欧州自転車レース追っかけ日記

AliExpress shopping dependency sydrome
I don't know if such sydrome exists and I just made it up myself.

I keep finding items that I feel I need to have. I started buying things after getting the Brompton. I wanted to have some parts for it. I knew that AliExpress existed long before I first shopped there. I never tried this shopping platform believing buying directly from China had some risks.

Now I am browsing the site daily. Am I hooked by now?

I don't want to spend too much money there but still I keep finding some obsure items that I feel I need to have.

I have to stop. I know but the shopping cart currently contains over 14 items.

Some Brompton parts, some Trump 2024 items, some Speedplay pedal items and some Mazda MX-5 parts are there (in the shopping cart) and my Wish list is growing.


In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Hooked on shopping]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. 2024/02/20(火) 00:06:23|
2. Bikes and related things
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Bike24 shopping
I need the 11-speed compatible chain to complete the Brompton conversion (2-speed to 7-speed). I have not yet received the 7-speed cassette but I am assuming that it will arrive at any time by now.

I also bought other small parts for my Brompton and Cervelo.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Bike24 shopping]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. 2024/02/18(日) 00:29:45|
2. Bikes and related things
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Tucker Carlson interviews Vladimir Putin
I watched this interview on YouTube and thought that Mr. Putin was very composed and calm all through the interview. Being on his own turf and heavily surrounded and guarded by his own men, he was very confident and relaxed (at least so he seemed). He was ready to answer the questions by this prominent Western journalist.

What he (current President of Russian Federation) told was he had been repeatedly assured that the NATO would not expand eastward by high-ranking officials of the U.S.A. but that promise had never been honored.

Basically his position was that he had no other choices. He had rights to defend his country and would not allow the oppresion by the Western countries.

Is Tucker Carlson credible? My answer is he is because he was fired by Fox. Most (if not all) Western media are extremely left-leaning and the fact he was let go means that he must be neutral or right-leaning.

I like people who are not left-leaning and that make me like him.

I removed the mudguards on my Brompton
I removed them.

Luxembourg's Winter is wet. What happens when you ride a bike without proper mudguards during Winter in Luxembourg? Your ass gets dirty and muddy with splashes from the rear wheel. It is so obvious and predicted.

I miss them now but I have to go on. I am going to order (if I don't find them in my room as I know I have them somewhere in my room) a plastic blade (what I is called Ass Saver) similar to a product called Ass Saver.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Mudguards, I miss you now]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. 2024/02/13(火) 00:38:24|
2. Bikes and related things
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Riding the bike with Hannah
I want to ride my bike with my Hannah. She will be restless when exposed to the surrounndings (especially the sight of people). I need a bag to securely hold her. I am thinking of buying something like this:



It would work.

mudgurads or no mudguards? (on Brompton)
My second-hand used but almost new 2015 Brompton came with two silver mudgurads on it. They serve well on rainy days and wet the road surface.
Before buying it and riding it, I thought I would remove them.

I got it in December 2023 and December or Winter in Luxembourg happens to be very wet period. I started riding my Brompton on wet roads and realized how wonderfully the mudguards fended off the dirt and the splashes. So I began to think that I would keep them.

Now I am considering or reconsidering to remove them for good. Why?

1. Functionality / Practicality
The front and rear mudguards are great help when the road is wet and no doubt about it.

Additionally, the rear mudguard has a wheel attached to it. This wheel and the two additional wheels on the rear triangle serve as the feet when folded. They make it possible to let the bike stand. It is also possible to push the bike with ease.

There are people who don't want those wheels. You can buy one of these items from AliExpress to replace the two of them.


When the mudguards are removed, these bike stand feet are necessary and useful.

2. Appearance / Look
I thought always that esthetically mudguards were ugly.

3. Weight saving
By removing them, I guess I can save several hundred grams (possibly 500 or 600 grams). By removing the front mudguard, a new small part is needed additionally. It is a small "hook" like plastic part that is attached to the mudguard's stay. I have already bought the very hook or catch.

Its function is to catch the chainstay to get the front wheel fixed when folded. This catch is not too heavy.

L-Twoo deraileur and shifter arrived!
They came. The rear deraileur had onw L-Twoo logo and FOLD-A painted on it. It is L-Twoo's 5/6/7-speed deraileur. The shifter had no logos or anything. When I fiddled with one of the shifter levers, it clicked 6 times one way. It means that this shifter is 7-speed compatible.

Oh, they came with "gift" deraileur hanger converter as advertized. The Brompton frame does not come with a typical derailer hanger. This small piece of aluminum converts the simple hole into a deraileur hanger.

I am waiting for the arrival of LitePro 7-speed cassette. I need to order an 11-speed compatible chain to complete the circle. I am going to buy it from one of the German on-line shops like Bike24.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Still shopping?]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. 2024/02/06(火) 22:32:27|
2. Bikes and related things
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