Originally Posted by james_swift
There are 2 types of trains in CalTrain's commute fleet...essentially, the old, rickety trains with 32-bike capacity per bike car, and the newer "bullet" style trains with air suspension, and only 16-bike capacity per bike car. On the newer trains, I can fold my Swift and bungee-cord it to the "end-caps" of the bike racks, well away from any other bikes. On the older trains, there's no place for me to store my bike folded, so I need to rack it up alongside the rest of the bikes. As a result of being "dog-piled" on by these legacy "fixed-frame-huge-wheeled" machines built on technology dating as far back as the early 1800's (or is it 1700's?), my once pristine frame now looks like it's been attacked by a pack of pit bulls, gouged and scratched by various components such as steel pedal cages, derailleurs, quick-release levers, chainrings, you name it. By placing black electrical tape in strategic areas of my frame that come in contact with other bikes (built on legacy technology), it offers a good degree of defense against scratches, gouges, and bites.
That is one of the main reasons I went with a Swift from Peter and not a Xootr (though I love the company). I wanted my frame to be powdercoated and not painted. Powdercoating is a much more durable finish. I have had much better success with powdercoating than even the highest quality paints.
At long last my Swift is nearing completion. I have decided to go with the green rather than black. I asked for yellow decals to be a better contrast and white. I decided to go with the "frau" style fenders as I think it will look a little cooler as I am looking for a little retro look to go with the paint color. The green/black contrast should be sort of an understated elegance if all goes as planned. Hopefully I didn't really muck it up!
It will either be freakin' gorgeous or hideous! Might as well be the best at being either good or bad. Maybe about a week to wait...unfortunately not in time for Christmas but maybe by New Years!