mosquito

Just wanted to ask if anyone here has seen swifts with different colors. Just this past month, i saw one in grey and one in green. Both were beautiful and made me googly eyed.

pismocycleguy

This thread has been silent for way too long!
What's new in the Swift World? Any new up-dates, up-grades, new colors, new components?
Thanks for sharing!
PCG

Bacciagalupe

Nope.

yangmusa

Mine's the boring old standard silver. I sometimes wish I took the plunge and ordered it power-coated in a custom colour. Especially since the standard paint is rather prone to scratches.. But when I was buying it, the extra $70 seemed hard to justify. Now I'm not so sure, ah well..

Anyone have any experience in stripping down a bike frame and getting it powder-coated? Cost?

defixated

Hi Magnus. Thanks for your blog and all of your very helpful comments here. I have an aluminum Swift and the Nashbar front rack. It's been great, especially easy to use with a backpack hooked over the handlebars.

I sold my car a few weeks ago and finally bought a pair of Ortlieb Front Roller Classic panniers. You mentioned that your Ortliebs fit the Nashbar rack (and promised pictures way back in this thread!), but I can't seem to get mine on securely. What are you hooking the large clip on the bottom onto? I can just get it to contact the bottom of the rack but there's still a fair bit of wiggle. The Ortliebs are fabulous and I don't want to send them back.

Thanks!

yangmusa

Awesome! Sounds like a good trade

I have the BikeTourer, which has the QL2 fitting system. The Front Roller has the QL1 system, which I think has less vertical adjustment. With the QL2, I can make the lower mount connect with the rack well enough. However, the BikeTourer is HUGE, so I rarely use it on the Swift - hence I never got around to taking a picture. If you still want one I could though.

My everyday panniers are the Nashbar waterproof front panniers. They aren't as fancy as the Ortliebs, but I got them on sale for around $50 and they seem durable and waterproof so far (18 months & counting). They just attach with hooks & strap, simple but it works. Pictures of this on the blog.

EDIT: I wonder if you could fit a small bracket on the fork, where I put the hook? If it went up parallel to the fork, maybe the pannier clip could locate on that? Bit if a cludge I suppose..

cheers, Magnus

BruceMetras

Hi Magnus, just read through your blog... I know you probably have your bike setup as you like, but I noticed that you questioned whether a dual drive could be fitted with STI levers.. did some ebay shopping awhile back and installed a set of Midge drop bars and SORA STI's on my SpeedPro and used a 105 Short Cage derailleur.. it works perfect.. the left lever is for a triple and the right an 8spd..

Have Fun,
Bruce

yangmusa

Aah, good to know! I had seen that Bike Friday did that, but didn't know if it was a bolt-together job, or if there were any further steps (like using a Travel Agent to modify cable-pull).

defixated

I got stuck into "Why doesn't this fit? What am I missing?" rather than looking for a fix, which cost all of $1 and two minutes with an allen wrench. I'll put up pictures tomorrow (tired after 30 miles of errands with the panniers today!). Thanks for the suggestion.

garth_s

Thanks guys for the ideas. I wanted a folder for awhile. Husband of a lady I work with is into airbrushing and did the frame.

pismocycleguy

garth_s
Looks great!!
PCG

yangmusa

Nice one Garth_s!

defixated

Screwed these L-brackets (each half measures 3/8" x 1 1/2") behind the Nashbar front rack fitting and they make a perfect slot for the Ortlieb Front Roller Classic (these have the QL1 fitting, new QL2 on the FR Plus may have a longer reach); I got the Classic because the newer model isn't available in yellow.

The panniers are a revelation in car-free life. It's a huge difference vs. hooking a backpack over the handlebars, letting it rest on the rack and lashing up any loose ends. I'm stunned at how stable the panniers are. I'd gotten used to the twitchy bars, but without weight hanging on them, the Swift is a dream. As a bonus, when the panniers are rolled closed, the tops are level with the rack, making an extra wide platform for bungee loads.

The Ortliebs are better than expected (and my expectations were pretty high), just a dream piece of equipment.

Nashbar front rack ($7.99!)
L-brackets, $0.50 each, local hardware store
Ortlieb Front Roller Classic, $117 shipped from Wayne at thetouringstore.com, best price, great service.

pismocycleguy

Nice set-up! The ortlieb bags are great! The yellow color also helps in being visible to the cagers.
PCG

werewolf

Anybody know any place in Arizona where I can try out a Swift?

Spudmeister

New Swift frame, built up with parts from the garage...


Nitto Mustache bars, Brooks B.17 saddle, Tektro Oryx Cantilever front brake,
Tektro Mini-V rear brake, Dia-Compe brake levers, etc.

The rear wheel & Sugino crankset are from my Dahon. I used a new bottom bracket
- the one from the Dahon was crap.

Single Speed - 53x15. One of these days I'll get a new rear wheel with a flip/flop hub.
Until then I've put a Surly cog on the cassette with a bunch of spacers.

Leather wrap on the bars from Velo Orange (https://www.velo-orange.com).
I've had this stuff in my drawer all summer, waiting for enough patience to sew it on.


One more picture...

jnb-rare

Very, very nice.

garth_s

I love PowerGrips, use em' on 2 of my bikes.

james_swift

Another fixed-gear Swift:

https://fixedgeargallery.com/2007/nov/3/LyleVannier.htm

jur

He erroneously asserts that it's nimble due to a shorter wheelbase compared to roadies. A Swift has the same wheelbase.

james_swift

True. I think what makes the Swift feel more nimble is the fact that when you're slicing a path through heavy traffic, you don't have that extra 6" of wheel sticking out in front of you.

But get a load of that industrial-looking 1/8" chainring. Looks gnarly. I want one.

james_swift

Wow...this is really nice. Those bars and that saddle. Classy. I like the canti front brake. This will be extra good once you get your wheel built with a flip-flop hub.

james_swift

It was a really nice day out today, so I snapped a couple of pics:

jur

I must do the same to try and match your great results! Pity I don't have a bridge like that in my back yard... will havr to come up with an Austrlian context...

Any punctures on the Contis yet? I have had 1 plus a tube failure at an older puncture repair site.

james_swift

I had 2 punctures at the rear tire within the first month. After installing the Slime tube protectors, I haven't had a flat since.

The more I ride these tires, the more I refuse to consider anything else. Although not very durable in terms of puncture resistance, I can visually tell that these tires will wear much longer than anything else I've owned. They're light, fast, sticky, and in the sea of Kenda and Schwalbe tires on the ever popular folding bike here in san Francisco, it's nice to be able to roll-up alongside (or roll quickly past) with a tire that looks and performs so unique.