chaadster

tds101 

Well, the place I ordered it from (overstock.com) said they'll take it back if I decide I don't want it (Power 2000), and they'll pay for the return shipping. I'll decide what to do when it arrives,...the mudguards aren't a major priority with the type of riding I do. Some form of rear rack is,...seat stem mount perhaps? It can also accommodate an adjustable stem, and most likely Big Apple tires. I won't need to change the shifter on the handlebars with this one,...

I do appreciate the help nonetheless. Thanks my friend!!!

chaadster

Oh, good...after I read what I'd posted, it kind of sounded like I was shooting down your buy, but that's not what I intended, and I'm glad you didn't take it that way. I do think it's a cool looking bike, but I was just probing to see if you'd had another source of info other than what I could find from a cursory web search; there doesn't seem to be much written about them out there.

It's great that O will pay for return shipping; that was a no-brainer call, then! You'd have been wondering "what if" if you hadn't acted.

tds101 

I think when this gets here I'm going to keep this baby. I can even use P Clamps to attach a rack if the proper braze ons aren't there. This is a bike I'm DIEING to ride. Woot!!! I can't wait,...

NMBuff

So the 44T chainring I bought uses 1/8" spacing. Damn. I didn't know.

I put the old 42T chainring from the crankset that came with the bike. Damn. The ring is 114g. The 39T for the Tiagra was 34g and the 44T fixie sprocket is 84g. Damn, felt really heavy.

I'll get pictures tomorrow if I remember.

I'm thinking of buying sora sti shifters soon. Maybe next month. Haha.

chaadster

I was weighing things today, and threw the Nano on the scale: 11.92kg or 26.27lbs.

It's about what I was expecting, and I'm thinking that a few, easy upgrades-- like to handlebars and tires-- would get this pretty close to 25lbs. However, even with a nice set of wheels (e.g. Dahon Kinetix), a good bottom bracket and crank, and quality JIS headset, I think it's going to be tough to get to 22lbs without spending a mint. Might be fun to try, though!

mirfi

People trying to lose weight and that's cool, but I could lose 50 lbs and still be over 200.

:-)

Anyway,
I live in central Maryland and we salt the roads when there's snow or ice. After it melts, the salt is left over. Last week after a ride, the velo was covered in road salt. So I started researching fenders. Decided on the SKS B53 Fender Set forfolding/Recumbant Bike, 20-Inch on Amazon from Green Canyon. Solid stuff, good design, just don't think it's a good fit on the velo. (could just be me).

I have spent about 4 hours trying to get the back fenders to fit. note the picture.



Tire is original Kenda 406 20x1.50. Tire will not fit in the space between the clips that connect to the fenders. The clips are at the 1 o'clock position on the tire. To not rub I had to push/torque the fender away from the tire. The wire brackets are almost too short because I cut them to size before I put the tire on. oops. Also there are screws that set the clips to the fender, I will need to pre-drill before they go on.
Another piece that will not work is the bracket that attaches to the brake bolt (11 o'clock). No matter what I did, it rubbed, so I removed it. The only piece that fit easily and without major issues is the front one (at 9 o'clock), used the sheet metal snips to customize.

Right now it's 1 am and I'm tired of screwing with it. Maybe I'll try it on a ride tomorrow.

mirfi

I hope these pictures are clear enough.

mirfi

I did not like the fenders feeling insecure. So I fixed it. By removing it.


And putting on a rack I had sitting around. If I get around to the front fender I'll post.

chaadster

Mirfi, sorry I can't help with the fenders; did you scan back in the thread to see how others made them work?

I'm actually not bothering to lighten up the Nano; I could lose 30lbs myself and still be over 200, so I'm not sweating the bike weight, either!

mirfi

Chaadster, Good idea, I followed your advice and looked through the thread and got re-acquainted with all the cool upgrades, Thank you.

:-)

But no permanent fender upgrades.

:-(

On my fender install misadventure, while the fender was being pushed away from the tire at both ends. This pushed the middle of the fender real hard against the support where the rear brake attaches. So the sides of the fender got skewed. Duh.

To remedy it will need a thick spacer at the front attachment point and an "old school" 20 inch fender brace (found on ebay).

Will post again when re-attached.

Mirfi

badmother

Try playing with a fuel hose in the right size to find the lenght (distance from stay to fender) that works best. When you found that out you can decide what you want to use (for looks). I often just leave the hose as black is ok on bikes and the cumpressed hose works like a spring and is rattle free.

mirfi

Genius

mirfi

Hello, the SKS fender saga...I hope to test ride..

They are on, note the images


Front fender, I cut the SKS braces too short, used a 20" fender brace (Wald balloon tire, eBay, $2.50)


Back fender went on clean, used the spacer as suggested by badmother(Thank You!)


Note; the brace clips do not allow the fender to sit tight over the tires (20x1.50)


Lesson learned; fat tires require the fender to sit completely off of the tire.

I appreciate the advice and support.

Love this bike.

Mirfi

mirfi

I decided to upgrade the tires to get more speed. Purchased a pair of Kenda Kwest K193 20x1.5 High Pressure to replace the 'regular' Kendas. Going from 65 psi to 100 psi.

But had a problem taking off the old tires, (didn't have a problem last year when first purchased the bike). When people wrote of difficulties I thought it was just them, now I know. Maybe the year aged them on. Both of them were a real struggle, incredibly difficult. If I would have known, I never would have bought new ones. That bad. I broke THREE levers and pinched both tubes.

Just ordered a pack of four tubes ($17.99, free shipping) and metal levers.

Followup to follow.

Advice always appreciated,
Mirfi

dynaryder

What kind of levers? I've always had good luck with the wide Pedros plastics. For installation,I use one of these when things get difficult. Haven't pinched a tube with it yet.

mirfi

Not sure of the small carry set that snapped, the big one (Spin Doctor) was from a tool kit I got from performance bike. Surprised the big one broke.

thugpipe

hey does anybody know offhand the chainring BCD of the stock crank on the Nano?

Poguemahone

130.

thugpipe

Thanks!

mirfi

All,

Followup on the Kenda Kwest K193 20x1.5 High Pressure.

Well, it could be all in my head, but damn, I feel faster.

The ride is much stiffer and going downhill, even a slight decline, I got up to 28mph.
On the same ride, in hilly Baltimore city/county, I did 12 miles at an avg 12.9mph.

Note: I've not had a "road" bike in 30 years for the same reason I don't own a motorcycle, the lure of speed can be painful.

Kenda Kwest K193 20x1.5 High Pressure, I'm a believer.

Kevin
Baltimore

chaadster

Hey guys,

I wanted to resurrect this this thread to see if any mods have been going on. For my part, since my knee surgery about a year ago, I've gotten quite a lot stronger, and now need to make some gearing adjustments to the Nano.

I've been running the stock 12-25 cogset off a 54t front chainring, but I hit that combo just about every ride and find myself wanting more gearing on the low end. I'll probably go with a 11-21 8speed cassette and 60t chainring.

Since my old foto host is dead and my older pics gone, here's a current one:

anthonygeo

These bikes are so tempting, if I didn't have a folding bike I'd get one. More pics needed here!

thugpipe

I just threw a few parts on my mercier nano and gave it to my 15 year old niece, she seems to like it. I will get some pics of it.

I just added some parts to my Mini Velo pet project, my Origin8 Bully. the most recent additions are a Sram Rival crankset and a Paul chain keeper.



I love the cranks, way better than the creaky square taper ones I had before. this bike is a little longer wheelbase than the Nano and for me has a little bit better geometry.

anthonygeo

What tires are those? I love the cranks by the way, ill have to look them up for my folder.