I Like the Amaro Lollobrigida above but prefer the Rossellini

DT78 – I am toying with the idea of a 650b build based on a readily available s/h 26" frame and wondered if the Charge would be able to take a Pacenti Neomoto 2.1.. Looks as if chainstay length may be more of an issue that width between stays.

Can any of you Duster owners confirm the largest tyre size you can fit on the back please?

mmm some nice bikes on here.

My Swift (medium) just to push the numbers up again, now running ss and back on the stock forks after running a set of Exotic carbons for a while.

I am running an Andel (Surly) cog, Velosolo spacers and a Token lockring on mine all from Velosolo, no marking yet but its only been a couple of months of light usage.

Have them on my Swift, built on Hope Pro2s, if they are classed as a bit porky there must be some bloody light wheels out there. No complaints here, I really like the deep section rims looks wise too. I think mine came in around £280

Florence and the Machine were pretty good IMO

really?!
we were forced to switch channels as the song butchering hag wailed her way tunelessly through yet another nerve jangling adventure in musical murder..

Cannot agree more, horrible noise, if you're going to do covers at least try and do the original some justice. Fleetwood Mac will be spinning in their graves at that pitiful attempt at "The Chain" And Candi Staton certainly has nothing to fear

I only went once in 94 I think RATM, Weller, Jah Wobble, Jonny Cash oh and I seem recall the Ireland v Italy World Cup Game game being shown on the big screens at the Pyramid stage. After that the cider and some other dubious substances seem to have ereased large chunks of my memory

Singlespeedstu – Thats your opinion ( and some others) but fortunatley I dont build bikes for group approval on STW. But your gracious comments are welcome.

rOcKeTdOg – The fork is still boxed. I wanted to try and reduce a bit of front end weight and speed the steering a little. I really wanted to try a set of Niner Carbons as per LordOnOne but didnt have £300 cash available to carry out an experiment so the Exotics will do the job for now. If I am happy with the bike in a few months time I will consider upgrading to a set of Niners.

I always felt the length of the stock forks made the bike look a bit chopperish.

Heres mine, not to eveyones taste as I ahe found out recently, but heyho I like it.

Medium – 5'8" 30" inside leg

I have considered a Bongo as a replacement for the Mitsi when I finally replace it, but a good newer elevating high top with a conversion already done starts getting pricey. The pop top does provide a double sleeping space over the main vehicle but doesnt really add much in internal headroom, and theres no walk through from front to rear which is handy in the Mitsi.

Bongos are no where near as rugged as a Delica, but they are different animals, so its horses for courses.

I've been in one of the L400s and the ride was horrendous from the point of view of body roll – it's quite terrifying even when driving gently. I don't know if that was a particularly bad one or not, but it'd put me off. A lot more roll than you get in a van…

not if you get a super exceed spec it comes with ECS suspension, effectively allowing you two settings on the suspension stifness. Off road and "sport". It isnt what you would call sport but it definatley tightens things up nicely.

On a whole the body roll is no worse than most 4wds, its on a par with a Shogun and they have better road manners than most 4wd pick ups like the l200, hi-lux, ranger etc

Wouldnt fancy taking any van down some of the tracks mine has been down so its a trade off really, do you need off road ability or do you want to tootle around on the tarmac in a transit?

lifecycles in bolton will build them for you, I cannot see them listed but they will quote you on anything. I suggest phoning though rather than email.

http://www.life-cycles.co.uk/wheel%20builds/

"Killing in the name" – Ratm
"Sabotage" – the Beasties

Agree with "I am the resurection" by the Roses, also "Mersey Paradise" by artists of the same name

topangarider you have restored my faith in human kind :wink

Spammage – Anybody looking for a Scandal 29er should take a look at this one I have for sale

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/prototype-on-one-scandal-29er-frame-slot-drop-orange-charge-a2z-finishing?replies=7#post-1459208

I have one and have for 5 years. Mine is the L400 version.

Its a thirsty beast but super versitle, its basically a 2.8 td Shogun underneath with a MPV body. Mine is the 7 seater version and I use it as the main family transport, as a van (can get 3m lengths of timber inside,front to back) and we use it as a camper.

The super select 4wd was very useful over winter during the cold spell as it left most motorists including a lot of urban/sport type 4wd drivers stranded in the snow

Comfort wise its like being in an airplane, noise isnt any more of an issue in the L400 that any other older 4wd vehicle, as the engine is at the front unlike the l300 where you are sat on it. It drives like a dream and has all the toys, including glass roof, swivel chaptains chairs, split climate control, electric eveything. At the end of the day these were built soley for the Japanese market and tended to be second family cars for suburbanites to ferry the kids to school so have lowish mileage for their age.

Relaibility wise its been pretty good for a 15 yo motor, I did have some issues with a failed turbo and had to replace some cooling components (header tank and rad) but most bits are relatively easy to get in the UK if you know where to go. The Pe8w engines arent that difficult to work on and access whilst awkward isnt so bad.

The fatal accident in one was found to be due to drive reaction at their gearbox giving up the ghost on the motorway. They steered into a skid at speed and tipped it, if I recall correctly it was the L300 model where you sit over the engine. I think the copper invovled at the inquiry was later quoted as saying this type of accident would have happened in any tall vehicle in the same circumstances. They passed the old SVA and still can pass the newer IVA testing so they meet all current safety standards for UK roads are approved for use by VOSA

Cannot agree with them all being well maintained as the best ones tend to go to Russia or OZ, we get the chaff. So I would recommend buying one of a owners club such as MDOCUK or Delica Friends. Just google either of those for the forums and all the info you could ever need is there

tails -Looks good and looks like its made to be used off road as opposed the blue singular that was posted earlier.

which one 🙄

I refer my learned gentlemen to my earlier answer directed to tracknicko

tracknicko – Beach cruiser? mmmm Ok but it was built with a retro look in mind so I might give you that, I was after a path racer style but beach cruiser will do

Gotta wonder why we bother posting sometimes! I originally posted because there were some nice looking Swifts on this thread and wanted to add something to the discussion, not to be Billy big b**ll*cks.

I am not really bothered if anyone likes it or not as in all likelyhood I will never meet most of you, the fact remains however I have built the bike I wanted, not for some form of group endorsement.

I made the fatal internet forum mistake of rising to the bate of someones snap judgment on how it rode and sounded off accordingly. I'll get my coat:roll:

Love it, and love the drops. Toying with the idea of something drop barred for my next 29er build. Only thing holding me back is an irrational fear of leaving hydraulics behind in favour of cable actuated discs

PikeBN14 – That reaffirms my point about niche though, I don’t want everyone to like it and I don’t want it to look like all other Swifts, kind of defeats the object of the exercise.

The saddle is a Brooks, you sit in them not on them, it’s half the reason most people don’t get on with them. If it was positioned like a normal saddle your backside would slide off the nose.

No need to apologies and nobodies feelings have been hurt, everyone’s entitled to opinion but opinions are like aholes, everyone has one and whose is better than the next persons?

The Singular Swift has a cracking reputation amongst the 29er fraternity. Sam will no doubt be able to point you towards some good reviews from those in the industry whose opinion carries weight. The opinions on the use of shorter carbon forks (Niner in particular) on the Swift are also out there to see. If you cannot be bothered looking the shorter fork speeds up steering without becoming overly twitchy.

Sorry can you explain what “scene as ****” means? I am in my mid thirties and no longer talk like a teenager.

Bikes don’t follow Darwin’s theories on natural selection they follow what the bike industry decides you need next. Hence why bikes from niche/boutique builders are always a little left field, they dont want to appeal to the masses, they dont want/need massive turnover to cover huge overheads.

Pedelhead – point taken re the hubs but as I have said before these wheels dont belong on this, I still have in mind cream powder coated rims on gunsmoke or maybe silver hubs but these will do for now

tracknicko – Beach cruiser? mmmm Ok but it was built with a retro look in mind so I might give you that, I was after a path racer style but beach cruiser will do. 🙄

Sack of shit on anything tech ❓ have you ridden it, and can you make a judgement on how a bike rides just by looking at a picture of it on the t'interweb?. If so I bow down to you mate you clearly missed you vocation in life. The bike industry needs you, you could save them a fortune by just looking at the sketches and avoiding them having to make prototypes ❗

For interest the carbon forks (Exotics by the way for those wondering so might as well be Whites, Nukeproof, Lynskey etc) have a shorter A2C than the Singular Reynolds forks so if anything the bike is better suited to tech riding than the stock set up.

leelovesbikestoo – Its a Ti Swift saddle in honey,narrower than a B17 but still needs a bit of breaking in. You have to persevere as they jsut get better and better with age.

Tails – Gopiing – each to there own bud, I dare say your rides wouldnt be to my taste either, something fully bouncy perhaps just to take the skill out of riding? or perhaps a LT hardcore hardtail, no picking of lines required?

The OP was about buying into a niche and the less keyboard warriors that like my bikes the better, I am unlikely to see someone else on the same bike as mine than someone with a mass produced big brand.

Baaahhhhh!! Theres enough sheep in the countryside without any extra ones riding bikes. 😉

Heres my currently unfinished niche mobile