Review: 2019 Swarf Contour 29 - A Hard-Charging Short Travel Fully

The Contour 29er frame is made from Reynolds 853 tubing, has a linkage driven single pivot suspension providing 115mm matched to 130mm up front, and obviously rolls on 29in wheels. Swarf only provides frames, so for this test Adrian kindly loaned me his personal bike, a size large which fit me perfectly. Frames are made to order and cost £1,950 with a RockShox Monarch RT shock, or £2,150 with the Cane Creek DBairIL, with a choice of four sizes and three colours.

Unfortunately, the company says it’s unable to ship to the US and Canada due to insurance reasons, but it is something it is working to change so watch this space!


Contents

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Construction and Features

Looks are subjective, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say the Contour is a bloody good looking bike. I’m a sucker for a steel frame, which probably helps; there's something about the simplicity and skinniness of the steel tubes, and I always like a straight line from the dropout to the head tube through the rear stays and top tube. It just looks right. It’s well proportioned and elegant to my eyes.

The level of workmanship is very high, the frame is extraordinarily nicely made and packed with lovely details, showing a clear passion by Adrian for producing the finest possible product. The frame is TIG-welded, using Reynolds 853 for the down tube and top tube, and Reynolds 631 for the head tube and seat tube, while Dedacciai 25CrMo4 and 4130 CrMo plain gauge tubing are used for the chainstays and seatstays. The main pivot and linkage are made from aluminum and all the pivot hardware is stainless steel with 5mm hex bolts.


Steel is of course known for its natural flex, which is one of the reasons why it’s still a popular choice for making bikes in the face of lighter and stiffer alternatives. Swarf has utilised this flex in the seat stays, flattened slightly along their length, to allow a small degree of vertical flex which eradicates the necessity for a dropout pivot, thus saving weight, cost and complexity.

There are lots of sensible details. The bottom bracket is threaded and all cable routing is external apart from the stealth dropper port. The 44mm head tube is reinforced and the seat tube slot faces forward to minimize the ingress of mud. The rear dropout on this test bike is old-school 142x12mm, but production bikes will feature the wider 148x12mm Boost configuration, and there’s clearance for a 2.5” tire. The IS brake mount accommodates up to a 180mm disc rotor and up front, it’s designed around 1x only with a 32 or 34t chainring recommended. Frame weight is a claimed 3.2kg (7.0lb) without a shock.

And most importantly of all in this era of hydration pack less riding, there’s space for one water bottle inside the main triangle.

Geometry & Sizing


Progressive is the overused buzzword when it comes to describing geometry on mountain bikes these days, and the Swarf 29er certainly has modern numbers without being outlandish. The size large tested has a reach of 465mm, a 66.5-degree head angle with a 130mm fork and the effective seat angle is 75.43-degrees on this size large. Chainstays are 445mm across the four sizes, wheelbase is 1220mm and bottom bracket drop is 41mm. The deliberately short seat tube means you could size up if you wanted.

Suspension Design

The Swarf 29er uses a link-driven shock single pivot suspension design, with flex seatstays in place of a small pivot out near the dropout. It’s been two years in development and it really shows; it’s extremely nicely packaged, with the horizontally mounted shock and compact aluminum linkage and neatly bent seat tube. It provides a progressive leverage ratio to make the most of the 115mm rear wheel travel, which also makes it possible to run a coil shock if you prefer.

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Climbing

The most obvious downside with the Contour’s choice of steel tubing is the weight. Steel is never going to be as light as aluminum or carbon, but at 32lb it’s comparable to the similarly specced Cotic FlareMAX I tested last year. As with that bike, you notice the weight when you lift it off the car rack or over a gate, and it doesn’t speed up climbs with the same verve as lighter bikes, but it’s no slouch, and once you’re rolling it carries its weight very well. Maintaining momentum is key here, rather than the point-and-squirt nature of some lighter bikes. It's worth mentioning that the supplied demo bike has quite a sturdy build, so weight could be saved if you built it up with a lighter set of parts for a bit more focus on climbing efficiency.

When it comes to going up, the very stable suspension helps progress hugely. There's enough anti-squat to ensure that the shock isn't heavily influenced by manic pedalling or excessive body movements, and it remained composed on long climbs. The climb switch on the shock is useful just for firming it up a bit more. On nadgery climbs with lots of step-ups and obstacles, the geometry and suspension come together nicely to ensure you can weave the bike through, over and around technical hurdles.

You do feel the weight start to work against you when you’re heart rate is getting up into the upper echelons of your capabilities, and you’re never going to keep up with your mate on a carbon race bike (I tried; I failed) but adopt a more relaxed climbing approach and the Swarf is more in its element. On undulating trails the Swarf allows you to make speedy progress with a good deal of agility for twisting through tree-lined trails. There’s no issue getting the big wheels around tight bends and switchbacks, it’s pleasantly easy to maneuver and shuffle along a twisting trail.

Over rough ground, the Swarf feels a little more forgiving than some super stiff carbon bikes with a similar amount of travel that I’ve ridden, which I put down to that small amount of flex in the frame. I had to be careful of pedal strikes on some trails with exposed roots and pointy rocks but it never became a major issue.

Descending

It’s a good time to be in the market for a short travel bike as there are some really good choices, and the Contour is a shining example of a bike that is hugely entertaining and highly capable for trail riding and bossing the descents. It’s a proper little trail ripper that isn’t fazed on the sort of technical terrain where you might imagine or expect a 115mm bike to struggle.

The stance and shape of the bike give you bags of control, and the suspension is well controlled and nicely progressive for muscling down the techiest trails and over the biggest rocks you can muster the courage to tackle. The geometry isn’t super slack, but I reckon it’s right on the money for a short travel bike. The numbers give a superb level of nimbleness, it’s easy to shift the bike about the trail and manual the front wheel over ruts and lumps.

Proving that you should never judge a bike by the amount of travel it packs, the Swarf 29er is thoroughly capable any time you’ve got gravity on your side. It constantly blew away my expectations, proving to be hugely adept at dealing with any sort of terrain from wild and hairy to smooth and flowy. While it doesn’t quite hoover up bigger trail obstacles in the way a long travel bike does, it isn’t bucked easily off line and the balance provided by the geometry lets you take on the rough. The suspension provides good support throughout its stroke, never bottomed out harshly and was always ready for the next big impact. There’s also something about the inherent flex in the frame that provides another layer of damping feel when smashing into root gardens, yet without every feeling waywardly noodly and vague.

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How does it compare?

“Steel is real” is the oft-overused quote when talking about steel bikes. On the evidence put forward by the likes of the Cotic FlareMAX I tested last year and the Swarf Contour 29er, and a whole host of other small bike makers, the future of steel never looked so bright. Granted, it’ll never end up on top when it comes to matters like weight, but on all over fronts there’s a lot to like. We’re not all obsessed by weight, right?

Comparisons to the Cotic FlareMAX seem obvious and fitting since I’ve ridden both. They’re both designed around 29” wheels, have a steel frame with around 115-120mm rear wheel travel and sport contemporary trail bike geometry.

The Swarf gets an extra bonus point straightaway for easily accommodating a water bottle - it’s a bit tight on the Cotic. But what about the handling and performance? The Swarf feels the better all-rounder with a more efficient suspension that benefits climbing, despite their similar weight. Get onto a choppy descent and the longer Cotic edges ahead with more sheer speed potential and noticeably more stable. The Swarf is that bit more nimble though and is more fun through flatter turns.

They are both incredibly close, however; don’t ask me to choose one over the other because, to be honest with you, I can’t decide. No bike is an XC whippet but the Cotic sits closer to DH fun.

Technical Report

Cane Creek DB Air IL shock: I’ve spent quite a lot of time on this shock this year and have grown to really like its wide range of customisation and relatively easy setup, once you get your head around the dials. The climb switch is less useful due to how efficient this bike is, so I rarely needed it even on the draggiest climbs.

Shimano SLX gears and brakes: The trickle-down effect has really benefited cheaper groupsets and the SLX setup works a treat, you get most of the tech of higher-end groupset with a lower price tag. Crisp gear changes, solid brakes and good reliability sum up SLX. It’s only outclassed when it comes to the gear range offered by SRAM’s GX.

Maxxis Minion DHR/DHF tires: I think we can all agree the Minion is a top-class tire so I was delighted when I pulled the Swarf out of its box to see this tire combo fitted. Stacks of grip in most conditions and letting you fully exploit the potential of the bike, what’s not to like?

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Is this the bike for you?

If you crave a solid and stable short travel bike that can rip with the best of them on any technical trail, and love the idea of a steel frame because, well, it’s a really nice alternative to the more mainstream choices, then the Swarf is easy to recommend. It’ll help if you’re not overly fussed about weight and the idea of buying from an independent frame builder doing it for the passion of building bikes rather than chasing commercial sales targets.

Pinkbike's Take

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Posted In:
Reviews and Tech Reviews Trail Bikes XC Bikes Swarf Contour