rickybails

I did some tyre tests years ago, riding round my local velodrome with a variety of tyres and at different pressures. Fastest was kojaks, with 60psi the optimum pressure. That was a smooth tarmac track so on real roads a lower pressure may be better due to better bump absorption counteracting the higher rolling resistance.

I have since improved efficiency, comfort and rolling resistance considerably buy running them tubeless.

For the tubeless conversion I got 20" stans rims trips with stans sealant.

Tubeless takes away a lot of rolling resistance and also reduces flats. When you puncture the tyre the hole doesn't expand like a hole in a tube, the latex plugs the gap, you lose some air but you pump some more in and carry on riding. No need to repair further later.

Kojaks are ace. They don't last that long but the performance is worth it.

If you want a really puncture resistant tyre, second place in my tyre test was schwalbe marathon racer.

mlau

I'm surprised that you're finding the Swift slow!

In my experience, it has it's faults: biggish fold size, not that great to stick into/out of cars, occassionally tetchy derailleur holder. However, it is a very zippy and fast riding bike. It's not as fast as a dedicated roadbike, but is definitely comparable to a relatively fast hybrid bike in stock form.

I'm running Big Apples on mine. However, I've heard good stuff about the Schwalbe Kojaks and Marathons.

If you're still finding speed issues, try PMing Jur.
He's a pretty amazing Aussie, and one reason why I bought my Swift.

Rick Imby

I bought an 8 speed Xootry a few months ago. I was surprized at my time for a 20 mile loop I do also. Riding just average workout I was at 15 mph. With my 700c road bike and 25mm tires at 100psi I am around 17 mph average. In race mode the other day I posted 16.9 average on my nearly stock xootr 8 speed. I added some egonomic bar ends---outstanding change to my riding position-- and clipless pedals. I ride alone so the difference doesn't matter. It seems to be about one or two mile per hour slower. My 700c bike just sits now.

I will go to different tires set up with stan's tubeless but I am trying to find some really nice wheels to start with. I am sticking with the 406 size.

Funny how I really like my ---20 incher---

12boy

Can pretty much any tire be tubeless? I have Kenda Kwests and some BMX 2" tires for my swift, but I've read the flat protection for tubeless is very good, perhaps better than a tubed Marathon. Is all you need to do is replace the rim tape and perhaps the valve stem? I am assuming the Stan's sealant winds up being lighter than the inner tube.

PebbledChin

I found the same. The hub bearings were over-tight and the balls had lost all their case hardening and were grey and dull. The pedals were so tight that they cogged round. Owners might be unwittingly destroying their hubs and headset and pedals by riding with insufficient grease or overly-tight bearings from new.

Vanrex

I'm thinking ahead to when I might need spare parts; can anyone confirm that a 1 1/8" threaded headset is what's used on a Swift?

And just out of curiosity, are there other different/better risers currently available for a stock Swift?

12boy

One of the beauties of the Swift is you can put any kind of bars you like. You may have to get brake levers that work with V brakes unless you scrap the original brakes, though and find a shifter that will work with road bars. I wound up with ergo grips and cut down bar ends I twined with paracord and then shellacked. I hated the twist shifter because it took up too much room to use ergo grips and bar ends, so I took and old mtn bike shifter and filed down the stop inside to increase the movement, which, in turn, allowed me to friction shift the derailleur. I believe the headset is 1 1/8 and when it fails I will go with a sealed unit.

jur

Headset is 1-1/8" threaded.

There might be different stock risers meant for other bikes such as Bike Friday or the Pacific Cycles Reach, or the Airnimal; I had some made from titanium, and before that, used one from Bacchetta, and before that, made my own using 7075 aluminium tubing.

Vanrex

Hi Jur,

The risers shown in the thread about your Ti Swift look nice (along with the bikes). Do you know if they can be bought singly from Titan? And are they significantly lighter than a stock steel one?

Vanrex

I hear you about the grip shift and the short bar. I put a slightly longer straight bar on my Xootr before I took it all off and converted it to a single speed with a drop bar.

Rick Imby

Virtually any tire can be tubeless. Check out the Stans video on youtube. Normally you use 2 ounces of goop per tire. The lightest 20" 406 tubes from Kenda are just under 3 ounces in 1.75 width. The big rolling resistance difference with tubeless is you don't have the tube/tire friction as the tire flexes. You probably get better grip with the more supple tire system. In mountain bikes most the tubeless guys are running much lower tire pressure because you don't get pinch flats without a tube to pinch. They feel the lower pressure gives them much better traction.

The goop seals small punctures quite well in the contact area, not as well in sidewalls.

jur

Yes they are available from titan.

randomwon

For those of you that have changed the fork, is there a certain criteria that has to be met , I currently have the stock steel fork running 451s but want to upgrade to something a little lighter , will any of those generic ebay carbon forks do? Would the quick release clamp still work with these forks?

Bigcliff

Hi All. I am looking to customize my swift and looking for some much needed advice. I am a complete novice when it comes to fixing bikes (lazily I hand it to the local bike shop.....).

I have got two bikes at the moment.

A swift which i bought second hand and it set up as a fixie. The frame is about 2.5 years old from Peter. This was used on my local commutes.

A new zooter which is a gift and 8 speed. All standard kit.

I am moving to the middle east and want to take one and use it as a road bike to do some training.

I am not sure where to start. I know i want change the handle bars to bullhorn or drop. I also want to get a new saddle. Apart from that, I am unsure whether to stick with fixie or go with 8 speed - where i will be is very flat and I do love my fixie.

Any advice on some simple modifications to set up a a road bike for speed would be much appreciated.

Tall_Xootr

I also have a standard Xootr, though I added riser bars, an adjustable stem and a smaller chainring.

If you decide to go with drop handlebars I suggest you read this old but useful link. You will probably need to change your brake levers to ones with more travel or look at the other suggestions offered in the article.

alex wetmore's bicycle pages

Since this was written more drop bar brake levers that work with v-brakes may be available.

On my xootr I switched the grip shifter to a standard trigger shifter. I am pretty happy with it, but it is a bit larger than shimano's offering. You could do this or figure out where to place your existing shifter. Be careful since you cannot use Shimano shifters with Sram stuff.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/SRAM-X-4-...-Only/31976287

Lastly, before you make any purchases email Xootr and verify that the changes will work. I did and they responded quickly. It is a shame that they stopped selling this bicycle since they are really nice to deal with and I really like the bicycle.

Where I live is very hilly so I went really low with the gearing. Even if you are moving to a flat place there may be advantages of having 8 speeds over 1.

Good Luck,
Joseph

kingston 

@Bigcliff, take the fixie. Add some drop bars and Tektro RL520 levers that work with the v brakes. You may need to get a different riser and stem to get the fit right. I would also bring a few cogs and chainrings to dial in the gearing once I got there. I assume you have already put on a better saddle, wheelset and tires since you are running it fixed. Converting the 8 speed to drops will be a lot more complicated and expensive for little to no benefit on flat terrain. The only downside to a fixed gear is big hills. Since there aren't any where you're going that's a non-issue.

Bigcliff

Thanks @kingston! Much appreciated.

The tires are schwalbe marathon (i think) so may need to replace them as they are quite heavy. The saddle is quite old and needs replaced, but from reading up its very personal, so I guess I better go and sit on a few before buying. The wheelset is non standard - quando. The crankset is tracer. They were on it when I bought the bike second hand four years ago.

(Although it was a zootr frame, it cracked after 18 months and peter replaced the frame himself at cost price even though it was 2nd hand which was very decent of him - that is why the frame is a lot newer).

I will probably stick with the fixie although may need to explain why i am leaving the gift in storage!

12boy

I would probably go with the geared bike. It may be flat but headwinds might require a little drop in gear inches, and the stock top end with 1.5 tires is 88 gear inches or so. Keeping up with guys on 700 c bikes might be easier with higher gearing, if you wind up riding with other folks . Besides, should not take long to switch between fixed and geared. Switch chains and rear wheel and take off the shifter from the bars and off you go. If you leave the geared bike in storage and you want gears later it will be a lot more hassle than going the other way. Most of those who went fixed got a fixed or flipflop hub and had a wheel built up. You might be able to get a fixed cog on the Quando hub but I am not sure if that would require a wheel dish job or not.

Rick Imby

If when you are overseas you wander to other countries the 8speed may be a lot handier. I don't like singles but I also love the stock gearing on the Stock Swift.

Have fun in your new adventure.

Bigcliff

Thanks @12boy and @Rick Imby - that is certainly food for thought

totoandjj

Dear swift wizards,

Newbie question:

I have stripped my swift and built it back up with some new bits learning a lot as i go, mainly by all my mistakes. I'm nearly all there with the bike, its rides great, but yet one last wee problem.

For my riding i really need a gear range of 100-25ish gear inches, it's my only bike so needs to handle kid hauling and food shops plus commuting and trying to ride as fast as i can when it suits. So i'm running a double 60/44t upfront with shimano tiagra front mech not sure what model as got it 2nd hand, i think it is the FD-4700 B. At back have shimano 8 speed Acera HG41 mega range 11-34 cassette with Shimano XT M772 Shadow 9 Speed Rear Mech. Using Shimano Ultegra 6480 8sp bar end shifters set up as thumb shifters.

the problems:

1. Going into the lowest gear the derailleur rubs the back wheel. I think the rear mech is long cage, could this be the issue? and is 11-34 too big? would 11-32 be better? Or is the style of derailleur a problem? I also have set up with big apples on the wheels (probably switching to kojak's come summer time when i get some new wheels) so the rear wheel is back a bit to fit the tyre width so i added an extra chain link. 116 from 114. could that be an issue also? Chain is wippermann connex 8spd.

2. other issue (though i can prob live with it) is upfront it is super tight with the front derailleur and very close to rubbing the chain in some gears. Are there any front derailleurs that have more length on them or better shape to work with the bigger chain ring and funny angle? Would trigger shifters be better to use than bar end/thumb shifters?

Coming across this forum and thread has been incredible helpful and inspiring. Many thanks to all.

appreciate any advice.

happy riding!

fietsbob

a 'take a step back and rethink the drive train' is ...
The Hybrid IGH /cassette Hub wheels built around a Sram Or S-A rear hub, for your new rear wheel
then just have 1 chainring and No FD.
24 speed .. 8 speed cassette , Triple gear ranges in the rear Hub. instead of the crank.

27 (9x3) , etc.

12boy

I have 11/32 cogs and they work fine with the stock SRAM DR. If you don't need the extra low gears often and the FR continues to be an issue you can take it off and manually shift the chain from one chain ring to the other. I had this set up on my Brompton for climbing and although I am not using it now it worked like a charm. A side benefit is you lose a little weight from the FR and cable.

Joe Remi

I see two problems, both related to using newfangled Shimano stuff on a basic 8-speed drivetrain. If your Tiagra fd is 4700 series, that's a narrow 10-speed mech..you need 8-speed like Claris, or any old 7/8-speed derailer you can find on eBay.

I presume by your description that the cage on the rear derailer is actually rubbing the tire, not scraping spokes. This may be related to the Shadow design which tucks the rear derailer further back on mountain bikes to avoid catching debris. You should be able to fix this with a non-Shadow mech.

I love bar-end shifters..keep 'em if you like 'em.

totoandjj

thanks for the replies

IGH - i did actually test out a alfine 11 on another bike, great in many ways and kind of wish it worked for me but felt the drag and efficiency loss too much for how i want to ride a lot of the time. also ain't cheap even 2nd hand.

j remi- yes i think you right about the rear mech looks like it is in the design, i only went for it as ebay deal and liked that the gear cable didn't curl out at back. Thanks for clarifying FD specs. and yes bar ends are great love the simplicity.

with loosing front mech and shifting by hand, maybe a dumb question, how do you avoid potential chain drop? i know with a single chainring you can use a chain guide/guard to stop chain slipping off, that what i had on the bike originally. But would that also work ok with a double chainring? the guide/guard would need to be bigger to allow room to change over but that might then allow the chain to drop into lower chainring due to side waving?