Oof. Good way to check. Unfortunate that it's that far off. I wonder if you can add a shim or washer on the side that hits the headtube to create a little room?

Will they replace/refund it?
They REALLY should...

Add a washer?

I could try something like that but it would just disgust me every time I looked down at it. I’ll be sending it back.

The photo with the long bolts sticking out appears to show that one mount was brazed a degree or two away from square to the center line. Must be tricky to get that right.

Me, I get satisfaction out of correcting tiny, easily resolved problems like this one. I'd just disassemble the lever, clamp the barrel in a vise, and give the lever a couple of light taps with a hammer or use a metal tube (such as a seatpost) to bend it a bit. If your bike had been sold by a bike shop, chances are that that's what an experienced mechanic would have done during the assembly.

(Though I've known some anal-retentive mechanics who would have insisted on sending the bike back to Trek or whoever. One guy in a shop I managed insisted that a Marinoni frame we'd imported from the factory in Canada had been built out of alignment. I arranged to have it sent back to the factory on their dime. They checked it. It was perfect. They cancelled our account. Then I found out that that was the first frame that the mechanic had ever checked for alignment.)

But if you want to follow up with Bikes Direct, do an end run around the lower-level employees. The CEO is Mike Spratt (mikespratt@bikesdirect.com).

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I'd get satisfaction watching you easily resolve this with a few light taps with a hammer 😎

You misread what I typed. As I said, I'd disassemble the lever, stick it upright in a vise, and give it a few light taps with a hammer (or use a cheater pipe) to bend it outward a few degrees so that it would clear the frame when reassembled. A routine five-minute job, if that, for a skilled mechanic.

Missed this… Is this a new colour for the Mercier?

I think it’s been out for a few months now. I’ve been looking at these minis for years but I jumped when I saw this color. Looks good in person too

I just noticed they reduced the price of this bike to $400. Wow. They claim it's going up to $500 soon.

Um... They ALWAYS reduce the price, claiming it's going up. ;)

Bending the lever: It's thin fore/aft but thick and strong laterally, the way you would bend it. It would bend at the juncture of the lever paddle and the thinner disc part, and a) possible fracture, or b) possibly make the disc bent, and then it has problems with function. However, if easy to get a replacement matching lever, you could try it. Personally, BD should ship you a new bike and pay for return shipping on that one. Make sure they check same on replacement bike.

I bought 5 forged knives from a kitchen supply online. 4 out of 5 had a "cast" of the blade to the handle, to the right. I shipped those back and requested replacement, checking for that before shipping. New shipment, 3 out of 4 were bent same (exactly the same, so this was a process problem with the maker). I sent those 3 back and kept the 2 straight ones.

BD sent a replacement bike. Made a few changes. Waiting for some brake pads.
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Headset swap
 

Hey all! Just ordered the black Mercier Nano. Been looking through the thread thinking of mods and I was curious if anyone has found a suitable headset replacement that’s not a nightmare to install. Thanks!

Unless it is defective, the headset would be very low on my wish list for Nano upgrades. Replacing the stock tires would be at the top of my list.

appreciate the input! Thinking either maxxis hookworm, grifter, or DTH

I'm not real impressed with the chain line on the mini. Has anyone tried a 110mm or 108mm bottom bracket?

The stock double being too far outboard, or inboard? Specs online say 68x113mm, so my guess is too far outboard.

Specs online say 8-speed, I don't know if 130mm or 135mm OLD, but on my 130mm 7-speed (different bike), my 2X hollow spindle crank on 68mm specs 43.5mm chainline and that put it dead center with respect to the cassette.

I had no issues with the chain line on my Nano while using the double crankset. When I modified the bike to a 1X drive train I did go to a 108mm bottom bracket because the offset of the new crank was different.

I’ve noticed on mine I can’t back pedal in first gear without the chain jumping to 3rd gear. I want to move the crankset in and see what it looks like. I have a 110mm on the way I’m going to try it

While you are waiting for your 110mm bottom bracket you might want to make sure your rear derailleur is adjusted properly.

I did adjust the rear the front was good. Just had to set the limits and very minor tension on the rear. I don’t have any problems shifting gears. As I’m watching it pedaling backwards I don’t think the derailleur has any thing to do with it. It’s the chain line that pulls it out of 1st gear.

That is exactly correct. The rear derailleur can alter and correct for chainline when pedaling forward. Backwards, no.

I have a new BB 110mm but I’ve been lazy and the front shifts so good I haven’t put it on yet.

Instead I went down another rabbit hole. I wanted to swap out the cassette for a 11-28 so I got a Shimano HG 10 but it wasn’t machined correctly and would not shift into 8th gear. So I sent it back and got a no name 11-32. It worked ok but 4th gear had a clicking noise that I didn’t feel like putting up with so I sent that back and got another no name cassette. This one works good and to my surprise I can back pedal in 1st gear without the chain skipping to 3rd gear.😃 however the chain line looks straight in 6th gear so it could stand to be moved inward a few mm.
BTW this isn’t a rant. I do like the bike. it’s a decent wheelie bike. It’s fun and I fully expected to change things around. I enjoy doing it…I’ve messed with a lot of cassettes in my time but I’ve never seen anything like this🙂
Any recommendations on a good quality headset? Thanks

Does the bike take a headset of common dimensions?