欧州自転車レース追っかけ日記

London (UK) a one-day round trip?
As you may know authentic Bromptons (I mean the bikes) are made in London, UK. I heard that the company have a new factory
outside London (in the outskirts of London) where those precious Titanium parts are currently made.

They (Brompton bikes) are evidently abundant in the UK and especially in the London metropolitan area.

I find so many Bromptons on ebay from the UK. I guess up to 90 some percent of all the Bromptons are from their native country. I see Bromptons from Spain, Germany and the United States of America (and only on some rare occasions from Japan). They are authentic Bromptons.

I see some dubious (or copied versions) bikes from some Asian countries. They don't call themselves Bromptons but they are listed in other names.

I want to have a Brompton. A used one so that it won't cost me a fortune. I intend to modify mine as soon as it reaches me and the modification could be major. So I really don't mind its conditions as long as its main frame, fork, rear frame or other important are not rusted or broken. I might get a new rear wheel that would take a 7-speed cassette. I might even get a new carbon fork.

I prefer to have S-type handlebar with a forward-leaning stem. If the used bike I get is equipped with M-type (or P-type?), I will definitely swap them.

I have never used AliExpress (a Chinese version of Amazon?) before but I recently purchased some items for the first time ever. They were for the Brompton that I never got. (I wrote about this fraudulent ebay transaction in the previous entry)

Now they are coming (hopefully, they are coming this time!). I will be soon left with Brompton related items without a Brompton.

The situation was much simpler before. Before the Brexit, buying stuff from the UK was simple. Whatever I bought, they just came. I remember buying a MacBook, for example without paying a single penny in addition to the price tag.

Now I have to pay the import charges, whatever it is. I heard it is a mixture of domestic VAT (Value Added Tax) and some surcharge to profit the state (in my case, Luxembourg).


PMS and H
Brompton has or had seemingly at least 4 types of handlebars in recent years. They are H, M, P and S-type handlebars.

In my understanding they are,
M-type: M-shaped handlebar with a backward-leaning stem
H-type: H for High? M-shaped handlebar but yet higher with a similar stem?
S-type: S for Sportive? A forward-leaning stem with a flat handlebar
P-type: P for what? A multiposition handlebar with a shorter forward-leaning stem

Currently Brompton only has two types of handlebars S and M. Seemingly (I don't have any statitics at hand), M-type handlebar Bromptons are the most popular ones. Why? I like an S-type handlebar. It looks sporty.

If I get a P-type Brompton, I will buy a flat bar to convert it into a S-type. If I get a M-type (or even rarer H-type) Brompton, I will have to get a forward-leaning stem and a flat handlebar to do the same.

AliExpress sells those handlebars and I intend to get either S or P if needed.

I have to pay around 1,000 Euro, I guess.

続きをどうぞ [London, within a one-day trip from Luxembourg]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車（スポーツ用） - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2023/10/31(火) 15:10:30|
2. Bikes and related things
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ebay Fraud reported and money returned!
This is a sad case. A while ago (last Friday), I found a used Brompton from the UK and since it was put on ebay as "Buy it now", I immediately paid for it. I was tracking it since then. It was, according to the ebay app tracking info, sent through "Royal Mail" service. Nothing happened for almost a week (a tracking number was issued) until late Friday evening (one week later, that was) when the tracking information suddenly showed a week worth of updates and said that the Brompton was delivered.

I thought that I would get a slip from the Post office telling that a package from the UK was deposited at the local post office and must be picked up within 15 days (or so?) and that I owed a hefty certain amount of import charges... or something similar.

I came home and opened the mailbox and found nothing. I carefully examined the tracking information and found that the last transport agent was Fedex. I tracked the item with the new tracking number (by Fedex) and saw that it was signed by a certain individual named "M.Laura" whose name I did not recognize. Maybe one of my neighbors, I imagined.

If that was the case, I would have a visit the next day telling me that this person had my package. I waited almost a whole day as I was home the next day.

Nothing happened. I was suspicious from the beginning when I saw the tracking information indicated the package originated in Texas, USA. It was supposed to be the UK, not USA.

Late in the evening I had no choice but report this matter to ebay. According to the ebay rules or guidelines, I must contact the seller and wait for the seller to respond within three days and then only then I should take the matter to ebay directly.

I tried to send the seller a friendly message but I could not as I was faced with an error message. Then I immediately reported to ebay, explaining the situation in a short message.

This was Friday evening and ebay responded quite swiftly. As the item (Brompton) was under "money back guarantee" protection, they decided to reimburse the money I paid.

Wow! What a swift move! I guess the seller quietly erased the account and ran away. So it turned out that the sale incident was a fraud, scam or crime.

Before I decided to pay for the item, I made sure that the item was under the ebay protection as the seller's transaction number was really low (only 2 or something). This seller did not have much credit.

Now that I know that the money is coming back, I want to keep searching for a similar item on ebay. Actually I already had one in mind but this very item went away just before I could get my hand on it.

There are a lot of good candidates on ebay but most of (if not almost all of) them are from the UK, where they (Bromptons) are made. Most sellers won't send outside the UK. And on top of it, even if I found a good (seemingly) deal, I would have to pay a hefty import charge since it comes from outside EU, where I live.

"Patience, my young padawan!", Yoda will say. "Yes, my master."

続きをどうぞ [Patience my young padawan!]の続きを読む

テーマ:海外情報 - ジャンル:海外情報

1. 2023/10/27(金) 21:18:35|
2. Diary
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How much do I owe? (them = the customs office, or simply the state of Luxembourg?)

My Brompton is now being transported from the UK (a non-EU state) to Luxembourg (an EU state) and some items incur a certain amount of import charge.

I was wondering how much I owe them when my Brompton of unknown model year materialize here in Luxembourg. Sometimes I pay the import charges through ebay payment system.

I did not pay anything when I paid for the Brompton. This means that the customs office of Luxembourg is in charge of collecting whatever I owe them.

Most of the time, the post office delivery comes with a separate document urging me to pay a certain amount. It includes the VAT (of Luxembourg) and also some mysterious additional charges (a kind of handling fee).

How much? I am very afraid it would turn out to be a giant amount.

I am also wondering how it arrive. In a cardboard box? It's a folding bike so it can be packed in a box as small as 600 mm x 600 mm x 200 mm.

I am also wondering what the seller meant by "Free Tyre pumps". Tyre inflating air pumps but pumps as in plural form? Am I getting more than two pumps? Or is it just a typo?

In one of the four photos, I can see a rather big yellow floor air pump. Am I getting it, at least? It does not really matter whether I get one or more.

続きをどうぞ [How much do I owe them, really?]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車（スポーツ用） - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2023/10/23(月) 22:22:48|
2. Bikes and related things
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Saving money by using the public transportation and get the money back (that I paid for the Brompton)
For the moment, I ride to work (and of course back home). This costs me a considerable sum of money. Recent hike of gas prices hurts me, either.

The public transportation in Luxembourg is free of charge since two years ago (or three years ago?).

I don't have the exact sum of gas expenses but I assume that I spend more than a couple of hundred Euros a month. If I take advantage of free buses and trains to work, I can save a lot of money.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Free public transportation of Luxembourg]の続きを読む

1. 2023/10/21(土) 15:00:03|
2. Info Luxembourg
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Brompton C-Line Explore 6-speed Black Used
I don't believe what I have just did now.

Wind up some time, shall we? Recently I was looking at some Bromptons on my ebay searches.

It started a while back when a friend of mine said that she was looking to get a Brompton for her as she wanted to have a means of local transport around the places she visits for sightseeing trips.

I am a long time owner of Birdy myself and actually considered purchasing it for a short period of time shortly I decided to buy the very Birdy that I own now.

I looked at the official site (Brompton's site, that is) and also started looking at the ebay listing of Bromptons to see how they were selling in the market.

I also, out of curiosity, started looking at many YouTube videos related to Brompton bikes. I learned a modest amount of information about them.

I did not know how they had developed since I got to know them (Bromptons) in 2003.

For a starter, in 2005 (or late in 2004) Brompton bikes had a major (according to the articles I read) make-over to change the geometry of the bike.

It seems that the wheelbase got elongated by 3 cm (or 20 millimeters) from 1,015 to 1,045 millimeters.

Some people think it is a big thing.

"I immediately felt a huge difference: the newer frame and longer wheelbase made for a much stiffer and more predictable ride"

(https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/new-bromptons-vs-old-er.282907/)

This is the testimony I found when I searched on the Internet for "old Brompton vs newer Brompton".

My thought when I read it was, "Really?" When I pump up the tires to inflate them and I immediately feel a big difference: it makes the ride stiffer and much more predictable.

Anyway, I could not stop (looking at Brompton stuff on the Internet) since then. It started as a research to give a friend of mine some practical advices when she gets to decide which one to buy. Now I am searching for more ways to make a Brompton comfortable to ride.

I am currently renovating my Birdy as it began to show its ages for some time. I want to ride it from time to time. It takes some time.

In the meanwhile, I want to have a bike to help me make short quick shuttles between my apartment to the train station and the destination train station to the work place.

It would be very nice if I could do away with driving a car to the work on normal weekdays to save some money. As you may know, the public transportation in Luxembourg is free of charge.

It saves much money as I pump around 200 to 300 euros every month if I exclusively drive to work (and come back home).

The more I take free public transportation, the more I save. I have to have a good bike to take with me on board the train. Unfortunately, my Birdy is out of order for the moment.

So I blatantly bought a Brompton. From the UK and I hope it is coming to me soon. And I hope that I don't have to pay too much import charges when it does arrive.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Ooooooooops! I did it again!]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車（スポーツ用） - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2023/10/20(金) 19:44:12|
2. Bikes and related things
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Jack Handey

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Handey

https://www.deepthoughtsbyjackhandey.com/

I was a avid fan of SNL (Saturday Night Live) between 1991 to 1993 (? I don't have the exact time frame) when I was living in the United States of America.

So I knew this name, naturally. His "deep thought" came up frequently between skits. I thought that this Jack Handey figure was a fictitional one and did not doubt my ASSumption at all.

After some thirty years (OMG!), I found out that he was real. No, he is real as he still is alive as of 2023 (from February 25, 1949).

His deep thoughts were very deeply philosophical.

Who would have thought that this phoney name was a real name given to a real person?

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Deep thoughts by Jack Handey and SNL]の続きを読む

テーマ:日記 - ジャンル:日記

1. 2023/10/17(火) 15:17:37|
2. Diary
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Streamlight™ UltraStinger LED
I am sick, not physically but mentally. I am sick and can't stop collecting Streamlight™ Stinger flashlights. I have to stop.

This time I won an auctioned Streamlight™ UltraStinger LED (max 1,100 Lumens) from the United States of America as I did all of the Stinger flashlights.

I got it at a reasonably cheap price. One-third price of a brand-new one sold in the USA.

It comes with one charging cradle and two cords (wall-plug and 12 V DC) and an extra spare LED bulb according to the seller.

I can not make out the serial number of it from the photos. I thought that the serial number format of recent products are different. I hope it (the serial number) has something to do with a prime number.

I really have to stop this.

Birdy to be renovated soon!
I just ordered 160 Euro worth bike parts for my old (bought around 2003) Birdy. They will be delivered to me in 10 days or sooner.

My Birdy will be soon up and running!

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Birdy to be renovated soon!]の続きを読む

テーマ:自動車の整備＆修理 - ジャンル:車・バイク

1. 2023/10/15(日) 23:53:05|
2. Bikes and related things
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It is time that I update my Birdy (a folding bicycle)
I have owned this bicycle since (I believe) 2003 (or late 2002) when I was still in Japan.

Riese & Müller is the name of the company that invented and deals the bicycle. So I heard at the time of purchase.

Later I learned that a company (Pacific Bike or Bicycle, whichever it is called) in Taiwan actually owns the company. I believe this Taiwanese company purchase the whole rights to the bike and the rights to use the brand name "Riese & Müller".

At the time of purchase in Japan, "Birdy" was still a registered trade mark of Suzuki Motors (as the Suzuki motorbikes and automobiles) so the bikes were sold as BD. Anyway, later the this trade mark issue was resolved (I hope peacefully) between these two companies and now they are called Birdy in Japan.

Anyway, in 2003 or around that time, Shimano began to sell "Capreo" components group just like Deore or Dura-Ace. The Capreo's target was bikes with small or smaller wheels. It had a very thin freehub so that it could accommodate 9-teeth gear. A normal freehub could or can only accommodate 11-teeth gear.

It worked fine until around 2020 but since then it had shown some issues. The shifter misses (due to internal wear?).

I want a refresh. I want to renovate the gears.

I know what to do.

1. Find a MTB rear hub of similar flange size (any Shimano MTB hubs will do) and swap the hubs.

2. Swap other components which have shown signs of wear and tear like the cassette, chain, shifter, brake levers and cables.

I have selected them from mostly Shimano Deore components. They cost me around 150 euro including the shipping charges from Germany. I will order them soon.

Streamlight™ UltraStinger LEd

Will be updated soon!

Android 14 on my Pixel 7
I upgraded my Pixel 7's Android System from version 13 to 14, the latest.

It took only a short while and almost no efforts to do so. Do I see any difference so far? The answer is no. It simply worked and keeps working after the upgrade, which means that it is alright.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Android 14 on my Pixel 7]の続きを読む

テーマ:自動車の整備＆修理 - ジャンル:車・バイク

1. 2023/10/08(日) 21:00:38|
2. Bikes and related things
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