Probike: Admittedly, carbon bolides from the Swift brand are rarely seen in this country. However, this is precisely what makes them interesting. As part of the Tour d'Azerbaijan we had the opportunity to see this Ultravox TI 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 bought a ProConti license, not least because of the support of some ambitious sponsors. One of these is the US company Swift, which the team with their top model, the Ultravox TI equips. The TI in the name stands for Team issue. In the case of Drapac, this is red and white.
Most of the components come from Sram. The Americans supply the current Red with an 11-speed cassette and corresponding gears. A spread of 11 to 28 teeth is mounted on Lapthorne's wheel. The Australian has fitted a crank with a gear ratio of 53 to 39 teeth at the front. The derailleur features the Yaw-Technology.
Handlebars, stem and seat post are from Zipp. Here are Service Course SLcomponents installed. The Service Course SL80The handlebar is 42 centimeters wide and the stem is 130 millimeters long.
The wheels are also from Zipp. When we got the bike in front of the lens, we were 202he mounted in the tubular version. These too point the firecresttechnology on.
The tires represents with the Corsa Evo the Italian manufacturer Vittoria. The saddle also comes from Italy, more precisely from Fizik. Arundel supplies the bottle holders and Speedplay pedals with the model Zero in red.
However, the heart of the bike is the frame. According to the manufacturer, it weighs less than a kilo and is off Toray 1000 High Modulus-Carbon fibers bonded with Mitsubishi Rayon 40- Fibers crafted. In addition, the frame is also prepared for electronic rear derailleurs - so nothing would stand in the way of installing Sram's latest creation. The rear derailleur mount is made of titanium. This guarantees more rigidity and thus better shifting precision. The asymmetrical seat tube and the asymmetrical chainstays should also provide more rigidity. The top and bottom tubes, on the other hand, are square in shape.
In the version of how it moved Lapthorne through Azerbaijan, the Swift lay Ultravox TI exactly within the limit set by the UCI. Incidentally, the Australian took third place in the overall standings.
