I was wondering that same thing.

No I sold that one.

There is currently a group buy under way; it's beena few weeks since I heard anything. It is led by an acquaintance of Peter Reich, with Peter also bring a few buyers to the group. Not sure what the current status is. Anybody interested, and I will forward the details.

I am interested. Since you did the first one I have acquired a Xootr Swift and have a much greater appreciation for Swifts than I had before I rode one.

There is a steel framed Swift on U.K. eBay, a very rare occurrence, I might have a go myself :-

Swift Folder the Original Xootr Folding Bike | eBay

WooHoo!!! I'd go for it if I were across the pond. :thumb:

I would also. Looks very nice.

Be aware that is not the steel one, it is aluminium.

Xootr Bikes Discontinued?
 

http://www.xootr.com/swift-folding-bicycles.html

Happened to look at the xootr site and it looks like the bikes are going to be discontinued.

It took me a second to even find the bike page, (under service). Looks like the current focus is on scooters.

Here's a steel one in the SF Bay Area, CA.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/5882464073.html

That's one of those special ones of which only 4 were ever made. Rarer than the Ti version!

It says it came direct from Peter Reich, so I assumed it was steel - did he make any aluminium framed Swifts ?

Had a response from the seller, yes it is aluminium.

So a Xootr rather than an original Swift it would seem.

Yes, Peter Reich worked with Xootr in sourcing custom Swifts using Xootr frames, usually painted black, and having the words "Swift Folder" rather than the Xootr logo. I also got one of those to replace my cracked frame. The steel version has slimmer tubing and a curved fork.

Discontinued...
 

I just bought the single speed version maybe a day or two before they apparently discontinued the bike. I received my bike the day after Thanksgiving...

I've emailed Xootr about what it means for the frame warranty as well as replacement parts going forward... The warranty and impressive record of customer support I've read about on forums was a huge part of why I chose to get the Swift so this is a bit of a disappointment.

Will post about what their official response is when I get it.

I can't imagine them abandoning the warranty just because they stopped production of that particular product. Xootr is still in business and presumably still has access to the Swift tooling. In fact, considering slow sales, they probably still have a good stash of frames around. I think you'll be ok for the next few years, at least.

I've been in touch with Xootr who have confirmed that they have a good supply of frames in stock.

Yeah, I received a short email in reply saying they have "plenty" of frames in stock. I was hoping for a little more assurance but I guess that'll have to do... Hopefully I'll never have any need to find out. :bike2:

What's the best gearing for the Swift?
 

I purchased a single speed so that I could install the drivetrain I wanted instead of paying extra for bits I'd replace anyway.

I'm wondering what cassettes people have used on their Swifts to get an idea of what I should get.

I was thinking of making it 1x10 but not sure if I should get a wide range 10s cassette like 11-40/42 or a narrower road cassette like an 11-36. Will the highest (easiest) gears on the wide range cassette be wasted due to the small 20" tires?

1x10 with 11-36t is plenty unless you want to include very steep MTB type riding. I have a 60t ring up front and rarely use the 42t front ring unless I go steep MTB climbing.

I started out with an 11-28, but found it wasn't quite tall or low enough, so I switched to an 11-36, which I like. On my bike, it gives me a range of 30-97 gear-inches.

With the stock tires and chainring, an 11-36 cassette would give you a bottom end of about 28 gear-inches, which is decently low.

An issue with a 10-speed 11-42 cassette might be the wide gaps between some gears.

I'm curious if anyone's installed one, though. I think they require a long cage derailleur, and I'd like to know how much ground clearance there is. With the medium cage I've got, I measured about 3.5" (with 451 wheels and 28 mm tires) with the derailleur at its lowest.

OK, I've had my Swift for about a week now, and have taken it out a few times and done about 5 miles each time just to try it out... Maybe I'm just used to my Trek, but the Swift seems really slow to me.... Riding 5 miles feels like riding 20 on my normal bike...

Is it possible it's the stock tires? On the Trek without trying I can easily do 17 mph... on the Swift I managed to only do 11 mph...

I'm lost on where to start... Maybe I should just inflate the tires more? Or should I look into tires that roll better? I'm pretty much always on bike trails near the ocean which are paved nicely, but a bit hilly...

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to improve the ride? I'm stumped...

Wow that is a huge difference. I would make sure both wheels rotate effortlessly, same with the cranks (chain off) and then rotate cranks backwards to check drivetrain drag with the chain on the middle cog. Then also rotate forwards with back wheel up to check for drag.

What are the tyres, Kenda Kwest? These are actually not bad. Inflate to about 50-60psi.

Then make sure your body setup on both bikes is as identical as you can get. Same saddle height, saddle fore-aft setting WRT bottom bracket spindle, and same handlebar reach and height.

One of the first things I did was repack the wheels and headset and also removed the BB and greased those threads as well.the grease that came with it was skimpy and very light. So, make sure your wheels are spinning freely. I kept the 65 lb Kwests that came on the bike at 65 lbs. I also put bar ends on it to achieve a little less wind drag, give me additional hand positions, and give me something to pull on going up hills. I also put some SPDs on there so I could ride with SPD bike shoes.
I would try to make the bike fit as much like the Trek as I could, so if you were bent over more on the Trek, and upright on the Swift, that would slow you down, some. Likewise the wide soft saddle that came with the bike may not be as efficient as a narrow hard saddle. Having done those things my Swift is pretty close to one of my 700 C bikes and much faster than an unsuspended Cannondale mtn bike with knobby 2" tires.

Yeah, they're Kena Kwests... I'll check the inflation... I'll also have to check the chain, etc... First time I folded the bike, it fell off... I put it back on, but I'm not too good at bike assembly, etc... Guess I'll be learning now!

The only thing I've done so far is put on a Rido saddle... I put on foldable pedals, but maybe I need some SPD's... I have them on the Trek.... That could be part of it...

But might be time to learn how to repack wheels, etc... :eek:

Does anyone have any photos of the "Carry Bag" that Xootr sells for the Swift?

The photos on the site are small and low resolution without any scale of reference like the bag being carried by a human being...

I did some tyre tests years ago, riding round my local velodrome with a variety of tyres and at different pressures. Fastest was kojaks, with 60psi the optimum pressure. That was a smooth tarmac track so on real roads a lower pressure may be better due to better bump absorption counteracting the higher rolling resistance.

I have since improved efficiency, comfort and rolling resistance considerably buy running them tubeless.

For the tubeless conversion I got 20" stans rims trips with stans sealant.

Tubeless takes away a lot of rolling resistance and also reduces flats. When you puncture the tyre the hole doesn't expand like a hole in a tube, the latex plugs the gap, you lose some air but you pump some more in and carry on riding. No need to repair further later.

Kojaks are ace. They don't last that long but the performance is worth it.

If you want a really puncture resistant tyre, second place in my tyre test was schwalbe marathon racer.

I'm surprised that you're finding the Swift slow!

In my experience, it has it's faults: biggish fold size, not that great to stick into/out of cars, occassionally tetchy derailleur holder. However, it is a very zippy and fast riding bike. It's not as fast as a dedicated roadbike, but is definitely comparable to a relatively fast hybrid bike in stock form.

I'm running Big Apples on mine. However, I've heard good stuff about the Schwalbe Kojaks and Marathons.

If you're still finding speed issues, try PMing Jur.
He's a pretty amazing Aussie, and one reason why I bought my Swift.

I bought an 8 speed Xootry a few months ago. I was surprized at my time for a 20 mile loop I do also. Riding just average workout I was at 15 mph. With my 700c road bike and 25mm tires at 100psi I am around 17 mph average. In race mode the other day I posted 16.9 average on my nearly stock xootr 8 speed. I added some egonomic bar ends---outstanding change to my riding position-- and clipless pedals. I ride alone so the difference doesn't matter. It seems to be about one or two mile per hour slower. My 700c bike just sits now.

I will go to different tires set up with stan's tubeless but I am trying to find some really nice wheels to start with. I am sticking with the 406 size.

Funny how I really like my ---20 incher---

Can pretty much any tire be tubeless? I have Kenda Kwests and some BMX 2" tires for my swift, but I've read the flat protection for tubeless is very good, perhaps better than a tubed Marathon. Is all you need to do is replace the rim tape and perhaps the valve stem? I am assuming the Stan's sealant winds up being lighter than the inner tube.

I found the same. The hub bearings were over-tight and the balls had lost all their case hardening and were grey and dull. The pedals were so tight that they cogged round. Owners might be unwittingly destroying their hubs and headset and pedals by riding with insufficient grease or overly-tight bearings from new.