Originally Posted by
3speedslow
cadeluxe
The Technomic is a great choice. The one I went with on mine. I could have stuck with the original but wanted the option the Nitto gave to lower or raise the stem as I wanted for fast or tour riding.
Nice bike work on your mini velo! How does the basket ride on that? Is it low enough to not cause a load weight problem?
I ended up ordering and installing the cheap Hiland stem. It seems ok except for the branding laser etched on. I like the more "aggressive" look of the technomic because of the angle of the stem, but it seems like the only sizes in stock are 50, 60, and 70mm. What bugged me most about the original stem was the tightening bolt was super recessed so the dust cap is sort of necessary.
The basket rides pretty well. I had the same basket installed to a front rack on my Trek FX. When I carried stuff in it, the steering definitely felt sluggish, floppy and heavy. With the basket loaded and installed low on the Nano, the steering feels like the trek fx without load on the front. I can see why many cargo bikes use a 20 inch wheel in the front with the rack mounted low. As far as installation, originally I mounted the daruma brackets closer to the front of the basket, but that made the rear corners of the basket super flexy because it was only being supported by the center T bracket bolted at the brake. I moved the daruma brackets closer to the middle and that distributed the entire weight of the basket and contents over to the two aluminum stays. There is still some flex, but it's more of a springy flex instead of the flex where it feels like it will permanently deform the metal.
The Tioga Powerblock 1.6 inch tires are super light compared to the stock Kendas. There's still a little bit more space on the sides of the tires. Maybe 1/2 inch from the chainstays. I'm not sure how close it is to the top of the fender though.
I finally was able to build up the courage to take apart the wheel hubs and check the grease. The hubs was slightly tight so it was nice to be able to adjust that. The rear freehub had grease spilling out, but when I actually looked inside there really wasn't much grease inside like everyone else has mentioned.
Next things I have to build up more courage to do is greasing bottom bracket threads and greasing headset.
This has been an overall pretty fun learning experience. One day I might be confident enough to rebuild a steel thrift store bike!