dyamamoto

I think it's done for the time being. The only thing I might do is grind off the rear brake mounts and paint the bike satin black (to match my other bikes).

pokkuhlag

Holy ****, that swift looks hot. Any chance for a part list?

jur

Looking very yummy... the Swift is THE most versatile bike frame money can buy I reckon. You can do anything with it, form a fast TT setup to a hardtail MTB.

Coupla questions... overall weight? And what is the fork data?

Kaito

dyamamoto - EXCELLENT build! Your bike looks HOT!!
I'm continuously amazed at how many different configurations the Swift has been shaped into!
Each just a little, or ALOT, different & exactly into what the 'shaper' wants! - whata great bike!

I'm curious about your fork set-up too, and more so, if there are any road forks out there that can be fit onto the Swift w/little or no mods. Anyone know of any? A light weight fork changeout would be a great way to shed a little more weight.

Great work dymanoto, and thanks so much for sharing!
K.

ChiapasFixed

dynamoto:
before you grind off the rear brake bosses, you may want to consider using them to attach an OMM rack to the bike?
Foe me at least, a bike with no rack is alot less useful!

mlau

Sgynt, Thanks for the tip regarding the thumbshifters.

I was able to get a single shifter from Citizen Chain in North Beach today.
I'll have it installed during break. Next is a sprung leather saddle.

dyamamoto

Everybody thanks for the props. The Swift really is one of my favorite bikes to ride. The fold isn't really small but it sure is fast.

As far as componentry goes

Brakes:
Shimano XT hydro brake levers
Shimano XTR calipers
Shimano XTR rotors
Custom rear brake caliper adapter

Drivetrain:
FSR track cranks
Shimano XTR deraileur
Shimano XT shift lever
Shimano A530 pedals. These are perfect for a folder. SPD on one side, platform on the other.
Shimano XTR 12-27 cluster

Specialized aluminum flat bars w/ODI grips
Thomson stem
Joey J-stem riser
Cane Creek headset
Thomson seat post. Slides inside the Swift post so I can remove the entire seat assembly without disturbing the seat height. Or I can leave the Swift "stub" clamped in the frame and take just the Thomson and the seat with me.
Specialized titanium railed saddle
Salsa quick release clamps and binders

Velocity Aeroheat rims
Shimano XT hubs
Schwalbe Kojak tires

The forks are another story. A while back I contacted this company to custom make these forks for me. They said they could, to the tune of $600. :0 So I bought one of their 26" MTB forks, cut them down and rebonded the fork ends. I used this set up for about a month and what do know, they contact me and say they can now make them for $300. When I modded their fork I did all research as far bonding the ends back on. But I just felt more comfortable buying a fork that was constructed in a controlled environment so I ended up buying the first production version.

https://www.carboncycles.cc/index.php...=0&c=68&p=587&

They sell on eBay so you may be able to get a better price.

Everybody seems have trouble/concerns about the routing of the cables. Don't know if it's visible in any of the pictures but I've found my routing to be trouble free. Plus, it doesn't require any unsightly wire ties on the frame (except for the one by the rear deraileur).

Took a little bit of work to get the chaniline right but it shifts great and never drops a chain (note the super tall teeth on the track chainring).

Like many people on this board I've had this bike apart and down to the bare frame many times so if you have any questions or problems please do not hesitate to ask.

jur

After seeing your forks, I did yet another search on the web and among other things found posts by you, plus that co and their forks which I assumed were the same ones as you got (confirmed).

Forks are a tough problem and I have pushed out another feeler or 2.

What are those small 'things' all along the cables on the main tube?

dyamamoto

When researching the forks for my bike, I did endless amounts of searching to no avail. Thus I just ended up contacting that company on the hopes that someone could make the fork. There are other forks available that could be adapted to the Swift but my self induced problem was just "having to have" the disc brakes.

Another ironic thing is after all that work to save weight (yeah, the disc brakes aren't light weight), the bike ended up weighing 21 lbs (maybe 20 if you don't include the seat bag and computer).

BTW - The "things" on the cables are just cable ties tying the cables together so the don't flop around. I'd contemplated welding on some cable supports but you can't affix the cables very close to the pivot without affecting the fold.

dyamamoto

Jur - I was just looking at the pictures of your Swift and it's interesting how similarly our bikes are set-up considering I've never seen your bike until today. I originally had the Ulterga 6600 cranks on the bike but the "swoopy" look of the cranks just didn't look right. Hence, the more "mechanical" looking track cranks. Birds of a feather.

sqynt

Very nice work Dyamamoto. Did you machine the rear caliper mount yourself? Did you consider a "floating" mount using the canti-post stud to mount a torsion rod?

xootr swift

dyamamoto ~ Wonderfully integrated machine; I too feel stealth black would be great with what you've done. The vision I had years ago is polished alloy throughout for my Xoot. I have finally found an aluminum Echo Team disc-only fork and have all the bits to return to street only machine. I have a disc rear hub but not a caliper mount. Do you have another, or can you direct me to your machinist? I’d love to have front and rear discs. Also how do you like those Kojaks? When the Greenspeed Kevlar TR’s I have now wear through, I’m thinking of changing over to Schwalbe. Again, great looking bike!

https://www.myspace.com/xootrswift

parcoju

dynamamoto i'm loving your build!

and as such, i have many a question to ask of you!

-how did you manage to use the Thomson seatpost? Did it just 'magically' slide into the stock xootr seatpost? and what diameter is it?

-how does your stem riser set up work? is the riser inside the fork or is the riser clamping over the fork?

-how long is the xootr's headtube, and how long was your fork's steerer tube?
I've had this crazy idea of using a lightweight carbon fiber bmx fork rattling in my head.....

jur

Don't worry you're not alone...

The BMX carbon forks I looked at, had the following shortcomings:
* Looked too BMX-y for my Swift
* The ones which were OK for my weight are too heavy, hardly any saving over the stock fork
* The ones which were light enough were only rated for juvenile weight riders
* then there is the dropout-to-crown length, which for the Swift is rather long, so a tight BMX fork ruins the geometry and will make the bike's top tube slope down

I give you this list just so you don't end up buying something which might not work.

I have also looked into shortening a carbon roadie fork, but ran up against the problem of the dropouts ending up too close to each other.

I am wondering if it's worth approaching a frame builder... nice lightweight Reynolds 953 fork...

Kaito

After diggin the net over the weekend, here's my find:
(description from seller through 'Yahoo Auctions' here in Japan)
Trigon
451 carbon fork
435g
1 1/8" column
for long reach brake calipers
column length 39cm
Price: 26,000yen

Manufacturer's site:
https://www.greatgocycles.com.tw/

For carbon forks in 406, I think the forks on the high-end KHS Mini-velo's are a good candidate. I couldn't find the details on the KHS forks, but there's prob good chance they'll work w/the Swift.

Here's a link to the KHS mini w/carbon forks:
https://www.khsjapan.com/index3/index3-2009.html
(See model F20-RC)
Looks like they're set for caliper brakes too..
If you click on "OPTION", you'll see they sell just about everything separate, just not the forks..

Rgds,
K.

Paul Braithwait

"Spring has sprung the grass is ris, I wonder where de birdys is?"

OK, it's not the best bit of poetry ever written but spring flowers and bright sunshine were the perfect combination to entice me out along the local river bank trail.

If nothing else, this posting will bring the Swift forum back onto the front page!

dyamamoto

parcoju

The Thomson seat post actually does just slide right into the Swift post. It does require slotting the Swift post and machining it down to fit the closest sized seat post clamp. I don't remember the magic number for the Thomson OD because it was on the bottom portion of the seat post that got cut off for weight savings. Just measure the ID of the Swift post and find a seatpost with the closest OD.

The stem riser is the standard Joey J-stem. There is an adapter that bolts onto the steerer tube and the riser clamps onto the adapter. I believe Jur has the same set-up. Once again, I don't know the cut length of the steerer as I just marked it and cut it to match the adapter.

As Jur stated, adapting a road fork would not work so that is why I went with the MTB straight leg style fork. Just cut the legs to the correct length. No dedicated tooling required. Personally I think the look works because of the "mechanical" look of the Swift bike.

The fork I have, although not super light weight, is definitely lighter than the Swift fork.


xootr swift

I machined the brake caliper mount so I don't have another. I was machining that adapter on the fly so unfortunately I don't have a drawing or dimensions to share.

The Kojaks roll really nice and the ride isn't too bad but are a little flat prone. I little Stan's in the tubes solved that problem. The only tubes I have found that have a removable Presta core (so you can inject the Stan's) just happened to the the Schwalbes. If anybody knows of any others I would like to know.

ChiapasFixed

has anybody looked at the fork for the Airnimal Rhino ss? it looks like a nice 20" carbon fiber fork that may work for the swift, but dont know if they sell it separately...

LittlePixel

Rhino fork would be way too long for the swift; it's an unmodified 26" mtb fork with disc brakes avoiding problems with brake reach. For decent 20" susp forks, best bet is to look for specialist recumbent forks, or cheap RST kids forks.

xootr swift

dyamamoto ~ Thanks for the update. I have a friend with a home shop I'll see if he's up to cutting a few bits of bracket. But if you ever have that bracket off, I’d love a copy/photocopy.

I have just finished installing an Echo Team fork w/an Avid Juicy 5. It's replacing a Mecs Saso Carbon front suspension fork with an Avid Mechanical disc brake and a factory brake lever. The response with the Juicy is unbelievable. I switched back to non-suspension fork as I plan a long ride through Central and South America and this new fork is lighter and has no moving parts and is thus less likely to break in the middle of nowhere Peru. I’m bringing the mechanical caliper and break lever as spares. Short of a few polished headset spacers, stripping and polishing the top tube and a new set of rear lines, I’m about done. I promise this time…

ps. My factory fork and riser are up for grabs, as well as a like new 56t Vuelta chainring, if anyone is interested.



https://www.myspace.com/xootrswift

mlau

My turn for show and tell...

Stock Xootr swift. Sakae Randoneur bars. Deda tape. Big Apples. Some random stem lying around. Suntour downtube shifter. 3m retroflective tape, and a Crane bell.

It's really fast, but I'm a little worried about the vibrations to my wrists.

rover109

Can anyone say where the Xootr website has gone? www.xootr.com takes me to the website of some domain squatter. Xootr was at that URL last August when I mailordered my Swift frameset and I wanted to see what was new on the accessories page.

Peter
Australia

noteon 

It was there a few days ago. I'm guessing somebody messed up and didn't renew the domain.

rover109

Many thanks for the "swift" reply to my Q about whereabouts of Xootr site. Hope it comes back soon. While I'm online tonight, here's a pic of my upper rack mounting on an aluminium Swift. (I think I figured out how to attach a .jpeg so I hope everyone else can see it)
Comments invited about what is wrong with this idea.
swiftrack.jpg
I can think of possibility of ripping the clamp ears right off the frame. Rack is a Topeak Super Tourist that I had in parts box and as presently mounted it feels very solid. Top clamp bolt is a Dimension 50mm. Bottom one clamping the rack stays is Q/R as supplied with frameset. My emphasis is on packability rather than regular folding so I went for security of clamp bolts on top seatpost clamp and stem. One of my few beefs with the Swift is the scarcity of braze-ons (TIG-ons?) for bottle cages and racks.
Another idea is to machine an alloy collar to go around seat post and bolt the rack stays to that.

Peter
Australia

Swift aluminium folder with mix of new and junk-box parts.
SRAM 3x9 Dual Drive
Shimano Deore Octalink triple crankset.
Single 42t front ring in middle position.
Left hand SRAM twist shift
Right hand Shimano 9sp trigger
BBB alloy butterfly bar. Brooks leather bartape.
Shimano 105 rear der.
Velocity Aeroheat 406 rims.
DT Swiss 14 straight gauge spokes.
Front Shimano Deore 36h hub
Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres
Tektro V-brakes and levers.
Brooks B17 narrow saddle.

Paul Braithwait

I've just tried the Xootr web site with no problems.