Take a Moose rack with you. Just sayin'.

How about it, Brompton and tikit riders who multi-modal regularly? Agree with Jur that the Swift is a dandy multi-modal folder?

Yes I think the Swift is a fabulous multimodal folder! I ride 13 miles each way into Boston. The Swift is nearly as fast as my road bike (extra 2 minutes); I can't imagine a Brompton covering that kind of territory anywhere near as quickly. BF probably but for more $.

When it's blizzarding outside, I hop on the commuter rail and come home that way instead. It takes 10-15 seconds to pop out the seat post, fold the rear wheel up, and turn the handlebars sideways. It's a nice narrow fold, especially if you use quick-release or folding pedals, and leans up against the wall of the train and out of the way. A frame that bends in half would actually be more awkward for the train I ride.

That said, if you're trying to get on a bus then a narrow fold may not be what you need and you probably want a bike where the frame bends in half. But you are going to sacrifice ride quality from what I hear. (Btw, there is nothing more fun than blowing past people on your Swift when they think you are riding one of those "toy" bikes.)

The only thing that really bugs me about the Swift is having to relocate the seat post after a fold so you have the right height and so the seat is straight. I think BF has a better system. So that might be a concern for a multimodal commuter (I don't take the train all that often). What I've done to address this is mount a frame pump on the seat post so that I insert the seat post until the frame pump barely touches the frame. Works great.

Hey, OP. If you talk with HPM out of Eugene, OR they make all Steel Switfts with Disc Brakes (not to mention IGHs) as an options:
https://hpm.catoregon.org/?page_id=214

They've also got a new / interesting frame mounted front rack that looks pretty beefy...

It seems to me that the only people really qualifed to comment on a Swift's suitability for multi-modal commuting are those that do it regularly.

From the sounds of the OP, I think a Swift would suit him just fine.

As has been echoed many times on this forum: great for trains, not so much for buses.

FWIW I recently decided to upgrade my Downtube with a fixed Swift-style riser instead of upgrading to an actual Swift frame. Why? Because the folded Downtube can be rolled into a store and used as a (poor) shopping cart and I also like the safety advantages of a lower "top" tube and the extra comfort provided by a longer (more flexible) seatpost.

I think the fixed riser will provide 90% of the Swift's advantage.

+1 The regular ALUMINUM swift has a steel fork. Get the frameset from xootr.com and take the fork to your local brazer. I agree with Bike Friday that since the rear tire can't provide much braking traction anyway, you'd be better off avoiding the extra complexity and weight of a rear disc and safer if your "backup brake" has different failure modes to decrease the chances of both brakes being simultaneously damaged.

For $699 you can also get the new Swift SS and it has free shipping. https://www.xootr.com/folding-bicycle.html This way you can ride it see how you like it and change things as you go.

Your need to mount a Burly Piccolo rack for the youngster's trailerbike, perhaps the BF is a good choice..

Alan would know of the Piccolo
Though the Piccolo is a design made by Burly's people after he left the Cooperative, 20 years ago .

But the rack would likely have to come off, to fold .
I would think a seat post mount on the towing bike would be more reasonable way to go

Perhaps a Beam rack can be fabricated to adopt the Piccolo hitch?

The BF guys told me that a standard (26") rack would fit the Llama just fine. I will bring a Moose rack along just to be sure. Not too interested in any of the seat post mounted versions -- Burley's is a far superior, more stable design. We have Moose racks installed on 3 bikes, so we're pretty committed to it.

Disc braking puts quite a bit more bending force on the fork legs than rim braking, and the fork needs to be designed for it (i.e. beefier tubing in most cases). A decade ago when a lot of mountain bikers were trying to figure out how to retrofit their rigs for discs, there were a number of failures of forks that had had disc tabs welded on. When I'm descending out of the West Hills at 35mph every evening, my life depends on my fork, stem and handlebars. I take no chances with those parts.

I'll ask Bike Friday and HPM about their disc options and confirm that their forks are specifically designed for disc use. If not, I can always get a custom fork made to my exact specifications for $250. Combined with the Xootr frame (assuming I'm willing to give up the rear disc -- gotta do some thinking about that) it wouldn't be a terribly expensive route to go.

Since the fork legs are significantly shorter for 20" wheels the bending moment will be much smaller. Although I could believe that Bike Friday would use heavier tubing for their disc fork because they already use different tubing for different size riders, the Swift is a comparatively ham handed design whose stock fork is already overbuilt. I seriously doubt HPM specifically designed their fork for disc usage, but rather simply recognized that the stock fork is already substantial enough to handle all sorts of abuse. Go ahead and ask them if their disc fork is any different from the Xootr fork; I'd be very interested in their response.

Beware that the Swift fork steerer tapers from 1-1/8" (at the headset) to 1" (at the stem riser) and has an unusually large axle to crown height. Although people have upgraded to untapered forks with smaller AC heights, so if you want a stouter fork I'd check out the BMX disc offerings before getting a custom heavyweight. Even BMX race forks billed "for light riders" should be able to take more punishment than you'll ever see on the road.

But given how picky you are about everything from the components, to the geometry, to the design of the fork tubing I think you should just get a Bike Friday. They cater specifically to customers like you.

Good points. I wasn't concerned about the issue until I saw the BF Tikit fork failure referenced from the other thread, but that was likely a bad weld and I probably shouldn't get too worried.

I prefer the word "demanding"

The more I learn, the more I'm leaning towards the Swift. BFs do sound nice (and I have ridden one, and thought the performance was fantastic), but I still really like the Swift design. I've also heard that BFs can be a bit flexy in the stem/riser/bar area; I'm definitely a stand-up-and-mash on the hills kind of guy, so that's a downside and I've heard that the Swifts are stiffer in front. It's entirely possible that the Llama is beefier enough to negate this issue, of course. Also, I talked to a BF NWT owner on the train the other day, and he said the chain drops every time he folds it. Not a big deal, but an annoyance. Neither of these might be enough to deter me from BF, but then there's the likelihood that I wouldn't be able to roll a disc (or drum) equipped Friday out of the factory for under $1800 or so.

And as I've mentioned on the disc brake - or not - thread, I am (gasp) considering drum brakes. Maybe even in the front, the more I'm learning about modern drums. Not only does that sidestep any bent-rotor and wet-weather concerns, but it enables me to get by with the cheaper and lighter Xootr frame. And dovetails nicely with the idea of a 5-speed Sturmey-Archer hub, which appeals to me greatly.

This could well turn out to be ultimate folding commuter bike (not coincidentally, practically the same thing as bendembroski is running). And for about a grand when it's all said and done.

Well this is probably out of the question then https://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/shimano-nexus.html

to the flex issue, I'm actually a bit above the weight limit for a Swift but have not experienced any flex. It's a remarkably solid bike. And my chain has never dropped while folding, though that could just be a defect with your friend's bike.

If you go with drum brakes avoid the Shimano Nexave at all costs. I was just out in a downpour with the stock V-Brakes, no probs.

the internal hub is a nice idea - simplifies the suitcase packing process b/c you don't have to remove the derailleur - but I stuck with the stock setup and then added a front derailleur for an extra 8 gears on the low side.

good luck on your decsn

Here is your disc brake bike from BF https://cgi.ebay.com/Bike-Friday-Pock...item43a58ff967

Yikes that sold fast!

I just got off the phone with Walter so it was Me, I put down some deposit,
an off Ebay bypass.
Dynocoaster sent a PM as an alert.

Now I got a loose R'off hub, and a 32 hole SON 28 Hub.

I was thinking about getting built up around, in just that kind of rig.

With UnUsed V brake bosses to Mount to, may see if Lane can go take measurements to build a small Porteur rack to fit.

since they are both down there.. and I'm Not.. could take the Bus

Or use The PDX VA hospital since Oregon Does have Medical Shuttles
for us old Fools. change shuttles there?

Hey Vik , Hows that Brompton O Bag bodge for the Tikit working out?

Just curious..

I'm waiting for the rack from CETMA so I can't give you any feedback yet.

Congrats on the PL - looks sweet!

Wow, that's expensive. But then again, the hub is worth half as much as the bike!

That was a great deal. The Rohloff and SON would set you back nearly $2K on their own.

sent Lane a picture to see if a Porteur like rack might be made suitable to go on it,
the V brake bosses would be a good strut anchor + rack to provide a light mount.