Has anyone carried their folded Swift on their back while riding another bike?

Sounds stupid I know.

I think I'd occasionally like to be able to do this but I think I'd need a fairly custom-built bag. I've seen pictures of guys in MTB endurance races with their frame and wheels tied onto their packs, but they're not riding a bike obviously.

I think it would be too big for that.

Jerry

Easily changed. The black ones are rarer in the UK being initially supplied with a sing gear.

Jerry

But not inexpensive and I have little free time available. If it had drop bars I would snap it up (buy it).

Still considering making an offer for one of those for sale on ebay (UK) for £649 but noticed that he has some positive feedback for the sale of a Swift yet when I search his completed listings a sale does not appear and that is putting me off.

Question: is there a simple alternative to the Swift riser tube?

I'm going to jump on the Swift band wagon here after thinking about it for the past 2 years. I have ordered the frame and a set of wheels that should be in next week. I figure that I have enough parts in the bin to build it out as a 2x8 drop bar fast commuter that I can get on the subway. And this will be different than my Brompton.

I’ve just got back from Brighton having bought Gino’s Swift.

I had no problems carrying it on London Underground (Northern Line and Central Line) in rush hour. I didn’t even bother folding it. I put it in a black plastic bag (minus handlebars, pedals and saddle, which I didn’t want), and carried the front wheel separately.

As soon as I saw the frame I loved it. Both parties were happy with a price of £330, there was no haggling and that leaves me with a £400 head start on a new one.

On the downside both the steering riser tube and seatpost have been cut down too short for me so I will need to find new ones, which is a slight pain. Also there was only one v-brake as it was originally purchased as a single speed.

It does have a descent pair of Schwalbe Big Apple tyres, which I can use for winter commuting.

I will be putting on new drop bars.

As soon as I get it going I’ll let you know how I feel about the ride compared to my racing bike. Will take me a while to get the steering riser sorted out though. Looks as though it could be easily made if you know about material strengths.

I purchased mine off him :p

I think I might be the only one so far. He is genuine as I spoke on the phone after the purchase and met with him to pick it up. I can't say too much but try an offer :)

Regards

Jerry

Thank you Jerry

I bought a second hand one in very good condition for £330, which I am very happy with (see above post).

Otherwise I would have made an offer for one of those £645 ones.

Who knows, maybe I’ll get another one for best because this one is going to be doing some serious work.

*

I need a bit of 6061 T6 alloy tube to make a steering riser.

Ah I should have read through the posts more carefully.

Enjoy.

Jerry

Ah, 6082 T6 in the UK, cheap and readily available.

Hi rickybails or anyone.

I am still looking for a seatpost.

The Dahon I-beam seatpost has a setback saddle connector that, as you (rickybails) have noted in a previous thread, makes it difficult to get the saddle far forward enough with the laid back Swift geometry.

Can you mount an I-beam saddle right on the rear end of the rail?

The only other post I have found so far is a GUB inline post from Hong Kong on ebay.

Thank you for reading.

Are you looking for a post with or without setback? The Xootr dealers offer the original. I have a carbon pazzazz with zero setback. Got it from speedmatrix depot in Singapore. They don't seem to have any on teir website right now though. May be of benefit to ask them.

Hi Jur

I generally ride with a high cadence and like the front of my knee to be at least inline with the pedal axle when in it’s furthest forward position. Visually comparing the Swift to my road bike it looks as if that is going to be difficult to achieve, so I don’t really want any setback of the saddle on its post.

However, I need to get it on the road soon because winter is well and truly here and commuting on my road bike out and back into London is becoming not so enjoyable, especially as I refuse to put mudguards on it. For this reason I will probably settle for the Dahon KORE I-beam post despite it having a setback unless someone knows where I can get an alternative here in the UK. Dahon Spares UK sells the KORE but not the SDG.

Don’t think I fancy carbon considering the importance of the post on the Swift unless I could make a sleeve like you have. I do have a bit of the original post so maybe a future project. I am still a very lean 10 stone weight so that helps too.

I’m copying your idea for the steering riser, the stock one is horrible and I would need to get it from the US.

I have access to an EDM (Electrical Discharge Machining) machine so will be able to accurately cut two small slots with stress relief holes with minimum stress applied to the tube. I will make a spare and yet another to give it some harsh bench testing.

Looks as though this will be my first bicycle with a stem that is not parallel to the frame top tube, it looks so much better that way but not really practical here.

Read most of your forum posts by the way and find your enthusiasm for the Swift inspiring. I looked at all the other possibilities but just knew it had to be a Swift.

Keep posting!

The carbon post I am using now is no longer the one I had originally. I now have a very sturdy one with the correct diameter of 34mm.

However, you are right, I should not be recommending that anyway.

The steering riser I use right now is from Bagetta recumbents:

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t..._bullhorns.jpg

jur, nice work. the bike looks amazing. i love it. the bacchetta stem is brilliant and i love bullhorns.

Heh heh Bagetta, that must be a bread-shaped riser... :eek:

Porschetoyz give me a holler would love to compare notes on our modified Swifts, I also have an R 20, modded and a fascination with all things Porsche (on jack stands in my backyard!)

Jur - which carbon seat post you find that is 34mm?

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=286746Here is my contribution to the Xootr Swift family. I made this for commuting. 1x10 drive train with lots of KCNC parts.

Handlebar, stem, seatpost, crankset are KCNC
Seat - Fizik Aliante
Pedals - Wellgo quick release
Wheels - Superlight Capreo wheelset
Cassette - Superlight Capreo Alloy 9-28 cassette
Tires - Schwalbe Kojak
Shifter - XT 10 speed
Rear Derailuer - Low profile XT 10 speed
Brakes - XTR V brakes front and rear

19.5lb

Almost forgot, brake levers are also KCNC and the grips are Ergon. Next step is to replace the fork with a carbon recumbent and replace the steer tube with a lighter carbon version.

Very nice! Is that seatpost one of the scandium ones from KCNC ?

The Biologic PostPump is available in 33.9mm size from Evans Cycles.
I used one on my Swift for a while but reverted to the Xootr seat post (XL 590mm long) as the Biologic one is a little longer (625mm) and I couldn't get the saddle quite low enough for comfort. I usually have the Xootr seatpost in its lowest position, all the way home. With the Biologic post when I stopped, I was up on tiptoe. I like the idea of the Biologic though so I may try to find a way of shortening it someday.

Yes, it is the scandium one. This is the lightest one I could find.

I like that :)

Is it safe to use with the Swift, I keep reading how you should only use the supplied post ?

Shortening it would not be hard.

Jerry

You would use it at your own risk of course. In the same way that others on here have used carbon seat posts.
"Shortening it would not be hard." The pump mechanism tends to fall down when you fold the Swift if the plastic end cap isn't fitted. The cap screws into an internal thread of about 30mm diameter. At the seat end of the post, the saddle rail fitting appears to be very firmly glued(?) in. It would appear that the mechanism doesn't extend right to the saddle-end of the post and is retained by a rolled steel pin which passes through the seat post about 120mm from the bottom.
Ideally, I guess that after driving out the pin, shortening the post and then drilling some fresh holes to take the rolled steel pin, one should then re-tap the 30mm internal thread for the end cap. Though I suppose that some way could be found to "bodge it" back together.

Ha ha I forgot about the pump I was thinking of a regular seat post lol

Thanks for the explanation. I guess it could be done but certainly not simple.

Regards

Jerry

That's okay Jerry :)

I suppose that michael432000, the guy over here in the UK, could use the Biologic seat post pump instead of a standard Xootr Swift seat post. It might be cheaper? If he needed to shorten the seat post then he could remove the pump mechanism, cut down the post and just use it as a regular seat post. :)

I received a Dahon KORE I-beam 33.9mm seatpost today and was a little concerned that it was noticeably looser than the stock post, which I can’t use because it was cut down too short for me. And it’s horrible.

I will check the diameter at work on Monday.

Anyone else using a seatpost that seems noticeably looser than the stock one? I think it will be ok, it does lock up tight but I am a bit concerned about over tightening the alloy frame clamps. Maybe I will use a steel shim inserted down the frame tube.

The bike is going to look great. The only thing I don’t get is why on a frame with such relaxed geometry do they supply a seatpost with a setback seat connector? Makes it hard to get the saddle far forward enough relative to the bottom bracket.

I made my steering riser tube using 6082 T6 alloy and used an EDM machine to cut a 1mm slot on each side with a 2mm stress relief hole. The material is so strong you cannot squeeze the slots together even slightly with your hands but works perfectly with the lip-lock. 70 grams plus 32 for the clamp. The cut is so precise that a 0.4mm slither of alloy drops out of the slot after the cutting. Nice.

Duh, they sent the wrong brake levers.


http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=287520

Nice build..... I am still working on mine.

I tried a Dahon Kore seatpost as well as another seatpsot. They were quite loose. I suspect the seat tube tolerances are quite poor. Fortunately the KCNC seatpost is fitting decently.