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Philosophy

Our ethos is to create wonderful bikes that do what you want them to do and look beautiful as well. We like things of a classic style, but we also like modern function where it works. That’s why we take things which are proven and wonderful – like steel tubing and lugs, and partner them with modern things we’ve found to work – like 29” wheels and disc brakes for mountain bikes. We’re not neo-luddites, but don’t subscribe to change for change’s sake either. Only after careful consideration of whether it enhances the riding experience do we decide to include it or stick with what we know works.

When mountain biking, our thing isn’t jumping off cliffs and buildings, nor is riding crazy man-made stunts. Getting out, away from it all, finding amazing trails alone or with friends is what we love, and our bikes enhance that experience. Our bikes are best for the sort of riding we, and probably you, like to do. Don’t get us wrong, we don’t make slouchy sit-up-and-beg shoppers, our bikes will carve singletrack, rip a line, and roll all day with the best of them – but if your riding involves full-face helmets and body armour maybe you’re better off looking elsewhere.

Construction

We don’t believe in bikes that are so highly specialised they can only effectively do one thing – equally, we eschew the ‘Swiss army bike’ approach taken by some. Striking a balance somewhere in the middle seems about right to us. Therefore you see appropriate frame fitments for the bike’s purpose. Tubing choices that are right for the intended use – not too beefy nor flimsy. Geometry which does what it’s supposed to do – provide a comfortable, efficient yet responsive ride.

Our bikes are made from only the best quality steel tubing available. We use a mix of Reynolds and proprietary butted 4130 cro-mo alloyed steel tubing to provide a beautiful responsive ride and lasting comfort.

Our mountain frames, the Swift and Swift SS are TIG welded, we’d like to use lugs, they’re still the most elegant and reliable way to join tubes, but for the geometry we use on these bikes lugs just aren’t yet available in the appropriate angles and sizes.
 

 

Big Wheels

So what are 29 inch wheels and why? 

What they are is easy - 2 inch (or wider) tyres mounted on road/hybrid diameter rims.  This makes for a wheel which is around 29 inches in diameter, as opposed to the standard 26” inches.

The single biggest reason for using this wheel-size is to make a proportionate fitting bike. 26” wheels only ever became the standard for mountain bikes because the beach cruisers of the mid-70’s, which when converted became the first mountain bikes, used this diameter of rim – they were the only tyres available with enough volume. These were bikes primarily designed for children, and it took over 20 years until someone said hey, these little wheels just feel too small for grown adults.  Anyone over about 5’7” (170cm) will generally feel much more proportionate and balanced on a 29” wheeled bike.

In addition to fit, there are a number of other benefits of larger wheels.  A bigger wheel makes anything in front of it seem relatively smaller, which means it’ll roll over the top of it more easily. Because they’re bigger, they maintain momentum better.

Of course, there are downsides. The primary ones are weight, and a somewhat limited selection of parts.  The parts selection for 29”ers is rapidly growing, tyres, tubes, forks and rims are generally not a problem – we’ll sell you some, plus they are more and more available both online and in your local bike shop. Weight is another issue, this one a bit harder to get around. Of course, a bigger wheel is always going to be a little heavier.  However, if lighter wheels were really the only goal we’d be riding super light 20” wheels wouldn’t we?  A lot of riders are trading a little weight for better fit and riding performance.

Ultimately the easiest way to see whether they’re for you is to give them a try for yourself. Check the sales page for a few places where you can test ride a Singular Swift.
 

 

Talkin’ about trail

One of the most critical aspects of defining how a bike rides is ‘trail’. This figure describes the distance between the point at which an imaginary line through the middle of the steerer tube would hit the ground, and the point at which the tyre actually hits the ground.  The longer this distance, the slower is response to steering input – and conversely very short trail tends towards ‘twitchy’ steering.  As you can see from the picture the more offset (rake) the less trail.

What most people are after for general mountain biking is a fairly happy medium, which I feel is found at about 70mm of trail. The Swift is designed to give about this amount of trail whether using our rigid fork or an off-the-shelf 80mm suspension fork.

Achieving this can prove problematic. The difficulty is in designing a frame which works equally well with a suspension fork or a rigid fork, particularly for smaller frames. The trouble is, 29"er suspension forks generally have only around 38mm offset (same as their little wheeled cousins) and you need a very steep HA to give you a reasonably low trail figure.  If you have that steep a head angle, a rigid fork of similar rake needs to be relatively short in order to get a similar trail number.

  
bike

That can be fine, except a low rake rigid fork on a steep head angle bike does not make for the most comfortable ride.  So how to achieve the best of all worlds? Have a long rigid fork with a good amount of rake. Then if you run an 80mm travel suspension fork, it drops the front end, steepens the head angle, and your bike doesn't turn into the Queen Mary for the sake of a bit of squish. Alternatively this also gives you the option of a longer travel fork slowing the steering up a bit if you’re into the type of riding which might ask for less responsive handling.
 

Tensioning chains – eccentrics?

Forgoing derailleurs, whether for singlespeed riding or internally geared systems, requires an alternate means of tensioning the chain.  There’s a few ways for doing this, each with their pro’s and con’s.

The easiest and traditional way to do it is to have a long dropout with a horizontal section to allow fore and aft adjustment of the wheel.  This is a great and simple way to do it, also lightweight.  Problem is if you want to use a disc brake you throw the brake adjustment out of whack every time you tension the chain.

Eccentric bottom bracket shells have been in use for decades to maintain the tension of the timing chain on tandems.  It makes sense to employ the same idea to a derailleur-less bicycle  - a neat, elegant and hassle free solution.  The frame's bottom bracket shell is oversized and fitted with an insert which has the bottom bracket thread milled off centre.  Therefore rotating the insert allows you to tension the chain*.

Sliding dropouts basically take the vertical dropout of a modern bike and give it a way to slide backwards and forwards in relation to the frame. This has the advantage of keeping the disc caliper in the same place in relation to the rotor when adjusting chain tension.  When well designed they can be solid and slightly lighter than an EBB. The downside is that they can look a bit kludgy, and can require up to six bolts to be tightened and loosened for chain adjustment – whereas an eccentric only has two.

We’ve chosen to use an eccentric bottom bracket for our single/internal geared frames as the best combination of reliability, functionality, and clean looks.
     
     
* There are also a few possibilities for holding the eccentric in place. Pinch bolts on the shell work much the same as a modern stem clamp. Set screws thread through the shell and set the insert in place. 'Bushnell type' eccentrics have an expanding wedge, kinda like an old quill stem. We use a set screw type as it's the simplest and most reliable. Pinch bolts can stretch or snap, expanding wedges are prone to noisiness.