Bike #3, yet another ’round town/upright stanced commuter with a touch of utilitarian sexiness, the Swobo Baxter.
Swobo Baxter
Front and rear discs, 8 speed internal Alfine, chainguard, eyelets for fenders (and yes, I remember when I used to laugh at things like chainguards and fender eyelets…), check check checkity check. Rear brake cable integrated thru the top tube a la the old school Kleins (RIP Kleins from Chehalis). Aluminum frame and CF fork for a little bling. Rear light integrated into the seat post seems odd as it would limit your ability to lower the seat, but an interesting touch regardless.
Swobo Baxter integrated rear light
As they don’t have any at my local shop I haven’t actually ridden the Baxter. Overall looks like a great bike, and lord knows I’ve lusted after Swobo bikes since I first saw them at Mojo, but I’ve got to question the $1099 price tag (and yes, I can’t lie, if this bike were ~$600 I’d own it already). For an urban performance commuter at that price I’d at least expect fenders and a rack (where am I going to keep my beer on the ride home?) – especially as you could pick up something like a Trek 6000 for $700 and have $400 leftover to build out your commuter steed (plus you could sell off some of the items you don’t want – i.e. most of the component group, and have more money to play with).
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