Probike: Admittedly, carbon fiber bikes from Swift are a rare sight in this country. But that's precisely what makes them so interesting. During the Tour d'Azerbaijan, we had the opportunity to take a look at the Ultravox TI ridden by Australian Darren Lapthorne.
Lapthorne began his professional career with Australian team Drapac. After detours to European teams, in 2008 he was under contract with Team Sparkasse, for example, in 2011 he is back in the red team jersey. He made a name for himself in 2007 when he surprised the assembled elite at the Australian Championships and secured the title.
This year, Team Drapac secured a ProContinental license, thanks in no small part to the support of several ambitious sponsors. One of these is the American company Swift, which is equipping the team with its top-of-the-line model, the Ultravox TI . The "TI" in the name stands for Team Issue . In Drapac's case, this issue is red and white.
Most of the components are from SRAM. The American company supplies their current Red groupset with an 11-speed cassette and corresponding derailleur. Lapthorne's bike is fitted with a cassette with a range of 11 to 28 teeth. To match, the Australian has installed a crankset with a 53-39 tooth chainring combination. The front derailleur features Yaw technology.
The handlebars, stem, and seatpost are from Zipp. Service Course SL components are used. The Service Course SL80 handlebars are 42 centimeters wide, and the stem is 130 millimeters long.
The wheels are also from Zipp. When we got our hands on the bike, it was fitted with 202mm tubular tires. These also feature Firecrest technology.
The tires, the Corsa Evo, are from the Italian manufacturer Vittoria. The saddle is also Italian, specifically from Fizik. The bottle cages are supplied by Arundel, and the pedals are Speedplay Zero models in red.
The heart of the bike, however, is the frame. According to the manufacturer, it weighs less than a kilogram and is made of Toray 1000 high-modulus carbon fibers combined with Mitsubishi Rayon 40 fibers. The frame is also prepared for electronic derailleurs – so nothing would stand in the way of installing SRAM's latest offering. The derailleur mount is made of titanium. This guarantees greater stiffness and therefore better shifting precision. The asymmetric seat tube and asymmetric chainstays are also intended to provide increased stiffness. In contrast, the top and down tubes have a square shape.
In the version Lapthorne rode through Azerbaijan, the Swift Ultravox TI was exactly within the UCI's speed limit. Incidentally, the Australian finished third overall.
