1398567

Hello All,

I am interested in a mini velo. I have a Brompton and Dahon uno. Both ride pretty well. I was wondering whether the Mercier is a good value. I am having a hard time finding any alternatives within this price range. Thoughts?

shrooms

You can get a used Cannondale Hooligan for a descent price. If you think Bromton and Dahon ride well you will be blown away with the quality of the ride of Hooligans.

chaadster

Also, speaking as a Nano owner, it is a piece of junk bike. You can get it riding decently by replacing everything and making it a $700 bike, but it's still a junk frame and fork.

Joe Remi

I'm not sure I would go THAT far, but yeah, someone who already owns a Brompton and a Dahon UNO won't be impressed.

mconlonx

Considering there are not many mini-velos in the USA, yes, they are good value for the money. But they are far from top of the line bikes.

tds101 

Products | Respect Cycles, Innovative bikes, for The Urban Environment.

fietsbob

Maybe the frame is OK and your size, you can take over from there if you wish , and change the parts to suit your desires..

chaadster

1 size, no gears, no cable stops, no braze-ons at all (not even for H2O) and 19.5 lbs? Hahahaha! No thanks!

tds101 

Nice of you to provide "information",... Especially considering the fact that this is actually a pretty solid minivelo.

chaadster

Oh? It's physically solid? Well at least it has something going for it, then!

Sorry to burt your feelings, but it's just such completely different bike for a completely different purpose from the Nano, I assumed you were joking.

Perhaps you could start a thread on that bike, and we could discuss its merits and demerits there?

1398567

I ordered the nano. I could not find another mini used or new for 299.00 w free ship and no tax. I hope it rides good enough.

DoubleDiamonDog

Not sure what the OP's purpose was, other than to acquire a minivelo, but he was seeking alternatives. Personally, I would rather have the Respect than the Mercier, but it look like he has decided on the Mercier.

chaadster

You've probably seen this tip in other Nano threads, but do go through and clean, lube, and readjust the wheel and headset bearings immediately. It's the consenus-- and my experience-- that doing so will greatly improve the feel of the bike.

Brakes are another weak spot in terms of performance, so better pads, if not caliper replacement, are probably in order. New tires are a biggie, too, and don't neglect to replace tubes and ditch the rubber rim strip for tape; lots of flats are commonly reported on new bikes, mysterious ones, suggesting low materials quality.

Listen, I'm not trying to get you down, just hoping to save you some frustration! Once sorted, the Nano is a fun bike, and I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine!

tds101 

No hurt feelings, just saying what I did, as it was another choice. Not everyone is up for the same ride. You may not like it, but others do. I'd make it a 3 speed coaster brake model.

As for creating a thread about it, I'm not interested right now,... I'm just glad I didn't order the nano.

MulliganVelo

FYI, I just joined the forum because I'm also seeking minivelo options after having ordered a Respect last year (6 months ago) and its still not shown up. Lots of runaround from the owner, constant "they'll be here next week"

Anyone that preordered the (supposed) latest edition is in the same boat so I'd say the Respect isn't an option at the moment.

I love the Hooligan, and maybe I'll end up searching for one of those, myself, but I wanted one mostly for tooling around in a busy downtown known for bike thieves so I didn't really want to invest that much... we'll see.

DoubleDiamonDog

Thanks for checking in Mulliganvelo.

Did you pay for the Respect bike already? Will they give you your $ back? I had the impression they were legit - have sold bikes in the past - but you make it sound like they are shadey.

MulliganVelo

Yes, I (and supposedly many others) paid for a preorder of the version 3 in Sept/Oct 2016 that (supposedly) sold out.
None of us have received the bikes but several people have messaged me on FB asking to confirm if I was also having problems (based on some of my posts to the Respect page). I've also reached out to others that have complained myself. It seems like the owner may be scrubbing negative comments from the page because there are little to no other comments at the moment.

The word I have received back from others is that the owner is indeed shady, and aggressive, and that I should cut bait and run... which I am trying to do. The owner, meanwhile, is trying to get me to hold out another week for the bike, but its been 5+ months and I've been told that the bikes were coming "next week" multiple times already, so...

The bikes may/may not have gotten held up in customs (what the owner is claiming), but also could be that he can't afford to pay the necessary fees and/or delivery costs. I don't really know whats going on, just that I don't have the bike i paid for last fall or a reasonable expectation of a date when I will get it.
I mean, its $350 so its not like I'm over here starving, but I just want to move on at this point.

I should have just sold another bike and got a Hooligan.
Kicking myself now.

tds101 

Ok, NOW I have a great reason to dislike the bike. If the company is this dishonest, I'd definitely pass on this. I'm sorry I'd suggested this now,...

MulliganVelo

Well, I wouldn't worry about suggesting it... everyone seems to like the bike, for the money, which is why I went for it myself. Trouble is, when its such a small operation if anything goes wrong (financial, delivery, etc) it ends up causing a big problem down the line. Doesn't help that we seem to be dealing with someone without a lot of business experience.

If I learned anything, its that preorders from anywhere that is not well known are not for me, and even then... a preorder implies something, right?

My only issue now is what to get instead?
Like I said, I like the Hooligan, but I also previously owned a Swobo Folsom which I loved EXCEPT for the aluminum frame. Really was wanting something steel framed.

I work in an old Vitorian building with a crazy steep and narrow staircase with a 90 degree twist to get up to my office, so the mini velo was the solution to make that easier. (Not into many, if any, of the folder designs out there... simply an aesthetic choice, personally).

So, sorry for the thread jack overall, but to get back on track... I guess I might be looking into the Mercier again myself, and just plan to hit up the thread with all the upgrade suggestions. Or just find s decent frame and start from there.
If I could find an Origin8 Bully that would probably be perfect.
I'm waiting to see how requesting my refund goes first, though, to be certain a bike doesn't just show up on my door miraculously.
This shouldn't be this hard, lol.

shrooms

There is an ended listing (not sold) of an Origin8 Bully on ebay. You can try to ask the seller if he still has it for sale.
Rare - Origin8 Bully Bike (mini velo) | eBay

mconlonx

$850 for a Bully?!? Dang, that's a very... adventurous... price point.

tds101 

$850? Lol!!! I'm not sure I'd be willing to spend that much on it.

MulliganVelo

yeah, I saw that but $850 is crazy talk, lol.

shrooms

The new bike used to be priced $400 in 2011. This idiot Shrooms thinks somebody would pay $850 for used one. :-)

MulliganVelo

So, I can't post links cause I'm not up to 10 posts yet, but if you go to Alibaba and type in "2015 hot sale chromoly 20" mini velo" You will see that you can buy old stock Respect bikes for $50-130 for 100 or more.
The exact bike, the logos are even blurred out in the picture.