Yeah, and the bike is even painted in winter camouflage colors!

hey so has anyone put a larger chainring on the front? if so, what did you go for? heading down hills I end up spinning with the default setup, and even sometimes on flat ground.

Jur has 58T. http://dekter.net/bikes/swift.html

I put a 60T on my swift. I got it at http://www.hostelshoppe.com/. I also had to buy a new chain to go with it because a larger ring needs a longer chain. I had a full stock setup and installed the new ring on the inside chainring position, just as the stock one is mounted. To see more on that you go to: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...+gearing+xootr

Be aware that is hard to find chainguards for these larger rings. But of course chainguards are not essential and for some not preferable. For more on that see this: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...light=longshot

messenger bag and the swift
 

Anyone else think a messenger bag makes sense with the swift? I do. Granted I have a full-sized road bike with rack and pannier setup that I love, I find that using the messenger bag is works well for the swift rather than going with a rack or carradice sqr system both of which seem to increase or make more cumbersome the folding. A carradice bag mounted directly to the saddle rails which doesn't prevent the seatpost from sliding down all the way when folded, keeping the fold tighter and more compact, might be good though as well. Actually now I've thought about it more I think a carradice bag and compatible rack with quick release which mounts to the saddle rails might be a superb option. Thinking aloud I guess.

I will continue commuting with a backpack when I get my swift. I find a backpack to be much more balanced and comfortable than a messenger bag, which starts to cause discomfort beyond 3-5 miles ... but either way I'm not a big fan of commuting with the weight of my stuff on the bike. Hinders maneuverability and curb-hop-ability for my taste. Others WILL have different opinions, I am sure.

GlowBoy, which model did you order?

There you go again ... :p

Haven't ordered yet, but I plan on getting the Xootr. Since I'll be running drum brakes I won't need a custom disc-ready frameset.

The arrangement with my Swift doesn't really affect the fold, as long as you don't mind the seatpost sticking up when the thing is folded. I just use a standard rear rack with it attached to the lower QR's on the seatpost clamps. When folded, the seatpost just rests on the rack stays instead of the rear tyre / fender. In fact, when i'm getting on or off trains, I just leave the bag attached to the bike.

The thing I like about this is when I lock the bike up outside & I carry the seatpost away with me, I'm not dealing with a bunch of attachments on the post.

Not for everyone, but works for me.

Howdy, everyone. Welcome to my very first post after many years of lurking: I figured I owed the thread a pretty picture in return for all the information I sucked out of it.

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...0_370024_n.jpg

I got the frame from Peter Reich himself, with the custom paint job. The rims are Mavic M13II 451s laced to Surly hubs; I'm using their 135mm flip-flop in back. Running it as a fixed; gear ratio is 48/13. The cranks are a Velo Orange road double with the small chainring dropped (they're currently selling the chromed version for a big discount!). MKS GR-9 platform pedals. I had to use a long-reach caliper to fit the 451 rims; it's a Dia Compe out of the basement of a bike shop -- nutted long reach calipers are hard to find! (Though I hear the Tektro R559 is out there somewhere...)

Bit of an aesthetic disaster to some eyes, perhaps, but I find her lovely.

Tom

Please welcome a new owner to the Swift family...
 

...Mrs lexm!

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_F...2/IMGP1200.jpg
Here are the Mrs and her Swift at 31st Street Beach, just south of Chicago's McCormick Place. A custom build by Peter Reich, Mrs lexm's Swift boasts a Sturmey Archer S2 (not S2C) kickback hub, Thudbuster seatpost, Kore stem and handlebar finished with Ergon grips, Specialized Expedition Plus saddle, Salsa QRs, Eleven81 folding pedals, and Schwalbe Marathons on Sun CR18 rims. The custom paint job was inspired by Mrs lexm's affection for Brompton's Turkish green. This photograph was taken on the Swift's maiden voyage, mere days after its arrival. To the right, you can just see the top of the John Hancock Building.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_F...0/IMGP1229.jpg
Today, Mrs lexm conquered Northerly Island. Location of the now-closed lakeside airport Meigs Field, Northerly Island is home to the Adler Planetarium, the Charter One Pavilion music venue, and a park in the process of being planted with native prairie grasses. The park includes a 1.4-mile paved walking and biking path around the island. To the left of Mrs lexm, you can see the Sears Tower and part of Soldier Field. To the right, you can see part of the Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Trump Tower.

The Mrs loves her Swift. From the custom color to the components carefully selected by Mr Reich to give her a more upright seating position, she needs no excuse to hit the lakefront bike path whenever the opportunity strikes.

Nope, I like it too! It's nice and minimalist - all function & speed. Good color too. The sort of bike I'm too practical to own (all my bikes have racks and fenders..), but sometimes think I should!

The Swift Folding Stem Debate
 

Hello all,

I am a new Swift owner in London, ordered mine from Flow Berlin about a month ago. Really been enjoying the frame over my previous Dahon Speed P8. Feels very solid. Discussion on Bike Forums were very helpful with deciding to go for the Swift.

I'd read this thread with interest: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...t+folding+stem

as I would have liked to have a folding stem on my Swift. I store my bike in a small space behind my front door. It hangs on a hook and there isn't the depth to have any riser, handlebars, etc sticking out. Wasn't a problem with the Dahon's handlebars folding down. Not a great problem physically with the Swift, as I do take the riser off & hang the handlebars on the wall. But would be a whole lot easier hanging & de-hanging my bike if I didn't have to juggle the bike with the handlebars separate. Also, the already thin fold would be very thin indeed if I could just fold the handlebars down to the side of the bike.

Anyway, to further the debate of whether you can get a folding stem, I was looking at Brompton stems:
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/brompton-...att-prod20013/

and couldn't quite tell whether it would be possible to fit them on a different set of forks? I might have the concept completely wrong. Don't know the exact specs for Brompton stems. Would be an expensive option (£100 for the stem + new forks) but thought it might be worth contemplation.

Cheers,

Michael

Newer folding bikes come with the right sort of folding stem that would work on the Swift. They clamp around the steerer and fold just above that point. Many also slope forwards for increased reach, a big plus point.

The biggest problem is getting hold of these stems, they are not sold as spares. Perhaps we could contact a manufacturer and organise a group buy.

tlaaxo,

Your bike is awesome!!! I love the handlebars and the red details on the pedal straps. If I believed in emotocons, I would put definitely end this post with a smiley face and a thumbs up.

I think that could be the first Swift in that Celeste color. Looks very good!

With the Swift - yes.
With Mr lexm's insistence upon stopping and taking photographs - no. ;)

...and thus the marriage of two great things: the Swift and Bianchi's trademark color. I'm lucky to have both myself albeit in two separate bikes.

Few questions for the Swift group.

I've been yearning for a Swift for a few years now and hope to buy this year. My plan is to buy a frameset and build it up with a 9-speed Ultegra group -- not perhaps because it's ideal -- but because I already own it and I don't have tons of cash to do otherwise.

My plan for the Swift is somewhere between fast city rides and touring. I want to keep up with my larger wheel friends who, while not explosively fast themselves, wouldn't hesitate to leave me behind if I couldn't keep up.

My questions relate to the best options to lighten it up and even delude me into thinking I could race it: wheels; fork; seatpost... what are some options? For example, is anybody running Dahon's Kinetix Pro wheels on their Swift?

Thanks all!

You can run the Pro wheelset as I did back in 2007.. Xootr has 100mm front spacing, Dahon 74mm, so you will need to make up some spacers.. I also ran the lightweight 34mm SDG seatpost and SDG I-beam saddle.. front fork is steel .. I'd leave the fork alone if it were me.. biggest bang for the buck in reducing weight will be wheels and tires .. you can get a Xootr down to around 20lbs pretty easily.. Jur on this board went with lightweight 451 wheel/tires.. I'd go that route if I were doing it all over..

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=194707

Excellent. Thank you, sir. Wheels and tires... my hunt begins.

While I don't think anyone has used this particular fork on the Swift yet. I just ordered the $80 Redline Flight R6 for my Downtube and it seems like it might also be a pretty good upgrade for the Swift.

Stock Swift fork:
894g
32cm axle to crown height
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...nge-out-dilema..

Redline Flight R6/U6:
483g
32.1 axle to crown height
http://www.niagaracycle.com/product_...oducts_id=4248
https://www.jrbicycles.com/storefron...productId=1582

Not sure if there's a significant difference in offset/rake. Also, beware that the Redline fork has a 135 pound rider weight limit...but that's for BMX racing and I presume it'd be much higher if rated for road use.

The normal straight (untapered) 1-1/8" steerer will also require/allow the use of this aluminum riser (or a one piece stem-riser) which is surely much lighter than the stock steel riser:
http://calhouncycle.com/productcart/...&idproduct=978
You'll also need some kind of clamp or locking spacer/top nut to retain the headset tension (there are a number of premade and DIY solutions).

Basically I'm suggesting the same mod seen in this thread, but with the 483g $80 aluminum fork instead of the rare 435g $150 carbon fork that was used:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...nge-out-dilema..
I guess for a pure weight saving mod it's a lot more involved than wheels/tires/seatpost, but I was looking to ditch the suspension fork and folding riser on my Downtube brand bike anyway.

I'll be looking into this more., thanks!

Chucky,

Excellent, thanks for that. With my 200 lbs however, I'm wondering how deep the pothole would have to be to equal 5 feet of air by a 135-lb bmx'er.

Skimming this thread, I see many have tried to crack the Swift fork nut figuratively speaking. I will explore wheels first...

Speaking of that, Jur, I see your initial build -- back a ways in this thread -- had velocity rims you really liked at the time. Are you still running them? 28-hole F and R? Any regrets or tips?

Thanks.

You're welcome; I'll measure the fork offset for you once it arrives.

Also, before you go ordering parts here's a little preview of the style of stem/riser I'm equipping because using a straight riser tube on a 1-1/8" steerer would require a special (1-1/4") tandem stem:
http://www.shoprans.com/images/dsc_200risers_1.jpg
Half the price of the Airnimal J-Stem Riser and the stem is integrated (which hopefully makes it stiffer and lighter). Surely the aluminum is not as strong as the steel one piece stem-risers made by Bike Friday, but hopefully strong enough:
http://community.bikefriday.com/site...temChart_0.jpg

"...it is important to recognize that with regard to bicycles, at least, empirical development (namely, try it out, strengthen the parts that break, and lighten those that don't) is a valid practical approach to optimization. But hand in hand with that approach must go an awareness that innovation will inevitably bring failures." - Bicycling Science 3rd edition

Yes, I think I've seen some on Asian manufacurers pages? Would probably have to be a big order, then logistics of international distribution to global Swift owners! Personally I'm really picky about the hinge mechanism as well. My Dahon stem hinge became really unreliable, which partly prompted getting the Swift. I was curious about Brompton stems because they have the screw-down clamp. One of the issues with the Dahon was nothing to actually prevent the hinge from loosening and collapsing mid-ride, which happened to me more than once. So any folding stem would need to have a fail-safe, and be able to withstand some flex.

That's one good thing about the Swift stem. Just some creaking where the riser meets the steerer that I need to wax or something to stop the squeaks. Otherwise, very solid. I'm thinking cheapest option might be getting some BMX bars, and I can hook the center part over the steerer. I've seen the bottle-cage solution described, and I may look at that too. Rather not have one on my bike, though. And I've got to make some adjustments to raise my handlebars about 10cm anyway.

Bike Friday has a nice relatively fail-safe folding stem riser that they sell aftermarket:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMzWWl26Q-c

However, I personally think folding stem risers are the one of the worst components on folders because:
1. They really limit where you can fit the folded bike and are slower to fold because the bars also usually need to be folded (ie to fit between the wheels). Customize the bars and you can forget about it (thanks to the folding stem, even a Brompton is huge with drop bars). A pop off stem can be nestled much more quickly and compactly in a wider variety of situations.
2. They're really heavy.
3. They account for almost all the flex that people complain about with folders. All the folders with reputations for being stiff are the ones without folding stems.

In case you were wondering if you had to remove the pedals to pack the bike...
 

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=194927

the answer is that you only have to remove one pedal (the left one). the right-hand pedal (circled in red) is threaded through the spokes of the rear wheel. it fit fine.

I figured this out involuntarily when, for the life of me, I couldn't dislodge the right-hand pedal. I had taken them both off with an allen wrench instead of a pedal wrench on this end + reassembled them just fine the same way, but when I went to pack the bike last night in AZ I could not get the right-hand pedal off again. And it was late enough in the evening that all the bike stores were closed. I almost had to leave it with my dad.