I finished building Jennifer's Velo Orange Neutrino. It came out really well.
Due to current Archive shortages, the orange grips and pink pedals are merely functional placeholders for eventual black replacements.
I used the Jones loop bars with a 2.5 inch rise. Because Jones.
Due to the smaller wheel diameter lowering the effective gearing, a bigger chainring is necessary to compensate. This is a Cues crank with a 42 tooth chainring. Most people are using square taper cranks for mini velo builds, but I can't stand them. The quiet, creak-free two-piece crank is one of my favorite cycling innovations.
A 10-speed Deore XT 11-36 cassette is mated to a Zee derailleur for shifting duties. You can see the Zee derailleur has a very short cage, which is crucial for such a small wheel diameter. More gear range would have been nice, but a modern 12-speed derailleur would be dragging on the ground.
The Sun Ringle Duroc wheels are solid and modular, and they came with almost every cassette body and axle configuration one could need . . . except the one I needed. The pictured wheel on their website had an HG cassette, which was the one I needed, but the wheels showed up with Micro Spline and XD freehubs. After harassing Hayes with a few e-mails, they sent me an HG body.
Although the wheels are tubeless ready (coming pre-taped with valves and sealant included), 20" tubeless tires are still rare. I couldn't find any that met my needs. I went with non-tubeless Maxxis Grifters because I have had good luck with Maxxis overall. I had a heck of a time getting them seated, but once I did they held air like a champ. So far I haven't seen any sealant seepage through the sidewalls, which can happen with non-tubeless tires.
Typically you see mini velo builds with a huge stack of spacers under the stem; this is something I find aesthetically abhorrent. I used a Velo Orange Cigne stem as a much more elegant solution. The bars may even be a little high, but Jenn always has the option of using Jones bars with no rise.
My first test ride was eye opening. I expected something completely different, but it simply feels like a bike, albeit one with quicker steering. The acceleration is amazing. If you don't look down to see the tiny wheel, or the huge stem, it all feels very normal.
Jenn registered much the same reaction.
My frame is tucked safely away in the attic, where it will stay for a while. We are neck deep in a renovation, and I have little time, money or inclination right now. When I do get around to the build, it will look something like this:
Later.
