SWARF CYCLES
How engineer turned bike builder Adrian Bedford moved his passion for aviation into steel and lux
Is aerospace engineering boring or is building bikes just better? A high number of boutique bike builders come from this background, and Adrian Bedford of Swarf Cycles is one of them. Having designed military aircraft systems for over a decade, the West Sussex-born engineer questioned whether the office was where he saw his future. As a passionate MTBer, Adrian was uninspired by the short-travel bikes he was riding, “which all seemed to break scarily quickly”. Deciding he could do better, he built a frame in 2011. “I grew up with that mentality of ‘having a go’,” explains Adrian. “My brother and I used to spend a lot of time with our grandad building and flying model aircraft or tinkering in his workshop making dangerous things!”
The bike Adrian built wasn’t just unique, but ahead of its time too – a 150mm-travel ‘enduro’ rig with a high pivot and an idler wheel. “But it was a blatant rip-off of the Balfa BB7!” admits its creator. “I owned a Balfa and loved it, so I made myself a lighter, more pedal-friendly version, with a steel front triangle and carbon swingarm.” The opportunity for Adrian to test his handiwork presented itself soon after, when he was offered a guiding job by some friends out in Verbier, Switzerland. He quit his job and, when the bike survived the summer, built a few hardtails and frames for friends, before redesigning his full-sus bike and naming it the Curve. The idea for Swarf came from the small shards of metal that Adrian would find everywhere in his house after machining moulds for the Curve’s swingarm. Unfortunately, the carbon rear end was too labour-intensive to be financially viable, so Adrian shelved the bike before release. “I still made seven though and, as far as I know, they’re still going strong,” he says proudly.
Around the time he switched to full-steel construction, Adrian discovered 29in wheels. He made himself a hardtail – the Spline – and this became Swarf’s first production bike. An evolved version is still in the line-up today, along with the 29er Contour full-sus that came next. Adrian’s a firm believer that good geometry and suspension are more important than big travel, so the Contour only has 115mm of rear bounce, but it’s proven itself on the super-tech trails around his Scottish home.
“Designing, prototyping and developing are my favourite parts of the process,” he tells us. “My designs are functional first and foremost, but I ensure they look good because, let’s face it, aesthetics are a main reason people buy one bike over another!” Conscious of the growing number of steel bike makers in the UK, Adrian is careful not to tread on any toes. As far as he’s aware, he was the first builder to use steel flex stays, and says: “Now, when I see frames that are incredibly similar to the Contour, it’s frustrating.”
MY DESIGNS ARE FUNCTIONAL, FIRST AND FOREMOST, BUT I MAKE SURE THEY LOOK GOOD BECAUSE, LET’ S FACE IT, AESTHETICS ARE IMP OR ANT!