BruceMetras

Here's my Xootr Swift folder with a few personal changes. Without waterbottle and tool bag, weight is about 20lbs. Changed out items:

SDG I-Flex seat/seatpost.

110mm 8 degree stem.

Carbon bar and bar ends.

Kinetix wheels with Pantour suspension hub up front, Stelvio tires.

11/32 9sp, SRAM X-7 derailleur, 53T chainring, hollow pin chain.

MKS Q/R pedals with PowerGrips.

I am extremely happy with this bike. I love the clean, solid, well designed frame. This Swift has become a very quick ride.

Bruce (San Rafael, California)

v1nce

@ Rafael: hey about the mail, thx! I'll reply soon through my other mail account.

@ Bruce: VERY nice wheels! Is the ride smooth or a bit harsh ? (skinny tires and Alu frame).

14R 

Bruce,

Where did you get the 53T chainring? That's exactly what I am looking for but can't find it.

Rafael

BruceMetras

The stock Swift crank takes a 130mm chainring. I used a 53T from a Dahon, but you could probably find a number of sources for these. One good one is the Hostel Shoppe .

Bruce

BruceMetras

Thanks! I love it!

The ride is much smoother with those wheels and tires at 120lbs than the stock 20x1.5's at 90lbs. All because of the Pantour Hub up front. It absorbs a lot of the harshness you would normally feel in the handlebar running skinny high pressure tires. It certainly is a noticeable control improvement going downhill at speed. As there is only about 1/2" of travel, the Pantour Hub is not meant to replace suspension forks, but they do make a difference. Also, the fork on the Xootr Swift is steel.

Bruce

14R 

"The stock Swift crank takes a 130mm chainring."

That my problem...I need a new crankset with a single speed 52T+ (53 would be perfect) that would fit my 1/2way rs.

All I got off of e-bay or LBSs are road bike cranksets and rings for US$150.00++ AND with 2 rings (all I need is one).

I'll keep looking. Worst case scenario I will buy a crankset and then buy the 52t ring.

Thank you for our post.

Rafael

zebedia

Dahon Vitesse 05. SWEET bike-- maximum convenience meets great commuter bike.
I use it to go to and from school (about 1.5 miles each way). It rocks.

spambait11

Bike Friday Pocket Nomad and Brompton L6. Both now single speed.

james_swift

Is your Pocket Nomad a cassette-freewheel-SS-conversion, or a real single-speed hub? What are you using for your chain tensioner (is that a Singleator?).

spambait11

It's an "AC Racing Freewheels" single speed hub found at Harris.

I originally got it because it is a 15T cog (the smallest hub I could find) and you can put it on with a Shimano bottom bracket tool, but in retrospect, I should have probably used the Shimano BMX hub Harris recommends, which would have allowed me to use a 13T cog. The hub is ok overall, but it is heavy and it seems to have a little horizontal float because it rides on its own bearings. It is a pretty solid unit though.

The wheelset is a custom job from Gaerlan using their single-speed Summit hubs and Velocity Razor rims. At the time I ordered the wheels, about the only thing I couldn't do with a bike was build my own wheels. But now that I have that under my belt, it's no longer an issue.

Yes it is a Singleator and I have to use one otherwise the bike won't fold. Lame, huh?

james_swift

That's an awesome SS undertaking.

On the Singleator...nah, not lame at all. I wanted to ask...how has the Singleator been holding-up for you? I'm in the midst of getting one for myself as well. Why haven't you used the spring that pushes the Singleator upwards so you get more chain wrap around the rear cog? Have you experienced any chain skip with the 15T cog? (I keep reading about anything less than a 16T cog is inviting chain skip.)

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm getting ready to convert my Swift to a SS and am looking for as much advice as possible.

Thanks!

spambait11

This conversion was definitely a learning experience, that's for sure.

The Singleator is fine. I don't exactly have a straight chainline so I know I probably put a lot of undue stress on it, so mine sometimes gives out faint squeeks especially when I'm pedaling hard. (The squeeks are due to the chain rubbing along the Singleator's chain guides, not because the Singleator is poorly made.)

Currently I have a 113mm bottom bracket. To achieve a better chainline I should probably use a 107mm - 110mm bottom bracket: I've already tried moving the chainring inside/outside the cranks. The problem is that my right crank falls directly in line with the single speed hub; if I put the chainring on the inside of the crank, I'm off about 2mm. If I keep the chainring on the outside of the crank (which it is now) I'm about 1mm off. You can't really feel a 1mm - 3mm difference on a fixie, but a chain tensioner will let you know you're off.


I have not experienced any chain skip. My chain is as tight as I can get it while still being able to fold the rear.

I use it in push-down mode because I like the looks a lot better.


Hmm. Didn't know this. But I know that dedicated single-speed cogs "generally" have longer teeth to neutralize chain skip.


Not a problem, and good luck.

By the way, if you decide to get a dedicated rear wheel built, most single-speed and fixed gear hubs are bolt-on. That way you won't have to worry about slippage with a quick-release. Plus with a dedicated wheel, spoke tension will be even and you won't have to re-dish it like you would a standard cassette-equipped wheel. For my first experiement, I used a cog and spacers for a quick and dirty single-speed. This was fine (and it is much easier to get a straighter chainline this way), but I noticed that there was horizontal play in the cog as you can only get the spacers so tight. That's when I bit the bullet and bought a "real" single-speed wheel.

Before pic:

james_swift

That's a lot of great info. Thanks much!

One last question, if I may, (I know the mods are itching to tell me to quit hijacking this thread) but when you ran the freewheel-cassette conversion, did the cog "dig into" the freehub body? I'm debating whether or not it's worth the extra cash to go with a cog like the Surly or Kick-Ass which have the wider base:


Thanks again for all the helpful info. I think I'm ready to take the SS plunge.

spambait11

Interesting notion, but I didn't check for that when I swapped wheels, so I honestly don't know. (This wheel now has a cassette back on and is installed on a recumbent.) However, because of the Singleator, I also had chain slack, and I don't think my tension was ever tight enough for the cog to dig. (53x15 gearing on 20" wheels = 64 gear inches, I think.)


Hm. My thought is this: if you're going the spacer route and you're getting your spacers from Harris Cyclery, you might want to check with them to make sure their spacers can be used for that cog. I bought spacers from Harris and note that they are all equal sizes (1.5mm thick?) except for one very thin spacer. For my purposes, this was fine because I used a 15T cog from the cassette for the single-speed, which is what Harris assumes you will do. My fear would be that for a thicker based cog, I wouldn't know if the spacers would even out, so I'd call them to ask. It would suck if you needed a .75mm spacer!

Alternatively, here's another solution though not as sleek looking but which does look to neutralize horizontal play:
Gussett single-speed

Last thing to be aware of is the lock ring. I found that the Shimano cassette lockring that came with my Deore hub was too small, and would not hold the spacers on. That is why in the pic above, you see a 13T cog at the end to hold the spacers and cog in place. I wrote Sheldon Brown about this and he thought it was weird that the Shimano lockring was too small. However, I had a cheap Sun Race rear wheel laying around, and when I tried that lockring, it worked though I could never get it tight enough to keep the spacers and cog from moving. I found out about the horizontal movement when I tried to accelerate hard from a traffic light which I knew was a quick light, and felt as if my rear wheel all of a sudden was swerving all over the place as if it was about to come loose in the dropouts. On the other side of the road, I stopped to inspect the wheel and that is when I started wiggling the cog side to side. Under normal riding, everything behaved as it should but you know the rest of the story.


No problemo. Don't ever think you're asking too many questions. Saves time and money to know.

james_swift

Whoa, coinicidence...that's exactly what I've been kicking-around in my head for the longest time. The Surly cog sits 4.4mm, while the Kick-Ass cog is a whopping 6.35mm. According to Sheldon's references, a standard 8-SP SRAM cassette cog is 1.8mm with 4mm spacers.

I emailed the folks at Endless Bike Co. about their spacer kit and it's ability to properly space-out a standard cog as well as their beefed-up cog. I got no response. Too bad, as I was really interested in buying from them (common sense tells me that if you can't at least get an email back about your inquiries into their products, then you're better-off not doing business with them).


Yeah, I've been considering the 1-ER kit from the beginning...it seems to be very popular with the SS-MTB scene. I think I'll eventually go with that. Besides, Jenson has the lowest price on the 1-ER as well as the Singleator, so it's a one-stop shop. I'll definitely need to swap-out the stock 52-T chainring for a 54-T since the 1-ER uses a 16-T cog.[/QUOTE]


Thanks again, spambait11...lots of excellent SS-info.

Keasty

Hey, we're from Australia. We're heading to USA/Canada in 2006 and are keen to purchase a Bike Friday Two'sDay. Getting excited about it. Sounds like a great bike. We'll need to also get a whole wad of accessories too. Anyone out there got a Two'sDay?

spambait11

When is yours due?
(We just bit the bullet and ordered a used one. Should be here early November.)

tedi k wardhana

Victoria are still making fine bikes these days in Germany, most of them geared, but back in those days most of their bikes were single speed with a coaster brake (the rest of their production was dedicated to motorcycles). The hanger in this bike came with the SunTour derailleur. It's an 86 Cyclone MkII model.


I got the tyres (Haro MultiSurface II 20x1.75) and rims (Weinmann Zac 4019, 36h) off ebay for a very reasonable sum and laced them to some unbranded vintage hubs that I had lying around the parts box to make a solid wheelset.

Freewheel is a 5 speed Regina Extra BX and the chain is a pre-Sram, gold Sachs. The chainstays are so short that any shift of the chain to any cog other than the middle one results in the worst chainline I've ever seen (so I won't bother to squeeze any more gears into it!).

I found the mudguards very cheap in a department store. They are plastic (very similar to the ones v1nce shows in his page) and meant for 26" wheels. The front one needed a bit of "ovenwork" to get the adequate shape.

I decided to keep a low budget for this bike since it was going to be a back-up bike. Most of the parts were already with me so the final cost was around €70. It's great fun to ride, specially when the children and grown-ups in the neighbourhood see me riding a "strange bike with such small wheels" (folders are absolutely uncommon here) .


Roberto[/QUOTE]



I had a victoria in 1973, it was not a foldable one, but could be neatly collapsed. anyone has a picture or links? Mine was stolen, I missed it so much.

clayface

Keep an eye on the German ebay. Old Victoria's turn up there frequently.

Roberto

FlaTour

I have 3 foldups(and 4 regular 12 speeds)MY fav bike is a 20'' wheel WORKSMAN foldup, made in NYC, chosen because it has good handlebars, 3spds and a VERY strong frame that accomodates a 200+ pound guy + gear.

I travel alot and have cycled longstuff like Munich to Budapest, South Coast England and(my fav) cities from NYC to Denver, to St Petersburg Russia, Helsinki Finland, Tallinn Estonia, London, most of Florida and many points inbetween.

My fav scenario is to take my foldup to Europe.

v1nce

Pictures and price please! (especially of the Worksman!). Thx.

Miles2go

XT Headset, Shimano front hub, Sachs 3x7 rear hub, Sachs shifters, Shimano RSX rear derailleur, Sugino crank, shown with Suntour pedals. I bought her slightly used and it's mint right down to the cog teeth and bar wrap. Included Bike Friday mudguards that I haven't installed yet. The bike just arrived three days ago.




Ron
South Ogden, Utah
https://miles2go.crazyguyonabike.com
https://www.pbase.com/canyonlands/

Fear&Trembling

My R&M Birdy Red 2004.

Highpath Engineering Chainring 60T – 15% Ovality
Shimano Dura-Ace crank arms
Shimano Ultegra BB
Time ATAC XS carbon pedals
Ultegra 11 – 23 cassette
SRAM X-9 derailleur
SRAM X-O grip-shift
XTR/Dura-Ace chain
Ritchey WCS headset
Shimano XTR levers
F&R XTR V-brakes
Gore RideOn brake cables
N-Gear Jump Stop
FSA K-Force XC carbon riser bar (40mm rise / width cut down to 570mm)
Post Moderne Micro Bar Ends
TiTec Pork Rinds
Brooks Swift saddle
Hope Ti Skewers
Schwalbe Marathon tyres (although Stelvios in Spring, Summer & Autumn)
Cat Eye Micro
Cat Eye Triple Shot
Respro Hi-Viz stickers

af895

Miles2go: I love the packability of that NWT in the hard case. How do you like the bar ends? They extend forward and back from the flat bar, right? (I'm looking for a set myself)

Fear&Trembling: Oy! Hot bike. I admit a bias: that particular red is my favorite colour. Ditto the question: how do you like the barends - on riser bars, yes? I imagine with risers there's a bit of outward-splay. Is it bothersome?

Just started riding Biopace myself - so far so good. (different than the current ovalized rings but I like the idea of non-round)

Fear&Trembling

question: how do you like the barends - on riser bars, yes? I imagine with risers there's a bit of outward-splay. Is it bothersome?

The bar ends are angled inwards (and they do look a bit ugly on the risers), but they provide a more comfortable, stretched-out riding position. I have never found them a problem, although the fold is slightly compromised.

Just started riding Biopace myself - so far so good. (different than the current ovalized rings but I like the idea of non-round)

I do not think I will get another Egg ring. Next time I will probably go back to a 63T or 64T round ring. I would have liked a Biopace (Sheldon Brown is an advocate), but I do not believe they have the sizes I require...