The Xootr website sells both Schrader and Presta tubes, but I thought you needed to use one or the other depending on your wheels. Do the stock wheels take either type of tube without problems?

Thanks.

This post was from a while ago, BUT I am in the market for another folder....:)

I missed the mention/discussion of this mythical Swift Swallowtail. What is thisn new folder supposed to be?

You guys with the custom Xootr Planet Bike fenders--do they make your chain fall off when you unfold the bike? I finally figured out that was what was going on, but despite my trying to be careful, it keeps happening. The fender stay is in just the right place to engage with the chain when folded.

Between that and the seatpost not clearing them, I'm slightly grumpy about these fenders.

I have not had a problem with the chain and the fenders.

After riding with the fenders for the first 4 months, and being similarly irritated with the fold, I removed them and am now riding my loader in crappy weather. I didn't want to have the Swift out in the sleet and snow anyway.

I haven't been folding often, able to park in the underground garage at work which is pretty secure, but when I have folded I have cringed when lowering the seatpost to secure the rear wheel. The way the seatpost drives the fender against the tire just seems wrong, and I've been waiting for something to break. In doing research on the fender i realize from an old post by Peter R. that the seatpost is supposed to drive the fender against the tire--If I hadn't read that I would have thought it was a design flaw, not a design feature!

I haven't had any trouble with the chain coming off, and I must say the fenders work well for keeping me dry.
Bill

I agree on the marketing of the flexstems.I 've got a late '80's Proflex MTB with a Girvin Flexstem. Always liked it around town--great for absorbing city bumps, not really good enough for mountain biking. It would be perfect for the riding I do on the swift.
B.

If I could take the role of devil's advocate here ... do you really want an alloy component flexing all the time on something as critical to rider safety as the stem?

A recall of defective suspension stems is what seems to have led one maker to get out of the bike component business entirely.

Wouldn't it be safer to focus on suspension technology at the hub or fork, such as Pantour or Moulton, respectively? Those technologies also give the wheel better purchase on the surface, no?

Regards
T

Flexstems have a pivot. The elastomer is meant to flex. Besides, pretty much every folder has a flexy alloy handlepost and seatpost.

One of my main reasons for choosing the Swift was its lack of flex. As much as I love the words "less road buzz," I'm not sure I want to start introducing squish.

http://www.bikepro.com/products/stems/soft.html

That many (not every) folders have a flexy alloy handlepost -- what would you have us conclude from this? That flexy alloy parts in the steerer assembly are safe enough?

Regards
T

it would be interesting to know if flex at the stem absorbed the same energy as flex at the wheel/fork. I'm no engineer, but having a wheel/fork suspension system seems like it would absorb both shock and energy similiar to having softer tires--thereby slowing you down. If it was at the stem, its really just absorbing bumps that would have been transmitted to your hands/elbows shoulders.

The pic of the softride is pretty elaborate--I can see why they may have had some problems. The Girven one I had was pretty low-tech--one stainless steel bolt on a hinge right at the top of the riser--wasn't much to go wrong.

The softride stem also has pivots; bending in aluminum structural members is not essential to its function. This is a Swift thread, and the Swift has a tall unsupported seatpost and handlepost, so to reject stems for the same reason seems short-sighted.

The Swift's stem-riser is actually quite stiff, with none of the springiness of the Brompton or Downtube or Dahons. I have the longer Swift stem-riser, but relative to those bikes, it is not "tall" but rather stubby.

I realize that the aluminum in the suspension stem doesn't need to flex in order for the component to function. But the long parallelogram is subject to torsional flexing that could weaken the aluminum over time; the steering assembly is the last place you'd want metal fatigue. It's for this reason that many manufacturers of standard stems recommend replacing them after several riding seasons.
Easton, for example, says this about their Ad-Vice stem, which is much more torsionally rigid than a long suspension stem:

Regards
T

Here's a couple of Girvin flexstems:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...E:B:SS:US:1123

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...E:B:SS:US:1123

Much simplier design than the Softride. Unfortunately I've never seen a Girvin for a threadless system.

My quick video review of the Xootr Swift on my review show, wtfshow.com

http://wtfshow.com/2008/10/31/the-wt...icycle-review/

Nicely done, mrbrown.

Regards
T

Good review, Mr Brown!

"Easton recommends that the
stem be replaced each race season, or every 2-5 years if in
non-competition use, depending on frequency and severity
of use."

They want us to buy a new stem every year or 2?

I remember when Bicyclng magazine was getting carried away and a bit hysterical shilling for their advertisers a number of years ago, and they ran an article about how you should replace your steel frame every few years because of "metal fatigue".

I recently looked at that mag. for the first time in years. What crap.

To be fair to Easton, that stem is a freeride stem, and in the tech note they actually allow that it might be used for racing, whereas many companies will put in disclaimers about how it's not to be used in competition, off road, etc. I doubt if their aluminum, non-adjustable road stems have an expiration date like that.

I quoted that bit from Easton to make the point that under certain types of use, stems are subject to fatigue. In the case of the Easton AD-Vice, it's the stress of freeride.

A non-adjustable road stem would be under far less stress. However, a suspension stem will consist of multiple "dogbone" pieces, and fairly long pieces at that, and also pivot, so we're talking about torsional stresses from the handlebars being placed not on a monolithic block of metal but on those thinner, longer pieces. I would not want to be speeding down a mountain road with a 5-year-old suspension stem.

Regards
T

Front derailleur kit from Xootr
 

The xootr.com page now has a notice on a front derailleur kit.
Has anyone ordered this? What do you think about it?

"October 27, 2008 - Front derailleur mounts for the Swift are now available on the accessories page. "
http://www.xootr.com/xootr/swift/accessories.shtml

I spoke to them a few weeks ago and they said they had a front derailleur mount. I said that I wasn't interested since it was only a mount and not a complete kit.

They now have a complete kit plus installation instructions on their web site.
http://www.xootr.com/xootr/swift/Fro...lleurKit.shtml

It looks interesting. The second chain ring is 40t in their kit. That means that the lowest gear is 27 gear inches. Seems a little high. Also, you lose the chain guard when you do this. Maybe a smaller 2nd chain ring would be better.

I'm glad I got my SRAM Dual Drive before this became available. For no better reason than familiarity with chain rings, I'd never have owned an internal gear hub.

Are you saying that you think an internal gear hub is better than a front derailleur but would never have tried it if this kit had been available when you made the decision?

More or less. I'm not sure an internal gear hub is better for everybody, but I have certainly come to appreciate mine. And yes, I would never have tried one if this kit had been available.

$55 for the mount only is ridiculous.. compare to a $3 nashbar mount that does the same thing. Yeah, not mass produced to the same degree, but way too much.

After lurking in this thread for a while, I've finally bought myself a Swift. It's not new, but I love it none the less. I'm in the process of making some modifications and have a few questions for those who has tread these water before me.

I've gotten accustomed to riding my cyclocross bike with a 1x9 set up, so the stock gearing is almost exactly the same as what I'm used to..... except it's missing the ninth gear. If it's feasible, I plan on changing the front to a 58T, with a 11/32 rear cassette. I remember reading that a 11/34 is just a little too big. Is a standard length chain long enough for the lowest gear?

My only reservation about this setup is the inability to get a bash-ring or chain guard that will fit over a 58T ring. Are these items available anywhere?

I also plan on converting to drop bars with some 8 speed brifters I have in my parts box, along with new brakes and derailleur. The original stem, bar, brakes, shifter, rear derailleur can be pulled off without disassembling any cables. That can be kept aside intact in case I want to shift things up. I was wondering if anyone has tried the Dahon Neos low-profile derailleur on the Swift. Looks promising.