SUPPLYING THE PROS
Right when I started Swift Carbon in 2008 I had an ambition that the bikes would be raced on the world stage. I never told anyone because it would have sounded like a pipe dream but it always motivated me to keep improving every model and developing ideas. About two years ago I started making enquiries and the common response was, “Are you sure you really want to get into this?” I said, “Damn sure I do!” I was a bit naïve…
The first team I talked to shut the door in my face – they’d never heard of Swift Carbon. The next door stayed open but to walk through it required a huge amount of cash and over 100 bikes, which was a shock. That figure alone was way over our entire marketing budget and the general rule is: if you spend $100 on a team, you need another $100 to leverage the team sponsorship to make the most on your investment. I think at that point, I stopped dreaming and came back down to reality.
Then Jonathan Cantwell contacted me out of the blue. He told me that he had a young family and was considering moving back to Australia after racing in Europe with Saxo-Tinkoff. He was very interested in the bikes, we chatted a lot and I sent him a bike to test. He clearly liked it because he proposed he represent Swift Carbon in Australia. He’s a true sprinter – everything happens way faster than when dealing with ‘normal’ people.
He then asked if we were interested in becoming the bike sponsor of the Drapac team. I was, and for several reasons: I’d long admired the team and its approach, they were stepping up to ProContinental level in 2014 and they have a good race programme in our key markets. From the beginning the Drapac
When Drapac first got the bikes I was anxious to hea r what the ride rs th ought of them . Happ ily, it was all positive
guys were really professional and easy to deal with. Jono facilitated everything and we negotiated, then signed the deal to supply 51 Ultravox road bikes and 17 Neurogen TT bikes. Now he’s about to open our second Concept Store, in Melbourne. For a brief moment, I basked in the glow – in January 2014, Swift Carbon bikes would line up at the start of the WorldTour alongside the superstars in world cycling. We’d be competing with all the major bike brands but I didn’t doubt our bikes for a second. I figured Jono wouldn’t have contacted me were it not for the reputation we’ve built over the last few years. The team ride off-the-shelf bikes, with the exception of the sprinters, for whom we add about 50g of reinforcing carbon to the frames to handle the 1,500W+ these guys put out.
When Drapac first got the bikes I was anxious to hear what the riders thought of them. Happily, it was all positive. In fact, “awesome” was the word most used. It was a great feeling – the ride characteristics that I tuned into the bike were being appreciated by the boys who ride them for a living.
These guys fly down mountains at 100kph. From being a pro once myself, I’ve seen the hammering the equipment gets so this is the ultimate test. I always wanted Swift Carbon to produce worldclass products so we do our homework in order to design and engineer a bike that is as close to technical perfection as possible. I hate the idea of a brand that’s all marketing and no substance. I know our chief carbon engineer, Boris Simarnoff, and head designer, Rene Baretta, feel the same way.
I can barely describe the feeling when I saw the results from the Australian Nationals U23 TT. We knew Jordan Kerby has a massive engine so we were expecting a good ride from him but when I went onto Cyclingnews.com and saw he’d won, with him and the bike all over the front page, it was an incredible feeling. He seems to like the Neurogen!
The team relationship isn’t just an endorsement/ supplier deal. We signed for three years and we have a formal feedback programme that the riders are involved in, so they will be highly influential in developing the bikes they’ll be riding in the future. In fact we’re already using their input in designing the 2016 Ultravox and they’re testing our new integrated TT cockpit.
Going forward, we’re supporting Drapac’s bid for WorldTour status but if they get it we’ll then have to renegotiate! I’ve learnt from a few bike brands not to get stuck in the ego trap of trying to match the super brands, so we want to do it in a sustainable way. It’s the ultimate dream of any young bike brand owner to see our bikes ridden in a grand tour and I feel very lucky to have that chance.