Any pedal-powered commuting machine worth its salt has to fulfill a few basic criteria. It needs to be safe, provide a comfortable ride and be outfitted to work well in just about any weather.
Swobo's Dixon satisfies all three of those requirements nicely. It's a sturdy and versatile street machine built for the urban bike lane, and its custom styling helps it stand out among the fixies, tricksters, and garage sale specials lined up next to you at the stop light.
For the Dixon, Swobo has taken the light aluminum frame and alloy fork combo of its 3-speed Otis model and dressed it up a bit, adding extra gearing and more stopping power.
The Dixon's heart and soul is SRAM's new i-Motion 9-speed internal gear hub. Controlled by a twist-and-click shifter inside the right grip, the hub gives you super-smooth shifting whether you're cooking along the flats or climbing a lung-buster. Also, it shifts standing still – you can cruise up to a stop light in ninth gear and bring the bike to a complete halt, then shift all the way down to third without turning the pedals.
Since all of its gears and moving parts are packed inside a sealed case, the hub requires far less maintenance than a traditional derailleur drivetrain, which lays exposed to dirt, grit and the elements. All you need to keep this thing supple is some lube on the chain and an oil change every few thousand miles.
To test the bike, I rode it in real world conditions – from riding in the morning light and the evening darkness, on dry days and during the winter rains. I also took it on a couple of longer rides around San Francisco.
At 340%, the SRAM i-Motion's gearing range is wide enough for just about everyone, but some of the gears in the lower range are too close together – it's tough to notice the difference between second, third and fourth. Riders over 200 pounds (like myself) will notice it doesn't allow for as much torque as higher performance internal gear hubs like those from Rohloff. In fact, the i-Motion's drive cog slipped a couple of times when starting from a dead stop on steeper hills. But it's likely you're not doing track sprints, you're just trying to get to work, so lighter riders should be fine.
The Dixon was well suited for San Francisco's hills, but the bike has a little too much weight to climb long hills comfortably. Though a must for serious commuting, the fenders and rear rack are optional and easy enough to remove if you want to trim some of the fat for weekend rides.
Front and rear Avid disk brakes have plenty of stopping power, especially in the rain, where you can really feel the difference over calipers or a coaster.
Along with the purely functional stuff, you also get those unique, Swobo-styled accouterments we love – the custom handlebars and grips, the cool metal name badges and a rear light built right into the seat stem. There's even a beer bottle opener crafted into the bottom of the saddle. A must after a long day at the office and a safe, comfy ride home in the rain.
