Compact Vision #4: “Out There in the Real World”
Alright, it’s only been about a month since the last update, and if you don’t know what I’m referring to, “Compact Vision” is our attempt to create a bike for the people, by the people, with a voting system at the end of each article for you to directly shape this project. You can see all previous articles right here ⬇️
- Compact Vision #1: Designing it Together
- Compact Vision #2: Manufacturing: Where and How?
- Compact Vision #3: First Prototypes
Let’s dive straight into the poll results from last time. An overwhelming 80% of you voted to skip the founders’ batch and go directly into producing the first dozen frames in Asia. And yes, you read that right, we’ve decided to manufacture this bike in China, despite our original desire to have it made in Europe.
The main reason comes down to the nature of this project. For most people, a Mini Velo is a fun extra bike: a commuter, a city bike, something you ride for enjoyment rather than a replacement for your main rig. And that’s also how we designed it. After speaking with many of you at Mini Bike Fest this year, it became clear that a high price point simply doesn’t fit that purpose.
This project started as a community-driven idea, and we’d rather make the bike as accessible as possible than turn it into a premium product that only a handful of people can afford. Believe me, we explored manufacturing options across Europe, the UK, and way further as long as they were with people we knew. But for this particular project, the numbers just didn’t make sense, and we’d rather keep those contacts for a future bike where a higher price point is justified.
Matter of fact, there’s already an SSS handmade Japanese frame in the works, and that project is a much better fit for that approach. Hopefully, you’ll hear more about it this winter.
The previous poll, along with your comments during the Mini Bike Fest (where I ended up taking zero photos of our own project because I was too busy documenting everyone else’s bikes), made one thing very clear: you love the bike. It also confirmed that this kind of wild geometry works. The concept feels right, and we’re confident enough to say that the geometry is now locked in.
We also saw plenty of comments saying that a simple solid-color finish wouldn’t do the bike justice. Most of you would prefer something more distinctive, and we agree. But again, for this first run, we want to keep it affordable, so we decided to find a middle point. Let’s do one funky color, with either a pearl, or sparkle effect, and then cool decals with a bunch of variations that you’ll be able to place as you wish.
Attending the Mini Bike Fest and letting so many of you ride the bikes taught us something else as well: we don’t actually need a Small size. Originally, the plan was to offer two sizes, but after seeing riders from around 1.60m to 1.85m feel completely at home on the larger frame (the one you saw in the previous article), it became obvious that the larger size covers a much wider range of riders than we expected.
So, for now, we’re dropping the smaller size and focusing all our efforts on the larger one. We can afford to make that decision because this first production run is aimed entirely at you, the people following the project and expressing interest in the bike, as well as a few close friends who have been asking for one since the beginning.
So now, there are two main things to finalize before we can order the first batch.
First: the name.
We have two options. It will either be “The Gnome,” as Philipp and I are big fans of this fun, tiny, whimsical creature. Known for guarding treasures, it felt like the perfect fit for this bike (and yes, this project is our treasure too).
Or we're considering “The Merlin.” Beyond the magical wizard image the name evokes, the merlin is also a small breed of falcon, fast, agile, compact, and ready for anything! So we also felt like it was a great match.
Second: the color.
We’ll give you 4 options, without telling you which one Philipp or I chose... because where would the fun be in that? Note that we decided to go with a bunch of magical and whimsical names, because this is pretty much where this project is going.
“Fool’s Gold Moss”
A rich green shimmer, kissed with gold, as though forest treasure were conjured by moonlight.
“Honeybeam”
A warm golden glow, softened with a creamy shimmer, as though sunlight were poured into silk.
“Twilight Lagoon”
A deep teal shimmer with a soft, luminous sheen, like still tropical water holding the last blush of evening sky.
“Roselight Frost”
A pale rosy shimmer with a cool, crystalline finish, like first light settling on a winter bloom and catching every petal in a soft, sparkling glow.
So now, let’s vote! Time to vote for your favorite name and color, as what is pretty much one of the final steps before we start production!
