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Help Minivelo sizes

esmuz

Warming-Up
Oct 29, 2014
10
5
Hi! I am living in Tokyo since the past month and will stay for one year, so I decided I want to buy a bike for commuting and take some weekend rides.. this sleek asphalt is asking for it!

I want a minivelo because here it's quite easy to get one by a few bucks and always felt curiosity for them.

As I will only stay one year and I already have my expensive bikes at my homeland, I don´t want to spend too much here for something I can't bring home.

But my problem is about sizes. I am not super tall, 176cm, but here people for some reason like riding the bikes with the saddle absurdly low... so sizes don't seem to be a problem.

I was expecting to buy this:

http://www.sakamoto-techno.co.jp/sakamototechno2014_055.htm

It´s a copy of the bruno mixte 20, but it looks quite good for the price, components are shit but better than what you can get in similar price minivelos.

The problem is that there are no sizes for this model ( nor any other cheap one )

Do you guys think I can ride it comfortably?
I am reading 430cm as a measure which I don`t know what it is, but I guess is a frame measure.
I know I can put a longer seat post and higher steam, but maybe it keeps being too small?

Thanks!
 
My Moulton which is similar fits both myself 182cm and my wife 150cm as you have enough movement in the seat post.
 
Chris, I wish I could afford a Moulton.. So you mean it´s just about increasing seatpost lenght? I think that maybe I have to put a higher and longer steam..
 
You can do but see how it sits as it is. The only difference between the sit position between between my wife and myself is that she is in a more upright MTB position and I am in a more road bike (lower front end) position.
If you look at this mini velo, its smaller than yours and fits 140cm to 180cm on the description

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/bfold-3-folding-bike-city-bike-id_8248975.html
 
You almost convinced me :) Are you sure my knees won't hit the handle bar?
 
As you say you have "expensive bikes" back home, I infer that you're a keen cyclist. A keen cyclist might want to explore the hills. But even a keen cyclist might not want to do so on a cheap new minivelo, with components that you call "shit" and with gears intended for shopping trips in flatlands. I don't want to knock expensive minivelos or to claim that no used bargains are available, but in your place and at your height, I'd probably look for a used bike with 700C wheels. The usual constraints: a brand name that promises competence or better but doesn't have people drooling, and an example that's neither new enough to thrill the majority nor old enough to thrill a minority. I'd look in Yahoo Auction for a bike that appears to be in good nick and has been obsessively photographed by its seller, who not only has sold bikes before but also says it's all adjusted, lubed and ready to roll (if not necessarily for somebody of your exact dimensions). Figure on adding ten thou or so to the closing price for decent, 21st-century pedals and saddle, and one or two other bits and pieces.

A different matter if you plan/need to routinely carry your bike up and down twisty staircases, of course.
 
That´s a good advice, but the fact that I have expensive bikes at home doesn´t mean I am a climber :)
My bikes are not so expensive, just classics from the 80´s that I restored and use at my homeland just to take short rides.

Yes I am this kind of guy, don´t hate me you sport freaks!!!

In this case I just want something for a 15 minutes commute.
Having the chance to store it at home is also good, so this is why minivelo sounds good.
 
I'm as tall as you and I ride a folding mini velo which i got from a thrift store here in Japan. My bike is medium size, maybe same siZe as what you posted. But never had a problem with my knees hitting the handlebar.

You might want to check http://www.doppelganger.jp/en/product/550/ Cheaper than what you posted. It's available on Amazon japan for about 30k yen!
 
Unrelated to sizing, but I saw this in the archives:

full


Someday I'll drop down to Taiwan to see if I can find something similar.
 
You know what? Tomorrow I am going to Taiwan to spend 4 days there :) But I can´t take back a bike to Japan, my wife would kill me. This is a crazy mix of a mixte frame with a moulton frame??

Regarding the image of the guy on the bruno, I knew it and it looks ridiculously small don´t you think?
 
With the right gearing and geometry, 20" wheels are no obstacle to riding long distances. I'm on target for about 9,000 km this year on my Bike Friday and have done at least one ride of 160 km or more for each of the last 26 months. Its geometry is just like a 700C road bike, as far as the relative positions of the contact points (seat, pedals, handle bar) are concerned.

I never tried any cheap mini velos (under 150,000 yen) but I assume the Bruno and similar bikes feel closer to mamachari than to road bikes, for example due to the seat post length, seat tube angle and tyre width. If all you're after is a small bike for shopping and other short trips, a cheap bike like that should work OK and may even be fun.

For riding further you may have to replace the seat post to be able to raise the seat high enough for efficient pedalling (mamachari are optimized for stopping, not efficient riding) and then you may have to raise the handle bar to match.
 
Hi guys, just let you know what I ended up buying.
http://www.triacebike.com/product/details2013.aspx?Id=973

201402180607488021.jpg



Chinese copy of Giant idiom, 37K jpy, sram X4 derraileur, 9.5Kg Not bad!
The seat post is a bit short for me but I am happy, very funny to ride.

For my wife in same price:

Peugeot Le chic 20"
11Kg and quite nice looking! She needs more seat post too :)
photo01.jpg


Thank you guys for the advices.
And for the ones interested on my "real bikes" in my homeland, ( I know no one is interested but me) are these:

_DSC2682-copy.jpg Captura de pantalla 2014-11-09 a las 23.23.49.png
 
Yes :)
But what is nice the pictures of the bikes?

The second one is a vitus 979 with Campagnolo C-record group.
 
Yeah, I too appreciate your photography and composition. Matches the vibe of the subject very well.
 
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