bendembroski

I wouldn't spend that much money on something that isn't as it should be. I would go so far as to say that if Xootr is aware of the problem, they should either not be selling them or making sure people are aware of it before taking their order (and offering a discount.) I know I'd be mighty irritated that if I tried to fit big apples on my Xootr 3 years down the road and they wouldn't fit because of manufacturing defect.

Any reason you are opposed to buying a used one?

rishio

Well - to be fair it's only a defect for me. Their website indicates that the big apple may or may not fit in the rear. It's a really tight fit. All the current batch of silver xootr's can't fit the big apple on the rear - but the new batch will fit them later on in this year. Nothing else is wrong with the current batch - but if you want a big apple in the rear - it's best to have them make sure it works..

Buying a new one get's a lifetime warranty. All the equipment and frame is new. If I buy a used one and the frame breaks (as I have seen in some of the posts) it's not covered. I hear aluminum has a limited lifespan. I'd buy a used one if I saved quite a bit more over a new one.

I'm not in a big rush to get the bike - I'll try and wait it out.

bendembroski

The lifetime warranty is a good thing to have.

I know that there are different tolerances in any manufacturing process, but this one seems a little bit out of what I feel would be acceptable as a customer (maybe I am just being picky). In any event, if you are thinking you will hang on the bike for a while, it probably makes sense to wait to get a fame that is versatile as possible.

One more thought about used, and then I'll shut up about it. Swifts are desirable enough that if you get a used one, you'll likely be able to sell it for the about what you paid for it, provided you keep it in similar condition. It might not be a bad idea to grab a used one, make sure you like it. Then, if you want a new one (from the new batch of frames), sell the used one. Think of it as free bike rental! I've done this a few times when I've had visitors coming or if I needed an extra bike for some reason or another. The selling can be hassle, but I kind of enjoy the process.

With that out of my system, I will not bring up the subject again.

turnstyle

Originally, I was expecting to get a Thudbuster -- but then I realized that the saddle itself was uncomfortable and should likely be replaced. I flip-flopped between a Brooks and a modern saddle, and finally settled on a Brooks because it seemed to have more consistently good reviews-- and because I saw more people switching *to* Brooks from the fancy modern saddles, rather than the other way around.

Once I had decided on a Brooks, it just seemed smart to get the springed version -- that and Sheldon Brown and lots of independent reviews all seemed highly favorable. Lastly, the Thudbuster seemed like it might be a bit temperamental about tuning in the right settings -- especially if you're going to be playing around with the seat position (up/down, front/back) -- as I understood it, if you move the seat, you also have to re-tune the Thudbuster.

my 2c!

Paul Braithwait

At last I get to ride my Swift! It has been a long time (about four months) since I was out on my Swift. Bad weather, illness and life in general have been getting in the way. Today I managed a ten mile ride in the cold sunshine. My legs are still in shock!

I have fitted some Ergon Tour handgrips which provide a good variety of positions and a Topeak Q/R rear mudguard which keeps the wet at bay and looks more "sporty" than conventional guards. Its Q/R clamp fits around the Swift's 34mm seatpost with ease. I intend to get many more miles in over the next few weeks.

bendembroski

Thought I might as well post some UK swift pics as well. I've also been off the bike for a few months (for a few reasons) so I thought it might be a good idea to reconfigure things to better suit the kind of riding I'm doing (or will be) for the foreseeable future.

I work from home / stay at home dad so I'm not commuting anymore. I put the kid in the trailer to take her to nursery a couple times a week, and to take her to playgrounds and other fun stuff along the local canal path. It rains a lot here, and the muddy path was not fun on Kojaks, especially while pulling a trailer . The chain was taking a beating, as were the rims from all the dirty riding. Seemed like I was spending more time maintaining the bike than riding it. Certainly, it was eating into my (precious) time when I could be out in riding on my own in the lovely Scottish countryside on Sunday mornings.

I've turned the bike into a "Smoother Xootr". I've gotten rid of the front derailleur, Kojaks, V-brakes, and bullhorn handlebars. I've installed a SA X-RD8(w) internal gear hub with a hub brake laced to the rims that came with the bike. Up front, is a SA X-FD drum brake hub. The handlebars are no-name north-road style bars mounted on a 175mm 17deg stem. I normally have the stem angled downwards, this places the handlebars *just* below the saddle.

3quartfrnt.jpg side.jpg

If I flip the stem, the bike is ideal for pootling along, but I've noticed that without weight over the front wheel the steering gets really light while climbing. It's great for going slow along the path. The position feels less serious, which encourages me to take it easy (which is what you should do on MUP while pulling a two year old in a trailer). It's only 4 minutes to flip the stem around, so no reason not to change things as the mood suits.

pootlemode.jpg

As I mentioned in another post, I've fit Big Apples. There's been some discussion lately about clearance with these tires. As you can see, plenty of room up front, much less so in the rear.

bafrontclr.jpg BArearclearance.jpg

I've only put about 50 miles on the bike like this. So far, I'm very happy with it. the BA's really quiet down the road buzz & make the rough sections of the canal path bearable. The fat contact patch is soooo much nicer on the slippery stuff. No complaints about the stopping power of the drums, and it's nice that wet doesn't affect them. I've got a 39 tooth chain-ring and 25 tooth cog on the hub. This gives a gear - inch range from the high 20's in first to the mid 90's in 8th. Low enough for me to get the trailer up the hills I need to, but with enough top end to still have some fun bombing down hills when I'm on my own. The one thing that has surprised me is how noisy the hub is. It doesn't bother me, but it is louder than I imagined it would be. The bike is definitely a bit heavier like this, but it doesn't seem to be affecting my travel times by much. My trip into town (which I would describe as having rolling hills) would take around 30 minutes before, and it takes about 30 minutes now. I hope the reliability of the hub won't be an issue like it has for others on the forums. So far, so good.

The last bit I need to change is the saddle. I'm leaning at getting a Brooks, but keep flip - flopping bewteen the b-17 and flyer. Any opinions?

If folks are interested, I can report back with more impressions after I've logged a 1000 miles or so.

Flitzer

Sorry I'm late with this reply, I haven't checked email recently. I purchased a Swift from Human Powered Machines last year. I am very pleased with the results. They are very helpful and could be the answer to your problem. Give them a call you will be pleased with the outcome.

rishio

Well everyone,

I did buy a swift a few days ago and it's simply amazing! I'll post photos and put more details on my swift in a little while. I'm still in the process of tweaking it to my liking.

I'd like to post one tip I discovered experimenting with folding the swift that I don't think anyone has mentioned. It's a bit tiring to lift the swift in it's folded position, but there is another way to fold the swift that allows you to roll it on both wheels and push it comfortably along!

To do this, you basically:

1. fold the swift part way till there is about an inch gap between the rear tire and the front tire with both tires in a perfectly straight line.
2. You then put a velcro band around the seat tube and top tube preventing the swift from unfolding from that position.
3. Put the seat post in place through the seat post clamp, but don't push it down all the way. Just push it down part way so that it doesn't touch the tire or the rear brake system.

Now you basically have a swift you can push around with one arm resting on the seat (which happens to result in a perfect height) and the other arm controlling the steering wheel. I think an elegant solution can be made in place of the velcro - I'll try to think of something but this intermediary fold should have been thought of in the design of the swift so that you can part-way fold it and push it instead of lifting it. The main reason I want part-way fold/push is so I can take it on the metro/train legally without the effort of carrying the folded bike.

pismocycleguy

I am just posting to move the Swift Thread up the food chain!

Paul Braithwait

This thread should not be on the third page! I managed to get out for a 25 mile ride the other afternoon so here is a picture. I'm currently changing the 'bars for a set of drops, I'll post some pics once it is complete.

lucille

Nice looking bike. Even the sheep seem to like it.

Paul Braithwait

Fitted a set of drop bars to my Swift this weekend and what a difference they have made. The bike feels like a much sportier mount and by running the brake cables under the bar tape, looks a lot cleaner. I'm cycling faster than I did; maybe a combination of a more aerodynamic position and agressive riding style. Looking forward to putting some more miles in over the next few days. I'm using an adjustable stem at the moment so I can fine tune my position. So far, so good!

itsmoot

I also like the extra hand positions offered by drops, as well as the ability to hunker down for better aerodynamics. I hope to someday use my Swift for real touring instead of just hotel-hopping.



Swift on Tour 1..jpg

junglism

wow great looking bikes guys!!
@Paul - what's that great little rotary gear shifter/changer you've got there?
@itsmoot - how hard was it to put the front derailleur on? and how did you get the brifters to work with the sram rear derailleur? i heard that the indexing was incompatible.. or did you change it?

@paul/itsmoot - i'd also read somewhere on this thread that to get the road-style brake levers to work with the brakes that are on the xootr, you'd need to use travel agents.. obviously that's not a problem for both of you guys?

Paul Braithwait

The rotory shifter is the standard SRAM twistgrip shifter that came with the bike. I have mounted it on a 'T' bar that has appeared in several of my previous postings on the Swift thread. It is available from www.sjscycles.co.uk under their accessories folder. It is designed to fit 1 1/8 stem risers and I have used it to hold lights and even a bar bag. It is the perfect diameter to house a twistgrip because that is what SJS Cycles originally designed it for. Mounting the gear shift near the stem riser is very handy but the length and angle of your stem will affect how easy it is to access the unit. The brake levers are Tektro RL 520 Aero V Brake levers which are designed to work with V brakes without the need to use travel agents.

jwlunt

Guys, my Xootr chain keeps jumping the front ring... normally when accelerating and changing up a gear. I'm no mechanic (no kidding), but the bike is well oiled and otherwise riding like a dream. I wondered if my chain was loosening (it's about a year old on a three year old Swift and has just done the London winter) so I pulled the back wheel back a little: no difference. The pesky chain jams itself between the ring and the chain guard with is messy and v annoying. I need to get this fixed in time for the Smithfield Nocturne! Any ideas from the mechanically superior?

Thanks!

Jonathan

jur

Yes I know the reason.

When you shift to a smaller cog in the back, a sideways wave is set up in the chain when it suddenly jumps to the next smaller cog. This sideways wave propagates to the front and is sometimes enough to make the chain climb on the teeth and off to the outside.

As the chain wears, it gains more sideways play and is able to propagate the wave better, so older chains suffer more.

The only effective cure is to arrest that wave before it gets to the chainring. Obviously a front derailer does the job well enough if adjusted properly.

A chain guard works if it is close enough to the chainring. My Birdy's chainguard was not mounted close enough for the job and it would still occasionally climb off. So for the Birdy, I mounted a flat chainguard as close as I could to the chainring without it scraping the chain when crosschaining. Since then I have never again had a front derailment. Sometimes when I shift I hear a "ting!" as the chain hits the chainguard and I think, "That's another chain drop saved."

So your solution is to see if you can reduce the spacing between th chainring and the guard as much as possible. If there are no spacers to be removed, you could have a go at gently bending the chainguard support prongs such that the guard ends up closer to the chain. This assumes the guard is aluminium. But work carefully as otherwise it ends up wobbling and it will be like a splinter in your mind.

On my Swift I mounted a little plastic tube around the chain to arrest the wave. I have seen other solutions in the form of a little bracket which holds a U-formed shape over the chain just before it reaches the chainring.

Changing to a bigger cog in the back is a much more gradual affair so does not result in a sudden sideways movement which sets up that wave.

Paul Braithwait

Just a brief update on the fitting of drop bars to my Swift. Actually, it's just a crafty way to keep the Swift thread on the front page! I have moved my bottle cage round to the front of the stem riser as I prefer the clean open look of the Swift frame. I did a 23 mile ride today using a KlickFix gadget that allows a bottle cage to clip in and out by the fitting of a bracket which simply screws to the bottle cage holes. A removable bottle cage is handy on a folding bike. I found that the cage rattled a bit so I have since replaced it with a Rixen/Kaul bottle bag that also clips into the KlickFix fitting. The bag is designed to fit behind the saddle but it works very well "up-front". Normal 500ml bottles sit completely inside it and taller bottles are held tight by a collar that can be tightened around the bottle's neck. Will post more news as and when I change something else!

itsmoot

As far as fitting a front derailleur, I ended up buying the clamp directly from Xootr. Expensive but hassle-free.

Concerning the road brake levers, I had no issues there since I'm also using road brakes. In fact I had to use road brakes due to the ISO 451 sized rims I'm using.

If I'm not mistaken the other fellow is using road levers designed for v-brakes, look like Dia Compe 287s to me. Tektro also makes a road brake lever for v-brakes, the RL520. I've used those on a cyclocross bike I built, they'vre very well done. Cane Creek also has some but they're supposedly just re-badged Tektros.

sqynt

I can't tell what "itsmoot" has done with the rear derailleur, but something was done. Either a replacement rear derailleur, or maybe a Shiftmate.

I took a slightly different approach, and swapped in low profile cantilever brakes for the V brakes, as well as an XT rear derailleur to replace the SRAM.

Epicyclist

@Paul -- What brand of drop bars are you using, and how do you like them? I have Nitto Noodle bars on my Swift, but your bars look like they have both the horizontal area behind the brake hoods of the Noodle, and ergo-bend drops -- best of both worlds, possibly.

Paul Braithwait

They are Ritchey Pro Logic road 'bars that I've had lying around for some time. At 46cm wide they give plenty of room up-front and a variety of hand grips. The extra width prevents the steering feeling twitchy. I've just ordered a Matching 80mm stem with a 30 degree angle to complete the unit.

Epicyclist

While we're on the topic of drop-bar conversions, here's mine, completed about a month ago:



I used a 46cm Nitto Noodle bar, Tektro V-brake drop bar levers, Shimano 9-speed bar-end shifters from Ebay, a new 11-32 9-speed cassette, and an old Shimano Deore LX rear derailleur I had.

Paul Braithwait

OK this is just an excuse to bring the Swift thread back to the top of the list! The photo's show a Rixen/Kaul bottle bag which I am now using on the front of my Swift. The bag comes with a bracket to attach it to the saddle rails but it also fits an R/K universal bracket which I've fitted to the stem riser.

The bag can be removed easily but is held secure for riding. In the front of the bottle compartment is a zippered pouch that is big enough to hold some energy bars or a camera/phone etc. I have even managed to squash a lightweight windproof jacket in there. Putting the bag on the front of the riser makes it difficult to have a drink while on the move but I don't tend to do that anyway. Most bottle sizes can be held in the bag without a problem.

At the other end of the bike I have a Topeak clip-on mudguard and the arm from the q/r bracket is the perfect place to mount a rear light. Hope this posting gives you some ideas for your Swift.

junglism

thanks for the great info Paul!!