3speedslow

xRyan

I am sure this type bike will make a great camp, trail machine for you. I am so glad I got one! I have Dahon folders I love as well but would feel better about taking this Nano on more rugged rides. I love what I have been able to change with my mini velo, it rode fine out of the box.

First pull, first ride. Components on the 3rd time around pleasant surprise.

53 size gives me at 32” standover good standover height.


Paint is superbe! Packing great.

mtuazon

How does it ride for you? And what's the max tire size you can fit on there?

3speedslow

Sorry for the reply delay. The ride feel fine in both fit and road responsiveness. I have 1.5 Schwalbe tires on right now and it handles great. Don’t plan on going larger as I am a lightweight at 135ish lbs.

i am 5’9” with reg length arms and longish legs so with a 110 stem and a 29” length between the BB and saddle top is a good fit. Saddle to bar length is about 21” or so

Hope this helps! Any more questions pls feel free to ask!

mtuazon

I've heard it's a bit twitchy from another user, but placing a rack or some weight upfront helped. Thanks for sharing!

What's the longest you've been on it, since I've also heard some people couldn't ride too long on a mini velo for whatever reason

3speedslow

Not twitchy but a quick steer. This you get used to very soon and it feels like a ride on one of your usual bikes. My rides so far go from 12-25 miles at a stretch or other days I use the Mercier all day. I am car free. At no time do I get off the bike and feel like I have worked harder to get places, nor do I feel as if it has beaten me up with its ride.

I am very pleased with this machine but I have extensively changed it out to suit me.

mtuazon

Man sounds good, I'm really leaning on getting this after selling a bike or two. Seems really fun.

Construction feels pretty good? My dream started after visiting Japan then also seeing Velo Orange's Neutrino. Just wasn't sure if I want to go disc or rim brakes

3speedslow

Construction is solid. I wish they offered the frame with a replaceable hanger and more colours but black was my first choice anyway. The joints are well done and paint smooth.

mtuazon

That's so interesting. I sent them an email last week asking if it was still replaceable and they said yes

xRyan

When you converted over to the schrader tubes did you upgrade to a bigger tire or do the big store off the shelf Bell tubes fit the stock wheel/tire?

I see them advertised as "Fits most 20" x 1.75" - 2.25" BMX and mountain bike tires"
I know the stocks are 1.5"

I'd like to make this change on my nanos just for the ease for finding the tubes, if they fit of course.

3speedslow

That is the front office not knowing what the factory is doing.

3speedslow

It would be easier to go schrader valve but my LBS orders 20” presto tubes all the times so will keep it that way.

xRyan

I defintly need to check with my LBS, but I have a feeling it's a no, 20" wheels aren't to popular around here other than child's bikes.

Hopefully I can get an answer on the Schraders

3speedslow

There are two types of hardware if you go schrader and still want to use presto. Remind me when I get back from the beach and sober up. I’ll snap pics.

xRyan

His and hers

We got these bad boys out to a local park and road a little over 17 miles of trails and we loved every minute of it!

As we were riding I came up with a list of needed upgrades.

first up i ordered us some soma high riser threadless stem adapters. Anyone use one before? Plenty of room for height adjustments lol.

Also I want to swap out our tires for something a little bigger and a little more aggressive. I saw some talk about 1.75 tires. I might go that route. I'm also wanting some color tires. I'm looking to build up some fun all terrain bikes and I'm not super worried about weight.

Definitely need to upgrade brake calipers, for some reason on both frames the front caliper wont hold tension. The bolt on the quick release seems to spin freely and wont get any tighter.

Welp that's all for now, I'd appreciate all and any advice and opinions, thanks!

mirfi

xRyan,

This bike is so adaptable and there is more than a few years of riders updating this thread.

Plus it is cute and easy to store.

Plenty, plenty, plenty of ideas.

Good luck, have fun

12boy

If you've read this whole thread, I am sure it's been mentioned, but you may want to check the bearings in your hubs and headset, since new ones were sold with a miniscule amount of low grade grease in the bearings. You may also check to see if the bottom bracket threads were greased as well. Bon voyage!

xRyan

Yep I've gone through the whole thread, lots of helpful info here . Wheel tape was the first out of box upgrade I did. I checked the headset bearings and they seemed to have a a good amount of grease. I attempted to get to the hub bearings but the axles were TIGHT. Perhaps I need to do some research on the subject, I havent messed with wheel hubs very much.

I will definitely go through the bikes again once my upgrades start arriving.

12boy

Hubs are best serviced with cone wrenches, usually sold in sets. I like to have to sets of 14, 15 17 and 17 mm wrenches. I don't use them for anything else as their narrowness means they are easily marred. I've found regular greasing and adjustment will extend the life of the cones and cups a long time, and if the cones get pitted it can be difficult to find replacement cones to fit. Same is true for headsets.

cadeluxe

I've been wanting this bike a for a little while now, but I made the mistake of finding this thread! I feel more confused than ever.

First, according to bikesdirect.com I should be at the upper end of a normal 56cm bicycle. Does this mean that 53cm of the Nano will be too small for me, despite what Bikesdirect says about Nano sizing? I know there are people on the thread that normally ride much larger bikes, and still manage to fit on a 53cm Nano, but that all seems to require buying longer seat posts and stems that need to be higher and stretched out further.

Regarding the checking of grease. I am not a bike mechanic. I know how to do basic stuff like adjust brakes and derailleurs. But I don't have the tools or the ability to take apart the headset, hubs, or bottom bracket to check for grease. Should this be an automatic no buy?

There is also a common complaint regarding the components used being the cheapest of the cheap and junk. Is this criticism about the weight of the component, the durability, smoothness, all of the above? I'm not a huge upgrader, so I'm ok with the components as long as they don't break. One thing I noticed is that everyone hates the stem on the nano. I kind of think it perfectly matches the Nano's overall aesthetic with its thin neck and oversized head.

I do want to change out the drop handlebar with an upright and swept back handlebar. Which leads me to my next question, can the brake levers be replaced with standard flat bar style brake levers? I thought I read something about pull length or something like that that might not make it compatible.

Thanks everyone!

mirfi

Get the bike. It is fine as is.

Most of us commenting are bike nerds (speaking for myself) with multiple bikes and an inclination to tinker.

That said, $299 is a relatively inexpensive bike nowadays and this Nano is a great platform for those who feel the need to upgrade or customize.

You will be happy with your purchase.

Read the posts where people are opening the box it came in, it's like Christmas morning.

noglider 

@cadeluxe, if you're not into heavy bike tinkering, it can work, but I advise you to be smart. It's an inexpensive bike, and I've dealt with many bikes like it. They need extra attention. I say either be ready to get into heavy tinkering or be ready to pay a mechanic. Either path will work fine.

cadeluxe

I have a Trek FX that I've finally come to terms with. I've realized that I hate it and just have no fun riding it. Hah. Yes, it's reliable and comfortable, but it's just blah.

From what I gathered from this thread the two main things I should be concerned with is rim tape to prevent flats from the spokes. Removing and reinstalling the tire will be difficult so I will order a tire bead jack. The second concern is the lack of grease in the wheel hubs, headset, and bottom bracket.

I emailed bikesdirect about the lack of bearing grease on the Nano. They replied that it was not an issue anymore. Not sure if I should believe this, but at the same time, it's not entirely unreasonable to think they decided to start greasing more generously based on 9 years of complaints about it. Can anyone confirm with the newest release of Nanos?

xRyan

Tires weren't as bad to remove as I was expecting. I used regular levers for the most part, but I ordered the jack as well so I tried it out. It does make the job easier

I can say forsure I had a decent amount of grease onmy headset bearings, I havent got to the point of checking hubs and bb threads


We have had a blast on these nanos so far

3speedslow

And now but tinker further, heck yes!

First rides
Out of the box with just a few adjustments( shifting, hub play)my 53cm Mercier was fine. No complaints about the parts except I changed the saddle for preference. It rode fine like that for awhile before I went into the bearings for regreasing. I ride a 56-58 sized full bike and the fit was okay, nothing extreme.

I really like my Nano!

cadeluxe

I just ordered a 53cm Orange Nano. I'm very excited! I also placed an order for 406 20inch presta tubes and some park tools double sided cone wrenches. This should be interesting.