Well, for whatever this is worth, I sort of doubt Peter would go to the trouble of making a steel version if he didn't think it had some benefits.

That being said, I like my aluminum Swift. But I already have two-piece-seatpost envy.

The Swift was developed in steel originally, and that is still ongoing. Xootr bought a license to mass-produce it and their material of choice was aluminium due to easier mass manufacturability. Peter verified the frame parameters in the aluminium to make sure it would still work. Some things were modified to suit aluminium, such as seat post diameter and fork legs diameter.

Italics are me filling in the blanks in my knowledge, ie speculation.

I really wish it were easier to figure out which Swift is what before buying one.

By 'fork legs' do you mean the front forks? Mine Xootr front forks are steel...

That is an excellent point-- as design exists in a holistic context and not separate from the sum of it's parts. I liked the ride of the aluminum Swift a lot and found it very comfortable-- and the lighter weight is definitely an advantage for a folding bike.

Just to put things in perspective--it's my quoting him that came out too one dimensional--- Jim Langely understands this-- he knows his bikes --- he did say that generally speaking he prefers steel frames and that there are no absolutes as the total design has everything to do with how a bike rides --- even though the Airnmal had 24" tires, the Pocket Rocket Pro with it's 20" tires and steel frame rode more comfortably for him ---and that had more to do with total design than just aluminum vs steel or larger vs smaller tires.

Oops you're right...

Thanks for the clarification.

As far as I can see, the Airnimal has quite a stiff frame while the BF has a stalky seat tube and handlepost; the latter give a large amount of vertical compliance which the Airnimal with its structural triangles doesn't give. I wonder which Airnimal he was referring to - the roadie has suspension which the Joey doesn't have.

I also find my Xootr Swift very comfortable. It seems quite a remarkable design achievement to have something compliant vertically but stiff torsionally.

But comfort also seems very subjective; Bacciagalupe (sp?) thinks his Swift was too harsh and got rid of it.

The oval Q rings don't fit on the RS4X series because the RS4X has unique 114 BCD round chainrings. My RS4X double set came with a standard 53t non-aero chainring outer ring and a 39t inner. My inner 39t ring is sitting in the oem box in the garage waiting for another project/crankset. My single 53t is on the inner position and my cut to match custom made chainguard on the outer.

I'm certain Rotor can answer technical questions better than I https://www.rotorusa.com/i1-rs4x.shtml or try customer service https://www.rotorusa.com/contact.shtml. Enjoy the happy knees, extra power, lower heart stress, reduced fatigue, spending an extra 5 minutes explaining what the cranks are after you fold/unfold your Swift frameset a couple times and how you have 27 gears not 9 with the SRAM DualDrive the next time you stop at the market.

For more info https://www.myspace.com/xootrswift.

I BECAME A SWIFT OWNER LAST WEEK!

All it took was a post begging for a bike, and a few weeks later a reasonable offer for a low mileage bike was presented.

I'm thrilled to have made it.

Many thanks to Jur, wavershrdr, and all you modders and reviewers out there.

Aha! I get it. Thanks again.

I am considering the Swift and the Dahon Cadenza. Haven't ridden either bike. The Xootr shop had no Swifts on hand, and I didn't see a Cadenza there or at other Dahon dealers I've visited.

If only Xootr offered a Shimano Alfine hub on a stock model, with the Shimano roller brake, priced competitively vs the Dahon Cadenza, I would go for it.

The internal hub would be more robust when the bike is being transported, and the roller brake would offer better stopping in rain. It could overheat going down a long hill, though, so perhaps a better apples-to-apples scenario would be if the Xootr Swift had disk brakes like the Cadenza.

I've had mine for a week, and took it up to Michigan last weekend. I did rides of 57 and 52 miles with no problem. It rides like a hybrid, not a road bike or mountain bike.

I got up the dune roads fine in low gear, but these are short and not to be confused with mountains. On the site, they say they can provide lower gears; I believe it's by using a smaller chainring (so you lose higher gears).

But he must have liked this design, correct? The frameset I bought directly from him was definitely Aluminum. Wish I would have waited for steel and the smaller fold, but that one is going to be much more $, no?

Mine was also aluminium, from Peter, but he gets those from Xootr. Mine was originally intended to be recoated for another person, but that fell through, so I got it in the Xootr livery.

Anybody ever solve the bottle cage problem? Since I do out-of-the-saddle climbing, I don't want it on the back of the stem riser. I was thinking of doing something similar to what BruceMetras did with his (image link), only with a side-entry cage.

What I imagine I'd prefer is something slung under the main tube, like I had on my Matrix, only with a quick-release or Velcro mounting of some kind so I wouldn't have to unbolt it every time I wanted to fold the bike.

I am currently using a Rixen/Kaul KlickFix bottle cage adaptor to hold a bottle on the front of the stem riser. This puts it out of the way but I have never had a problem of hitting the cage with my knees (when it was located behind the riser) as I do not ride the Swift out of the saddle. I lowered the gearing, but if the hill gets too steep, I get off and walk - what's the rush? I once overtook a cyclist who was using very low gears to climb a hill but he was travelling slower than I could walk!

The UK agents for Rixen Kaul have ordered a couple of new bar bag brackets that fit directly onto the long stem risers of folding bikes - without the need to use a 'T' bar (pictured in previous photos of my bike). When they arrive I will swing the bottle cage back behind the stem riser.

Camping World has a water bottle holder that clamps onto the handlebars, stem, seat post and is about $ 6.
https://www.campingworld.com/shopping...e-holder/37767

The spirit agrees, but the body can't tow my kids uphill without standing. When it's just me, I stay seated as a matter of principle (I've had it lowered to 21 or so gear-inches), but I simply can't do it when the trailer and children are back there--and walking the whole rig up is almost impossible at the steepest part.

That Rixen Kaul bottle cage adaptor sounds interesting. A cursory search didn't turn up any online dealers, but I'll come back to it after the kids are asleep--and look more closely at the Camping World gadget, too. Thanks.

Anybody else notice this on the Xootr front page?

Beautiful photo, Paul.

Front dearilleurs - I always favored rear derailleurs only, even on big bikes.

"I lowered the gearing, but if the hill gets too steep, I get off and walk - what's the rush? I once overtook a cyclist who was using very low gears to climb a hill but he was travelling slower than I could walk!"

I'm with you. I think very low gears are stoopid.

Yup. I'll be one of the first in line for this, if the solution is reasonable.

price went up too...

I do think that we tend to get a bit obsessed with gears sometimes. When I bought my Swift, I was not sure if I could cope with only eight cogs and one chainwheel as my touring bike had ten cogs and three chainwheels. In practise I have had no problem with eight gears. I did lower the gearing by fitting larger cogs on the rear wheel (a straight SRAM replacement cassette) but I have never used the top two cogs (7 & 8) on the road - even downhill. The Swift is a great bike and, if you browse previous postings you will see that I have played about with my bike as much as anyone on this forum. However, the Swift is a great riding bike that happens to fold and at some point you have to accept that it will not be able to do all the things a large wheeled (700c) bike can do. It's my favourite bike by far and is always first choice when the open road calls but there is a limit to what you may expect of it - even with all kinds of mods.

I bought one of these from a bike shop in the UK about 18 months ago. I no longer use it as it is very bulky and does nothing for the clean looks of the Swift. It does work though.

But you could get higher gears too with a front der. Like, say, a 60/48 crankset, which would give you a higher range closer to a fullsize road bike, and give a lower range than the stock Swift for cruizing and uphill. Myself, I intensly dislike adjusting front+rear der combos and in a flat world I'd choose the single der for the rear wheel. But my world isn't flat and has large wrinkles (my world, not me - yet). So I often wish I had a wider range on my Swift. I say bring on the front derailleur mount and thank you very much to Xootr. I'll probably use an old Suntour Pro friction lever for the front, easier to dial out cage rub. Once you get used to it anyway.

YMMV, just my $0.02, I'm just sayin', etc.