Ultralight

Greetings,

First post bikeforums, let alone this forum...

A few more questions on the Swift if I may:

1. I read reviews of stock Swifts as being 22 lbs. Yet on their site, new Swifts with gears are listed at 25lbs. May I ask why? Are they using lower cost and heavier components now as compared to the older versions?

2. For the S, M, L frames, does the wheelbase change or does it stay the same?

3. After spending about a dozen hours reading up on folders, came to the conclusion that Swift is probably one of the stiffest/most efficient frame for a folder in 20" and anything up to $1500 or so. Am I correct?

4.How does the ride compare to Bike Friday's bike, assuming the same components?

5. This is way beyond my budget but just for kicks, would the Swift take a Rohloff hub without modifying the frame or hub? Just in case I win the lottery some day....

Thanks in advance for any comments.
UL

ps: There's another thread on titanium Swifts - really elegant looking!

mmoylan

1. The weight increased, they increased the strength of the seat stays after some occasional failures. It should be less than 25lbs stock they are rounding up some. It's still a light folder, also if you want to cut weight swap the tires and you will save a bit, lower Rolling Resistance.

2. Wheel base is always the same, its just seat post and stems that change.

3. It's stiff and efficient, basically it will feel like a real bike, just a little twitchy on handling.

Don't know about 4 or 5

bhkyte

I don't see why a rolhoff wouldn't fit it's a 135mm standard rear axle again in all cases.

tds101 

A Rohloff hub will fit just fine. I had a NuVinci N360 hub, and it fit perfectly. The rear spacing is 135mm.

Shmockiebaby

I have been working my way thru this loooooong thread (I am up to page 61 now), and I just bought a used Swift. I live in MD, my son lives in SoCal, and that's where the bike was (eBay). He picked it up for me. We needed a couple of bikes for a weekend trip, and as I travel a lot, I thought I'd kill two birds with one purchase.

As a dedicated roadie and MTB rider (400-500+ miles/week), he thinks the Swift is kinda strange. But he did find one thing he likes about it.

I've looked at a lot of pictures on the thread, and read a lot about what the bike is good for. But so far I have not seen anyone mention how well they wheelie.

Paul Braithwait

After much thinking about it I have finally converted my Swift to a double chainwheel. Over the years I have flirted with the idea but the cost of shipping the parts from the USA to the UK has always put me off. I recently celebrated(!) a land mark birthday (although they are all land marks these days!) and took the plunge to order what I needed from Xootr in America. The parcel arrived within one week.

My Xootr Swift was bought in 2008 and the specification of the frame has changed since then. The "down-tube" and rear triangle arms have larger diameters than they used to and the clamp supplied was too large to fit securely to my frame. After much head scratching and attempts to fill out the gap with handlebar and electrician's tape I eventually used a section of old inner tube to provide the necessary filling. It appears to hold the clamp securely.

The first photo shows the use of 'bar tape but it proved to be too soft to hold the bracket firm against the tube. You can also see how the gear cable leaves the bracket via a pulley. In the photo' I show how the cable would fall naturally in place, resting well behind the clamping position. This confused me at first as, when I clamped the cable to the front derailleur, it left the pulley at a bit on an angle and did not look right. It also made the Grip-Shift very hard to turn.



I emailed Xootr and attached photo's to show what problems I was having and my thanks to Brian (thank you Brian - you're a star!) who replied, almost immediately, giving me advice. The instructions on Xootr's site are out of date and show a previous model of the clamp. The current design does mean that the cable leaves the pulley at an angle which does cause shifting to be not quite as smooth as you may expect.



I fitted the Grip-Shift to my 'bars and ran the cable as per Xootr's instructions - all fine.



To the casual observer, my Swift has 'drop-bars'. They are, infact, flat 'bars with 'bar ends that convert them into drops. This means that I can slide the Grip-Shifts into position. Drop 'bars have a greater diameter than flats and the Grip-Shifts will not fit.



I think the result is pretty neat. The only issue I have is that the brake cables run under the 'bar tape and exit at the Grip-Shifts. This causes the cables to move a little when changing gear. It's a small point but I'll keep an eye on it.

I haven't had the chance to test the set-up on the open road yet but it appears to function well on my work stand. If you fancy this conversion do note that shifting the chain from the small chainwheel onto the large one does take a bit more effort at the Grip-Shift than you may expect. Other than that, I'm looking forward to my next ride!

jur

Great result!

I also put that clamp on my early Swift. I used a plastic pipe as a spacer. That gave a stiff solution. I also thought the pulley is not placed perfectly. Especially with that derailer you used, the angle is backwards quite a lot.

Watch the bolt holding the pulley. It may have the tendency to unscrew, I recommend Loctite.

bhkyte

Do you prefer grip shifters? I would have thought road race sti brifter would have been better. Yes you would need travel agents but they work well enough on bike fridays.
Nice job. I tried some of these bar ends on my mezzo after you mentioned them in these threads.

Paul Braithwait

I prefer Grip-Shift for my folder because it keeps them out of the way when folding. There are fewer "sticky-out bits" to get snagged when folding the bike and stowing it in a car. The Grip-Shift isn't what is causing the need for extra "oomph" when changing gear, it's the angle of the cable that makes it more difficult than it should be. The SRAM Rival front changer is what Xootr supply in its conversion kit.

fietsbob

There are some Companies , Van Nicholas NL & others German making a split in the center drop bar with a 22.2 tube .

.. for grip shifters


then the upper curve bend is comfortably available ..

bhkyte

Is it the gear change cables exiting the levers that you feel will stick out. As otherwise the brifter set up is more compact and slicker?

(and you have the shifters in the right riding postion)

Paul Braithwait

I have Campagnolo Ergo levers on my Bianchi road bike and really like them. Running the brake and gear cables under the handlebar tape makes for a very clean and tidy look. The low end Shimano groups have (or had) the cables sticking out at right angles to the brake levers and apart from looking ugly, made fitting a 'bar bag difficult. With a folding bike I think the fewer parts that can get tangled or caught when folding the better. I quite like the Grip-Shift as it reminds me of my motor bike days and using the twist-grip to accelerate!

I am of a generation that used down tube shifters so moving my hand slightly to change gear is no great deal. My Bianchi, with full Campagnolo group set, is my sport/fitness machine when I just want to get some miles under my wheels (they are Campagnolo too!). My Xootr Swift is my leisure/pleasure mobile so speed and slick gear changes are not an issue. The Xootr has a SRAM rear derailleur and 8 cogs so finding a set of "Brifters" (that is an awful word) to match may be difficult and possibly expensive.

Maybe, one day, I'll change the whole drive chain to Campagnolo but until then, I'm quite happy with what I have.

velocidactyl

I'm thinking about selling my 700c "all purpose road bike", moving to nyc and building a swift to replace my conventional bike. I've been learning about the Swift but still have some uncertainties.

Question. Somewhere I read that the combination of a large 58/60t chainring and external bearings BB might cause the chain to hit the seat stay? I was imagining installing a 105 drivetrain including Shimano 5700 cranks with maybe a 44t and 58t. I've seen a swift on these forums with an external style BB and conventional size chainrings but not with external cups and large rings.

Thoughts on wheels, not really a question... I also haven't been able to find 451mm wheels that equate to the 700c wheels on my bike. My 700c wheels are remarkably inexpensive, have 32 spokes, double eyelets, forged shimano hubs and brass nipples. They're not overbuilt or underbuilt, not too light or too heavy. The thing is, the less expensive wheels and rims in 451mm seem intended for BMX and way overbuilt/extra heavy for "Swifting" along on pavement. But I can lace a wheel so I was thinking about lacing up Sun CR18 rims, 32 spokes, shimano hubs, and maybe alloy nipples although, I haven't seen any 451mm wheels like this on Swifts.

I think all my other questions are about owning a Swift in NYC but I digress.

Vanrex

I can't help you with the chainring question, but my bike has nearly the same wheels you're thinking about: 451 CR18s with Shimano 105 hubs, only with 36 spokes and brass nipples. I considered 32 but decided to go conservative.

jur

Sorry, forgot to answer the chainwheels question... First, an external bearing BB is no different wrt chainline. 2nd, I run a 60t chainring with no problems.

Paul Braithwait

The subject of carrying luggage on a Xootr Swift has been discussed before but this is my latest solution.

The Arkel quick release rack and bag are ideal for folders that need to keep the seat post clear for the fold to operate. The rack attaches via a Q/R bracket to the saddle rails and a rubber collar clips around the seat post and is secured by a Velcro type strap. There is no pressure on the seat post so you can use the rack with carbon posts. The bag attaches to the rack using four Velcro straps. The bag and the rack can be removed in a few seconds so will not interfere with the bike's fold.

The photo shows the rack on my Swift with the (supplied) extender arms in place to lower the rack further down the seat post. Once set up you can fit and remove the rack and bag in no time.

Abu Mahendra

the problem ad i see out with these seatpost rack is that they extend horizontally, creating a long moment arm and lots of torque on the mount itself. a simple, stubby Klickfix mount and a vertically extending Tern Kanga rack are better solutiond, imo. the rack and the mount adds only 600grams of weight while being rated to carry 7,000 grams.

jur

The amount of moment from a person on the saddle far outstrips the amount of moment added by a piece of seatpost luggage, partly because the amount of weight is smaller and partly because the mounting point is further down.

Abu Mahendra

you misunderstand. nowhere in my original comment did I say 'saddle'. no one is talking about the forces on the saddle.. my concern is not about the seatpost or the saddle. my concern, my earlier comment went to the rack mount and the additional weight increase on the rack and rack mount required to counter the long moment arm created by the horizontally extending load. the shorter the moment atm, the less strong the rack mount and rack can be, the lighter the rack.

Abu Mahendra

i see the issue now. i did not notice that the arkel rack has a truss from the saddle to the rack. got it. never mind.

Abu Mahendra

Tern Kanga rack with Klickfix seatpost mount and 20L dry-bag


Weight Kanga rack: 489 grams
Manufacturer stated capacity: 7,000 grams
Price (in my locality): $35
Mount: click in and click off on Klickfix mount which mounts on the seatpost with two screws.
other benefit: lower center of gravity, simpler installation, ability to remove or mount the rack as needed,, modular design gives the ability to use the mount with any other klickfix compatible bags

jur

Nice setup.

What is that bag? Sea-To-Summit?

Abu Mahendra

Thanks. Yes, Hydraulic Sea to Summit bag.


... don't need the rack on this outing? want a bag that converts to a shoulder bag on arrival at your destination? no sweat. Klickfix and Ortlieb have your back.

Abu Mahendra

...or maybe you have some random crud that needs ferrying around without packing, snap on a utilitarian, blue-collar (well, this one is a Brooks so it ain't exactly working class) basket...

linberl

Or, since it is a xootr swfit the OP is talking about, there is the xootr crossrack. I love mine. When rear mounted it holds either my wald folding basket (which i converted to removable mounts) or my Linus bag. Also, can be mounted on the stem for a front mount. Holds pretty much any standard pannier.