I have the S/M (dare i say smedium? LOL)and the wheelbase is 36" and the overall length is around 56". Both of ours are the Windsor aluminum frames and I was under the impression that they were going with the steel framed Merciers for this first run. I suppose our measurements will give you a basic idea of how big these little bikes are. If you want to ask the owners of the Mercier bikes some measurements they posted in this thread.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...er-Tires/page8

The monster cross for $600 is interesting also, but I certainly don't need one of those but if I was cutting down to just one bike I might have check to check one out.

I'm riding the Mercier Nano, S/M.

Been a long Winter here in S. ME, so I have not been putting much (any) milage on the poor beast. But I got stranded at the store Saturday and the bike was my sole transport home.

Roads are a mess up here. We are undergoing our annual Spring melt after a Winter with a lot of precipitation. Roads are ripped up, with potholes, frost heaves, cracks, and rocks pushing up from below. Sides of the roads are all gravel, sand, rotten leaves, and still enough snow and ice to make things interesting.

Not what I was hoping to test the Nano on for it's first commute voyage, but it's what I had...

I really like the bike. 19 mi commute to get used to it. The gearing, with a standard road double up front and not a particularly wide cassette out back is just about right with the 20"/451 wheels. I was concerned about the narrow tires at pressure, but the steel frame and probably length of seatpost necessary to fit pretty much made it a fairly comfy ride, even with typical Mud Season roads.

The small wheels especially are a hoot. They spin up so quick. But of course don't carry any momentum -- you'll coast up less hill on your approach, but once you kick in some power, you'll be delighted. Instant acceleration.

Bike was a bit twitchy and handling was interesting at first, but I soon got used to it and came to appreciate the light touch needed at the handlebars. Couple hills on my ride are real steep but short killers, so I stood to jam up them. A bit more care is needed on steering input when out of the saddle, but certainly doable. Also, I'm running a steerer extension to get the bars in even a semblance of reasonable height, so there was definitely more flex than wanted off the front.

One mishap. Commute home was at night, I haven't been bike commuting regularly recently, and this was of course a new bike. At one point, I went off road, thinking the dirt I was seeing was simply gravel on the roadway, not the shoulder with soft gravel over ice... Front washed out and *splat* down I went in the roadway. Dang. My fault for going off road, not sure I'd have stayed upright on my usual commuter running 26 x 1.25" tires, but might have had a bit more chance than the skinny 20"s on the bike. I'm taking responsibility for this and not blaming the bike at all.

Still excited about the bike. I recently came into possession of a Dura Ace 7400 8sp drivetrain that might go on it... Not particularly the correct tool for conditions the other night -- the next day I commuted in on my standard commuter, which has studded tires for the winter... Also not sure it's the right bike for my rural commute. I'll be checking it out in an urban setting when I'm down in Boston for the week, starting the 20th.

Anyone in Boston interested in taking a test spin on a Mercier Nano mini-Velo? I'll be down in Boston -- staying in Somerville; days in Allston -- Mar 20-26, PM me if you want to get out on it... or even buy it...

Brakes and shifting were adequate for what comes stock on the bike. I did swap out the stock handlebar w/ stem headtube shifters for bullhorns with bar ends. Love the new layout, with shifting at hand.

Got an e-mail response from BD a day earlier than I anticipated. I asked two questions:

Q1- What is the ETA on the mini's?
A= May/June

Q2- Max load limit?
A= "...see no reason to set a limit, but anything over 300#s may be an issue."

Did they mention a price for the Nano?

This tells me you are not really happy with the bike.

mconlonx,

is yours Alu or CroMo? I might be interested even though I am in Florida.

They have said in other threads they are determined to keep the price at or below $300 which is a pretty good deal if you a geared mini velo.

Missed the part where he mentioned 'steel', huh?

I will say that you won't ride CX with this bike, and standing out of the saddle with it fully loaded isn't something you should do for long periods of time. Climbing l'Alpe d'Huez? Maybe not (but I'd be curious to try Mt. Hamilton). For extended rough-road touring, you might want the production version with fat 406x40 tires on it. But it seems to do just fine with fairly aggressive suburban commuting with a set of panniers on it. It would definitely do well in an urban environment if the streets were in okay shape.

monsterpile mentioned the bars... I love that they aren't ergo-bend. They're the first non-ergo ones I've had and I like that the straight section at the bottom of the drops is longer (thus easier to grip) than the ergo bends on my other bikes.

I switched back from my Nashbar to the Shetland today. The hub adjustment made a pretty big difference. Here, I thought I was just slow, and it was grinding hubs all along. But that could happen to any bike and has nothing to do with the Shetland. The front and rear mudguards I added are goofy, and I hope I to find some proper 451 fenders soon.

The mini velo is quick and lively. Its more practical and comfortable transportation that than the BMX bikes kids ride and its not a folder, its a real bike.

Today I decided I would tackle the brakes and see if I could get their performance to be better. I rode in the rain last week so the surface of the rim was no longer an excuse. I wiped down the rims and the pads and went about adjusting the brakes and pads. After few miutes the braking is much more satisfactory. I am sure some nicer pads would make this even better. I'll order some next time I get some parts.

This bike has truely been a revelation in a couple ways. It fits pretty close to perfect (handlebars could maybe be a tad higher so I can more comfortably use the drops) and I have started to take the measurements from this bike and apply them to my other bikes to get them to fit. I had read about people that found these measurements and I guess all my tinkering around this winter and on the trainer has paid off. Its so nice to be able to easure a frame and know if its going to actually fit based on what I want to do with it. I tried dialing in a few bikes today, but I didn't get anything that felt as good as this bike, but I didn't have any of the bikes perfectly matched up. I'll try to do that over the next few weeks with a couple projects, but I am seriously considering buying another one of these. I just love getting on this one and riding around.

Ben I have been noticing the levers are really solid feeling as well. The feel nice and fat with a solid platform which I really like. Just to make sure I wasn't crazy and I measured and they are a tad bit wider than the other brake levers I have and I like that they are more squared off on the hoods. I think these from Bike Island are the same levers if you wanted to buy another pair. I might end up doing so if I end up really liking any of the drop bar mountain bike projects I am undertaking. I kinda like that I am now becoming picky abut what I like and don't like.

http://bikeisland.com/cgi-bin/BKTK_S...ls&ProdID=2044

With a stem riser, the bars can be raised to a normal riding position. My Big Shot mini velo has an extended head tube but its not enough to get it near my height and extending the stem solved the issue.

I just bought a stem riser off Ebay for another project I have. It looks like it will work great. I seems lie the 80's Peugeot bikes had that smaller 21.1 steer tube so there is limited options of stems etc for them, but its working out.

With the Windsor I am going to just ride it a bit longer and see if I want to change to a different drop bar and see if I want to change the reach slightly. Once I know a bit better what I want, a different stem will probably do the trick.

It's a hoot, would love to keep it. Reason I'll be in Boston is to take a bike framebuilding class -- not cheap, need cash, will be coming away from the class with a new commuter bike I expect I'll be totally thrilled to ride. Afraid it won't get the saddle time under me it deserves, or proper, helpful, longer term reportage here.

If only they made them for my V-brakes on my other commuter.

I don't have the fit 100% yet... it's close, but I need a little more time. I think I need to raise the bars a bit and get the seatpost to keep the seat in the right place (back to the max line) for more than a week or so. Also, the ride in some places on the commute is a little harsh. So I am switching back and forth between the Shetland and the Nashbar at random now.

26x1.5 tires feel like giant puppy paws on the road after a few days on 451x28s. :)

Multi-modal mini-Velo meander

Ok, put the bike and me through the wringer. Too much to do today, including dropping the car off for work, and getting to Allston.

Enter the mini-velo!

Thing goes in sideways across the back seat of a Mazda Protege5, no need to take off even the front wheel. Take it out at service station, ride 6 mi, get to the bus depot. I ask the driver if they will take a bike, and he says "if it fits."

C&J bus service from Portsmouth NH to South Station. Love the service, but they have a bikes are secondary policy -- if there's passengers with luggage enough, you and your bike can get bumped. In practice this rarely happens; tip the driver heavy if you bring a bike.

Removed pedals, rotated the bar down, removed front wheel. Fit easily in the space provided, with room to spare for luggage at the next stop.

South station, reassembled the bike and set off for Allston, probably another 6 mi.

Already the St. Paddy's day faux Irish drunks were rolling in...

Spent some time at Geekhouse bikes, then reversed the process: Allston to South Station, bus to Portsmouth, bike to Kittery, get the car, stuff the bike in the backseat.

Awesome day, warm and clear, just a perfect day to be out riding.

Have a seatpost rack and a trunk bag for carrying necessaries, and that was all I needed.

Size of the bike makes it perfect for carrying around without a fold. Fiddly, breaking it down, but lays pretty effectively flat. The way it fits in a car is amazing. Mid- of full-size car would swallow the thing behind the front seats, maybe even across the back area of a seven person vehicle.

Not the lightest bike to heft, but it's more centralized and manageable than a full size bike.

Ride on the 28-451 tires isn't as harsh as I thought it might be, but I was paying extra attention to avoid holes, big road irregularities, and really sandy shoulders.

Wicked fun bike, seemed more in its element in an urban setting. Easy and quick acceleration, quick steering, and small size add up to a bike that is very comfortable mixing it up with urban (Boston, St. Patrick'sDay...) traffic.

Again, this will be down in Boston next week if anyone wants to check it out, take it for a spin.

Does anyone know where I can get hold of a mini-velo in the UK? Ebay hasn't turned anything up, and google doesn't seem to have any helpful results. I've seen some 20" polo bikes that look to be suitable for conversion into a mini-velo, but again, those seem to only be on sale stateside. If there's no way to get the genuine thing over here, is there a UK supplier of polo bikes which might have a suitable bike for conversion?

I have been under the impression they were easier to find over there because you have more reason to use them because of space etc. Other than that I can't help, much, but I think you would get some good answer if you asked over in the folding bikes forum.

So here is the testing stage of my Miniish Velo. Its a mid 1980's Peugeot US Express mountain bike with 24 inch wheels. It rides pretty smooth and I am actually getting pretty excited about it. I am trying to decide what shifters to throw on it. With a stem extender I can pretty much get it where I want it to be for fit. I need ot dial it in some more, but its really coming together nicely.

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_2285.jpg

Here is a poor size comparison pic to the Windsor Shetland. The Peugoet has fairly long chainstays so that might mean its going to be my new commuter. I have to get it all set up first.

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_2286.jpg

OK, so, here is final reportage on the Mercier Nano, now officially looking to get rid of it.

Again, not particularly unhappy with the bike, just not the right tool for the job; as in, not the best bike* for my 38mi r/t rural commute...

...but fantastic in the city.

I was down in Boston for a framebuilding course through Geekhouse bikes. They are over in Allston, I was staying in Somerville, about a 2-3 mi commute depending on which route I took. Pretty flat, only a very few low, low hills and overpasses to deal with. But city traffic with Boston drivers... Roads are typical New England springtime city mess.

Friend I was staying with is a courier, and he encouraged me to bring my bike inside each night, a stairway, narrow corridor, and a couple of sharp turns from street to storage.

Great way to test out the mini-velo in an environment more suited to it's purpose in life. And in the city, it totally rocked, definitely in it's element.

The nimble steering and quick acceleration with the small wheels were more than worth the tradeoff of a slighly rougher ride over road irregularities. Steel frame and extended seatpost with 32 tires took the sting out of anything that would have rattled teeth on an aluminum racer with 23 tires pumped up to max. Easier to thread through traffic, with less overall length to deal with.

Morning or end of the day, again the centralized weight and compact size made maneuvering it around a tight apartment much easier. And at the end of the week, it went right into the back of our subcompact with a bunch of other gear, no problems, no issues.

This is a perfect style of bike for urban dwellers. Still not a multi-modal standout, without foldability, but does fit in a car, small apartment, or under a bus in luggage much easier than a full-size bike... without even taking the front wheel off. Also easier to find a slice of rack to lock up to.

Regarding the Mercier specifically, the parts are what you'd expect on a budget bike, but worked well enough to be invisible in use. The traditional double chainring with the 20" wheels and a med-range cassette was overkill in the city--you could easily do a 1x8 for flat, short distances--but is extremely useful if your adventures take you a bit farther than city limits. And this bike will encourage longer rides a bit more than perhaps a folder might.

Again, I really loved getting around the city on this bike. But I live in a much more rural area, and just built a custom commuter for 90% of the riding I do. Mercier Nano test is over for me, PM if interested in purchase.

Soma has a non-budget model

Yes; and they are on the water - with new 406rim; wider spacing; 20x1.5 stock tire; room for at least 20x1.75

I want people to try these bikes out; so I am doing a 'pre-sale' on them at $269
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/nano.htm

They should ship to customers by May 20th
and likely will sell out on pre-sale

Once we get more feedback; if the demand is there we can start more models with different options etc

I like fun new stuff

Sweet. I brought the Shetland back out this week... I swapped seats as it turns out the original was a little wide for me.

I love that the production models will have 406-40s. they will be easier to replace and ride better than the 451-28s on my Shetland.

... is there a retrofit kit available? ;)

I really want to buy an orange one, but I really want something with canti brakes so I should hold out for something like that hopefully you have the interst (besides me) to build some. I have the Silver Shetland and its still my favorite bike. I rode it to work today. These are such a good deal. Nice work if you have more configurations I might have too many of these little things to ride. =)

I posted in the other thread, but I'll just drop here the thought about a mini-velo tandem with low standover for family use (much like Bike Friday's tandem). That'd be fantastic for riding with kids and for easing the usual tandem storage/transport issues. Seems like a mini-velo tandem with the front wheel off would be about the same length as a 700c road bike (at least mine, at 6' tip to tail).

Oh, and BikesDirect: your site says "Geometry Sizing Coming soon" but then has an incorrect link later on for the aluminum Mercier frames (not these frames).

What? You have some of the mini's in stock- NOW?!? I thought they weren't going to be available until end of May or the beginning of June. Gonna have to go on a full fledged Ramen diet for a while...