titan2002

Hi community, I know I am very late to the game but I am looking for a 20" mini velo which is fun and is able to take on "fat" tires. Appreciate if anybody can show some pictures of your ride or give me some names to research. I'm located in sunny Singapore and I am intending to making this into a commute bike. My budget is not fantastic, maybe about SGD$400-$600 but might change depending on what the market norm is. Thanks in advance!

Sorry I am not able to post any pictures until I have at least 10 posts. However you may find the sample at "Post your mini velo" thread, the Orgin8 Bully mini velo with Maxxis Hookworms.

tdonline

Check out Orbea Katu. I have the 50 model which looks like they have discontinued (7 speed cassette) but they still have the 20 and 40. And it looks like the e-bike version is also gone. It's a nifty fun bike and super solid. Has 2.25 tires which to me is really wide. I'm actually thinking once the stock tires go, I may go a little narrower. The large front basket and fenders (the 50 didn't include the latter) make it commuter ready. Plus, you can add a rear rack for even more carrying capacity.

titan2002

Thanks for the recommendation, I did have a look and it's really nice. Singapore laws are quite strict on e-bikes thus the normal pedal version works out well. I think the front basket can be removed too. The bike looks really solid!

ttakata73

Coast Cycles also located in Spore had a very cool line of fat tired minivelos. Bet you could find one used eventually. https://www.coastcycles.com

Chester

I've got an Orbea Katu and like it a lot, but before anyone buys one, they should double-check the geometry specs. It's got 20" wheels but it's also got, compared to not only most mini velos, but also most race-geometry 700c bikes: a longer wheelbase, and the slacker heat tube and shorter fork rake make for longer trail steering.

It doesn't handle the way one would expect a mini velo to handle, and definitely doesn't fit into places where minis can fit. In the back of my car, I can fit a variety of mini velos after doing nothing more than taking the front wheel off. With the Katus, even if I take the front wheel and basket off, I can't fit it in the back of my car without partially folding down a seat.

It's sort of like a town cruiser/utility bike with 20" wheels. I use it for bringing one of my kids around on a seat mounted to a rear rack. It's perfect for that, because of the stability from its length and steering geometry.

tdonline

True, the Katu has a bigger footprint than my recently sold Dahon. I can't compare it any other mini-velo as the Katu is my first one. It's pretty long and it's one reason I posted questions about a rear rack--I have concerns about a 20' specific rack stays reaching the bolt points.

Chester

I'm not quite grokking what you're saying about your concern over a rear rack, but if it's helpful, I have some random rear rack (Blackburn, I think) mounted to my Katu, and it's just fine. Have a child seat mounted to the top of it and the chainstays are just long enough that I can pedal without heel strike, though I have to position my feet more forward on the pedals than I normally would. (Part of this has to do with the design of the Thule Yepp that I use, which has side skirts that come forward 1 to 2 inches further than they really need to, relative to where my kid's toes are.)

tdonline

Regular size racks shouldn't be a problem, true. I want a 20in wheel specific rack though and I was concerned the stays would not reach on the Katu. I tried putting my Dahon rack on the Katu and it wasn't even close to fitting at all. I was in contact with Racktime and it looks like their 20in rack should work.

tds101 

The Tern Cargo Rack will work, as it's height adjustable. I have it on my TernJoeP24, and it can work for a 20" wheeled folder.

fietsbob

this thread has been going on for a while.. https://www.bikeforums.net/folding-b...de-thread.html

Chester

Oh, I'm sorry, I think maybe I'm getting that you want one designed for 20" wheels...in that the rack deck would be lower and not much higher up than it needs to be. Is that right?

In case it's helpful here's a (not great) detail shot of the rack I have on my Katu. I think the location of the mounts on the seat stays are pretty high up and so if there is a rack with shorter rack stays, I think the parts that connect to the seat stays ("seat stay stays?") would need to angle upward...

Chester

Also, to OP, being in Singapore, I imagine you can get a lot of stuff that we can't get in the USA or even Europe.

Don't know if they sell these in Singapore, but Tern has, at least in Japan, a really funky 20" wheeled model called the AMP F1:
https://www.ternbicycles.com/jp/bikes/471/amp-f1

• 20" wheels.
• Shimano Altus 1x8 Drivetrain, Disc Brakes
• Downsloping top tube, seemingly to accommodate...a BMX riser handlebar.
• Comes stock with 1.95" wide tires, maybe can accommodate wider.

Looks like it'd be a blast to run around town on one of these.

tdonline

td101, I considered the Tern rack but its stays likely wouldn't work with the Katu. If you google the Katu and look closely, the seat stays are unusually high and far from the wheel.

Chester, I'm likely going with the 20in Racktime which has stays that angle up and down by 45 degrees. I put purchasing on hold because I was going to lose my job but I got a reprieve so bike stuff purchases are back on!

Chester

The Racktime Foldit? They seem to have technical drawings that'll help you qualify fit ahead of time. I think if you get the model for 20" wheels, the rack stays that connect to the seat stays might not be long enough. Maybe the 24" or 26" models will work, though, and still be lower than the 29"/700C model.

Definitely would be better if you can get weight lower to the ground. But, FWIW, when I have my kid on his seat loaded up, the bike rides great. Really stable, though still top-heavy enough that I can't leave him sitting in his seat without propping up the bike...i.e. can't have him seated with nothing but the kickstand supporting the bike. But doubt this would be possible with a lower 20" wheel size rack, unless I switched the kickstand to a two-legged model.

(Very sorry to hear about your job, and hope you get past this as quickly as you want.)

tdonline

Yes, the Foldit. I'll give the measurements another look before ordering. I have other questions about the Katu but will post them in that thread soon. Apologies to the OP for derailing the thread slightly. Agree with Chester, if you're in Singapore, you're likely to have more options than we do in the US when it comes to minivelos.

Close to losing my job but my bacon was saved...so good for now.

Chester

In case you might be able to find one in Singapore, OP, another bike that might be up your alley is the Cannondale Hooligan:

https://www.sefiles.net/images/libra...1-277950-1.jpg

It came stock with 1.5" wide tires. Disc brakes, so I'm guessing could go wider...especially with the front having a lefty fork.

Think Cannondale stopped making them a few years ago, but maybe if they were distributed in SP, you can find one used.

3speedslow

Mercier mini velo Nano, fun fun fun!

ternMY

Probably you should look into tern surge. fast and looks good

Klaw

Hooligans past 2015 can only support 1.8 max, I have hookworms on my 2016... barely. I think old ones pre-2010 can go 2.25, but think OP is thinking 3-4".

BromptonINrio

Wow, they look good indeed.
If only they where not snap-in-half tern!