Just thought I'd post an updated pic of my Swift since making the long awaited upgrade to 451's w/long reach calipers today. Btw, the caliper brake install was very easy, and took a whole 10minutes!

Also, since the 451's bumped up my gearing, I've decided to stick w/the 53t outter / 39t inner at the front, which came stock w/the FSA Team Issue cranks. (rear's still 12-25, 10spd)

And last, the front derailer is SUPERB! I'd definitely recommend it to anyone seeking additional gears, without going the internal-geared hub route. I've logged over 150km's since the second session of tuning it, and its performing flawless!!

The only test I was able to get w/the 451's was in the parking lot at the LBS, but I will be going on a 60km group ride tomorrow! - I can't wait!

I'll post more up close'n detailed pics of the set up soon.
Rgds,
K.

Thanks for the update.. the bike looks great!

New stem riser
 

I knew this was coming down the pipe, but didn't mention it since I had no idea when it was going to happen. I spotted it on the Xootr site this morning.

The new stem risers are now available under the "parts" section, and they include...... built in water bottle cage mounts!

I'm not sure if both the 10" version and the 12" version are oversized. The image shows an oversized version. The 12" I bought 4 months ago is oversized.

http://www.xootr.com/swift-riser.html

The riser that came with my frame has those rivnuts. For me, they don't work as my knees hit the bottle when climbing out of the saddle. Pity.

Jur

Not sure if you could reach the bottle, but maybe if you 180 the stem riser and put the bottle/mount forward, your knees wouldn’t hit. Then you'd have a backup, the one on your seatpost and the second on the riser. I tried that Spyder "saddle" for a while but even with padded cycle shorts my butt was glowing after a short ride. For the most part, I'm an old Serfas Hybrid R/X Cane Creek Thudbuster seatposter tourer.

I tried water bottles back when, but am too clumsy and was always dropping them… lol… screech, stop, walk back, pick it up, and start over. I switched over to a Camelback bladder inside my pack soon after they came out and it works well for me. I also always have room for extra gear, food and shopping basket on my back as needed, but then again I live out of one bag, and on one bike, no car or permanent home. So my bag is very much like my turtle shell, with pockets, bivy, rain gear...

Kaito

Interesting stem riser stack; is that an Airnimal Joey riser on to of a stock Swift riser painted black? I had never thought to stack like that to get more height. Kewl. I’ll bet those 451’s with the 53/12 combo does let you rip top end. Thanks for the photo.


I've got my beastie in pieces for polishing, crank bearing swaps/greasing, derailleur hanger locktighting and cable rerouting. It is all split down to a pile of parts. I'll take some "in the suitcase" photos and reassembled shots for next time.

Xoot-on!

http://www.myspace.com/xootrswift

Interesting. The stem I bought a few months ago didn't have those.

I also couldn't stand having the bottle cage on the stem facing me (using the Minoura mount). It was OK on the front though.

I put my bottle cage on the stem rise but at the side, slightly forwards so the bottle sits just behind the bars. This way, the back of the bottle is in front of the stem riser so doesn't interfere with my knees (might not be the case if you had a very short stem - mine is 140mm so loads of room for a bottle)
I also tried it behind the saddle, but the bottles kept jumping out when I rode fast over bumps (unavoidable on my journeys). After losing 3 bottles I gave up on the seatpost mount.

That's exactly what happens with my stem riser mount. I lost an expensive Thermos off a bridge, and its replacement took a header on a long downhill.

I can see http://www.xootr.com.
Can you see it now?

Did anyone try this nifty break (Paul "Racer" - see link) on a swift with 451- wheels?
http://www.paulcomp.com/racer.html
The reach is 59mm - 73mm. Will this be enough?
Cheers,

Not sure about the Paul "Racers", but I just measured the Tektro R556 long reach calipers on my Swift. From the bolt that holds the caliper on the fork to the bolt that holds the brake pad, it was 6~6.5cm's.

The reach is listed as 55~73 here:

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...s.aspx?sc=FRGL

Hope that helps some.
Rgds,
K.

Looks promising. I will go for it.... Thanks Kaito!

Here's another pic I've had stored in my mobile phone of the front of my Swift.
As you can see, even w/the R556's length, there's plenty of room to spare.
Good luck w/your build! :)

What's the wheel spec again?

The wheels are 451's with Durano's to fit.
I found them through a supplier in Taiwan that sells here via YahooAuctions Japan. They're an 'off brand' of some sort - "Rotaz", but have a nice build, weight, and quality.

http://page7.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/g75716837

Here's from the listing:
1223grams (pair)
6061/T6
CNC Sidewalls
Swiss spokes: Front/Rear 24
Lightweight hubs *I did some digging on the net, and they're the same as the older AmericanClassic's.
Front 100mm, Rear 130mm
Shimano 8-10sp compatable

Not a bad deal for the price!
(I'm even tempted to buy another set for a future build I'm so satisfied)

Also, the freewheel has a nice smooth sound to them. : ) Not loud'n w/few clicks - but quiet'n w/alot of clicks. ~ something about the freewheel having plenny of teef's. :D Kinda makes a swishy sound, rather than a clicky sound..which I like.

They were shipped straight out of Taiwan, not from Japan..if that's of any importance..:p

Rgds,
K.

- a few pages ago in this thread I wrote I had ordered a pair of "Xero" 451 rims, but I heard back from the shop, and the manufacturer said they weren't sure if they were going to continue w/them, so I canceled & found the above.

Looks like the seller has a nice pair of 406's up for sale too.
Cheaper, and lighter..:)

http://page8.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/h127653030

Juss thought I'd share.

While I'm posting, just thought I'd add a pic of my rear too. my rear? :eek:

http://www.myspace.com/xootrswift exploded in to a cheap 12" deep x 17.5" wide x 25" long expanded-lid nylon rolling suitcase. Chainrings-cables-grips-shifters-derailleur, etc. are off for cleaning/restoration. Plenty of room for more stuff. Enjoy the weekend ride!

nice pack up xootr swift!
Gotta quick question about your forks.
You might have seen the thread about my fork change-out dilema, but how did your change out go? Did it change the height/geometry of your Swift at all?

Thanks for your input.
Rgds,
K.

It is a quick swap now going from a Mecs Saso suspension 1-1/8 threadless to the alloy Echo Fork, and back again. Besides the new fork, all I needed was an extra Cane Creek S3 crown bushing. The rest of the bearings, spacers, races stayed the same. I did add a Problem Solvers 8mm headlock spacer this time, just to make sure the headset stays locked. Even with the star nut bolt tight, and the Airnimal Joey stem riser Q/R clamped solidly, the fork assembly would loosen over time, but I was singletrack downhill helmet cracking in the Suisse Alps and curb jumping regularly then as well.

Earlier in this thread are pictures of my two aftermarket forks. The suspension fork added an inch of height, but loaded (me on the bike) and on the firmest setting, it was only about ¾ of an inch. I ran that fork for quite three years with no noticeable change to the ride over the factory fork/geometry except for the added suspension benefits.

This Echo fork adds about ½ inch out the front in wheelbase for a total of 41”, and one-inch of height, very much like the suspension fork. Yet the ride is even more stable now on the road, not hands off (for me anyway) yet it is a bit less squirrelly overall.

I like that the seat angle is also a bit further back. Even with the Cane Creek Thudbuster suspension seatpost pre-loaded to the rear a bit with me on the saddle, I had to put my Serfas Hybrid R/X saddle all the way back, so as not to feel crowded, pedal angle wise. Now the ride is more relaxed, saddle/pedals position wise, as I don’t feel as triathlete forward as I did with the factory settings.

If I feel crazy now, I can Q/R the stem, unscrew the head lock and star nut bolt, unbolt the Avid Juicy 5 caliper, quick swap the suspension fork back in, and go hunting for downhill cracked helmet unconscious moments again. I think I’ll stay on road for the most part with the Echo fork from now on.

http://www.myspace.com/xootrswift


.

Thanks alot for your reply & the details.
Sounds like a solid change out.

I'm still working on mine..need a good light weight fit that accommodate caliper brakes, and my 451's, w/o changing the geometry more than a couple of cm's.

Domo arigatou~!
K.

Small bike maniac ~ Translated your handle and read your fork thread. http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=533277

Reminds me of some of the moments I had in swapping in the suspension fork the first time. Going from a 1 inch factory stem riser to a 1-1/8 was the holdback until I found the Airnimal Joey riser. I made my swap mainly for the disc brake mount, as the rim brakes were overheating on downhilling. Yet no one had these Echo Team forks in stock. So I went with the Mecs Saso, which I have beat quite to death over three years of hard riding, and hard on me, give a kid a pair a wings and no flying lessons, and the result ~ plenty of road, trail, gravel rash.

I just got out the old food/bakers scale, and the factory fork with headset/bearings/locknuts, less the riser, is exactly one kilo, not bad. The Mecs (carbon fiber over alloy) is 1.6 kilo with only the crown race and no bearings. I don’t want to rip my front end off just to measure the Echo Team fork but I remember it being a bit less than the Mecs, about the same as the factory fork, to my hand balance, but it is basically one solid chunk of machined aluminum with the legs and super thick riser welded on, i.e. strong.

I looked at those carbon fiber beauties, as you have there, and then asked a few merchants how much they would support, and the dream ended there for me. I’m 1.89m/6’-2” and 87 kilo/192 pounds/13.7 stones, without pack, H2O or clothing, when I'm on vacation and fit and riding 50+k/day.

I had thought to use (see attached) a GA Force Kilo 20” beauty from German-a http://www.german-a.de/en/, but again I was too big/heavy from the factory; 85 kilo max for that fork. The GA Force Kilo 20" comes with disc and/or V-brake mounts but no caliper mounts and weighs about the same as the Mecs after the shock is mounted, yet no dive. Brake dive, is what cracked my helmet and knocked me out, well, dive and reckless abandon.

I had a very slight, to my fingers, burr on the top of my Echo team fork stem. The Airnimal Joey riser insert wouldn’t slip on my new fork either. So I sanded and sanded the fork riser tube until the top was a bit beveled and viola that Joey riser inner sleeve finally slid on. Your fork may also have a burr or be slightly out of round at the top. Your eyes and hands may not feel the ovalness or the burr but I’ll bet your micrometer will, and some fine sandpaper, patience and sweat will even it out.

I also had to cut the fork riser on the Mecs, as I didn’t want to use 6cm/60mm of spacers and needed to keep the actual fork length as short as possible. I measured “100 times” with all the spacers, bearings, bearing caps and so on, with the fork in place. With my tubing cutter, I still cut the fork tube riser 4mm long on purpose to make sure the star nut cap would seat well when snugged over the Joey stem riser insert.

I have compensated with a high-rise stem, and a Dimension Trekking bar that has a bit of rise, to make up for the rather short 9” Airnimal Joey stem riser. I needed to keep the fork length as short as possible so with the stem riser/stem/bars assembly Q/Released and the front wheel off, the folded Xoot will still fit in my roll-up-able soft-bag quickly, without pulling the fork or the back wheel.

The question is, is it worth ½ kilo, or all the fussing for disc brake mount in my case? I say keep going, you’re almost there, sand a little, maybe cut a little, put it all together, what you have, and see if your ultra light lowered front end is what you like. It may be the bee’s knees for you, like having a matching brushed alloy super duty fork with a heat dispersing Avid Juicy disc on the front is to me.


http://www.myspace.com/xootrswift

.

As mentioned on the fork change-out thread, I've installed the new carbon forks on the Swift, and I'm very satisfied!!!

Install included:
Carbon Forks (Trigon)
Headset (Shimano Pro, sealed bearing)
Black aluminum spacers
Same TektroR556's, with pads bumped up to highest setting

Black aluminum spacers were stacked & used in between the top of the headset & the stem. Initially, it was a temp-fix, but looking at it, it's not bad at all! ~ another keeper! (Just need to replace the top silver spacers w/black ones one the shop gets more in..I bought all of their black ones for the install)

After the install, I could tell the bike was noticeably lighter, and when I mentioned that the mechanic, he offered to weigh the bike on a tripod-bike scale. I was kinda expecting a lighter weight, but still, its not bad at all.
Ready to ride; with rear blinker, bottle cage mount, bottle cage, saddle, and pedals, it weighs in at 9.90kgs.

Upcoming weight weeny upgrades will be -
Kore iBeam seat post
SDG iBeam saddle (iFly C)
Brake line trim (they're all kinda long, esp. the front lines)
Maybe grind off the rear v-brake mounting studs

Since the forks are shorter than the stock forks by 3cm's, I thought the ride would suffer, but to my relief, it hasn't one bit. When standing & pedaling, its much stiffer since the fork/steerer column is one piece. Also, the forks do feel like they're dampening the road buzz to a degree. (felt this when I up't to 451 wheels too, so it could be a combo-effect, which is GREAT!)

Thanks to everyone for their advice & inspiration. :)

Stoked!
K.

Kaito ~ Way cool... I also like how you finished off the stem riser.

Very very nice. How long are the forks (mm)?

xootr swift: where did you purchase your echo fork?