Originally Posted by kwarterlb
Follow-up to my previous post:
...turns out that the headset *wasn't* too loose. I'd been taught to check the headset by holding onto the front brake and pushing forward and back, and any jiggling while doing that meant the headset needed to be tightened. But if I tighten down to the point that my Xootr doesn't jiggle, then it rides like the headset's too tight.
So it would seem that it was adjusted perfectly, and I'm just not as good a bike mechanic as I'd like to be. :/
I'm really impressed with how solid the bike feels when I ride it, especially considering how heavy a load I am. It really doesn't seem like a smaller bike at all, though I do think I might get a longer stem for more reach. I don't notice it much when I'm riding, but when I dismount for stops, I keep hitting my big ass on the front of the saddle.
Other than that, I'm really liking the bike, and even saw another Swift rider in SOMA the other day, though this guy wasn't riding the Xootr model. So there's apparently more than just James and me riding Swifts in San Francisco.
Yeah, I've noticed that with the headset on my Swift as well. If you tighten-up the headset to the point of ansolute zero-play, the steering feels tight. If you back-off just a bit from the point of zero-play, then you're good. I'm thinking it's an after-efffect of a low-quality headset (compared to the Ultegra sets spec'ed on the custom Peter-bilt machines).
After 728 miles on my Swift, the rear hub is showing excessive play (probably needs to be re-packed and adjusted), and the freehub is sticking (doesn't freewheel as smoothly, causing an occasional "chainsuck" in the smaller cogs). Looks like it's due for some maintenance.
Edit: After little thought, I've decided it well-worth the conversion to single-speed. When I've worn-out the current drivetrain, I'm going to inquire with Peter on getting a ss/fixie rear wheel.
