Swift Carbon Neurogen

I managed to pick up this black beauty from an NFTO pro racer from Bristol on eBay for an absolute steal. I had my eyes on a black ‘stealth’ looking time trial bike with as many ‘Aero’ technical designs as possible. This bike pretty much came with everything I could ever want (with exception to a disk rear wheel). I was looking at a Boardman, Planet X or Cannondale at the time and as soon as I saw this I put it way above its competition in terms of looks and spec’s.

I have named her Taylor

 Key design features that interest me:

Front brake integrated behind the front fork for improved airflow around the front profile

Rear brake integrated under the rear by bottom bracket

Bars look sexy as hell... lovely profile and great look with the way the arch over the front wheel and allow the drop/brakes to sit lower than the top of the headset. Reminds me of the TeamSKY bars

Adamo Attack saddle. I was looking at the Adamo range before finding this bike so this saved me the best part of £100.

 The bike came with a ProLite Rome Carbon wheelset which I will give a more detailed review another time. Although the rear wheel was not a full disk, the 5 spoke that it came with may suit me more for handling on some of the more extreme courses like the U17/b3

 The previous owner claimed that the bike had done no more than six 10m TT’s and some indoor trainer work. The wheelset itself had done less than 30 miles. 

 Since owning and using the bike for the last few months I can safely say I made a great call. The bike is awesome! Not that I have much to compare it with as this is my first TT bike.

 There are a few issues I would highlight that are not necessarily a result of this particular bike, more due to the design of the ‘aero’ designs:

 The brakes get covered in shit and are difficult to adjust. Especially the rear brake. I hate riding it in bad weather as I know the bottom is getting covered in spray etc. The access to this brake makes it difficult to open to change the wheel. Luckily, the tyres I use just squeeze through.

 The rear wheel is mounted from the rear. Unlike a normal road bike where the wheel mounts from underneath. I believe this is because the bike could be fitted with a fixed/track rear wheel. There are two adjusting plates on either side to apply tension. These need to be adjusted perfectly or the alignment of the rear wheel is out. One problem I encountered early on was these adjusters were not secured properly, the wheel went out of alignment during a ride and the brake rubbed on the rim. To make matters worse, the brake pad twisted and rubbed some of the ProLite detailing off the wheel... I wasn’t happy. I have since secured these items and I ensure the rear wheel is tight... very tight! I have not had this problem since.

 If you have to spend a considerable amount of time on the drop bars (brakes) your wrists start to ache and it makes braking difficult. After speaking to a few TT bike owners, it appears as though this is normal and something I need to get used to... great!

Apart from these issues, the bike has been running great. I have recently purchased a set of Planet X AL30 wheels for training and racing in windy conditions. As they are white, they give the bike an awesome look.