westgl

I finally had the time to ride the Downtube Mini B.

It is a very Nice riding bike, I thought that the 16" wheels were going to make the ride fairly harsh, Wrong! it was actually a comfortable ride, but this is over a pretty smooth road.

I imagine some Road irregularities may disrupt the 16" wheels and it may become a little more harsh, But i have Not experienced that yet on the one 2 mile ride I took it on..

I also have a fairly thick tie on gel seat top pad, on top of the Velo Plush seat that comes on the bike.

The bikes paint looks good overall, and No problems there, the paint color looks better in person, and almost looked kind of like a Candy color meaning a base coat underneath looks to be white, shines through a translucent green color on top, and a clear coat over that translucent coat.

Bike peddles well and is smooth, belt drive is nice, and smooth with some noise coming from the belt cog drive, that I expect to minimize once the bike is broken in some.

I like the Hub drive IGH, it is nice to be able to shift while at a stop, as riding on a two lane country road and having to pull off the road quickly do to a car behind you makes restarting from a quick unplanned stop very easy.

There is a difference between a cassette drive and a IGH drive that can be felt as far as efficiency but I could care less about that as I ride for exercise and dont mind, I would rather have the IGH because of the transportation is cleaner no exposed DIRTY chain, during transport in the car, and very compact on the IGH bike, no derailleur to get hit out of adjustment.

The Mini Belt, can accelerate nice and quickly.

I am 6'0" tall and 175-Lbs.

I almost wish i would have gotten the Mini B for me too, as it is pretty compact and to load in the car and travel with it is very nice.

The Mini B loads and fits in the back of my Scion IQ very nicely, i am wondering if 2 Mini B's could fit in the back of my Scion IQ?

I am Liking the Downtube Mini Belt drive IGH bike.

osco53

Interesting,,,good read.

Tanks

westgl

One thing I did not mention was the Brakes and shifting.

The Brakes the Tektro brakes stop the Mini quite well, but I noticed that, I believe it is the front left side the centering adjustment in relation to the spring return, I made adjustment and the spring would not stay On top of the screw head, it would push off of the screw head and to one side making the adjustment useless, Until i pushed the spring back on to the screw head I am not sure it will stay in that position, but will test it some, before i turn the bike over to my wife,

The spring rests against the small adjustment screw, seems like it does Not stay on the head of the screw very well, I may need to give that spring leg a slight bend in the opposite direction so that it will stay on top of the screw head.

But other wise the brakes stop the bike well, Brake levers are also nice quality, same as on the 9FS model.

Shifting: I really like the 8 speed IGH and the shift lever. Nice to be able to shift into a start off gear from a dead stop, that's something you Can't do with a rear derailleur.

westgl

I did have one small problem out of the box with the Downtube Mini B that I should Mention but have not yet.

The Hand Grips were split, right out of the Box.

I mentioned this to Yan at Downtube, he said he had them, but would have to find them, and would get me out some.

But, I have not heard a thing about it since, so I am not sure if it was forgotten, or taken care of.

Also i noticed on the main tube of the frame it says "Downtube" on one side of the frame, the other side says "Bike1.com" the bike1.com to me looks or reminds me of a more toy like, or for kids, where the Downtube looks more professional or more grownup, for Adults, this is the impression I had with the different name's on the frame, just my opinion though.

westgl

Rode the Mini B today,

Funny, the tires are nice and grippy, but there is enough torque in 1st gear from a stop with a very slight amount of fine sand as it is on some sections of the road, I am able to peddle and produce enough torque to break the rear tire's traction loose and spin the rear tire.

I have noticed i can do that on the 9FS to, for about a 1/4 wheel revolution or so.

westgl

I downloaded Runtastic Roadbike for smart phones android.

It times your run, provides timing per mile, or less than mile, top speed, average speed, calories burned, and keeps a history of your riding.

I had a top speed on the Mini of 16 mph in the 3-4 rides that I have been on it.