What attracted me to the Swift was its versatility. It can use any 1 1/8 handlebar/stem setup. It uses standard wheels, brakes chain rings etc, although the massive seat post is unique 34 mm and 600 grams. Has to be because that is what holds this bike together. The position is almost identical to my S Brompton. Another oddity with this bike is that one bolt in the pivot attaches the rear triangle to the top tube. By undoing this bolt and 5 QRs you can take off the handle bar stem, split it into 2 pieces, remove the seat post and the wheels. In that sense it is like a Moulton separable frame. I got this bike because it can do a number of things better than the Brompton and I am keeping the Brompton because it too can do things the Swift cannot. In terms of folding the Brompton becomes much smaller much more easily, and the front luggage block allows me to carry a lot of weight without affecting the handling. The Brompton is like a mini cargo bike in its load capacity. The Swift can take Big Apples or some studded tires that will allow for winter riding in conditions that I would find scary with the Brompton. The 8 speed derailleur has been flawless so far although I do not love the twist shifter which takes up too much space on the handle bars, so I am going to have to find a way to have a shifter and some nice Ergons with bull horns.
Both Bromptons and Swifts were created by single individuals who came up with unique ideas. Peter Reich and Jan Vander Tuin began developing the Swift about 20 years ago, and Andrew Richie is justly famous for his work.
The other similarity to Brompton is the ruggedness of its construction. It is essentially the same Swift that Xootr has sold for around 10 years but when reports of earlier ones having chain stay failure occurred they added 2 lbs to construction by beefing them up considerably. Kind of like Brompton's gradual process improving its product with incremental changes. The hinge bolt is easily replaced. Both bikes, of course, are so much fun to ride.
