At a small get-together at SwiftCarbon’s Cape Town showroom, triathlete Henri Schoeman celebrated the signing of a two-year partnership with the emerging bike brand by pulling the covers off his new Hypervox – a custom painted road machine, ready for his assault on the 2017 season. He kicks it all off with ITU’s Discovery Triathlon World Cup Cape Town, held at the V&A Waterfront.
Schoeman stunned the triathlon world, and his nation, when he romped home to win an Olympic bronze medal in Rio and proved that was no fluke with his first WTS victory at the Grand Finale in Cozumel, earning him the status as triathlon’s breakout star of 2016.
On Wednesday night he spoke about his and SwiftCarbon’s partnership over the last year, “I have really enjoyed working with the guys. It’s really great that I can give feedback on the bikes and it finds its way into future versions of the models that anyone can ride.” Schoeman gets a special touch to his rig for the upcoming season – a custom paint scheme featuring his HS logo, bronze decals and national flag detailing on the seat stays and fork blades. “The frame is production standard, but the design is special: to commemorate his big successes in 2016 and for Henri to represent his nation proudly with a cool looking bike,” says founder Mark Blewett, himself a South African.
Schoeman rode a Hypervox throughout the 2016 season, “It’s designed as an aero bike, which suits the kind of racing we do, but it’s actually pretty smooth too. With the road surfaces we often have to ride on – like in Stockholm and Rio – you really don’t want to feel beaten up by your bike before the run. On the tight circuits you are constantly accelerating and braking so having a bike that handles well is so important, plus you want every watt going onto the road.”
Despite his humble demeanor, the 25-year-old has high ambitions in the sport. His goal – the world championship. He’s certainly shown he has what it takes. Firstly, he has an all-powerful weapon – one of the strongest swims in the sport. His tactical finesse on the bike is that of a seasoned road pro and in 2016 he’s come on leaps and bounds with his run. “He’s got a target on his back now! I can’t wait to see how he goes in the next two seasons,” says Blewett.
At the heart of Schoeman’s new rig is SwiftCarbon’s range-topping Hypervox frame featuring a Toray and Mitsubishi-Rayon composite matrix, tuned to be rigid around the head tube and BB area and compliant at the rear seat stays. Parts spec includes Shimano Dura Ace Di2 with Rotor cranks, Mavic wheels, Schwalbe tyres and some special CeramicSpeed parts and bearings. See full details below.
Production Hypervox frames and complete builds are available on swiftcarbon.com – the brand’s main retail channel in their direct-to-consumer business model.
The tech:
- FrameSwiftCarbon Hypervox size XS [Toray/Mitsubishi-Rayon composite matrix]
- Shifting and brakesShimano Dura Ace Di2 – 11-23T cassette
- CranksetRotor 2INpower 170mm 53/39T
- PartsCeramicSpeed UFO chain, OSPW (oversized pulley wheel) system, BB and headset bearings.
- WheelsMavic Cosmic Ultimate
- TyresSchwalbe One Pro
- StemEaston EC90 120mm
- HandlebarsZipp SL Contour 40cm
- TapeRitchey
- SaddleFizik Arione R1
- Bottle cagesSwiftCarbon
- BB to seat height710mm
- Seat tip to bar centre520mm
- Bar drop110mm
Indeed
Very good-looking hey ????????????