cpg

Of course this is all theory as I haven't actually measured the diameter of the Mezzo stem. If its smaller than an A head steerer tube then it could be packed out with a spacer.

Good news. Just measured Mezzo stem and its 25.4mm or 1" diameter so a stem and tube of that size will drop straight in.

ccunlif1

Anyone know / have the width of Mezzo 2008 standard bars? got a few more options for the build and need this measurement to order some parts..
that will still allow the bike to fold. I only ask as I am awaiting delivery of the bike and am not being lazy!!! Thanks Guys

cpg

From end to end, my old Mezzo bars measure 57cm but I have no idea when the bike dates from, I dont think the bars have changed over the years. Hope that helps.

ccunlif1

CPG Thanks for your help.. well forget most of the posts I have already made as I now have the bike and can answer alot of the questions myself... but with it has come a whole set of new ones. I have parts; most of what I already own I can’t use so have ordered more suitable replacements. I am still going for the bull bars with brakes as bar ends but my main concern now is the gearing.

I wish to keep it as standard, as I don’t have the time or money at the moment to invest in a complete overhall, which may come and I won’t lie I have not even ridden the thing yet! It has 4 gears, a shimano nexus set up, see attached pictures. The bike appears to be an early model but the case to the grip shifter is damaged, cosmetic only and if anyone knows where to get a replacement please let me know.

With the bull bar set up I am looking to have I would like to change the gear selector that has to be independent of the brakes i.e. not a drop bar set up but with the gear ratio also it seems to be a bit specialised and not an easy fix

Any ideas would be interested to hear.. Cheers fellas

any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated

bhkyte

Hi I posted a longer response but it got lost.

Glad you are going to use your oversized bars. Seems a good combination with the 4 speed that will not work with brithers. You can cut down an old seatpost in 25.4 to make the bar to go in the stem and fit an oversized ahead stem with a shim.
Shimano used to offer a spares ordering service.
Wounder if you can mount the shifer inside the bars curve right close to the brake lever like I have on my bullbar brompton. Might need to change clamp.
Cqp would know this better. Else friction lever? Not great idea on a ihg.

Lastly left of centre idea

If you can get the nexus 4 speed shifer in a bar end sytle?
Fit one of your brake levers on the left and a standard road with a bar end shifter on the right hand side. This will fold compactly as the left is the difficult side to get a compact fold. Generally horizonal brakes fold much better on a mezzo, so it may not matter.

Then fit a front mech, and jokack tyres......
Looking forward to seeing this one.

cpg

The 4 speed shifter wont go round the bends on dropbars so probably wont work on bullhorns either. You could keep origonal bars and shifter but add dropbar ends and drop bar brake levers. Problem is that Nexus hubs pull a different amout of cable to derailliers so you are stuck with nexus shifters or make something. The 7 and 8 speed shifter are available in a thumb sifter which may go round the bends in drop bars. I have one like this on my hack road bike.




If each click on the 7 or 8 speed shifter pulls the same amount of cable as the 4 speed revo shifter then you could use the first 4 clicks and forget about the rest. Jtek do an end shifter buts not cheap.

ccunlif1

Well you guys were right (funny that), I bought some Charge Slice Bars
They are very good, 25.4's good size loved them, sadly none of the components I have bought work with them, the gear shifter or the bar ends so they are going to be returned!.

I have read through this forum a number of times now and I know where I need to be progressing.
1 - I need to sort the replacement gear lever out. I am going to look at a few different possibilities tomorrow and just give them a go, hopefully something will work!

The gear lever system will ultimately determine the rest... will keep you posted

bhkyte

Maybe you just need to consider another hub?
I bought a mezzo 4 speed for £45. So you should be able to find another mug like me to sell it to !

bhkyte

Re hub change.
Nexus and afline 8 hubs can be used with a "versa" brifter. Can't find price. That would be a hell of a bike with those carbon oversized bars you have.
Any one know the pull ration or mm cable movement for a nexus 4?

cpg

You can get adapters that push into the ends of drop handle bars that roto shifters mount onto but probably not well suited to bull bars. Agree, another hub might be better, even a 9 speed derailler would give a more usable bike. Check out if nexus/alfine hubs are compatible with standard shifters, I am sure that they are. SRAM also make 8 speed internal hubs, again check shifter compatibility. Comes down to budget but if you are a practical person consider building the wheel yourself and save some cash. There are guides on the net and good books on the subject. Good luck and have fun.

ccunlif1

Hey fellas thanks again for the support....Here is plan B

Will keep you posted, awaiting another 'surprise' part..but a long and dull blog from me about buying cheap and trying to go cheap!
But saving another bike from scrap

cpg

Good luck with the build, I am looking forward to seeing the result. I am guessing the surprise part is a hub or wheel salvaged from a broken bike, that seems to be the only thing missing from the photo.

ccunlif1

Sadly.. no mate ... feels like I let you down.. On a budget with no mechanical skill or tools as I am moving house and all my stuff is elsewhere!

cpg

Sorry I am being dim, are you fixing the Mezzo and saving it from being scrap?
There some drop bars in that photo, stick them on and fit the revo shifter on to the end of one of the drops. It might not be the most comfortable thing but easy to do and it gets the bike going then you can think about further upgrades if you like the bike and when you are in a better position to do the mods. I would also advise changing the cable outs, the friction on old ones can cause all sorts of problems on a folder especially shifting gears. Lined cable outers are the thing to go for.

ccunlif1

Sorry for the late reply, was going to leave the big unveil till I was finished! had to stop cause I got the wrong size cables on a few bits! I got drop bars cause the bull's as much as I love em with the gear problems was never gonna work! gotta work this weekend hopefully finished product by next week sometime!


Saved from the scarp heap?, I bought it off a mate for £100, put prob double that on parts, but it's been kinda fun, learnt alot!!!!! the more I read back on the posts u guys put in the more I decide I will finish this and plan the next one a bit more!

ccunlif1

Yup, another question.... Re drop bars brakes and cables... seen:

And a few others, nice work real clean looks sweet.

but I have seen that all the bars posted cables are not hidden under the bar tape, this because of the flex required when folding.
Only asking if you ran into problems if you tried it
Cheers again dudes...

bhkyte

My bars are made from drops turned on to their side and cut down (pic above). I usually turn drops upside down and then cut down to get homemade low profile type bars.
One problem with this is it puts the bars cable grove at the wrong angle.
The main reason for not going the under the tape route is to allow enough cable slack to fold.

My bars are also not very long so the cable would have a sharper turn to go downwards,more cable friction.

Its not perfect, but its works really well. Cables don't way in the way , and fold is about 3 inches larger. I ocassionly think about reducing this compromise. But I have another mezzo if space matters.

One of the problems I had with adding the dualdrive cable is that one folding the cable obstructed the seat post from going in once folded. The mezzo has a complexed cable route around the bb area due to the fold. I speak about this in the dualdrive mezzo thread. A few cable ties and generous cable lenght sort this out, but I found it quite a challenge as no one had done it before afaik. This should be less of an issue for a ihg. Is Its simplier when you know the pitfalls cqp?

Its often to good to try on thing at a time. I had my bike for quite a while with brifters,these bars, a 56 front cog, but just nine speed on slicks. It was a nice simple set up that was lighter and a lot cheaper. I did wounder after spending nearly £300 on the dualdrive rear wheel wether afew inches upgearing was worth it.

More modern str have both cables internal I believe. Sometimes best to stick to what you know will work. I knew dual drive would be ace on a mezzo as I had a upgraded mission space genie, downtube ns worked well with brifters and low profile bars, folded ok.
I added an ultergra hollow tech crank to downtube also and setvios.
I bought the mezzo intending to do pretty much all the mods I have done on other bike combined. Very happy with it as a folder that can keep up with roadies,(can beat them at junctions due to dd), and folds to a tiny package. I think the black bike looks great.

bhkyte

Now I just need to finish my gold mezzo, but you have inspired me to go for oversized bars.
I plan to cut down some carbon drops into full length low profiles. And fit an oversized ahead stem on a shim with adjustable stem changed to a qr.
I have seen the allen key replaced with a qr on these.

zebede

https://store.bikefriday.com/product_...ducts_id=13108

Could you use these bars with your IGH twist shifter?

bhkyte

I have some new oringin 8 bar ends I don't need. These are (same?) simular to cqp. They fit on to 25.4 flat bars to convert them to drops. They should fit a nexus shifter cqp??

If you are interested send me a pm.

cpg

Are they comedy bars? Looks the idea should work assuming the diameter of the handlebar matches the internal diameter of the twist shifter.

My drop bar ends are origin 8 and fit standard handlebars so would be ideal for an I4 with a twist grip shifter. You would simply have to move all the components on the handlebar inboard or cut the grips down (shorten them) to allow bar end to be fitted.

Bhkyte, I am looking forward to seeing the A head stem conversion, keep us posted.

antonyfhilliard

Tiny, easy upgrade: A front fender-extender mudflap to keep road spatter off the chainring / rear hinge.

Just cut a mudflap out of a old tire (I used a 1.5" slick), about 5" long. Chop the bead with Cable cutters, use regular heavy shears to cut the tread. Leave the mudflap full-width.

Then fix the mudflap to the front fender using the little Mezzo aluminum bumpstop on the back of the fender. Punch a small hole in the rubber, remove the allen screw holding the aluminum bumpstop, and replace it, clamping the mudflap in between.

If you left the tire full width, the mudflap should hold its shape well enough to not drag on the ground when being dollied.

Pics if anyone wants them - it's a pretty simple mod.

cpg

Great idea antonyfhillard, photos would be good. I did a simple mod on the rear mud guard with a cut up plastic bottle and double sided sticky tape, there seemed to be quite a bit of spray getting past the rear guard.

cpg

I did a bit of experimenting with an A head stem. It gave more forward reach which is what I was looking for, in fact too much so a short stem would be better. Steering was very responsive/twitchy due to the extra turning moment. Folding is very compromised. I think some kind of adjustable stem or an Andros stem is the way to go.

antonyfhilliard

I did a rear mudguard mod too, using a black plastic takeout container to cover the V-brake gap in the rear mudguard. Photos here!