Well My Citta came this week and I picked it up on Thursday and spent time assembling it. I haven't been this excited about a new bike in a while. I was in quite a hurry to get it together and test it out.

Here is a poor shot of the bike out of the box.



Assembly wasn't too bad except it took a bit to get the fenders lined up and installed. There are some random screws that I have no idea where they are supposed to go and it did not include screws to attach the front fenders so I used some twist ties for a temporary solution till I can make it to the hardware store. Its just a minor nuisance. Once I got everything together it was clear this bike was not really pretty much ready to go out of the box like alot of the bikes I have purchased online. The wheels need to be trued up and the hubs were tight and the Brakes needed plenty of adjusting. The gears ended up shifting perfectly. The Front hub was so tight it was difficult to get the thing loose. After finally doing so I did find a decent amount of grease in my hubs both front and back I trued up the wheels decently for now and here is the final product for the night.



All in all I was enormously pleased considering the price. There was some issues with the bike not being in perfect cosmetic shape from shipping, but I wasn't too concerned with it because it was $199 and I plan to use it as my go to commuter so who cares. =) Nothing was really awful, but my guess it that might be why this batch was cheap. IDK. Anyway i really liked the bike as I rode around the dark neighborhood. The seatpost had plenty of length for me and the bars were above the saddle which is nice. I think it looks funky in a good way and overall I think its a sweet looking bike.

The next day I rode it to work and it was quite nice. I decided that eh saddle wasn't for me although its not the worst thing in the world. It is not as responsive as my Windsor Shetland, but its a much shorter bike. In fact the Citta I couldn't get my cable lock through the frame and both wheels. I'll have to get a different lock or add something to my current lock configuration if I am worried about keeping both wheels safe. The chainstays are quite long over 17 inches. Its a nice stable comfy bike and should be great for my urban use.

Last evening I tried to put a rear rack on it and I just couldn't locate the right quick release skewer for the seatpost that would go through the contact points on my rack because the holes were smaller diameter than the bolt. I got it mocked up to try out some Panniers and there is plenty of room to avoid heal strike which is fantastic.

Today I took it out for a longer ride (my commuter is less than 8 miles round trip) and I went out on a nice 21 mile jaunt today. It performed great and was very enjoyable. I replaced the stock seat and saddle which made a big different in comfort and moved me farther back which is what I really like. Non-locking ergo bar grips on a revo-shift or gripshifting bike don't work out well. They rotate during the ride because you tend to move them as you twist to shift. Its not a big deal becasue I am going to do a dropbar conversation anyway. Here are some picks from my ride.










At this point I couldn't be more pleased with the bike. I'll be adding a rear rack and panniers and dropbars with brifters and cantis, but I think its going to be a heck of a bike for pretty cheap. It basically everything I wanted except I would like to be able to fit wider tires under those fenders. Maybe someday when there is an affordable minivelo monstercross I'll have to buy one of those, but I'll just enjoy this for now. =)

I like what you guys are doing to these bikes and $200!; it's a no brainer must buy.
I've recently come to appreciate the minivelo style and I'm surprised the US is so lacking in offerings compared to the East.
This should be the standard bike in NYC, SF, Seattle, and Chicago where traffic is tight and zipping between cars and quick acceleration is needed.

To make a rear rack fit I had to remove the fender completely and leave it off. The holes used for that are perfect for a rack. I would look into replacing the pedals as I upgraded those and it rides boat loads better.

I had the same issue. It seems like the stock fender uses the top holes which are better suited for the rack. I ended up mounting a different fender with longer stays so I could run rack and fender.

Your bike is coming along nicely, congrats. Seems like now we almost have enough for a gang/club. So, welcome to the club!

Lets see some pics of the rack.

Yeah there is 2 holes there, but with the fender than comes with the bike utilizing both holes one for the rack and one for the fender doesn't work out. The solution is pretty easy just use one hole for both. This tends to be what happens on alot of bikes I have set up with fenders and racks anyway. I haven't taken the time to mess around with my rack, but I'll get to it. Its an easy solution and if I have to I'll just roll down to a shop and get a used quick release for the seatpost. I should have something around here that will work.

Yeah we could have a nice little club going. I think all the bikes will end up with a different look which is fun. I probably won't have time to do the dropbar conversion till sometime in July after vacation. I'll probably throw the revo-shifters and v-brakes on an older mountain bike that needs refreshing before selling it. For grip type shifters I actually like them well enough.

First post.

I have been doing most of my riding on a downtube nova, a 20" 7sp folder. I'm looking for something faster but still fairly light and agile. My nova w lights and saddlebag is 25 pounds.

Have not been able to find the weight of this gazelle bike anywhere, anyone weigh it in?

Also, having never rode a minivelo I'm curious if it can keep up with full size road bikes.

thanks!

I haven't weighed mine, but I certainly didn't go for a lightweight build. Beefy rear wheel, adjustable stem, sprung saddle and a trekking bar. Here is a pic of my son with it. Who would have thought a fixie pilot would like this bike.

As far as speed, I do a regular group ride with it and have no trouble keeping up, but it is a pretty tame no drop ride that averages 15 to 16 mph. Gearing is always going to be an issue at the top end when running a 20" wheel, but for me it is fast enough for anything but steeper downhills.

Thanks, I emailed a few of the shops selling it for weight and the only answer I got was "about 30 pounds". Somewhat surprising considering the AL frame and smaller size.

What shops did you find selling these?!?

I'll bathroom-scale weigh mine tonight, I doubt it hits 30lbs but I scrapped all the janky parts.

It can, but you will likely have to rehack the gearing. The little wheels spin up quickly, though. And spin down. I'd rather take a big country ramble on the Eisentraut or Serotta. In city, I like the Nano fine.

I took my Nano on a club ride once and was hauling along in 52/12 and was just behind the leaders (about 18, I think-- not a fast ride). I've since rehacked it to a 54/11. Much better.

Ditto, 54t to an 11-34 megarange 7sp gives me everything needed. I can keep up with the roadies. For a couple blocks :-)

Great urban bike.

For gearing I am running a 53 - 39 with an 11-32 cassette.

I'll check the weight via my bathroom scale of mine back to stock except for the pedals becasue I never put the stock ones on my bike. My guess is its around 26-27 pounds which isn't that bad. If you have some decent stuff laying around you can drop the weight by replacing the stem, handlebars, seat, seatpost, tires with lighter higher quality items and it will save a noticeable amount of weight.

I have 2 mini-velo's now and I think you are going to keep up with alot of riders becasue unless they are riding pretty fast you will be able to keep up with them. Who averages over your top speed on one of these things? If you need some more speed find a used vintage road bike for a few bucks and enjoy keeping up with the guys on much more expensive bikes...its more the rider than the bike. =)

Like others have said this is a great urban bike I don't know what end would be better for riding around in town (for the price I paid and what I want it to do) once I get it setup the way I want it.

I didn't feel like swapping the seat and seatpost back to stock so I just weighted it how it was and it came in right at 25 lbs via the bathroom scale method. I swapped out the seatpost and seat put on cheap mini bmx pedals and added a cheap Bell headlight I had on another bike previously. So all in all maybe I cut a pound at the most off if that from stock. I didn't buy the bike because I thought it was going to be light, but a bike thats 25 pounds ain't bad for a commuter. The only bike I own that weighs less than 25 pounds is actually my mountain bike which is pretty hilarious. I'll be addign a bit of weight to it with a rear light a rear rack and Panniers so it will probably come in around 30 pounds although I'll probably be able to drop a little weight when I do the dropbar conversion.

I hated the pedals that came with the bike. Went to the local shop and they replaced the pedals with Bontrager Alloy ATB Pedals w/Clip/Strap https://www.zioncyclery.com/product/b...or-84005-1.htm /Reflector . They make the bike ride a lot faster. I took a few photos of my bike at Carthage College Kenosha Wi. https://plus.google.com/photos/11159...81680801444385 .

The bike is looking good. Thanks for sharing the pics.

Pedals do make a difference, I run SPDs on mine.

Thanks for the PM. I tried to respond but i don't have enough posts to do so!

A question, does the Gazelle only come in one size? I don't see sizes listed or any dimensions given for the bike.

Also, if somone wouldn't mind measuring, what is the top tube height from the ground, where it meets the seat tube?

Not sure, but I have only ever seen one size advertised.


25 3/4" at the center-line of the top tube where it meets the seat tube. My bike sits on Primo Comets 1.5" tires which are a bit taller than the stocks ones.

Thank you. I'm wondering if it would be comfortable for my wife (around 5'5") to get on/off by swinging her leg in front of her, like a step through... it'll probably still be a bit high for that.

Hey good Citta folks

Well - it was a fun ride while it lasted, but sadly - at the end of last year I discovered the (upper extension of the) seat tube had developed a fatigue crack almost entirely around it's circumference:


... but the good news, the fine folks at Roadbikeoutlet who had been selling them on eBay honored their warranty and sent along a replacement frame. So, now I'm working on cooking up Mk. II, with a even more improvements this time around. Unfortunately I just stumbled over this Dahon thread - pretty much the same story!!!

To that end, I'm using an XXXL-long post this time (the 470mm Nitto from Ben's), and now the post reaches to the uppermost white bands on the frame. Also I shortened the extended seat mast by about half, to accomodate solely the (more robust) dual-bolt RANS collar I'd previously used to retain the riser stem (of course, now I will probably break my face, having moved the q/r over to the headset stack...!).

So: check your frame. Maximize the amount of seatpost in your frame. And don't overload!

Thanks for posting this.

Mine is still fine, but I haven't been riding it much, giving preference to others in the stable.

Mine would be a good candidate to break if this is more than isolated issue, I use a long seat post because I require a lot of leg extension.

I will keep an eye on mine.

I wish you better luck with your new frame. Your plan to use a deeper seat post should relieve a lot of the stress in that area.

Commuted on daily for nearly 8 months, I thought the squeaking/clicking was coming from the Brooks saddle frame, or maybe just drivetrain woes. Surprise!

Is that a rear rack mounted on your seatpost?

Adams Trail-A-Bike. Don't think I'll be using this for towing again - maybe not the best idea...