I would use Sheldon Browns gear inch calculator. For example with a 52 tooth chainring, and a 13 tooth sprocket you get 56, 74.7 and 99.6 gear inches.plug in what you like and adjust the ride for your locale, i.e. hills, your strength, distance ridden and headwinds for example. I would stick with v-brakes because they are light and work very well. I like bullhorns because they are light and give me the the handshake position I find most confortable. I like to be able to rotate the bars, or bullhorns with the bar ends up so the bike rests on the saddle and bar tips when upside down because I have found it m!uch easier to remove and install the rear wheel when the bike is upside down. Drop bars are good too if that is your preference. Stturmey Archer makes a very nice bar end shifter, BTW. I replaced my QRs on seatpost and stem with bolts because I don't fold the bike very often. If you read the this thread you will find that with aluminum Swifts the chainstays and seatpost arrangement is where they can fail.