45+ psi might be too much, may be try 40 rear 35/38 front

Thanks, I'll give it a try. I usually have 60-65 psi on my non-aero rim commuter with 20" wheels.
It's a cheap minivelo that I just beat the crap out of it, hot pink color really deter theft.

I run 40/38psi with~80kg load (kid/shotgun/me) on some kenda 47-406

Suspension seatposts are lifesavers on these minivelo.

I pre-ordered a black 53cm Nano last week. I was going to do it a couple of years ago but hesitated and they sold out. I've ordered a few bikes from BikesDirect in the past 10 years but pre-ordering is a first for me. Now I just have to sit tight for a couple of months until it arrives.

I want the Nano updated to have enough space to fit 50mm tires. That is my basic criteria when considering bicycles with wheels smaller than 24".

Every time I visit stores for provisions, I bring my bicycle in with me. I often get questions from people wanting to know the details of the bicycle, such as brand and source. I'd love to recommend BikesDirect to them but, I won't until the Nano gets an update that accommodates 50mm tires. No disc brakes needed, V-brakes are fine!

Nanos are now in stock and shipping. Mine is scheduled for delivery Saturday.

Congrats, GRider!
I've no luck; they're not shipping to PR anymore...

Bummer. Do you have friends or family in the lower 48 who could forward it to you?

Nope, but thanks for the suggestion!

Geezy,

We need pictures.

Enjoy.

Okay, a couple of quick ones while I have it the trainer to check ergonomics. I received the Nano late Saturday afternoon and didn't get a chance to take it out of the box until after supper on Sunday.

The drive side seat stay had a couple of chips in the paint. Oddly, I think this happened BEFORE it went into the shipping box because the box was received in perfect condition. No perforations or gouges anywhere on the box which is also unusual. I also went through the usual process that most folks in this thread have experienced with bearing lubrication and adjustment, brake adjustment, rim tape, etc. so I won't bore you with that here.

I hope to take it for a shakedown ride later today but here it is in the trainer after my initial set up:

I made a few obvious changes which I'll discuss in a review after I've had a chance to ride it and perhaps make additional changes.

One thing did surprise me. There has been a lot of discussion here through the years about what tires will fit in the Nano frame. Upon unboxing, I found a LOT of room around the 20x1.50 tire shaped objects that came with the bike (more about that later) so I put on a pair of 20x1.75 (47-406) tires that I had taken off one of my folders. Here is the result:

and:

As you can see, there is still plenty of room for more rubber. If I had a burning desire, I could probably easily fit 20x1.95 tires on the bike. Although not pictured, there is also plenty of room at the front fork. I will probably stay with 1.75s on the stock rims because they are on the narrow side.

I'll try to get a more detailed review up later this week. Thanks for reading and all constructive criticism is welcome!

That looks a little iffy, to me. A larger tire probably needs twice as much extra vertical space as needed for each side. If the frameset accommodated V-brakes, there'd probably already be enough room for 50mm tires.

Valid point!

I just unpacked my black 53 cm version today. It came very well packaged and undamaged. So far, the frame appears pretty well put together. I’ll update with photos once I’ve done an initial assembly. Looking forward to hopping on the small wheel bandwagon!

To follow up, I continued the unwrapping today, and I am pleasantly shocked by how nicely packed and assembled the bike appears to be. Good cable tension, ferules in all the right places, true wheels, not a scratch to be found, and even a handlebar wrapping job that is far superior to that of my last new bicycle purchase, which came in at about 10x the cost. I was fully prepared to stick this in the stand and start upgrading before even completing basic assembly, but I'm going to try it out in its most humble state first. The stem is, at best, an inelegant assembly, but it will hold me up while I do some fitting and adjustment rides. This weekend should see initial assembly and adjustment.

Unpacked in the hallway

Getting scoped out by the bear...

"inelegant assembly" is a very tactful description of the stem but it does work and is far down the list of eventual upgrades for my Nano. What is your impression of the CST City tires that came with the bike?

Not sure if I had those tires 10 years ago, but remember they were certainly adequate. I only upgraded to the Kenda Kwest 100psi for the pursuit of speed.

And yes it helped, but is a hard ride.

I don't need the fastest tires available just a tire that will handle my 185 lb. weight and the varied surfaces I ride on. The paper thin 45 psi CST Citys just aren't my cup of tea. I'm thinking of ordering a pair of 47-406 Continental Ride Tours for the Nano. I have the 700c versions on my Panasonic and like them a lot.

Just got my black 53cm hoping to maybe cheat and get a pair of Maxxis Hookworms (1.9") on just to see how tight they'd be... and voila.



Had to force them past the brake pads, but otherwise plenty of clearance. So whoever wanted 50mm, there you go it's doable.

Speaking of which, having never used caliper brake pads, what size pads are these?

I find the variances size designations among different tire brands fascinating challenging to deal with. I took the rear wheel with a Chinese Chao Yang tire (47-406 20x1.95 size designation) off my Zizzo and it would not fit my Nano. The tire hit the brake bridge before I could get the axle in the drop outs. On the other hand, I just replaced the factory tires on my Nano with Continental Ride Tours also sized 47-406 but designated as 20x1.75 and they fit with about 1/4" clearance under the brake bridge.

I always knew tires varied in actual size between different brands but the amount of the differences is still surprising to me. It's all part of the fun of upgrading a bike. I guess that is why BD states that some but possibly not all 20x1.75 tires will fit. And 20x1.95? That is a real crap shoot.

Looks like BD has lowered the price on the Nano from $399 to $329.

After you have ridden it awhile you would do the bike a favor and upgrade the head set. What came on it is a cheap unit intended to meet a price point, not enhance performance.

indeed! A bathroom remodel and weekend away have taken up the past week, so I haven’t made the progress that I had intended. I will at least drop the fork and give the existing headset a repack.

Today was a beautiful day for a ride on the Nano. Decent ride of 22 miles and the bike performed flawlessly.