NortonH

Ordered my Nano! Been wanting this bike since it came out. I’ve had a bunch of small and strange bikes over the years and I’m stoked to see these back in stock and at the lower price again. Not many things going down in price lately. I was really on the fence with sizing being 5’7 with a 29ish inseam but I went for the 48cm. Spent a lot of time on small weird bikes so I’m good with twitchy.

Going to try a MTB riser with quill adapter from the parts bin, 20x2 Schwalbe Billy Bonkers, larger Tektro calipers I can pull from the Motobecane Nomade mini, Origin 8 155mm cranks that were meant for my SS mini velo. Can’t live without a front rack, hoping the Sunlite QR-TEC Adjustable Front Rack will work with some bending and cutting. Lots of good info on here over the last ten years. Definitely going to do gorilla tape rim strips first thing, check all the spots that need grease, and pickup a bead jack. Small bikes big fun!

mirfi

Congrats,

Anything you want to do with this bike is probably been done. From making it fast, to making it a 'Shopper'.

Have fun.

GeezyRider 

Enjoy your new Nano and let us know how those tires work out for you.

NortonH

Got the bike- my first ever brand new bike. Took a couple hours to set up, most of that time spent prying the stock tires off. Yelling at it seemed to loosen them up easier, could’ve been the hot water soak in the garage sink too. One spoke on the rear is bent near the rim and both wheels are a bit out of true but rideable. Added grease to headset and hubs, they weren’t dry like others have said but the grease was pretty minimal. Adjusted the hubs, ended up on the looser side and need to redo it but doesn’t feel crunchy like before. Added gorilla tape rim strips, Fizik seat and Raceface platforms.

Did a 5 mile ride with a loaded frame bag off my other mini velo. Probably should’ve gone with a higher PSI tire. The Billy Bonkers only go to 65 and there was some noticeable squish when climbing up a couple short hills. Got about 1/8” of vertical clearance from the
rear bridge and a bit more on the fork. Couldn’t resist the tan sidewalls though and Marathon Racers/Big Apples aren’t in stock anywhere local.
Has a nice cushier ride compared to my Sillgey Piccolo SS on 451’s and 1.125” Tioga Power blocks. The brakes are terrible, had to Fred Flinstone it down a steep hill that drops into the bike path. I have other pads but going to try sanding the stock ones down first.

Is there a way to change the rear shifter to friction? Or recco for friction replacement? I have a set of Suntour power stem shifters I could try but prefer the HT mounts.

GeezyRider 

The rear shifter on the Nano is SIS only. Something like this won't break the bank and will work:https://www.ebay.com/itm/40363043860...cAAOSwHzhibB1d

Others have commented that they find the brakes lacking. I think they work just fine and could throw me over the handlebars if I'm not careful. I am however, using a flat bar with flat bar road bike levers and that could be why they are more efficient.

cat0020

The shorter wheelbase is likely the contributing factor of sensitivity to brakes.
The Mercier seems to have 35-55mm shorter wheelbase than the other mini velos that I have experience with; likely have much quicker handling than I'm used to.

Alexbaker67

You can say that again regarding the tightness of those stock CST tires... I can't remember the last time I had such difficulty removing a clincher. After replacing the rubber bands with proper Velox rim tape, I installed a set of Panaracer 406 BMX tires that seem much more supple. They were certainly easier to mount!

NortonH

I got a flat yesterday and the Billy Bonkers folders went on and off without a problem. Glad I grabbed the only 20” presta tube I could find last week before I got the bike in the mail. Those Panaracers look sweet, there’s a whole bunch of BMX tan walls I didn’t see before I got the Bonkers.

Had LBS check and straighten the rear derailleur and now it’s shifting smooth. Done 45 miles in the last few days and the bike rips. So much fun and spins up quick. Put Kool Stops on the front but still weak on brake power. The frame bag is in the way of the HT shifters and I’m thinking about STI. Are there ones to look for that work better with long reach brakes?

eephotog

I'll agree on the brakes being terrible. Even if I adjust them to get maximum leverage from the levers, I get a ton of flex in the caliper.

Any suggestions on replacement calipers? I was considering the tektro r559, but wasn't sure about clearance for 2" tires.

Speaking of which, I'm torn between grabbing the big apples in 50-406 vs the continental contact urban

Nyah

Until BikesDirect comes to its senses and adds V-brake mounts, you might be able to make do with a bracket that adds V-brake mounts. I last had one of these like 20yrs ago. Don't know what is available now.

eephotog

I've got the r559 brakes and some new tires on the way, went with the continental contact urban in 42mm. Hopefully I'll have room for fenders with that combo.

Anyway, I'll post some photos when everything turns up.

Klaw

Mercier BMX Rodeo Clown cycle

eephotog

So, I can confirm that 20x2.0 big apples fit with the stock brakes, but with very little vertical clearance in the rear, something like 2mm. Plenty of side clearance, and front is ok on both.

I've got photos, but not enough posts to post them.

ynggrsshppr

I can't believe this thread is still going and they're still making these! I've had mine for over 10 years now and the only upgrades so far are to the brake pads (Kool-Stop), rim tape (Zefal), crankset (Claris 50/34t) and BB (BB-ES25). I remember the stock brake pads not having any stopping power and the crankset had really poor crank puller threads.

New owners should take time to take apart the bike and grease the parts. I'd look at the hubs (poorly adjusted out of the factory) and bottom bracket (mine didn't have any grease at all, it was almost impossible to remove from the frame). The headset is probably worth examining too.

jfouellette

Goes to show that there is an interest in minivelo bikes. I’m surprised of how little product offering is available in North America. Asia and Europe have access to many minivelos.

mirfi

Goes to show that there is an interest in minivelo bikes. I’m surprised of how little product offering is available in North America. Asia and Europe have access to many minivelos.

Few random thoughts; (with sarcasm)

True, I've lamented that no one sells an equivalent bike to the Raleigh Shopper of the 70's. And certainly not in an adult European size. And when someone gets a cheap undersized, asian folder with the horrible gearing, they are turned off for ever to the small wheels.

In the US, we judge on appearance, not functionality. I still think the most useful small wheeled bikes are the Euro folders of the 70's. My East German MIFA just rides so nice. But nobody wants to be seen on 'clown bike'. They'd much rather buy a Walmart Beach Cruiser that gets ridden twice then stored away until the tires go flat.
sad.

Also, in the US, we drive our bikes to a flat rail trail, so we need a full sized mountain bike with triple chainrings.

And note:I've transformed mine into a "shopper"




A gallon of milk, dozen eggs and whatever else I need. And BTW, I flip up the pedals and walk the bike through the store.

Peace.

heytchap

I'm super interested in one of these bikes. I'm 5'9", maybe 5'10" on a good day. I feel a bit in-between sizes despite potentially matching for the 53cm better (which I around my usual frame size anyway...) Has anyone here around my height opted for the smaller 48cm instead? 48 seems like it would be more fun.

ynggrsshppr

I agree, I love small bikes so this makes me a bit disappointed. I thought the introduction of the Nano back then meant the advent of the mini-velo market in the US, but NOPE. Bikesdirect is basically selling the same exact bike over a decade later.

After rediscovering this thread I went ahead and bought some new STI conversion upgrades I've always had my eyes on since I dislike taking my hands off the handlebars to shift (my bike handling skills are terrible, especially on a twitchy bike like this one). However, I will say the stock shifters are amazingly low maintenance. I haven't really had to adjust much of anything.

- Claris ST-R2000 shifters
- Claris FD-R2000-B front derailleur
- Claris RD-R2000-SS rear derailleur
- Jagwire Pro brake and shift housing/cable kits

Unfortunately I can't get matching brake calipers since long reach calipers seem to be a dying breed.

ynggrsshppr

I'm 5'7" and I feel like I could be a bit taller and my 48cm would still fit, but YMMV.

heytchap

do you live in SoCal by chance?

ynggrsshppr

New York. Would be a good idea to take a test ride from a local member.

heytchap

that's the hope!

in the meantime, I made this bootleg mini out of an old purefix frame (51cm), a set of 24" wheels off a kids BMX, and some other assorted bits & bobs I had laying around.
This is my local grocery // errand getter and I honestly love it.






Given that I have this bike, though, Im not 100% sure I "need" a more purpose-built mini velo but I do keep thinking about one.... Im not sure if the experience will be meaningfully different.

ynggrsshppr

That looks quite decent already! You did a good job with the build. The Nano is my second bike and my first was a 50lb Huffy with dual suspension and barely working shifters, so it was certainly a worthwhile upgrade for me.

syncro87

My Nano arrived, so I’m now a mini velo rider. For a couple of years, I would look at Bikes Direct but the Nano was always sold out. The other day, I saw it was in stock out of the blue, so I hit the order button. 53 size. I chose black because I figured it would be easier to touch up any paint damage versus trying to match the orange. Turned out to be a good choice, as the bike arrived with a number of paint chips on one of the stays. I’ve also put a couple of chips into it while working on it, as the paint seems to be of fairly terrible quality, but you can’t expect much from a $300 el cheapo bike.

Mods so far: my LBS had an 8 speed 11-32 Microshift cassette in stock, so I picked that up. I’m used to my 1x gravel bikes with 11 speeds, STI shifters, and wide range cassettes, so I found that constantly reaching for a down tube shifter was getting a bit tiresome. I have a pair of Microshift 8 speed brifters on order. A silly expenditure for this bike, but you only live once, and not the first time I’ve thrown good money after bad. I’ve got a pair of Big Apple tires coming, and if fit is a problem I can use those on another bike. Planning on putting the Octane colored Brooks C17 on, and maybe some funky loud blue bar tape to create a black/blue theme. Considering going to a single 50t narrow wide ring up front. Ordered the Velo Orange 1” headset.

I greased the headset and hubs. Need to figure out something for better brakes, but my LBS mechanic suggested waiting to see if the brifters I ordered improve things at all before spending any money on other brake upgrades. The stock brakes work, but aren’t particularly great, and I’ll probably at least put some decent pads on.

Anyway, glad to have found this thread. Admittedly, with all the nickel and dime parts upgrades added up, I probably should have just ordered a Polygon Zeta, but tinkering is fun and educational.

edit. Not always fun. I now see why some bike mechanics don’t like working on Wally World bikes (like the Nano). Tried replacing the bottom bracket with a Shimano today. Despite numerous painstakingly careful attempts, I could not get the thing to thread. There is some minute difference in the OE BB threads and the BBUN300 Shimano threads. I finally gave up and reinstalled the original after greasing inside its shell. As an added bonus, when my wrench slipped at one point I took a nice chunk of paint out of the word Mercier. I swear a look of disapproval is enough to chip the paint on this bike. Anyway, at this point I stopped, calmly sat there for a few seconds, and tossed the new BB into the trash as I never want to see it again. Very therapeutic and totally worth the cost of that BB. Lol. Sometimes you just have to say screw it.

ynggrsshppr

The paint IS unbelievably fragile. Reminds me of the candy shell on an M&M. I too thought about getting new brake calipers, but the stock ones are doing just fine. Granted they only felt fine after upgrading the levers, pads and cable/housings.