i have been riding a 60cm swobo del norte for about 8 months.

it is a sharp looking bicycle (matte green frame, straight bladed fork, black and red components, shiny bar tape).

but at 739.00 i thought bike seemed a little over priced to me considering it is a basic single speed bicycle.
i was replacing a franken-trek 8000 atb i had eccentric-ed (white indus.) and the swobo was a gift.

after assembly i immediately noticed the stock pedals popped and cracked under load - this was disappointing. so i bought new pedals and no problems since.

the tektro brakes work fine.

the original shiny bar tape wasnt wrapped properly and after a dozen or so rides it began to unravel and bunch up.

the vittoria tires have held up well.

drivetrain has presented no problems - what appears to be a budget sugino crank, red v-rims and chain, some type of modified track hubs - all have worked well.

i found the 'track' style drop bars uncomfortable and replaced them with a nashbar riser bar, a single tektro atb lever, and added foam grips.

since then i have also installed a fixed cog (16t), the planet bike fenders sold at the swobo website, a dimension aluminum rear rack, a jandd handlebar bag and under seat bag (red), handlebar bottle holder and headlight.

so aside from the green/red color scheme the del norte i ride now looks quite different than what i received.

i have only been riding fixed gear for a few months - but now the bike seems to handle well and is a joy to ride. i am 6'3" and right at 200 lbs. i do notice some frame flex yet the bike is quiet and nimble.

i pop up over curbs, ride off of curbs, ride brick sidewalks, over shallow potholes, some dirt/gravel paths - i dont thrash the bike but i ride it over unfriendly terrain at times - and it seems to be holding up well.

i would recomend looking around some (here perhaps http://www.missionbicycle.com/ ) but if you like the color scheme and specifically want a single speed/fixed bike , mine has held up pretty well.