Soma Rufus Mini Velo Bike Check

Just a quick dive into our first build up of a production Rufus frame set.
This is just one way to do it. You can build yours up anyway you want.


Bars: Nitto Higher Level 5" rise BMX'ish but aluminum
Stem: Soma Shotwell 90mm
Brake Levers: Dia-compe SS6 short pull
Brakes: Yokozuna Motoko Hybrid Hydraulic Cable Disc Brake, 160mm rotors. These are probably nicer brakes than you really need on this type of  bike. With the smaller wheels, you don't need big stopping power as larger wheels. Cheaper brakes and smaller rotors should work fine.
Grips: IRD Gordo
Pedals: Odyssey
Shifter: S-Ride M300 8-speed push-push trigger shifter
Rear Derailleur: S-Ride M300 short cage rear derailleur, no clutch
Tires: Vee Speedster 20 x 1.95" w/tubes
Wheels: Blacksnow 32h, w/cartridge bearing hubs
Cranket: New Albion XDS 44t, square taper
Cassette: S-Ride 8-speed, 11-32t
Saddle: Steve Potts Chinook, 150mm wide
Rear rack: Soma Rakku, aluminum

Pretty good heel clearance with bags when using the Soma 
Rakku rack. The Rakku fits perfect on the M5 rack eyelet.
The other eyelet is actually M6.

The frame is a size Small and Stan, who has been riding it around is about 5'6" and has the 350mm seatpost just about at the limit. A taller or more long legged person should opt for a 400mm post. Saddle and bar height match his 52cm Fog Cutter build.

So far, he has taken it so far on a grocery run, a ride down to Ocean Beach, and a visit to Japantown for the Nihonmachi street fair, which cut through Golden Gate Park and the panhandle and coming back he took a route took up past the Painted Ladies.

It fits in a Fit

Some of Stan's remarks:

- Feels punchier on short climbs than with bigger wheels. While the bike is not necessarily lighter than his Fog Cutter, it just feels easier to get the pedals to start turning. Probably because the smaller wheels take less torque to get going. This is a real world benefit if your routes has tons of stop signs or if you aren't a very fit rider.

- With the Soma Rakku Rack installed even the largest pannier he had resulted in no heel clip. This is with 165mm cranks and size 8 shoes. Easier to mount and dismount with dual panniers than on a road bike.

- Didn't feel twitchy, felt pretty normal riding through traffic, which was expected since the wheelbase is fairly close to the Fog Cutter. Pretty composed hitting speed bumps which are all over the city these days. He did get surprised by a hard-to-see mini-sink hole, but those can be scary on most wheel sizes. You definitely have to me more careful of road depressions with smaller wheels.

- Fits in the back of a Honda Fit with the Magic Seats folded up with out needing to twist the bars in a weird way. Just take off front wheel and roll it in.

Fender clearance and kickstand plate.

You might think that with the rack sitting this much lower, that bags would
be dragging the ground. Actually the bag height was more ideal for this 5'6" rider.
Easier to swing a leg over double grocery panniers when mounting. He could also mount and dismount by stepping over the top tube.

Your ride experience with Rufus may be different from Stan's.
Stan is over 50 and mostly does short rides. He describes himself as out of shape, but not as bad as a few years ago. He is still someone that hates any climbing. Besides the version 1 Fog Cutter, he also has a 1997 Breezer Storm.