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Not quite the same but I think it was someone from on here that rode a Santa Cruz with wide 24" wheels. It looked a lot of fun.
My first update from Marino! It’s looking good. BB drop looks quite aggressive and the back end looks mega short. Should be fun!
I quite like how they have joined the SS to the ST. Pleasant surprise.
Im promised some more photos in the coming days and then I’ll do a little video update with the build spec.
I was chasing the same dream with mini-velos a while back. They were not any fattish tyres worth considering from a rolling resistance aspect back then, but I found the AMP design fork on my Dahon adequate for rough surfaces.
It's spent a fair bit of its life on what we'd now call gravel
Excitement is building! Would be really interested to know what the steering is like (can never make up my mind what I'd use head angle / offset for a mini). Interesting not to be using all that head tube for directly mounted rack. But saying that, you have probably made the right decision. I tried one on a 700c frame this year and should have used beefier top and down tubes - it all got scarily speed wobbly with a bit of payload and some rear panniers...... 
Nice to see epicyclo. I thought of you the other week when buying a Sturmey 3 speed with the rotary shift mechanism for a project ?
@cokie. Good to see adjustable dropouts. Not many bikes with the option for singlespeed on hubgears these days. If you're undecided about your optimum steering geometry, why not build a fork with 2 dropout positions? One for loaded, the other for unloaded. That was a feature on an old British motorbike I had (Panther 600) and it was instructive the difference the small amount of adjustment made. Your design reminds me of the Burro which used 20" wheels with 3". Unfortunately it was ahead of its time and just faded away.
Another offroad minivelo was the Dahon Groove with 2" tyres and suspension front and rear. It didn't catch on either and was soon discontinued. I gave mine a fair bit of exploring use, but found my fatbike more practical for the sort of riding I like to do. 
@mick_r been hors de combat due to slowing down enough for age to catch up on me. 🙂
Nice bikes above ^^. I keep getting asked if this is a folding bike. I'm just trying to explain it's a normal bike with smaller wheels.
The fork rack is just a preferance. You're probably right that it might feel off, but not planning on any heavy transport.. maybe the odd keg.
My part 2 is up now:
I don't think that the Zee shifter will work with the Deore M5130 mech which is linkglide. Not 100% sure but I suspect that is the case.
Thanks @cerrado-tu-ruido ! When did this get so complicated?
I'll see how the Zee behaves, otherwise I guess I'll need the Deore M5130 shifter (which looks hideous & cheap).
As an aside another option for custom frames is https://armourcustombicycles.com/.
I have seen some of his work and it is beautiful. No idea on cost
Frameset now complete! 3-4 week wait on shipping now.. gives me time to sort the drivetrain compatibility issue. Tempted to go Zee mech & 11-36t cassette instead.
Saint mechs are spendy. This U600 10 speed shifter will work with the 5130 derailleur and is much nicer looking than the Deore 5130 shifter.
https://fawkes-cycles.co.uk/shimano-cues-sl-u6000-shift-lever-right-hand-10-speed-p33235
Sorry for the confusion, upon further reading, you should be ok, try the Saint shifter first. The cable pull for cues/linkglide 10 speed shifters is very similar to Shimano MTB 10 speed and the cues/linkglide derailleurs have the same pull ratio as Shimano MTB 10/11/12. Pics from drivetrainbuilder.com
So, here's the Minimacho!
All built up, completed a shakedown ride and a gravel 12 miler.
It's awesome! Very please with how it fells. Exactly how I thought it would.
Essentially a Stooge Speedbomb but more playful.
Doing some more rides and then editing together a little video.
It's not been smooth sailing with Marino... still seeing how it'll get resolved.
For now, pictures:
Nice. Looking forward to the next, (final?) YouTube installment.
Looks amazing, although that rear mech looks very vulnerable so close to the ground.
Sorry for the ignorance, but is there a point to it, apart from 'just because'? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but just wondering whether it has a specific use case?
When working out your gearing for this type of bike, presumably you take into account the smaller wheels and the affect this has on final gearing?
What a stupid and pointless bike.
I love it.
Don't know why but it just looks like the kind of bike that'd want to take you to the local brewery every time you got it out the garage.🍻
Looks amazing, although that rear mech looks very vulnerable so close to the ground.
I hadn't noticed that, actually looks like the bottom jockey wheel might hit the tyre in first!
Don't know why but it just looks like the kind of bike that'd want to take you to the local brewery every time you got it out the garage.🍻
I have a dawes kingpin in the basement. When i lived in glasgow and Edinburgh despite having the obligatory fixed gear and an early gravel bike and a single speed rigid mountainbike... The kingpin was ridden more and harder.
The folding raleigh 20 before it was the same. And at the bub i would fold it up and leave it in a pile.
Never stolen... Until it was taken out a close.
Great to see it finally built up. There is a Microshift clutch mech that is specially designed to give ground clearance with 20" wheels:
https://www.microshift.com/news/introducing-super-short/
I know it is hard to describe, but how does it steer?
I'm sensing a tale about the Marino experience - the "seeing how it gets resolved" sounds like something not being right.....
@cokie Looking forward to seeing pics of it in use. A neat little weapon.
Cheers all! Trails are dusty so I've managed 28 miles so far and it's definitely smile inducing.
Sorry for the ignorance, but is there a point to it, apart from 'just because'? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but just wondering whether it has a specific use case?
I've had a few mini velos and really like the playful handling. Also easier to move around for storage and transport in the car.
Primarily it's a 'just because' bike. They challenge you, especially offroad so makes some more mundane rides fun.
When working out your gearing for this type of bike, presumably you take into account the smaller wheels and the affect this has on final gearing?
Yes, used a few gear calculators to work out what would work for me. I spend far too much time on a single speed, so this is a pretty luxuries gear range. For more urban riding I've got a 44t and some Schwalbe Super Moto 2.4"s.
Looks amazing, although that rear mech looks very vulnerable so close to the ground.
I hadn't noticed that, actually looks like the bottom jockey wheel might hit the tyre in first!
It's close- about 15mm from the tyre in the granny gear. I've done 28 miles offroad now and no issues. Including a crash. I think the clutch makes a huge difference. I think the bigger issue will be mud in winter.
Long term I will go for MicroShift Advent though for peace of mind.
Don't know why but it just looks like the kind of bike that'd want to take you to the local brewery every time you got it out the garage.
I'll be doing that this afternoon. 8 miles pretty much all uphill (500ft) to the pub and then roll back home.
I know it is hard to describe, but how does it steer?
Really hard to describe- the geo is quite long and slack, like my speedbomb, so it feels familiar, equally it's really snappy due to the small wheels. At low speed it's fantastic to climb as I can pick my way up a gravel/rutted trails easily and it accelerate well, but I did a particularly rocky and descent that was terrifyingly fun(?). I've ridden it thousands of times on other MTBs- always off the brakes and pushing on. This is the first time I've had to brake. Wide bars help keep things straight, but with the small wheels and short back end it becomes more nervous and snappy the faster you go. Need to stay lose, especially with rocks and ruts pushing the wheel around. I'm getting used to the short chainstays too. Far to easy to over rotate and have a big off. Overall it requires far more delicacy with placing and steering.
Bits to change/adjust:
- Dropper post; I want more drop. When I'm messing around the saddle intrudes a bit. I think I can get away with 170mm.
- Bars: I've got a set of Stooge Junker 100mm rise bars- not 100% sure on riding position. Might find some low/mid rise BMX bars to try and get another 20-30mm rise.
Now up for sale over on PB 🙂.
Your pinkbike advert says it's time for a new project, would that be another mini velo or are you done with that side of things now?
Thanks for the reports of the code breaking, the advert had to be deleted to fix it but technically it will have been anyway as it’s a bit stealthy.
A minivelo I would like to see is one that was built to the length of a normal bike, ie the extreme end of its tyres the same as a 29er or 700 wheeled bike. It would have a much larger wheelbase as a result and perhaps the front geometry could be adjustable.
Run it on Big Apple tyres and it would have to be a comfortable ride. With the small diameter wheels and long frame it would be a great frame for bikepacking.
I've not checked the geo and it could be an optical illusion due to the low overall frame but at a quick glance the Bike Friday stuff looks like it might cover those requirements.
I think I mentioned above, I have three mini velo at the moment, a Brompton, a heavily modified Argos special and a Cannondale Hooligan. Brompton obviously wins on folding but isn't without its faults, the Hooligan wins on style and (lack of) weight but the Argos is by far the best to ride. I think with the small wheels it's important to look at the steering mechanics to get them to feel more natural and less twitchy but also to avoid going too far and introducing wheel flop.