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This is an exciting one.
SWI – as the name and the branding imply – are a Swiss enterprise. Swiss, but also Italian. All very good things in this particular instance and the brand is formed at an interesting intersection, both geographically and technologically.
SWI is an ultra-premium cycling brand creating unique and remarkably beautiful bespoke, high performance custom carbon road bikes. Each SWI frame is engineered in Switzerland and fabricated in Italy in the historical Insubria region, famed for its tradition of crafting works of extraordinary beauty and engineering prowess. It is a masterpiece both in terms of artistry and fabrication.
Stefano Cenere, SWI’s founder, has a history of jewellery manufacture at the highest levels and is an expert in carbon fibre composites. Marrying his fastidious attention to detail with a dedicated commitment to the best engineering and his appreciation of cycling, led to the creation of SWI. What has followed is over 4 years R&D and 50+ prototypes, tested by world tour legends Paulo Bettini and Luca Paolini, that has culminated in the realisation of the AEQUUS SL: an unrivalled fusion of artistry and engineering.
AEQUUS : Balance.
The SWI AEQUUS SL is a true monocoque, built in one unified piece from the world’s finest high-grade carbon textile, hand-crafted for each customer and finished to the highest standards.
Before we get into the detail, let’s just acknowledge the elephant in the room since many won’t see past it.
It’s expensive.
But it is also good value.
SWI’s approach to frame manufacture is completely novel and is distinct from the rest of the market in two key areas. Construction and materials.
The Monocoque frame is a concept that will be familiar to most in cycling, it is however a bit of a misnomer. Every monocoque is in fact at least 2 pieces: the front triangle and the rear triangle, that are wrapped and bonded together.
The SWI AEQUUS SL on the other hand, utilises a unique, patented construction process that yields a frame as a single, uninterrupted shell or Unified Carbon Shell. It is a true monocoque.
Hand laid in northern Italy as a single unit within a single mould, the resultant seamless frames are lighter, stiffer more durable and more precisely aligned than is possible with bonding.
When you understand the technology behind our bikes, you will understand that it simply will not be possible to mass produce these bikes. The process is simply too costly and expensive.
Stefano Cenere (Founder of SWI)
Just our raw materials can cost up to 10 times the price of that used in a mass produced bike.
In addition to the unique fabrication process, SWI employ novel and highly technical composite materials from North Thin Ply Technology, a Swiss based composite supplier.
SWI is the only bicycle manufacturer in the world utilising NTPT high performance carbon textiles and this is a big deal since NTPT composites differ greatly from other composite materials commonly employed in the manufacture of bicycles.
NTPT carbon fabric has an exceptionally dense unidirectional carbon weave of up to 29 ply, where the average carbon fibre fabric employed is only 4 to 5 ply. Despite the many additional layers, the density of the weave means that the resulting textile is no thicker than other carbon materials used in bike building and also has significantly fewer voids – a point of weakness in carbon materials. As a result, the NTPT fabric produces an appreciably higher stiffness to weight ratio than typically seen in frame manufacturing.
The NTPT fabric is laid by hand in the monocoque mould in a time intensive process that only 2 technicians are currently skilled to perform. The already low-void NTPT sheets are then impregnated with a special resin which allows for very high pressure moulding at 6 bars of pressure in an autoclave – an airtight high-pressure oven. Here the frame ‘cooks’ for 6 hours at 125 degrees celsius. This compresses the carbon fibres beyond standard frames (save for Officine Mattio who use a similar autoclave process), adding strength without increasing the weight or volume, and without compromising the mechanical properties of the frame.
The frames are finished with an outer layer of 3K carbon weave arranged in a herringbone pattern to lend the frame additional durability and an unmistakable aesthetic and the final frame weight of a 54cm is 750g. To cap things off, each is adorned with a laser-etched solid silver, SWI designed INSUBRIA badge – a mark of authenticity that reflects both the geographical origin of SWI and Stefano’s background in jewellery production.
The result of SWI’s construction process, material usage and testing, is a high-performance bike of both exceptional lightness and exceptional stiffness. With the final prototypes, Paulo Bettini described the inherent properties of the unified shell as delivering a spring-like characteristic when applying pedalling forces, saving you power and yielding a lively ride unlike other bikes. Ultimately, the monocoque frame’s ability to redirect lateral pedalling forces into forward propulsion gives it a unique, elastic and whippy feel.
Despite the engineered stiffness, the AEQUUS remains very comfortable thanks to the carefully engineered vertical compliance of the seatpost and rear triangle – and you can take this further with SWI’s customisation…
Building a true monocoque creates challenges and those with a keen eye will notice that SWI frames have an additional hole on the left hand side chain and seat stay intersection at the drop out. This is necessary for the removal of the bladder elements that remain in the frame after being moulded in the autoclave. In two-piece frames, these are simply removed (or not in some cases) at the open ends of each piece before those elements are bonded together.
While a simple bung will suffice to stopper the hole it is far from the ideal for a man of Stefano’s meticulousness, and he is currently investigating ways to integrate a high-powered rear LED light that can be connected to Di2 batteries, giving additional purpose to a functional necessity.
Customisation
SWI’s approach to customisation is slightly different from most. There is no custom geometry option.
NTPT composites can cost up to 10 times that of traditional pre-preg composite materials. Given those materials costs and coupled with the obvious need to create bespoke one-off moulds for each bike – custom geometry is simply untenable.
The good news is, SWI’s progressive all-round stock geometry allows almost anyone to benefit from their frames – even folks like me with outlying body shapes (loooong legs short torso and vice versa). As an example, I can ride both a 54 or a 56cm. The difference being that I am able to ride a 56cm slammed at the front end for more definite handling, with very little effect on reach with the right seatpost fitted and without compromising stand-over. If you want racy and aggressive it is possible. If you are the same height but inflexible or wish to ride more upright, this is also achievable with minimal compromise.
Instead, SWI chose to focus on the feel of the frames and offer their customers an entirely bespoke layup. This level of lay-up customisation differs from traditional lay-up tweaks and is the result of the number of layers of NTPT that are used in the frames – up to 28 before the cosmetic 3K weave. Typically the main tubes will have 23+1 layers while BB and Headtube will be 28+1. This gives a pretty damn stiff frame with balanced compliance for those looking for a racy feeling frame.
If that’s not your bag, then you can tune the frame through the removal (or addition) of layers of NTPT and the choice of material used in those layers, for an entirely bespoke feel. This is something that as part of the process of buying your frame, is handled through conversation directly with SWI themselves. Together we explore your needs, riding goals and cycling preferences factoring any issues or explicit requirements you may have and ultimately you decide how you want your bike to ride.
The biggest advantage over other custom frame builds and a solid USP is the fact that these lay-up changes don’t cost a penny extra. Your layup comes at the same cost as the stock composition.
Like most companies offering customisation, SWI also offer paint options from standard Clear coat matt or gloss laquer over the raw carbon, to SWI Classic with colour flashes to enhance the natural carbon, all the way to entirely bespoke complex colour schemes and art work.
Like the layup changes, and aside from fully custom works, the choice of Classic or Clearcoat colourings will also be included in the base pricing – no matter on what variation of colours or tints you choose within those patterns. Fully custom paint finishes are subject to additional costs for obvious reasons and these will be discussed with your assigned designer.
Besides the customisation of paint and carbon lay-up, it is also possible to select the positioning and addition / removal of frame mounts for water bottles and frame-mounted storage. In fact, if you have any requirements – SWI will at the very least listen.
Given the complexities of construction the unique nature of the build and your colour options, your SWI AEQUUS will be very rare indeed – if not entirely unique – and with current numbers per year likely to be around 50 frames globally, you won’t be following the bunch so much as carving your own line.
The SWI AEQUUS is supplied in two forms. Either as a frame, fork and headset to be used with the rider’s preferred post and cockpit at £8500, or as a FRAME KIT at £9500 comprising Frame, Fork, headset and partnered with SWI’s entirely bespoke integrated bar/stem, and seatpost in either 20mm or 0 offset, with a combined weight of 1900g. SWI’s Cockpit is fully integrated, ergonomic and aero. It’s gull-wing form is manufactured from NTPT carbon textile like the frame, and delivers unrivalled comfort through the most natural hand positions.
As with all things SWI, attention to detail is a given and the reason for the development of a bespoke solution to the cockpit was shaping. The integrated bar and stem is so shaped with an up-lift and subsequent drop and forward sweep to follow the natural form of the rider’s hands and arms for a more ergonomic fit. While it may look at odds with much of the market at first, the resultant comfort is quite pleasing and these considerations are critical in ensuring the bike is an extension of the rider, for the ultimate synergy and handling experience.
As you might expect from a man who has spent years dealing with the minutiae of jewellery pieces, Stefano is no slouch with the finer details. Bottle mounts and disc mounts are beautifully finished in high quality Ergal Aluminium with disc mounts faced for perfect alignment, and while you might think this is the norm – it definitely isn’t. Even other bespoke frame builders sometimes drop the ball when it comes to the little details, particularly where mechanics are likely to be involved – and it is often incumbent on said mechanics to finish the job of manufacturers. Not so with SWI – they are adamant that the frame be perfect and ready to go straight out of the box.
Finishing touches come in the form of premium Carbon-Ti aluminium water bottle bolts, the supply of both standard and Shimano Direct Mount drop-outs, 35mm of headset spacers – in carbon of course – and even Carbon-Ti Thru Axles.
Ultimately the SWI AEQUUS SL is an investment in your riding. Built using the highest quality carbon available, with a unique and uncompromising manufacturing process, and with a lay-up that can be defined, not just refined by you; the AEQUUS is a long term consideration. A bike that is subject to less deterioration and fade as a function of its engineering, it will deliver the ride you want year after year for unerring performance. With an elegant simplicity and understated yet classy aesthetic, it will be the crown jewel of your collection.
We are expecting our first frame in-store in the coming week with bespoke builds built within 60 days from time of order and following a bike fit to establish the correct sizing, bar, stem and seatpost dimensions.
For more information or to take the first steps on your journey with SWI please do get in touch
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