Singular Swift = Ridden!

It was one of those rare moments we have this time of year here. 99% of the snow has been melted off, leaving dirt behind in the woods. Typically, this means traveling in the woods is not recommended as the temperatures are above freezing, but not really warm enough to dry things out.

Such is not the case today. As I type its 16°f. When I rode this afternoon, temps were in the low 20°'s. With last nights single digits, I was guaranteed a nice frozen trail to ride! So I slaved away at work, eagerly anticipating my first date with the Swift.

I wasn't disappointed.

The bike handles very well. Steering is easy, almost effortless. Changing direction happens quickly, but not so fast that you can't recover from any mistakes. There really is a remarkably light touch to flipping the bike through the trees. Nice! Sam did a really fantastic job in coming up with the geometry on this bike. I know he did some voodoo with the front end trail figures. Stuff that I really haven't been able to wrap my head around quite yet. What ever he did, it works. And well.



Climbing was another revelation. A while back, I owned a bike that many considered a benchmark for how it rode. Specifically, how it climbed. I could never get on with that bike. It left my stable pretty fast. This bike though. Night and day difference. Scampers right up climbs easy as pie. Standing and hammering suits it well. Positioning on the bike is spot on with a flat bar and short, flat stem. Seated climbing was much the same, but I didn't really get to test that part today.




Listening to: Iron + Wine//Boy With a Coin

They're here!

Ok, teasing. There's only ONE here, but its the first of a whole slew of 'em! I'm VERY excited to announce that The Prairie Peddler will be the exclusive seller of Singular frame kits in the US and Canadian market! Who, you say? Singular Cycles is a small UK based frame company that produces wonderful steel [4130 cromo, FTW!] bicycle frames with a timeless look, high versatility and quality materials. Great bikes for riding racing or simply bumbling about, no matter how you set them up.

From singular

We will be selling and shipping Swifts, Gryphons, Peregrines, and Hummingbirds out of the shop here in beautiful Prairie du Chien, WI. They all come ready to set up as a geared bike, a singlespeed, or any combination there-of that you can think of. How is this? Each of the frames has an eccentric bottom bracket. And that eccentric is no ordinary eccentric!

From singular

Yeah! A Phil Wood eccentric is included in the price of the frame, ALL of the frames!

From singular

A nice headbadge is there.

From singular

And generous room for big meats. The model I've received first, and the first ones that will be arriving, is the Swift. The Swift is the 29"er mainstay of the line. The one that started it all for Singular. This first order should be arriving in mid to late May.

Of course they can be ordered as a frame/fork kit only, and I'm working on being able to sell the bikes as complete's as well, if that's the direction you'd like to go. Shimano, SRAM or SS of course. As stated above, there is a rigid fork included in the purchase of the bike, but if you would like a suspension fork, I can accomodate that too.

Final pricing on frame kits is yet to determined, but you'll be surprised at how affordable these are going to be! Availablility should be in late May. Availability will be limited! I am only bringing in 100 total frames this year!

If you have any questions, and I'm sure you will, please email me - theprairiepeddler@gmail.com - I'll get back to you as soon as I can!

To see many more Singular's, head on over to Flickr to see lots of 'em.

Drinking: Pearl Street Brewery//That's What I'm Talkin' 'bout Stout