Originally Posted by guydickinson
Hey jyossarian - I've got a Nexus 7 in my Swift folder from Peter Reich. I just had to go to Edinburgh, Scotland for a few days and took my swift (kept it in hotel rooms, took it into offices and bars, cafes without a problem :-).
Edinburgh has a *lot* of (to me) aggressive hills. The hub gear worked fine; I think 1st+2nd worked really well for my legs on the uphill, and 6/7th fine for long downhills. Mind you, if you're in a very hilly area I read that the Nexus 8 has a larger range?
Thanks Guy. I don't mind the extra weight since I'm around 70 lbs overweight so theoretically, if I lose 2 lbs, I've broken even with the weight gain of the internal hub. Hopefully, I'll lose more. Also, it's good to know the squirrely feel can be minimized by lengthening the stem. I'll have to keep that in mind.
I was more worried about hill climbing, but it sounds like the Nexus 7 will be more than suitable. It's not too hilly here in NYC, unless you go up the monster hills in upper Manhattan and the Bronx. And hey, hills build quads and character. As for the grip shifts, Peter said he might be able to fit rapid fire shifters instead cuz to me, the Shimano grip shifters are counterintuitive compared to the SRAM grip shifters. I've tried the Shimano grip shifters before and hated them cuz I had to keep looking down to see what I was doing.
My plan was to use skinnier commuter slicks rather than the 1.75" wheels the Xootr comes with. Also, Peter said Apex front and rear fenders work pretty good on the Swift cuz they're plastic and flexible. He had a Planet Bike full fender too, but he said it still got in the way a little.