2010 Singular Swift 29er (updated November 2010)

I fell in love with these frames after seeing the swift and the hummingbird 69er on here. After doing some research I really fancied trying a 29er and what better than a British brand steel framed beastie in a gorgeous baby blue.

I wanted to try and recreate a bike that reminded me of the old racers fitted with wide cowhorn bars I used to ride in the early 80s and also to use as much British brand kit as possible(with the odd exception)

Anywho here it is, currently shod in 26" wheels whilst i decide between a set of Halo Freedom disks in white or Halo Aerowarriors in silver, either set to be built up on Hope Pro2 hubs in matching gunsmoke.





Build details as follows

Frame: Singular Swift

Fork: Singular Swift Reynolds 520 rigids

Headset: Hope gunsmoke
Stem: Hope 90mm 10degree rise
Handlebar: Soma Fabrication Noah's Arc Bar
Grips: Brooks
Barends: n/a

Brakes: Hope Minis X2 Pro with 160mm sawtooth floating rotors
Brake Pads: -
Brake Cables: Hope braided
Cantilever cable hangers: -
Brake Levers: -

Shifters: Shimano Dura ace bar end shifter on Paul Thumbie mount
Front Derailleur: n/a
Rear Derailleur: XTR M950 Rapid rise
Derailleur Cables: Jagwire braided
Cassette: SRAM
Chain: SRAM 991
Cranks: DMR ex-type
Crank Bolts: n/a
Chainrings: FSA 37 teeth
Chainring bolts:Shimano
Bottom Bracket: Hope stainless gunsmoke
Pedals: MKS

Hub Skewers: Hope silver
Rims: Mavic to be halo Frredom disc 29er or Aerowarrior
Hubs: to be Hope Pro2 in gunsmoke
Nipples: ?
Spokes: ?
Tyres: thinking Halo twin rail or choirmaster 29ers
Tubes: ?

Saddle: Charge Spoon
Seatpost: Condor (temp)
Seatpost Binder: Hope gunsmoke

Nice, I'll look forward to seeing it when it gets its new wheels - I bet you have to corner very carefully to avoid pedal strike with those 26" ones . I'd go with silver rims probably, although white would actually look pretty special...
Tyres - I can recommend 2.35" Panaracer Rampage (run tubeless).

To stick with the retro feel - Middleburn RS7 cranks and a UNO chainring would be just the ticket, in my opinion. Are you sticking with 1x9 or is it going to be singlespeed and is that a medium size frame BTW?

The blue is "Pigeon Blue", RAL 5014 if you ever need any touch-up paint . It's nice to see a few more "Singulars" about - they are beautifully finished frames and Sam is a cool guy to deal with too.

And speaking of cool - when can Karen and I move into your house?
Cast iron range, proper tiles and good "tree wood" furniture.

Just perfect.....

PS - I hear that Middleburn will shortly have external BB compatible cranks available, that way you can keep the Hope BB and have British cranks

Thanks Andy

It is a medium and fits like a glove with me being vertically challenged at 5'7"ish.

Its not been ridden in anger yet just to the shop a couple of times so as to avoid any problems running on 26ers although the EBB is set at its highest

Re the new wheels I am still unsure as the Freedom discs in white will allow a wider tyre than the Aerowarriors but only come in white or black, with the white being more like PBW which may clash with the OEW/Cream band on the singular decals. Maybe I should have the rims powder coated in a nice creamy white before build up :?.

Thanks for the tip re the colour that will come in handy. I love the colour it reminds me of Austin Speedwell blue used on minis etc which are my other retro passion

(not mine btw)

As for the house its going on the market in a few months and will be a real tear to leave due to the work I have put in restoring it back to its Victorian glory but unfortuatley its in Blackpool which is fast going to the dogs so we are looking for something out in the sticks.

A really lovely Mini - and looks great in that colour.

Yep, Victorian houses = loads of work - we've lived in one for sixteen years now and although we're lucky and it's in a smallish village (with great riding right on the doorstep) even here it's become a lot busier in the time that we've been here.

The best of luck with your house sale and relocation anyway, Karen and I talk of doing this (the house is really too big now for just the two of us) but finding another old place would mean starting all over again and sometimes I just feel too old and tired to do that.. :roll:
I've already done a fair bit on our place in Greece (as that's even older - 1772).

Liking this.

Nice.


Not heard of these before today, could be tempting, lot of money compared to an On-One, but competitive is with a Surly...

How does it feel on the 26ers, are they 2.5 Hookworms? BB feel low with those?

And its got an EBB does it feel ok and non creaky?


And how does it ride? What can you compare it to?

I had a Twin rail in 24" and it felt weird, specially braking on the skinny rails, come in jazzy colours though.

The quality of the frame is great, the welding on them is really nice. If you ask anyone whos has a Singular or lookad at one I am sure they will confirm this. They are expensve in comparison to the On One but I felt it was worth the extra money for the high class finish.

It just about works on 26" wheels but I wouldnt recommend it as a long term plan and to be fair the front forks look just plain wrong with the little wheels. if you want one on 262 wheels take a look at the hummingbird it will run as a 69er or a traditional 26er.

Yep those are Hookworms on my Mavics, they weigh a ton but look the dogs danglies and a very cushy due to the masive volume.

The EBB seams great with no creaks or groans at all so far, its a Phil Wood and the tolerance between the ebb and the frame is best descibed as snug

Having gone from a gt i drive to a klein attitide to the swift in the last twelve months has taken me back to what mountain biking was like in the good old days where you have to adjust yourself to the terrain and feel it through the bike rather that expecting the bike to soak up any bumps

Nice, another one on the site then! Your 5' 7" and riding a medium? erm, i'm 5'10 and the standover on my medium swift is very small, have you tried it with the 29er wheels?

Just to add, if youre after decent rims the Mavic TN719 may be black but seems to be a damn good rim, add a pair of Kenda Nevegals in 2.2 Ghetto tubless and youre laughing, though the tyres arn't the lightest ever made ..

well its medium or nowt with singular as thats the smallest size.

I am 5'7" ish but my inseam is 30" so stand over according to Singular when on the 29s should be fine.

Thanks for the tip re the mavics

Thanks for the answers BTW. Sounds great. Love your remark about about going back to roots riding feels good doesn't it

After fishing about the Singular site, I like their style.

You're only up the road (in a car ) I'll have to swap ya a go of my oversized BMX if we get out on some RB freak modern ride some time!

Sam is a pleasure to deal with. Carefull though, couple of people tried Uma (Named by Pickle!)at the Thetford meet and i know one is now seriously tempted ... lovely bikes, i know Ferrit will enjoy it, i am!