I needed something new to get me back into riding to work and back. When I saw the Swobo Baxter it made me smile, so I ordered one through the local bike shop... because the guy's really cool and it's a LBS worth supporting.

Had to wait a month for a 59 frame, but it was worth it. With the installation of a brooks saddle, mustache handlebar and front rack it's a rockin' commuter. All done up it weighs in at about 30 lbs by the bathroom scale method of weights and measures. That's 4 or 5 lbs more than my cyclocross commuter, but the Baxter is so drippin' with style I don't care! Yea, it's a bit slower, but a workout is a workout. And the Baxter is such a blast just to hop on and ride in tennis shoes and jeans that I'm resisting installing clipless pedals, even for longer rides.

The Alfine hub is very quiet, smooth and shifts great... way better than the Sram 7 speed I built up a few years ago. (I'll be looking into the Alfine 11 speed in a year or two for sure.) The mechanical disc brakes are fantastic... my first experience with those. My only gripe is that the rear disc came loose due to a very shallow lock ring. It had only about 3 threads on it which stripped. The LBS installed a better lock ring free of charge. IMO, Swobo is taking a chance with a very expensive hub to save a few pennies there. I'm planning on changing out the lock ring on the front brake as well. But that's the only fly in a very sweet pudding.

DanO