cpg

I dont know how old the bike is as a I bought it second hand. My seat post clamp looks like this.

bhkyte

Hi Cpg, yes this is the older seatpost clamp.

cpg

Hi Bhkyte. Which type of clamp has given you problems with cracking in the past?

I see you have bought a Birdy. What do you think of it? I think we need some photos comparing it to a Mezzo.

Pichan

Hi everyone.
I recently got a used Mezzo bike from ebay. I have gone through so many brands before I found Mezzo and I believe that this is a really great bike with a superb quality. The seller told me that the bike i4 is just tuned up and ready to hit the road. I have try and try to find someone who still deal with Mezzo and have parts for the bike and I found none. I live in NYC. My question is do they still in business? or it has changed to Ori bike? Are they compatible with each others? Who is still carry Mezzo bike and have all parts in stock? I am so excited when I bought the bike and can't wait to ride it but with all worries about the used bike and can not find anyone who still deal with Mezzo anymore. I'm glad to find out Bikeforum has a thread dedicated to Mezzo which is a good sign. Thank you guys.

smallwheeler

what's the problem with the bike? if you have some issues, although i dont believe he sells the bike, dave at bfold on 13th btwn 1st and 2nd can help you.

bhkyte

Old clamp broken then I replaced it with new type. That broke to. But they did get a lot of use.
Newer clamp works better and offers some reduction in stress to the frame due to its taller design.

Birdie is great, but I see it as a very different bike to the mezzo.
Mezzo is a "train" bike, whilst a Birdie is more of a bigger "car boot" bike.
My Birdie still has some of the small wheel handling issues, But I believe these are reduced if you have some forward reach on the stem? I might fit a Dahon Adroes extender to it.
Not had birdie long. And it still needs a few details sorting out. I have always wanted one, but I only work part time!!

Birdie is a softer ride, lighter bike, bigger to ride and fold, a bit bouncy, sometimes feels quite fast, but it feels mainly like a full suspension bike.

Both Shocks can be stiffened with different elastomer,

Some people use Birdies on the train, I no longer commute on train daily, think I would tend to opt for my fast black mezzo usually. But if meeting friends for pleasure ride I would take the Birdie.( Or use my Mezzo suspension seatpost option?)

I post some comparison photos in a couple of weeks

bhkyte

Any one know about the situation in the UK.
Dealerships seem to be drying up?
Rise of the UK ORI?

I suppose all the Ori stuff will be interchangeable with the comparable mezzo. Can not see why not , Might ring the london shop about the addition ORI spares that are not available on mezzo like front bag holder, extra frame wheels...........

DoubleDiamonDog

I thought that one one attractive aspect of the mezzo was that it did not use proprietary parts and so one could easily source parts and tweak as desired. What parts are you having trouble getting?

Pichan

Thank you so much Smallwheeler for a fast reply to my post. Yes, definitely, If I find anything wrong with my bike, I will take it to Bfold. I still have to wait for another week before I can tell if anything wrong. It seems like Bfold used to be the only Mezzo dealer in NYC. Knock on wood, i hope my bike will be in a great shape for a long time. What is the situation of Mezzo in UK? I wrote an email to a bike shop which is on Mezzo website as a dealer and they told me that they struck with Brompton and no more Mezzo. I found someone mention about LBS. What is it? I would love to find a place that still carries Mezzo bike just in case i have questions base on the bike especially my bike is the Mezzo i4. I am so glad to see Mezzo thread is pretty active. I thought my question would take more than a month to be answered but not at all.

My curiosity :

What about the seat post clamp? If i have a problem with it, can it change it with any generic brands?
My bike is the internal 4 gears hub. I think I would be find with that but just wonder would it be possible to change it to Shimano Nexas 8?

Thank you again so much.

bhkyte

Hi
Mezzo spefic bits
1) Folding stem. Might be possible to ulitise something else?
2) Rear frame clip
3) Chain catcher
4) Front wheel clip
5) Fork and front mudguard Wheel quick release is montage?
6) Rack
7) Seatpost clamp
8) Seatpost
Only really see a need to possibly replace 1 ,3 ,4,7and 8
Problems with 1,2,3and 4 usually due to adjustment required.
Rack can thrOw off its alley key bolts so locklite them,generic bolts.
I use an alternative for the seatpost, sure alternaites possible for clamp.
Else airmail from uk or look For Ori
You can fit whatever hud you want, one person, boston blackie, fitted a nexus 8 and was very pleased with. I hAve Fitted dual drives on my bikes (27 speed).
I am based in UK and have bought some spares so I don't use bike shops very often for my mezzo's.

BassNotBass

A 3³ drive?

Pichan

morphix

Can anyone confirm that 1.75 inch tyres are suitable for the Mezzo? I want to get some Marathan GreenGuard which come in that size, and have had some conflicting info.. some sellers are saying they're fit, but one guy thinks they won't.

morphix

I'm glad you're pleased with your Mezzo, they are indeed fantastic bikes all round, in terms of design, build quality and ride. Buying second hand makes a lot of sense as the bikes can be got for bargain prices compared to Bromptons and still look good condition due to the quality finish on them.

I'm very passionate about the Mezzo and absolutely love mine. I think they're very underrated bikes that are far better than Bromptons in so many ways, but of course the Brompton has established itself as the standard for ultra-portability now. I think the Mezzo's have not been adequately marketed by ATB Sales and the company doesn't seem very committed to marketing the bikes properly which is a shame.

Fewer and fewer sellers seem to be stocking Mezzo. I hope they don't disappear from the market, but if they do, I dare say there will be plenty of decent second hands we can pick up for a long time to come.

morphix

I've been trying to find out what the situation is with Mezzo in the UK but getting any lines of communication open with ATB Sales has been extraordinary difficult. They just don't respond, or don't return calls. Their website is really shoddy and looks very broken and they give the impression of a company that is either on its way out of business, or just doesn't seem to care, which is a pity because they have a great product in the Mezzo which could make significant headway into gaining market share from Brompton with the right marketing behind it.

I don't know much about the ORI but it seems to be just an Asian version of the Mezzo produced under license from what I understand? I think the ORI bike is probably more popular than the Mezzo in UK. I wonder how popular the Mezzo is in the States where it sells under the same Mezzo brand? The US has a lot more choice for compact folders though than the UK market does.. There's the Downtube bikes for example which although 20" wheels, are very light and competitively priced with suspension option.

morphix

Hi cpg good to see a fellow pedelecs member here That's the same seat post clamp I have on my Mezzo which I also bought second hand for the bargain price of £250! Mine was about 18 months old when I bought it a few months ago but looked like it had very little use as it was immaculate. The seat post is fine on mine. Are you having any problems with yours?

morphix

For those interested, I posted last year about my plans to convert my Mezzo D9 to electric. This has not gone has smoothly or quickly as I had hoped, and I've faced the similar challenges to what Brompton owners face who convert their Bromptons due to the 349mm size wheel rim.

Well the build is almost complete now after a couple of set backs, I've managed to get a Q100 350W motor into the rear dropouts by squeezing them apart 5mm (motor is restricted to 250W for legal reasons) and it looks pretty discrete but has added significant weight to the bike at just under 3kg. The bike REALLY moves and the motor is really powerfull..going full speed I had trouble steering and controlling the bike due to the small wheels! I'm normally used to riding a 26" e-bike.

I'm considering replacing the motor with a much smaller 200W one and giving up some power and speed for a lighter carry weight as ultra-portability is what I'm after. The Mezzo is such a joy to ride anyway unpowered that I think it only needs a bit of assistance for hills really, and this might be safer and bring better handling to the bike.

Anyway I'm just in the process of upgrading the tyres to Marathons with puncture resistance and finishing the wiring, and then I'll post up some pics and vids for you guys.

I think this may be the first ever eMezzo! I've certainly never seen any others converted to electric. Hopefully my experience and knowledge gained from it will help others who fancy converting their Mezzo's to electric.

bhkyte

It might fit at the front(I doublt it), but it will definitely, definintly not fit the rear as standard. As 1 3/8 martathons can get stuck with a small amount of mud.
MAybe if you remove rear mudguard, but then brake clearence?

cpg

Hi Morphix. I've enjoyed reading your conversion thread on the pedelecs forum. Keep up the good work, I am looking forward to seeing the end result. Have you considered the inline skate wheel conversion for your bag rack, it would make the extra weight of the bike easier to hadle as you could wheel it around instead of carrying it. Fitting them to the front of rack does require some metalwork to make brackets but on the rear it can be done with some M8 bolts and bit of plastic tubing to act as spacer.
Not had a problem with my seat post clamp and hope I never do.

Pichan

Great news. I just received my bike today. It is a fantastic bike. I keep telling people about this bike and none of them got an idea about it until I showed them the photo. They think It is a great design bike. I am really into Mezzo more and more. I absolutely agree that it's an underrated bike. However, I did a test ride and I am feeling that 4 gear is not enough for me. Any suggestions about changing to other higher gear hub? and what I need to look for? Thank you.

Pichan

the situation in the states for Mezzo is not good. All dealers which used to have Mezzo in stock they are now carry only Brompton. I live in NYC and I have never seen Mezzo on the street. I think they really need someone to help with marketing. The bike is well build and design. It's not like some other folding bikes that takes the same concept of the folding system. I can see than Mezzo did a lot of work and research.

bhkyte

Ori web site seems more active thaan Mezzo.
Possibly UK owners should be looking at Ori more for support?
They make 10 models, including ths carbon fibre Supra(lust).

THere was a thread abour ori dealer in london recently ,"diaode100?"
I will ring a london dealer soon to see what lowdown on spares and accesories is.
RE undergearing see dualdrive on a mezzo thread.
Other than changing the hub,its possbile to fit up to a 56tooth front ring. No bigger,due to chain catcher. If you do you will also need to Add a birdie chain guard for around £25.

Pichan

I am checking 8 speed hub in the market and I ran into the problem. My i4 gear hub is 28 spoke holes but those 8 hubs are 36 holes. Does it mean if I want to upgrade my gear hub, I need to get a new rim and spokes? I like your solution changing the front ring instead. It seems like less complicated than the hub even though the hub would give a wider range. I need to check about the birdie chain guard. Please advise. Thank you.

bhkyte

Altering the front chain ring or guard is not required if you get an IHG.


You don't need to alter the front guard unless you get a 56 tooth chain ring. Altering a D9 54 tooth to a 56 does not make a lot of difference.You dont need to with dual drive , but changing from 54 to 56it adds a little more top end for 30 MPH +, ( a dual drive fitted to an otherwise standard D9 set up of 54 /11 works fine also)
If you use 56 tooth with the standard mezzo 54 chainguard it does not cover the teeth, and you need a birdie or bike friday or Mezzo D10 or 56 t Ori version.


The shimano nexus 8 speed is overdrive from gear 6 upwards,
The stermley archer hub 8 speed they are 1;1 first gear then over drive in each gear. so a SA IHG less of a problem to over come the need for increasing gearing on small wheeled bike. So you might want to gear a SA hub down by making the chainring smaller.

replacing a 54t for the 56 tooth and a birdie chain ring is just an expensive but minor change.

Its not a value for money upgrade but at least its simple and offers gearing the mezzo up by around one gear.

badmother

LBS is Local Bike Shop