You will probably have heard of Black Friday, when there are plenty of sales to be had. And to be fair, I didn’t have any intention what-so-ever of purchasing anything. Honest, I was only going to look at the specification for my current Swifty Zero on the Swifty website when I noticed a great big splash page.
BLACK FRIDAY SALE
UP TO 30% OFF
OFFER END 26/11/2018 23:00 GMT.
I was thinking of buying the electric kit anyway and wondered if that was in the sale. No, it wasn’t but there was a Swifty Zero-e reduced by £350 which was very tempting indeed. However, I like the Swifty Zero for the exercise and having one with an electric motor, well, felt like cheating somehow. Yes, perhaps when I retire I may justify one to myself but not today when I’m only 57 years old. I did swither for a while but decided to give it a miss in the end.
Then I noticed the Swifty Air, the off-road version, was in the sale, price reduced by £150. Now, that was even more tempting. I could have my present Swifty Zero set up entirely for road use and have the Swifty Air set up for off-road use. Accessories such as my Knog Blinder Road 400 lights and my Rixen and Kaul Vario Rack with it’s Altura Arran 16 litre pannier, could easily be switched between the two scooters, all I would need is another Klickfix Caddy Post Clamp for the Swifty Air.
So, the online order form was duly filled in and I now await, with much anticipation I might add, the arrival of a new stable-mate for my Swifty Zero. Hopefully, it should arrive early next week. Now, following the traditions of the silent screen.
“a few days later“
My Swifty Air has arrived, assembly is complete and easy as pie. No missing parts, everything working just fine, quick road test satisfactory. Move to the shed and time for a few small mods here and there.
First on the list was to swap the stock wheel set for a pair of Remerx Dragon Line 719 quick release wheels, fitted with Maxxis Hookworm tyres. The Swifty Air will be dedicated to off-road use, hence the chunkier tyres. Tyre sealant has already been installed in the inner tubes. Next a few small items, including a bell, a Klickfix Caddy Post Clamp to allow me to swap the Rixen and Kaul Vario Rack between the two scooters. Again, the two bolts were changed for slightly longer ones (See Load Carrying for more).
Next, I attached the two Knog Blinder Road 400 lights to the cross brace on the handlebars. As the diameter was 10 mm less than that of the Swifty Zero handlebars, I had to swap the rubber straps for shorter ones. I’ll need to pad out the diameter as changing the straps each time is a fiddle and I suspect they will eventually snap. The handlebar grips were swapped for a spare set of Ergon GP1 grips.
One small task remains to do. The handlebar height of the Swifty Air is about 40 mm less than that of the Swifty Zero and I find the difference quite noticeable. I’m sure there are good reasons for this but I just don’t feel comfortable having to lean forwards so much. The issue was solved by changing the handlebar stem for an Odyssey Summit BMX stem, giving me a rise of about 45 mm.
And that’s all for now. I have a set of mudguards to install, though there’s not much clearance with the Maxxis Hookworm tyres and I may not bother. I’ll have to think about that one. I also have a set of Magura HS33 hydraulic brakes which I was planning to install on the Swifty Zero but may use them on the Swifty Air instead. Another job for the future. Time to get a few miles on the Swifty Air under my belt first.
Copyright ©2020 Gary Buckham. All rights reserved.
