Bromptons and Swifts
 

I currently have a Brompton w/ an SA 3 speed 177% and an extra 38 tooth chain ring which I use to climb steep and long grades. I like the Brompton for the fold, the fenders, and its carrying capacity. I have been thinking of a Swift folder and was wondering if anyone has extensive experience with both would I merely be duplicating the Brompton or would it add a different and useful set of qualities? I also have a fuji track, an old rigid Cannondale mtn bike and a surly steamroller and I wouldn't mind thinning the herd.

Swift , is a 20" wheel .. The 'Fold' is by pulling out the seatpost.
rear triangle is fixed making a Custom Belt drive possible..

maybe get in on the next batch of custom Ti Ones ?
http://www.bikeforums.net/folding-bi...rested-12.html

fietsbob i have read a lot about Swifts and hopefully learned something but I am not comfortable plunking down 800 for a bike I have never ridden. Obviously the TI bikes are even more although very nice, I am sure. I was hoping for a ride by proxy, so to speak by someone who has ridden both. I live in central Wyoming and find my Brompton isn't much good with snow and ice. Part of my curiosity concerns how multi seasons the Swift is.

I have both. But there is no crappy winter weather especially snow here so no comment on that.

The Swift and Brompton are far apart. Maybe as far apart as they can be.

The Brompton folds small, the Swift not. The folded Swift does have a short narrow footprint so fares well against a wall or bulkhead.
The Swift is much lighter but that does depend very much on your choice of componentry.
The Swift is much faster than the Brompton. At least 10%. Again that will be determined in part by your choice of componentry.
The ally Swift will withstand wet weather better than the steel Brompton. (The Ti one even better.)
If you want the Swift to be all season, it will like any bike need mudguards and suitable tyres.
The Swift geometry is same as a conventional medium bike. But riding no-hands is not feasible.
The Swift is stiffer than the Brompton.
The Swift will accommodate the fattest tyres available. The Brompton maximum is about 32mm.
The Swift frame is a like blank canvas. What you make from it is entirely up to you. The Brompton will forever be standard (within reason).

+1

The OP should just take the steam roller and add gears.

thanks Jur. just a couple more questions...I am pretty impressed with how much weight the Brompton can carry in the front with little adverse effect on handling.From what I've read, most with a Swift will use a rear rack or their ingenious seat post carrier. Kitted out with low riding panniers does the Swift do as well with an equivalent weight? I have enjoyed your blog about your touring adventures with your wife and can see you have huge experience with toting a load on a 20" inch bike, but you have not talked about such a trip on your Swifts, TI or aluminum. Would the Swift do as well as your other folders for this purpose?

Human Powered Machines in Eugene Oregon, has a Front carry frame for a Box or Basket, as part of their steel version of the Swift..

Actually,stock Brompton tires are 35mm,and you can get up to 40 to fit with futzing. But Swift's 406 size offers a much wider range of tires than the Brompton's 349.

I haven't any experience loading the Swift up. There have been others to load rear panniers... maybe in the giant Swift thread.

This Saturday I made 2 trips to the shops on my Brompton using the folding basket on the front. I loaded 2 dozen beers (probably in the vicinity of 10kg) but the trip back was a bit hairy. The folding basket would sway from side to side in a spring loaded way and this made the whole thing quite unstable. The more I tried to stabilize it the more it kept swaying, with the steering going in the opposite direction and maintaining the sway. I had to basically let go of the handlebars to get the oscillations to damp out.

I have seen similar things with most touring setups. The rigidity of the load carrying system is the primary factor in how stable the setup will be while riding. Another factor is if the load itself will move despite having stiff racks and so on.

So based on that experience, I would think the Swift would handle as well as any other bike (except the Moulton), assuming the load is nice and stable.

My Birdy was a bit like a wet noodle while on tour. The entire frame would twist and coupled with the front suspension, this tended to be not so stable.

I have both. As said before, Swift is the better bike and Brompton is the better folder. I don't find biking on my Swift much different than biking on my normal bikes. Having said that, I don't find commuting with the Swift using trains etc much more comfortable than my normal bikes. It really does not fold very compact.

Snow or sand will always be bad on small wheels but being stiffer I think helps giving more confidence to the Swift compared to the Brompton.

If you will be duplicating, maybe but then rather your steamroller. The brompton is a different beast all together.

For rack I just put a Dahon rear rack on mine and I have used it with medium sized panniers with no problems.