Perhaps hard to tell on a fixie, but do you also get a 'BRRRRRRRR' sensation from the wheels at about 36km/h? I still have that, very mysterious...

At that speed, I'm just about spun-out at 120RPM, but even so, my tires are perfectly silent.

I'd be scared to put my Swift that close to the edge of the water.

More postcard pics...

Beautiful pics. I want it!

I'm planning on getting a Swift. What advice can I get on choosing between the Brooklyn Swift, aluminum, vs. the Eugene Swift, cromoly steel? I weigh 230 unclothed. Brooklyn said that he could get one to me in 3 weeks, Eugene 3 months.

I weigh 230 unclothed.
__________________-
tmi

I meant to say that with clothes and gear I could be loading down the bike with 250+. I take it the Swift is one of the few, if not the only, folders that can handle that weight.

I'm 260 Lbs and the aluminum Xootr Swift has been handling the load without any problems so far. I changed the tires to 1.75" Schwalbe Marathon w/kevlar guard (No flats yet).

Any word on the steel Swifts yet? I've been thinking about getting the nexus 8 hub for my swift but chose to wait out for the steel one.

what size big apples can I fit on my swift? Does anyone have any pictures of a swift with the BA's mounted?

You can definitely run the 2.0 BA's.. if you are using the Swift as a city bike/do all bike, I can heartily recommend them.. I installed the Nexus 8spd hub and trigger shifter and the combo is superb.. I enjoy this bike a ton!

I recently found some handlebars that I can cut really short and still use a breaklever with some space between the grip and the lever. So I gradually cutted down the handlebars to my perfect lenght (38cm).
It rides delightful in heavy traffic, as the bike fits thru the smallest gaps.

And I finally got a verrrrry suitable break-lever that replaces the modern style avid speed dial, that never really fitted on this setup. It is a perfectly CNC milled "Real"-lever that I find very beautiful.

Ah yes and:
This is a clip that was broadcasted on austrian Television (sorry, the narration is german only). In some small sequences you can spot a crazy swift-folder rider (myself) in the middle of an alleycat race. That was fun!

https://youtube.com/watch?v=SQpKqZykw80

I am thinking of upgrading the chainwheel/cranks/bottom bracket of my Swift but retaining the 8 speed SRAM derailleur. If anyone else has done this how did you get on? What BB make and length did you use and what make of chainwheel/crank did you fit and how did it affect the chainline etc. First I will need to either take a body building course or down some steroids to remove the old BB - is the thing welded in?!!

Having a hard time removing the bottom bracket cups? Remember, the right-hand cup (drive side) is reverse threaded!

I built up my Swift frame from scratch, using a Sugino crankset (RD maybe?) & the recommended 103mm spindle. Works for me.

Yes I know all about the threads on bottom brackets as I have built many bicycles from scratch over the last few years. The BB fitted to the Swift does seem to be a really tight fit. I seem to remember other Swift owners having great difficulty removing the BB installed by the factory. Thanks for the info about the crankset.

Having a hard time removing the bottom bracket cups? Remember, the right-hand cup (drive side) is reverse threaded!


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You've got that backwards!

I've got it right, unless you're working on
an old bike that uses French or Italian b.b.
Check with Sheldon Brown - https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_bo-z.html#bottom
also see - https://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/left.html

Maybe you're confusing b.b. & pedals - left pedals are reverse threaded.

James Swift helped me with this just about a year ago on this thread. I followed his advice and it worked. Here it is in full:

"It can be a pain in some situations. I've seen a report of Loctite used on the BB. I had a seized BB on my Swift due to rust. I've had excellent results in removing the bottom bracket on my new Swift with the following method:

1.) Get a 25" breaker bar
2.) Get a BB socket
-Remove the wheels and place the frame (drive-side facing you) on a carpeted floor against a wall for support. Put your left foot on the chainstay just behind the seat tube, hold the socket in place with your left hand and push down on the breaker bar with your right hand. Put your weight into it, if need be, and the BB should easily give-way. Now turn the frame around and repeat, this time pulling up on the breaker bar.

The key here is torque, and a 25" breaker bar provides plenty of it."

Jonathan

The threads on the bottom bracket of my new Swift had some blue stuff on it, which I assume is loctite. My trusty breaker bar made quick and easy work of it.

Here's the 1/2" breaker bar:

https://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=30395

Nashbar used to have a bottom bracket 1/2" drive socket. You might need to do some searching.

To complete the fixed gear conversion on my Swixt Xootr I ordered a Surly fixed/free 130mm rear hub (32h polished) from a good friend who works at a local IBS. I gave him a new alloy rim and asked him to build me a wheel. (He'd already built me a beautiful radially-spoked front wheel with matching rim and Surly front hub).

When I went to fit the new rear fixed wheel, I found that it had a 120mm spacing at the axle nut stops.
Naturally I took it back. He apologized and said he'd get me the 130mm hub and rebuild it.

A month later my wheel was ready again. On inspection it looked like the same width hub, with a fat shim added to space out the axle nut stops to 130mm.

My tire is now noticeably off center to the RH or drive side (the fat shim is on the LH side). I think my buddy just slapped in a shim spacer and forgot about wheel alignment. I asked him about this and he insists he re-ordered a new 130mm hub from Surly and reinstalled it into my wheel. He says he still has the old 120mm hub.... they didn't want it back.

So why didnt he lace up the rim centered on the axle stop width?

My question is this: does Surly use the same exact hub shell on the 120mm and 130mm fixed/free hubs? Is this fat spacer how they can offer both widths, or am I being fed a line of bull?

Aaaarghhhh.

I think it is not much of a mechanical problem when spacing a 120mm to a 130mm axle...
The only issues are the alignment of the rim and the lenght of the axle, nothing else. So I actually think that Surly DO use the same parts for 120mm and 130mm hubs, apart from the axle. It just wouldn't pay off to construct two different shells for the missing 5mm on each side, considering that there is still some space needed to adjust the cainline for different setups.

Some early track-hubs are spaced 110mm. They got respaced to later 120 track-standard and used for international competitions without any concern or troubles... So I wouldn't worry too much and simply adjust the rim to the center, smash the spare hub on ebay and ride your fine fixie...

EDIT: I actually ride a very vintage 110mm trackhub spaced to 120mm on my track-racer... it works fine and 120 to 130 is not much difference.

What Hurley said in response to my email just now...

"All of our hubs use completely different hub shells. That spacer is not
normal. Let me know if you have any other questions, that one sounds
like a bummer, sorry.

Thanks for asking,
Emily Richard
Surly Bikes"

uh, that surprizes me....
sorry for getting you on the wrong track.

I have the same hub with the same problem. I doubt it's the hub, but perhaps something to do with the frame / rear triangle. It's interesting to note that my stock geared wheel also aligns more to the right. I have a newer Swift with a 135mm rear spacing, so what I did was put 4 x 1 mm axle spacers on the right side of the hub to push the alignment 2mm over to the left. Then I installed a narrow bottom bracket (68 x 107) to compensate.

Pic of the (prototype) new steel frame straight from Peter. He said to expect them in April or May. The penciled-in pivot shows a different means of securing the frame than current. Makes for a smaller fold to fit in a 62" Samsonite Oyster suitcase without disassembly.