Introducing the New Velo Orange Small Wheeler!

by Igor

We're pleased to introduce the first prototype of the upcoming Velo Orange Small Wheeler. Whether you're a frequent traveler, apartment dweller, multi-modal commuter, or just enjoy a fun N+1 bike, the Small Wheeler will fit perfectly into your heart.

Let me back up a bit for how this project came to be. We often travel to our cycling starting point by airplane, train, car, and bus. Overage fees for checked bags, storage, and transportation add up quickly and are a real drag. We started investigating different options for bike travel, with several requirements in mind including ease of use, affordability, flexibility, and everyday riding. We looked into couplers, full-suspension mountain bike systems, folding bike designs, and mini velos. Some are cost prohibitive, others are too restrictive in their applications, others don't ride well, and of course, we're weighing heavily on the fun factor. While the dimensions are physically small, the applications are huge for a ... mini velo!

Specifically for traveling, going with a 20" wheel makes the overall package much smaller since the biggest part of the package is the frame rather than the wheel. So when the bike is completely disassembled, it fits within the maximum checked baggage allowance. We're working on developing a semi-soft case for the bike, so keep your eyes peeled.

The name, as a side note, is inspired by the Jack Taylor 1960's Small Wheeler. While their bike's lineage was short, their designs were very neat and quite interesting! You can find more info and photos on Bob's Flickr album here.

For city and apartment dwellers, you'll get great acceleration for stoplight racing as the wheels spin up quite fast. When you've reached your destination, getting the bike into the building, walking up stairs, and parking it in your apartment is so much easier because the physical length of the bike is greatly reduced. You can much more nimbly negotiate stairwells and since it's warm and cozy inside, you don't have to worry about it getting ripped off overnight.

For multi-modal traveling, it's easier to take the bike in a train car without taking up a ton of room and attracting disdainful looks from fellow commuters. Oh and Rinko. Forget cutting fenders, removing handlebars, and wheels. Just loosen the stem, turn the handlebars 90 degrees, and put the whole thing into a Rinko bag!

To be completely honest, the Small Wheeler is a blast to ride around. It looks funny, people don't get it, it's fun, and it rides completely like a normal bike. We carefully tweaked the geometry to obtain a completely normal riding bike without any drama. Mini velos and folding bikes can ride oddly. They are often very twitchy, use super flexy tubing, have a lot of proprietary components, or little to no accommodations for racks, let alone fenders.

Now that we have the intended use out of the way, let's go through some of the frameset specifics!

• 4130 double butted chromoly frame and fork that accepts fenders and rack
• Unicrown fork with accommodations for fenders, Randonneur Rack, and even a Mojave Cage or a bikepacking-style cage
• Seattube, downtube, and under-downtube bottle cage mounts. We considered doing more, but that would have been ridiculous.
• 406 Bead Seat Diameter wheel size. That's BMX, so high-quality rims and tires are cheap, plentiful, and strong.
• Clearance for 2.3" tires WITH fenders. Holy cow!
• Sliding, 135mm QR dropouts for geared, single speed, or internally geared hubs
• Disc brake mounts (POST rear, IS front). We suggest 160mm rotors. 
• Full length, external cable routing
• 1 1/8" threadless steerer
• 27.2mm seatpost. We may go to 31.6, but that is still to be determined after lots of testing.
• Paint is TBD. I'm leaning towards something fairly neutral with a ton of NJS sparkle. 
• Price is also TBD, but expect the frameset to be around the Polyvalent and Piolet pricepoint, about $725USD

As we get nearer to finalizing the details and design, we'll keep you updated! Where will you take your Small Wheeler?