Bike Check: Euan Thomson Fort William DH Swarf Hardtail

After a lot of people seemed to enjoy watching Euan Thomson ride his hardtail down the Fort William World Cup track. We thought we should share a little bike check.


Rider height: 174cm
Rider weight: 75kg fulled kitted
Frame: Swarf Spline, hand built/ custom geometry.
Static Geometry Numbers: HA 63.5, Reach 435mm, CS 440mm, ST 419mm, BB 310mm, WB 1205mm
Fork: Rockshox Pike Ultimate - Slik Graphics to match frame. 120mm, 95psi, 6 tokens. Any more travel on a hardtail and I find it just throws me too far forward to be of any benefit.
Wheels: Hope hubs on DT EX471 rear and RF Arc 27 front. DT Competition spokes/ prolock brass nipples

Everyday Tyres: Schwalbe Magic Mary - Soft, SG casing rear and Snakeskin front
For riding at Fort William I swapped to DH Casing Maxxis Minions but not for punctures, it was dents that caused them. But I usually run lighter tyres to make the bike a bit easier to unweight over rough terrain. Fort William is rough everywhere, so I just had to plough and heavier tyres felt more planted.
I should’ve probably ran inserts really, but I change tyres fairly regularly and don’t like the extra hassle

Brakes: Old Code levers on the new callipers
Rotors: Shimano 203mm
Drivetrain: Shimano XT/SLX 12 spd
Cranks: Shimano Saint, 34t chainring
Pedals: Burgtec MK5
Chainguide: OneUp
Dropper: OneUp 180mm
Saddle: Fabric
Stem: Deity 50mm
Bars: DMR 35mm rise, 31.8mm diameter
Grips: Renthal push-ons, flange cut off
Headset: Works +1 degree headset. I went for 62.5 HA originally but never accounted for this being longer reach and a 29” front wheel compared to my previous hardtail
Mudguard: RRP - left on year round
Seatclamp - Hope
Inserts: none

Feel of the old levers, reliability of the new calipers.

Clips put a lot of pressure on the ankles. Flats are the only way for Euan.


A huge thanks to Adrian at Swarf cycles for transferring everything I loved about my downhill/ enduro bikes into a hardtail that’s both stable and a lot of fun. I definitely see the irony in a video called - “It’s not the bike” having a hardtail as nice as this one!