Haven't seen these before

http://www.stif.co.uk/gear/select_options.asp?productid=5462

Looks like it might be related to the Charge?

related? well they're not the same company...

and to be honest, that swobo looks like a complete wind up..

riser bars, bottle opener on the saddle...
most or all the parts are their own branded, rudimentary rubbish..it's £399..
I don't like it's attitude, it's a wannabe, never will be.

RPM related? well they're not the same company...

and to be honest, that swobo looks like a complete wind up..

riser bars, bottle opener on the saddle...
most or all the parts are their own branded, rudimentary rubbish..it's £399..
I don't like it's attitude, it's a wannabe, never will be.

Yeah.

It looks quite horrible, 'specially with the stupid branded parts. The "swobo" logo on the end of the grips, yuck.

what? that's a bike?

I think it represents a cynical, bandwagon jumping, marketing exercise..
taking the look of popular custom builds, and cheapening the whole process..

it's a fakenfix.

I'm surprised they didn't try to make a cheap aero wheel for the front

Everyone and their mums is making OTP fixies these days.
Langster, Track, Fillmore, Plug, Pompino, T1, Pista, Flyer, have missed loads I'm sure, although there are some ok bikes in that lot.
Now there's a bit of a backlash against stock fixed bikes, the next step is to mass produce stock bikes that pretend they're not.
Whatever floats yer boat I say, but yes it's bandwagon jumping marketeering stuff. Once the "trendy" aspect dies away I'm sure a few lines might be discontinued, and lots of these on ebay.

brett
Langster, Track, Fillmore, Plug, Pompino, T1, Pista, Flyer,

all of those are decent enough, functional bikes for the money though..
even the charge plug seems honest enough.

But that swobo thing is just a "thing" it doesn't have a brake, but it's clearly not a entry level track bike, because of the bars, and on closer inspection, what seems to be a pretty low bb..

"galvanized"? As in the zinc-coated corrugated iron sheets country Aussies build their roofs from?
Classy. Must be cheaper than painting.

brett
Langster, Track, Fillmore, Plug, Pompino, T1, Pista, Flyer, have missed loads I'm sure, although there are some ok bikes in that lot.

It looks like one of the above bikes after a clerkenwell/soho owner has it for six months and I think the lack of branded parts will apeal to a lot of courier/commuters who already rap everything in tape to disguise their frames identity.
Condor get parts made with their logo's on them so I don't see the problem with swobo having parts made with theirs. I'm sure its just formula china/taiwain factory parts rebranded.
That said £300 quid buys a FUJI though and the rest of those bikes (bar maybe the Pomp which is a bit better than the rest IMHO for commuting) are overpriced compared to it.

there's been a few of those Swobos showing up on FGG recently. certainly not my cup-of-tea, but then none of the off-the-peg stuff ever will be, but is a cheap in for some and like brett says will eventually flood ebay as their owners trade-up.

Knucklehead That said £300 quid buys a FUJI though and the rest of those bikes (bar maybe the Pomp which is a bit better than the rest IMHO for commuting) are overpriced compared to it.

yup, buying a fuji and then use the 200 left over to upgrade to a decent set of wheels. probably thr best deal.

Swobo used to make some of the best bike clothing out there. They were well known for their quality and lots of west-coast messengers wore their stuff . Then the company just disappeared from view.

Now they're back and it seems as its being run just as a label to slap on things. For 400 quid, I would want a better crankset than a Truvativ Touro for a start.

The other annoying thing is that in the states, these are 600 USD (considered expensive for an off-the-peg fixie) - ie approx 290 quid (with VAT added, you're looking at approx. 350 quid), so its even more expensive here. Nice one!

They still make cycle clothing including lots of merino stuff, organic cotton etc. http://www.swobo.com/ Here's some stuff on their recent history from that site:

"Tim Parr first started Swobo in 1991 when nobody else would hire him....

In the Fall of 2001, Tim sold Swobo to Santa Cruz bicycles, and then walked the Earth like Caine in Kung Fu, leaving no stone unturned.

Fast forward to Fall of 2004, Tim partners with Rob Roskopp to re-launch the Swobo brand and form a new company. After spending most of the year deciding which shade of blue is best…Swobo was launched back into the market in November, 2005."

BTW, that bike was designed by Sky Yeager who used to work as chief designer for Bianchi and designed lots of their bikes, including the Pista, Pista Concept and San Jose (a cool SS Rivendell type bike). She is quoted as saying the following about track bikes in the Rivendell Reader when discussing the San Jose:

"I am baffled by urban hipsters riding fixed gear track bikes as fashion accessories and finding out they are not as practical or safe as they thought. I'm not talking about messengers or skilled riders, just to be clear. But most people should be riding a bike with brakes and a freewheel."

Pretty ironic given that the Swobo Sanchez is sold without brakes.

Check the picture, that chain is slack-as-fuck + no brakes = death ride 2000.

RPM

it's a fakenfix.

I'm surprised they didn't try to make a cheap aero wheel for the front

haaaa

fakendeep or faken-v?

Velocicraptor.

does anyone actuly have one and can like, review it ?

x

don't dig up ancient thread ffs!

JULY 07

the bike in question will be a different model by now anyway, if they even make it.

google.com

To be honest if it gets people into riding then what's the harm?? I can't see anyone who's already into riding buying one anyway unless it is good... If it's shite then hopefully it'll get people into riding and then they'll move onto something a bit more 'core...