Lalato

Yes, the only way to keep it together is bungie cord or velcro strap.

rhm

Fascinating! Could you please explain more fully how the twist grip shifters fit onto the bar; how do you get 'em on there, past the curve and all?

invisiblehand

The 09' should be narrower relative to the 08'. The big difference is that the 09' fold has the handlebar between the folded halves. It helps keep the front wheel under control when you roll the bike.

I have been tinkering with the Mini again. I decided that the extra extension and height with the Ahead stem was not worth the longer and worse fold. So I put on the old handlebar post from the 07 Mini and flipped the handlebars to get extra extension. Surprisingly, it works well. Roughly I get an extra 2-3 inches at the ends of the bar. With a little trial and error regarding placement of the brake levers, I was able to get a tight fold.

Someone else on the forum once mentioned how the 09 handlebar post seemed to be angled further forward than the 08 handlebar post. I looked at the pictures and agreed that it looked significant. Since increasing the reach on the Mini without interfering with the fold is a priority, I e-mailed Yan asking (1) whether this was indeed true and (2) "what is the new distance between the saddle and handlebar?"

Turns out that (1) is true. And here is Yan's response to (2):

"The effective top tube length is at the max insertion for the saddle, with the stem level with the saddle ( measured from middle of the stem ) to the back of the saddle.

The 2009 lower stem is further forward, however in 2008 we used a 45mm BMX upper stem to increase the top tube length. The 2009's effective top tube is 27.5"

So relative to the 08 model, the increase in reach is significant in my opinion. Unfortunately, in my case, Yan does not have any extra handlebar posts. However, flipping the handlebar on the 07 is at the very least acceptable. Although, I cannot fit any bar ends on the handlebars without interfering with the fold.

rhm

Yeah, that's what I did too; the lower handlebar gives more extension, thus more aerodynamic riding position. I've had it this way for several months now, but have not decided whether I prefer it this way or the other way. I'm definitely faster this way, but I'm not sure I'm more comfortable. I may change it back one of these days.

invisiblehand

Note that my handlebar is angled forward instead of upside down. That is, I rotated them 180 degrees in the horizontal plane.

BTW, RHM, you bought fenders here? How do the fenders mount on the rear wheel?

rhm

Ah, I see. I may have to try that.

I got mine from Sunrise, not Brands; and mine are silver in color, but I think they're just an earlier rendition of the same fender.

Installation is simple; there are eyelets on the dropouts (oddly, the rear ones are 6 mm, the size of brake brazeons &c rather than the more usual 5 mm eyelet size; the front eyelets are 5 mm), and there's a hole in the frame near the BB (this hole is not, as I recall, threaded). The fender is small enough that you don't need to attach it at the brake. If you want more attachment, you can still attach the fender to the frame at the top, where the suspension is; for a while I had a piece of foam rubber attached there, to dampen vibration, but it proved unnecessary.

There is a potential problem that the brake arms are a little short, and if the brake cable doesn't clear the fender, the fender interferes with the movement of the brake. With stock tires (1.5") this is not a problem, but on my front wheel, where I run a Big Apple tire, this space is so close that I changed the brakes to Tektro's with longer arms; but in the rear, where I run a smaller tire (currently a Marathon, but soon to be changed back to a Primo Comet) this has not been an issue.

superpants

thanks for the info and links for fenders.

does the bike roll easily while folded? do you raise the seat to push with?

invisiblehand

My experience is (1) yes -- I just tilt the bike a bike to the left such that it only rides on the front wheel -- and (2) yes.

invisiblehand

I'll take a few pictures for the Mini v3.0. Although I will have to seriously consider picking up the new handlebar post if it ever becomes available. It would be nice to have bar ends and a bar with a little bend towards the rider.

Interesting. I did eyeball the space between the top of the tire and the brake cable. I really like the Big Apples on the Mini. Fenders would make the bike complete.

superpants

when you guys are ordering, do you just order directly from downtube or are you buying it from a store? i was looking at the bike instructions page and it says to take it to a bike shop to have them inspect the bike. if i order directly and then do this, can that be an expensive check up? i ask cause i don't really bike maintenance and wasn't sure if it'd be hard to do on my own.

thanks

jur

This Mini handlepost leaning forward is a make or break issue to me. As is, my Mini does not have a compact fold with the 120mm long stem; infact it barely balances with the weight of the handlebar so far out. I don't fold that often ATM but that may change. I am now contemplating welding up my own. Just have to find a welder willing to tinker a bit.

invisiblehand

I ordered it directly from Yan. I also do all of my own work on bikes. Working on bikes is straightforward -- and I enjoy it -- but it isn't the right choice for everyone.

I believe that the tune-up is straightforward. It should not be too much.

Sammyboy

The minimum you should do is check the brakes and the shifting, but that's easy to do yourself (I'm working on a standard email for my customers to take them through it). Checking the hub and BB bearings, and adjusting if necessary, is trickier, but not crucial to do, IMO.

cocoa

I purchased 2 downtube mini's. Out of the box I had to take one to the bike shop to fix the shifter cable since it wasn't attached inside the shifter. $20 charge. I had a chance to ride them for a few miles the other day and noticed the other one has a problem in 7th gear. It seems like it is slipping or skipping into another lower gear. Yellow arrows are lined up, so I don't know the problem. I hope it's not something inside the sturmey archer. I really liked the concept of the folding mini but after having a few problems from the start I am feeling a little disappointed. I sent e-mails to downtube for advice but no reply so IF ANYONE HAS ANY TECHNICAL ADVICE IT WOULD BE APPRECIATED.

jur

Adjust the barrel on the shifter in steps of a quarter turn, each way, experimenting a bit. The 8sp SA hub is very sensitive to adjustment.

invisiblehand

What Jur said ... it should not take long to find that sweet spot. Once you find it, check the location of the yellow arrow relative to the guide marks and make note of the bias.

cocoa

Thanks for the advice! I still can't figure it out though. Maybe I should be clear that the problem is only in 7th gear. 7th gear feels like 1st gear except that it is slipping/skipping really bad and there is a grinding /clicking sound. Do you suggest that I try to make the adjustment while in 7th gear opposed to 4th. Also this doesn't seem to make much of a difference but is the locknut supposed to spin and tighten up against the barrel adjuster or the other vertical barrel?

invisiblehand

Yes ... I would make the adjustments in 7th gear until it works well and then test the other gears.

cocoa

OK, I think that may have worked. I looked at it again after my last post and turned the barrel just slightly while in 7th . I don't notice the skipping now. Didn't know it was so sensitive. I will take it for a ride later to be sure. Thanks for the help and suggestions.

invisiblehand

no problem ... I did the same for 6th gear.

SesameCrunch

Make sure you're not holding on to the grip shifter too tightly when you're riding. I've inadvertantly caused the skipping by having too much pressure on the grip shifter.

x136 

Okay, I finally got around to the stem modification I spoke of earlier. An hour or so of bench grinding and dremeling later, I had it whittled down:



...so that the stem would now swing down to nearly parallel with the stem-post, at least in theory:



However, in practice, the brake levers being so close together limits how far down the bars can swing:



(Of course, this wouldn't be an issue with the OEM bars or anything where the levers don't interfere.)

Even so, the bars now fold more compactly than if they were left to stick straight out:



And the whole thing, same as it was before:

x136 

Sorry, missed your post before.

The bars themselves are narrower at the end through the curve. If you take the little plastic spacer and the clamp off beforehand, the shifter will slide right on, and you can reattach the spacer and clamp once it's in place.

invisiblehand

Cool beans dude. Nice job.

jur

Heh heh beat ya.