I ended up taking the plunge last week on an aluminum Swift. Couldn’t tell if the seller was a Bikeforums guy or not. He said he was an early Helix backer so he no longer needed the Swift.
As far as I can tell the bike is stock, other than a Maxxis Hookworm on the front. I did a few rides around the neighborhood, put on a longer stem, and did 35 miles yesterday around Queens.
I’m normally pretty slow on my mtb and marginally faster on my souped up Raleigh Twenty. The Swift definitely accelerated really well and felt much more spry climbing than my other bikes.
Immediate plans are a less squishy saddle, wider bars with a little backsweep, and maybe changing out the tires. I already have a 2.0” Big Apple that I’ll try on the back. I run 2.15” BA’s on the Raleigh and feel really confident with them, but it might be nice to find something lighter that’s still high volume.
Looking forward to playing around and dialing it in!