The non-Brompton thread

[12boy]

I have a non folding mini velo (Mercier) and a Xootr Swift both with 20 inch wheels. The Xootr is silver, the Mercian orange. The minivelo are popular in Asian countries for urban commuting and the Xootr was designed for New York. And a pair of Bromptons. All three are stoutly built and work very well although my P line is my favorite. The Xootr and the Mercian especially have much shorter wheelbases and are twitchier than the Bromptons. Unfortunately I cannot get the Mercian picture to load

 

[Drago]

I like the Xootr. Is it as swift as the name suggests?

 

[tinywheels]

that xootr thing is a sexy looking beast

 

[StuAff]

Xootr ceased production of the Swift back in 2018. Peter Reich the designer had his own stock of frames for custom builds, not clear if he has any left. That's the bad news. The good news....
https://www.origamibicycles.com/shop/p/origami-swift In steel, like the first versions, with a few tweaks…
The earlier ones- and this one, hopefully- were very flexible in terms of what you could build it up as. Drops or flat bars, hub gear or derailleur, single/fixed…
Also, someone commissioned a Chinese factory to build a Ti one…

 

[All uphill]

I had a Tern with no mudguards or rack. It was brilliant, and I have great memories of riding it to the theatre in town where I volunteered. Fast and fun.

I sold it because I always needed to take a rucksack, which I hated.

I'm looking out now for an Orbea Katu to fill that gap.

 

[StuAff]

Further to the above, the Origami boss Paul has been contributing to a Bike Forums thread on the new Swift- sounds like it'll be just as adaptable. FD hanger brazed-on, 406 or 451 wheels…

 

[tinywheels]

at those prices I suspect its not gonna be very durable

 

[berlinonaut]

at those prices I suspect its not gonna be very durable

You could not be more wrong. The swift is a very clever minimalistic design. Components have been very basic but very robust until now and it is a very robust bike.

 

[Schwinnsta]

I have a non folding mini velo (Mercier) and a Xootr Swift both with 20 inch wheels. The Xootr is silver, the Mercian orange. The minivelo are popular in Asian countries for urban commuting and the Xootr was designed for New York. And a pair of Bromptons. All three are stoutly built and work very well although my P line is my favorite. The Xootr and the Mercian especially have much shorter wheelbases and are twitchier than the Bromptons. Unfortunately I cannot get the Mercian picture to load

My Xootr and Brompton both have about 41.5-inch wheelbase. I find the Brompton twitchier. I assume that is from front wheel mass and trail.

Early Xootrs had issues with the rear frames cracking at the chain stays. Xootr beefed up later ones. I think I have a later one. Every so often, I flip the bike to examine the bottom of the chain stays. As far as I know, Xootr replaces broken frames free of charge even now.

 

[tinywheels]

You could not be more wrong. The swift is a very clever minimalistic design. Components have been very basic but very robust until now and it is a very robust bike.

at 699 dollars I am still sceptical.

 

[Fastpedaller]

The Xootr looks pretty good (for the market it's aimed at?), A lower price but not as compact a fold as a Brompton, however probably ideal for fitting in a car boot. It has what appears to be a low-cost folding system, but it cannot collapse whilst being ridden, like some lower-cost bikes.
A good range of gears and using widely available standard parts.
As practical (the best description I can come up with) as the old Rudge Montague where the concentric seat tubes facilitate the fold.

 

[Drago]

at 699 dollars I am still sceptical.

My ID9 can currently be had for £422. With the exchange rates as they are that's a lot less than $699 ($514 at todays exchange rate.)

For that you get a hydroformed alloy frame with lifetime warranty, Tektro hydro stoppers, Sora, quality finishing kit, and the joint highest scoring folder road.cc ever tested.

I can quite believe that $699 can give a usable and decently made machine.

 

[dicko]

In 1963 I started my engineering apprenticeship and I needed to get to work so I decided to sell my kids bike and buy a Moulton cycle. I went to the towns cycle shop and I decided on the Moulton Standard. I couldn’t pay for it but HP was available for over 18s. Being 16 I asked Mum and Dad to guarantee the loan, they bought it for me and I paid 5/- a week back to them. Picture isn’t my Moulton (but same colour) but my diary shows the purchase.

 

[LardAbove]

Not A Brompton *prerequisite for this thread?

Kingpin FOLDER

Pimped to bu99ery, on BMX rims.

As a 20st 'lard monkey' my first worry/spanneri g focus = SPOKES [... lack of!]
I have built a 36sp BMX rim onto an Ebay SA, using 'butchers bike' thick spokes.

Bigger tyres are 'comfy/bouncy'... My pot-hole cushion really appreciates that give 🍅

Different...

LardAbove 🚴

 

[12boy]

Yes , on the Swift thread in BikeForums Folding there is a lot of info on Swifts and the almost bespoke Ti ones. A gent named James Black had a great series of posts on a steel one speed that put lust in my heart. That same Folding thread covers Piningis' new version. I only have an Al one but its frame is at least as robust as the 'Dale mtn bikes I have owned. In the same gearing my Bromptons are no slower than the Swift except on crap road surfaces as the bigger wheels and flatter tires help. Another advantage is they use standard bike parts and can be easily modified. They can be made to be onespeeds or fixies or have 2 chainrings and a derailleur which can provide a much greater gear inch spread than a Brompton. Although they don't fold as small or as fast as a Brompton they can be broken down a small shape by taking the stem, the seatpost off and undoing the hinge.