The mini velo is a practical bike. If you live in a studio apartment, it can be tucked away in the corner without taking up a lot of space. And its fun to ride. Plus if you're a guy, its a guaranteed babe magnet! :D

Built and on the road!
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_iokkJRcpfRo/TS...110010948a.jpg

Sweet! How do you feel about it?

One thing I will add to my thoughts on my Windsor is that with a rack and cheap panniers on it if I take off the wheels I can easily put it in the trunk of our cars. So for a few more seconds of work than a folder I have a small geared bike thats lighter than a folder that easily fits in a trunk. I am very happy about that.

Coming from my 35lb steel monster to this was quite a shock. It might also be lighter than my BD/Motobecane Fantom CX. It's also been three years since I had my folder, so I spent the first block or three getting my balance back. I need to finish dialing the shifters/derailleurs in, but it was a very nice ride. I wish these shifters had a full-friction mode of some sort.

There's a chance of rain tomorrow, so I will likely go back to the blue beast.

My biggest questions now are when are these coming to market and what's the estimated cost?

I would think it wouldn't be too hard to find some friction shifters from an old downtube bike if thats what you wanted to do. I could be wrong though.

There is more conversation in this thread and comments from Bikes Direct. This page has some good info that I didn't quote.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...er-Tires/page7

"I hope so too; but factories are running slow this year; which I think is a pre price increase indictator. [2011 will probably see lots of price increases]

but we do have on order a good order of Mercier Nano mini-velos and I am determined to keep the price under $300
And we will offer it at a special deal to newsletter members; please sign up at http://www.bikesdirect.com/deals/

I hope this fun type of bike gets some at least some interest from early adopters; and then we can several varitions later. I can think of dozens of different specs on these bikes "

Other than wishing the shifters were full-friction (guess I am a retro-grouch that way) and maybe that 451x32 tires existed (but the 28s seem okay), I like the bike quite a bit. And it fits in my cube. :)

Mercer Nano fits in our Mazda Protege 5. Across the back seat. Without removing the front wheel.

what are the benefits of these bikes? Somebody mentioned easier storage earlier but from the pictures it's difficult to get a perspective of what the size really is. I'm not making a judgement but rather just wondering....the proportions look a little awkward.

The reason these bikes exist is size. I certainly didn't buy the bike because it saves size in my house, but some people might. I was talking to a couple this weekend that bike almost everywhere and they said their apartment is so tiny that they don't have room for a an extra set of wheels to mount studded tires on. Some people in apartments might find these easier to lug up and down the stairs. These would be great for people who do multi modal transport since they are smaller and one guy that has the yellow Windsor like that his fits in his cubical at work.

For me I just wanted to try one and I thought it might replace one of my folders which its it going to do just that. Its great to have a bike that fits like a regular bike, but is small enough to throw easily in the trunk if I want to have my wife pick me up somewhere or on a trip out of town I can easily put it in the trunk as well. Its a nice additional tool in my commuting bicycle toolbox. I think its pretty fun to ride and I look forward to getting it all set up the way I like it more over the next few weeks.


Here is a crappy pic of me with my bike to give you a bit of an idea of the size of it. Mine is the small/medium and I am about 5'10" I always blink when my picture is taken even if its the camera on a timer apparently LOL.

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_2164.jpg

monsterpile - thanks for the explanation - that makes sense. Your picture gives a good perspective as well. Thanks!

Proof:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_iokkJRcpfRo/TS...0111011057.jpg

Also proof that I need to clean my desk. :)

I now have proof you really like Yoo-hoo. Its cool that your Windsor matches. LOL I think some of us would be happy to have a desk that messy.

I've been outed! :lol: But both places on campus it was available don't exist anymore. :(

But yes, my Nashbar MTB frame commuter stuck about 6-8" out beyond the corner at far right and the CX bike slightly further than that, so the new bike is much more polite to my co-workers.

I am going to resurrect this thread like Dr. Frankenstein for a 500-mile report, as I have now been on the Shetland for 5 weeks, everything from commuting to whipping down the expressway to farting around town to trailer towing with the family.

Longest ride so far: 24km. Longest day on the bike so far: 41km. I haven't had the time to break that yet.

As shipped, the only weak point for the Windsor Shetland is the tires. These Kenda Kriteriums are pretty inferior. I have averaged one flat a week (not counting a couple from user error). I threw some Slime tire liners in yesterday to see if that helps, but after that, it's straight to some Primo Comet kevlar belted 451x28s. If the production bikes still have 451s, maybe Kenda Kwests or Primo Comets would be a better way to go. I'm not so sure about the BB (which, by the way, takes a 14mm socket to remove the cranks)... I might replace it with an SRAM unit I have laying around.

Everything else is excellent, though.
- I have no heel strike on the panniers unless I am wearing my slightly-too-large cycling sandals AND the panniers are full.
- The shifters are in a great spot, in spite of how they look to the uninitiated.
- The original seat is pretty good. I think I'll keep it.
- It fits on our Thule Hitching Post, but it makes the Honda Fit look huge. :) Haven't tried it in the back, though.
- It almost doesn't fit on the vertical hanging racks on light rail, it's so short.
- towing the trailer was a piece of cake... and I could do u-turns on the MUP with room to spare :)

Overall a very fun ride.

Thats a great report. I haven't been able to get out and ride because of the weather and I also hurt my back. The weather is warming up and I think I will be taking my mini pony out for some commuting rides this week. I would be excited to be riding just about anything outside at this point.

Crank-forward Mini from RANS:
http://www.ransbikes.com/Mini-N.htm

We redesigned Mercier Nano to use 406 wheels and a bit wider tires; They should be in around May.
If this catagory gets some interest; we will add more models and levels and options etc

I like these bikes; they are fun; but we are focusing on models with agressive pricing to start -- $299 delivered I thank is the sweet spot for mini-velo to get lots of opinion leaders to try them.

How big are the smaller sizes going to be? I'm thinking about saving up for one for my son, since he really wants to ride more with me, but I want to make sure he's going to be able to get a leg over it. What kind of standover are we talking about?

Dunno what the final design will look like, but the overall form factor will probably be something like a folder with 20" wheels that doesn't fold. Cannondale has their own called the Hooligan, and the mini from Big Shot Bikes has been mentioned by others before.

One word of caution:

451x28s + rain + rough railroad tracks that cross at a curve = bad combo. I had my first crash on the Shetland in the rain on monday. No damage to the bike, but I arrived at my wife's office for a V-day surprise with a card, flowers, and blood all over my leg. :)

Longest ride so far: 26km including the biff, most of it very urban. Loved cutting between pedestrians at SJSU. :)

Also, wheels-off, it fits behind the back seat of our '08 Fit. It might fit with one wheel off as stated elsewhere, except for the rack.

Very romantic, straight from the heart!

Great report.

I finally got my Shetland out last week and rode it a bit. I am trying to decide whether to stick with the road bars or with a moustachebar. This week I'll figure it out.

Thankfully, it's a county public health office. I had excellent care. :)

I also got an offer from a bike messenger to help them with flower deliveries in SJ next year.