rdp36

Really pleased with the Nano and BD's service and communication. I did need to drive 20 minutes to the UPS depot south of downtown to pick it up, but I was able to make a Costco run at the same time.

Bike was packed well. Front fork welding looks fine to me, I need to get a rack, lights, fenders, better pedals, water bottle cage. I enjoyed the assembly process, was easier than I imagined.

Dynocoaster 

Congrats, recommend rim tape, tighten cranks and other bolts. Check brake pad adjustment and adjust cables. check out the other thread for upgrades.

kabex

Can someone with the Nano compare cruise speed with a road bike?

IE. if you cruise on long flats @ 20mph on the road bike, how fast do you get on the nano? At "comfortable" but fast cruise speed.

monsterpile

I don't notice any difference in speed. I haven't confirmed this scientifically. My Shetland feels faster getting up to speed.

762x54

In comparison to a bike with 700c wheels: the Nano is geared lower, you'll want to go to at least a 54T chainring. You may want to change the cassette to one with an 11T top cog. The small wheels on the Nano spin up faster but loose momentum quicker when climbing. With the proper gearing you should go just as fast as a similar weight bike with 700c wheels.

BassNotBass

As other people have already mentioned when you buy 'direct' it's up to the owner to go over the bike from stem to stern and ensure that everything is kosher. I would go as far as suggesting that hubs and BB be disassembled, repacked and torqued to spec. It's been my experience that the majority of even new high end bikes come from the factory with over-torqued hubs and BBs (sometimes sparingly lubed) which will suffer premature bearing failure/scoring. I usually put in about 90 minutes into assembling and tuning a brand new bike before I put it out on the sales floor... that's one of the big differences between a department store and LBS bike.

james_swift

The bearings in the rear hub of my Nano were set too tight, while the cassette lockring was way too loose. Headset bearing were also set too tight. It's my assumption that the bearings are set on the high side from the factory to compensate for wear, but logic tells me that you only end up getting ground-up bearings and races in the end. Best practice is to assume that the person who put your bike together didn't know what they were doing, and you should just start from there. In defense of Bikesdirect, the assembly quality of my LBS-bought Dahon was really no different.

I'm going to do a bottom bracket tear-down this weekend to see how the threads were treated. I'm going to bet they are bone dry. I had a hell of a time removing a rusted bottom bracket from my fairly new Xootr Swift, and I don't want to go through that again with my Nano.

kabex

Wow, you're right. You'll only go as fast as 30kph @ 80rpm on the tallest gear.

54/11 and 90rpm hits ~39kph so that's high enough for flats. It's gonna be impossible to make a sprint on this thing heh, good to hear about the cruise speed though.

I'm thinking of buying one and using it for commuting etc but also some road rides, since I don't have a road bike atm(waiting to buy a good one, long time heh).

Also, I noticed you can get higher a range using just a single ring up front, with something like Apex:
34.7
29.3
25.4
22.4
20.1
18.2
16.6
15.2
13.6
11.9
Speed @ 80rpm @ kph. On the current gearing you max out at 30.4 and the lowest is 12 I think.

It would be awesome to convert it to apex!

kabex

Also, I guess I could just spend less and get the 54 tooth ring(can you just exchange it? No problem?) and some Microshift 8 speed brifters along with an 11-23 cassette... the 42-23 is probably enough for the steepest climbs. Since it's only 8 speeds you're not getting as many gears so going to 11-25 gives you big jumps.

762x54

The conversion to 54T is no problem but I wouldn't expect Bikes Direct to do it. You'll have to order a 54T and install it yourself or have a lbs install it. It is a simple bolt on but the front derailluer has to be repositioned and adjusted. Not a big task. You could go as large as 55T on the front but I'm not sure if the original derailluer would handle the 42-55 difference. You could run it with a single 55T front chainring,
no problem. Also you can convert to a 9 speed cassette if you change the shifter. I've got a set of 9 speed integrated levers and a 9 speed cassette I may try. I really like the "old school" frame mounted shifters,
however. At any rate the bike is a lot of fun to ride!

kabex

You think it's possible to remove the front derailleur and little ring and have it work ok?
IE. install 54/55 ring and remove little ring, front derailleur, left down-tube shifter.
You end up with this range: (@80rpm kph)
32.4
29.9
25.9
22.8
20.4
18.5
16.9
15.5
not bad at all, you don't even change the cassette.

Dynocoaster 

I removed the front derailleur and the smaller ring and installed a Shimano 52t. I also replaced the chain with an Sram. I like the 8 gears.

vik 

That is one sweet looking bike. Is that a current model? I can't find a link to the manufacturer's site?

762x54

kabex, it's very possible. There's a 54T, 130 bcd, chainring on Ebay for about $20.00. Good luck.

Dynocoaster 

It was a special deal https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ndsor+shetland

vik 

Just as well. I have a Bike Friday mini-velo!... My GF would probably see through my efforts to justify another small wheeled rig!...

Dynocoaster 

It looks like a Nano with black components. The Nano is only $299. Colors are black or orange. shipped. Ship it to my house and pick it up. I am just across the border in Lynden.

Dynocoaster 

Great deals on Bike Fridays Ebay store. https://stores.ebay.com/bikefridayweb...id=p4340.l2563

vik 

The proportions look different, but that could just be the angle of the photography. $299 is a great deal...

monsterpile

The Windsor Shetland is a aluminum frame and its quite different in overall frame dimensions (shorter overall, but taller head tube and seat tube) than the demo Nano's that were sent out in November. The Nano's BD is selling now are closer in dimensions to what my Shetland is. You will notice the sloping top tube on my Shetland is different and I would bet money that the headtube on the large sized yellow Shetland that is owned by a BF member is much longer than the current Large sized Nano. Both of us were disappointed that they didn't put Shetland decal on the bike. I mean how funny/awesome is that name for a mini velo? =)

subigo

Add me to the list of people who get non-stop flats. New rim tape has been ordered... I've had 5 flats this week alone. That's more than I've had on all my other bikes, combined over the past three years.

LudaCliff

I emailed BD about my fork as well as the seat stay holes. Matt at BD was very quick to reply back and offered to send me a new fork. However, he had only one orange 53cm mini-velo in-stock, but that fork has the same issues. If I wanted, he would be able to send me a black fork immediately instead. I replied back stating I preferred an orange fork and am willing to wait for their their next shipment. He said they are expecting a new shipment of mini-velos in about two weeks and to check back with him then so they can send out a replacement fork.

As for the seat stay holes, this was his reply:

"The holes under your seatstays are exhaust holes for the corrosive welding gases so that they don't stay trapped in the frame when it is being wleded. All of the Nanos have these holes and they are not a cause for concern."

So far Matt at BD has responded back very quickly and has been helpful to resolve any issues.

762x54

I cured my flat problem by carefully positioning the stock rim strip and adding two wraps of plastic electrial tape (Scotch 33+) to hold it in place. This kept me riding until Velox rim tape arrived.

martinus

Can someone please take a pic. with the top of saddle at 27" from center of bb. TIA.

james_swift

@ 27" saddle height (1/2" higher than my saddle height):