Blokes in Sheds! SWT Bikes

What made you want to make a bike frame?

I don’t quite know how to answer this. The short answer is because I can, but aside from the ability to do so, I’ve had a long standing desire to make a bike exactly how I want to. This and the fact that I’ve been becoming increasingly disillusioned with the fact most companies within the industry are willing to sell products at prices that are absolutely ludicrous. I mean £8k for an off the peg downhill bike, that may only last a season, depreciate like crazy and are still seemingly in development from a lot of points of view.

Where do you draw your inspirations from?

Anyone who isn’t afraid to push the boundaries of whatever they are applying themselves to. People who aren’t afraid to try something so different from the norm and those who understand the dynamics of bike and rider. The Barels, Rojos and Steibers of the bicycle industry. Also anybody who takes it upon themselves to make their own products how they want to. You know who you are.

Is this the first frame you’ve made?

Not really, I made one for my GCSE project at school, but that was 1999/2000 and it wasn’t up to much due to an overly flimsy swingarm, warping the BB shell whist brazing and a lack of compnents that were good enough to use at the time. Since then I’ve started another frame, but that stalled when I changed jobs and started rushing the swingarm and stuffed up some tube joints. things have to be fairly bang on, especially when a rear shock’s involved or it won’t last 5 minutes.

The full sus sounds awesome as well, is that a DH bike or something shorter travel?

It’ll be running 160mm travel, as much as you need for UK use on 99% of our tracks with geometry based on going fast downhill. Single Pivot similar to another northern manufacturers designs.  I’m far too much of a sprayer to take my bikes as fast as they’ll go but if my geometry will allow it, I don’t want it to be the bike holding the rider back, just wimpy index fingers and undersized cajones…