Hi
bhkyte
I've followed your highly informative posts on Mezzo upgrading and thought you might be interested in my own thoughts on the matter.
I have a Mezzo d10 which I think is a fabulous bike.
However, size has become more of an issue for various reasons connected with travel, so I recently splashed out on a light-weight Brompton 6 speed. I can tell you my thoughts on a comparison between the two bikes later, but suffice it to say that it hasn't reduced my appreciation or use of the Mezzo.
With the exception of Ergon 2 grips (which I find a big improvement) I really haven't done much so far to the bike but after several holidays using it I now want to rethink the gears. One of the issues for me is that the 32 inch available with first gear is just not low enough for some of the hills I have needed to get up. So, I am thinking seriously about a hub gear and the Alfine seems to get a lot of good press. The new Alfine 11-speed looks like it might be perfect. Any thoughts on how this would work with the 56T chainring?
By the way, I read a lot of negative comments about the Mezzo luggage (more about a comparison with Brompton luggae later). My experience is that with the commuter bag (after removing the side panels) and a bar bag I have loads of space for everything I need for one week credit card touring. Also, with the panels back in, this is a very solid item. The fit via slots in the rear rack coupled to the seat post velcro fastener is very convenient and very secure. The bag itself is extremely robust-one day I forgot to tie the velcro fastener and the bag, containing my laptop, went bouncing down the road. Both survived in perfect nick!