James’s Swift ‘classic’ racer

Disc brakes internal routing and electric gears? No thanks

Ifi

rst 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 ˆ‰Šˆ design boxy down tube and chainstays for stiffness skinny seatstays for comfort bladed fork for aero gains ˆ’mm absolute max tyre clearance and a racer’s geometry

Hinting at its pre production ways it also had a bonded alloy sleeve in the PF•‰ 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 R•ˆ 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 R•ˆ’s internal width was a mere Š™mmš sound positively antique but at the time my mind was blown

And Šˆ years on I feel the Ultravox’s first spec sheet still compares favourably

Sure the Sram Red ‘only’ had ˆˆ gears and braking on carbon rims in anything other than perfect conditions was… an experience

But it weighed just Š ™œŠg ˜claimedš 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 g 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 † 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 Œ Ž kg The †ŒŒg DT Swiss Mon Chasseral wheels and Veloflex tubeless tyres a snip at just † g help but otherwise this is a basic bike and one that was not ever considered top tier The frame weighs a claimed Ž• ga nd the frame set costa middle„ of„ the„ road –† • in †• †

Weight aside what endears the Ultravox to me is its ride feel It is stiff and agile feeling highly chuck„able thanks to short

™ •mm chainstays and Žš›mm wheelbase yet stable enough owing to a longish Œ mm 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 ™ •mm 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 overž I just love it It has been all over the world with me and has never let me down

On my first ride out in South Africa I beat Stephen Roche in the Cape Rouleur’s time trial

As a child James spent most evenings taking his bike apart in his parents’ hallway for no other reason than to put it back together again The result was a lot of leftover bolts which presumably weren’t that important as the brakes rarely failed