experience. But it weighed just 1,741g (claimed), which as far as I’m aware makes it the lightest groupset ever produced.

Similarly, the Reynolds wheels would be competitive even now, weighing just 1,351g (claimed) – no mean feat given carbon wheels back then needed lots of extra material in the brake track so they didn’t just melt. You kids with your disc brake wheels don’t know you’re born.

On my first ride out in South Africa, I beat Stephen Roche in the Cape Rouleur’s time-trial. OK, he was 52 and was only there as a celebrity draw, but still, this was Triple Crown-winning Stephen Roche. The Ultravox must have been good, because I certainly wasn’t.

The test of time

Over the coming years the Ultravox served as a test mule for all manner of parts, until time slowly rendered it obsolete. I mean, look, you can see the bloody cables. But I still love it and ride it when I can.

For starters the Ultravox weighs less than most bikes I test today. This is a size medium and weighs a mere 6.93kg. The 1,266g DT Swiss Mon Chasseral wheels and Veloflex tubeless tyres (a snip at just 255g) help, but otherwise this is a basic bike and one that was not ever considered top tier. The frame weighs a claimed 950g and the frameset cost a middle-of-the-road £2,150 in 2012.

Weight aside, what endears the Ultravox to me is its ride feel. It is stiff and agile, feeling highly chuck-able thanks to short 410mm chainstays and 987mm wheelbase, yet stable enough owing to a longish 61mm trail. Interestingly, these are all figures that disc brake bikes struggled to return to after early disc brake placement played havoc with things such as chainstay length (430mm anyone?).

There’s a reason I’ve ridden the Ultravox so much I’ve had to replace the jockey wheels and the headset and the BB many times over: I just love it. It has been all over the world with me and has never let me down.

James’s Swift ‘classic’ racer specs

• This article originally appeared in issue 152 of Cyclist magazine. Click here to subscribe

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