The Swift Folder is a

folding bicycle A folding bicycle is a bicycle designed to fold into a compact form, facilitating transport and storage. When folded, the bikes can be more easily carried into buildings, on public transportation (facilitating mixed-mode commuting and bicycl ...

, designed by Peter Reich of Design Mobility Inc. of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, New York, in collaboration with Jan VanderTuin of the

Center for Appropriate Transport The Center for Appropriate Transport (CAT) is a non-profit community center dedicated to bicycles and alternative transport located in Eugene, Oregon, United States. CAT holds publicly funded educational workshops for teaching youth from ages 12 ...

in Eugene, Oregon. The Swift Folder is available from Design Mobility as a bare

frame A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction * Framing (co ...

for customers to build up themselves, or assembled into a complete bicycle to the customer's requirements. From 2004 to the end of 2016, a mass-market version of the bicycle was sold under license by

Xootr Xootr (pronounced "zoo-ter") is a manufacturer of folding kick scooters and was formerly a seller of folding bicycles. Xootr scooters are characterized by 180 mm wheels with aluminum hubs, and a hand brake for the front wheel (for the rear o ...

as the Xootr Swift, fully assembled to a standard specification, in single and 8-speed models.

Folding System

The Swift Folder design employs a vertical folding method, using the seat-post and a split seat-tube as the locking mechanism. To fold, the seat-post is released from the two parts of the seat-tube by their respective quick release clamps, then pulled up into the upper part of the seat-tube to unlock the frame. A pivot in the main frame tube then allows the rear triangle (comprising the seat-stays, chain-stays and the lower portion of the seat-tube) and rear wheel to swing down and forward under the main tube. The seat-post is then slid back down through the upper part of the seat-tube to lock the rear wheel in the folded position. To unfold, the seat-post is again pulled up to allow the rear triangle to swing back and up into the normal riding position. The seat-post is then slid down through the upper and lower parts of the seat-tube, locking the rear triangle and wheel into place. The Swift frame is simple and robust, and allows a quick fold, but when folded is not as compact as some other folding bicycle designs. The bottom bracket forms part of the folding rear triangle, and as a result the bottom bracket to rear fork-end distance remains constant throughout the fold. This keeps the chain tension constant, which is an advantage when the Swift frame is used in a fixed-gear, single speed, or

hub gear A hub gear, internal-gear hub, internally geared hub or just gear hub is a gear ratio changing system commonly used on bicycles that is implemented with planetary or epicyclic gears. The gears and lubricants are sealed within the shell of the ...

bicycle.

Construction

There are two Swift Folder

s, one is low-volume

Chromoly 41xx steel is a family of SAE steel grades, as specified by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Alloying elements include chromium and molybdenum, and as a result these materials are often informally referred to as chromoly steel (common var ...

manufacturing by Human Powered Machines of

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census ...

, which also makes work bikes and trailers; the other, manufactured in Taiwan from

TIG welded Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), also known as tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding, is an arc welding process that uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode to produce the weld. The weld area and electrode are protected from oxidation or other atmo ...

aluminium alloy with a "

chromoly 41xx steel is a family of SAE steel grades, as specified by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Alloying elements include chromium and molybdenum, and as a result these materials are often informally referred to as chromoly steel (common var ...

" steel fork, was marketed by

. The frame is generally built to common "industry-standard" sizes and threads, and can accommodate a wide variety of gear systems,

brakes A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction. Backgroun ...

and other components. The rear fork spacing can accommodate most standard road and mountain bike wheel-hubs. The Swift Folder is normally fitted with "20 inch" wheels. The standard

ISO 5775 ISO 5775 is an international standard for labeling the size of bicycle tires and rims. The system used was originally developed by the European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation (ETRTO). It is designed to make tire sizing consistent and clear. ...

wheel size is 406mm (traditionally known as 20x1 to 20x2.125), the same size used on most

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the earl ...

bicycles. A wide variety of wheels and tires are available in this size. The Swift Folder is also designed to work with 20 inch 451mm wheels. The linear pull brakes that come standard with the Swift will not work with 451s. The frame is designed to work with Caliper brakes with the larger wheels.

Reviews

Reviews of the Swift have generally been positive. The Swift has been praised for its responsive, comfortable ride, its stiff frame, its light weight, its low step-through height, and its use of standard as opposed to proprietary parts for the components. This includes the wheels, tires, handlebars, seat, shifter, brakes, chainring and cogset, all of which can easily be replaced. Reviews usually call out the large folded size and cumbersome folded shape as a disadvantage. It is sometimes also pointed out that the Swift doesn't stand when folded. There was some disagreement as to whether its price was high for the range, though commentary on that point tended to be muted as the price for the Xootr Swift was generally in line with mass market folding bikes. Given the generally positive reviews and the competitive price, it is likely that the large folded size was the sticky point for many buyers, as many more bicycles with higher pricetags and smaller sizes have been sold.

References

* A to B Magazine Feb/Mar 2001 * New York Magazine July 28, 1997

External links

Swift Folder home page.Human Powered Machines CroMoly Swift Folder page

{{Folding bicycles Folding bicycles