欧州自転車レース追っかけ日記

AliExpress purchasing or shopping Part ??
I decided it is time for the next shopping. The shopping cart included some bike parts and clothing items.

The bike parts include the BCD110 58T and 44T chainrings. These will fit on the Brmopton. I will see if they really fit. I mean by "really fit" if these chainrings will not spoil the usability (riding and folding).

Some small parts for any bikes.

Some clothing items carrying MX-5 images or logo.


Brompton Front 50T (34T) and Rear 11-28T
How is it?

The chain itself was cut and adjusted (with the missinglink connecting piece) with the 54T chainring in place. So I knew the chain is a bit too long with this 50T chainring. I was sure that when I put the chain on the 34T chainring, the tension pully would hit the ground with a slight tilt to the right.

How did it ride? It was very fine on the long steep climb in the woods along the small stream not far from my humble residence. The combination of 50T and 28t helped me ride up the steep climb.

On the other hand, this combination did not help me accelerate while coasting down the incline in front of my residence.

The long steep climb along the stream is not on my commuting route so I don't intend to tackle the climb with the Brompton anymore except for the purpose of testing the shifting settings.


Octalink / ISIS bottom bracket and etc.
My experience with so-called BB (Bottom Bracket) started with the square taper BB that came with my first bicycle in my adulthood, Birdy (1st generation). The second one is Shimano Hollowtech II BB that came with the Cervélo that I bought when living in Germany. My third encouter is ISIS BB that I purchased when I found a cheap carbon-like crankset for the Cervélo above-mentioned. The fourth one is the BSA 30 that I bought needed for the second-hand Rotor 3D+ crankset (for Cervélo BBright) that I purchased on eBay.

My latest bike, Brompton, had this square taper BB on it as almost (or all) all Bromptons do. It is relatively easy to swap those BBs. I have basic tools but some of them were missing. I had to buy some more.

I have (or at least "had") two ISIS BBs. One is from FSA (Plutinum something) and the other one is KCNC ultra-lightweight Scandium ISIS BB. The latter one is missing for the moment. I think it is deposited at friend's cellar.

The former feels heavy and it is somehow broken. I can not remove the BB left cup from the BB body. How come? It (the cup) is not stuck. I can move it around (spin around the body) but I can not remove. Somehow the left cup can not be removed from the body.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [AliExpress shopping time]の続きを読む

1. 2024/04/29(月) 18:49:53|
2. Bikes and related things
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Brompton 7-speed modification impression (part II)

The tires have been changed (along with the 7-speed cassette compatible wheels, of course).

Before: (Brompton genuine) Schwalbe Marathon

After: Schwalbe Kojack

The Schwalbe Kojack is an bald (association with the famous "Kojack" character played by Terry Savalas) slick tire that has thin width (height 32-349).

The Schwalbe Marathon is a multipurpose all-weather (?) tire that has wider width (height 37-349).

The difference is very clear. The wheels with the Kojack look smaller and thinner. You don't have to measure the wheels to know, you just see it.

One of the advantages of wider tires is that it can tolerate low air pressue. Lower air pressure (in the inner tube inside the tire) means more of suspension effect (softer ride feel).

One of the disadvantages of wider tires is that it can generate more friction. The Schwalbe Marathon has deeper grooves and these (I guess) help gain more grip on the wet surfaces and rough terrains.

On the other hand, the Schwalbe Kojack can not tolerate low air pressure (or I won't allow it). I am afraid lower air pressure will soon result in snakebite puncture poles in the tube. That is why my Kojack tires are so pumped up.

So the impression of the ride feels of Marathon and Kojack is like this.

The Kojack feels very smooth on the alphalt and even feels quieter. It can be very bumpy on the cobblestone pavement, which I often find in the city area. This bumpiness is not totally its fault. I just prefer security (against puncture) over comfortness. Schwalbe stipulates (I imagine) that the Kojack should be used on alphalted pavement only.

The Marathon rides relatively comfortable on the cobbles, of course but feels a bit, tiny bit noisy even on the asphalt. I can not feel the "drag" (friction) but I imagine it has more than the Kojack does.

Which do I prefer? I like Kojack as long as the weather permits. I don't think the Kojack will perform better than Marathon on icy roads.

I chose the Kojack because it can be obtrained at very reasonable prices from German online stores easily.

Some people will prefer Continental's expensive tires (is it called something Contact?) and I believe they have superior grip, better flat protection and even smaller drag than the Kojack. They cost more and I don't think I profit from them as I don't go on long ride tours on my Brompton.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [How does Brompton 7-speed feel?]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. 2024/04/25(木) 23:11:28|
2. Bikes and related things
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Brompton 7-speed modification done!
I did it. Now my Brompton has a 7-speed system on it. The L-TWOO shifter and rear deraileur are on it. They seem to work well so far. I have not ridden the bike yet.

Now I have ridden it and I want to write my impression.

Before modification:
Front chainring: 53T
Rear cogs: 12-16 (2-speed Brompton's genuine)
Tires: Schwalbe Marathon 37 mm

After modification:
Front chainring: 54T
Rear cassette: 11-13-15-18-22-25-28 (7-speed L-TWOO shifting gear)
Tires: Schwalbe Kojack 32 mm

This cassette was made from the SRAM PG 1070 10-speed cassette (11-12-13-15-17-18-22-25-28), which happened to lie around. I did purchase a dedicated 7-speed cassette from China but it never came to me. It got lost on the way, I guess. I tried this home-made cassette and so far it is working well.

The chain is a Shimano 11-speed one. As the lost 11-speed cassette's specification specified that it required an 11-speed chain, I purchased one but now the cassette is made from a 10-speed cassette, it should work with any 10-speed chains, technically, I guess.

I was surprised when I felt that the front 53T chainring was not big enough immediately after the modificaiton and the initital ride. The rear cog got smaller ( from 12 to 11), I thought the pedaling would feel heavier but it did not. So I changed the front chainrings and got a bigger one (54T).

Sure, the tire's circumference got a bit smaller but ...

I am not happy with the Brompton's genuine crankset. It is in silver. I want my Brompton to appear as black as possible. I have an old Shimano Octalink FSA (ISIS) carbon cranks that happen to lie around. They are an old ones, indeed. They are not totally made of carbon fiber reinforced material but they have aluminum bone inside. I want them on my Brompton. This crankset has the BCD110 standard 5-arm spiders, it requires a chainring of such standard. I only have a 50T / 34T set. A 50T chainring won't do.

I am considering buying a bigger one from Aliexpress. Maybe 56T or 58T will do. I may purchase a 42T or 44T charinring to accompany the big one.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Brompton 7-speed modification aftermath]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. 2024/04/25(木) 12:02:43|
2. Bikes and related things
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Brompton 7-speed modification done!
I did it. Now my Brompton has a 7-speed system on it. The L-TWOO shifter and rear derailleur are on it. They seem to work well so far. I have not ridden the bike yet.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [7-speed Brompton tentatively done]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. 2024/04/22(月) 19:33:54|
2. Bikes and related things
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I am leaving for Maastricht soon
It is already Sunday morning and I have to go to bed to rest. I am leaving for Maastricht in several hours from now. I am not packed yet. I will do that when I wake up.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [One week of vacation in April]の続きを読む

1. 2024/04/14(日) 00:50:05|
2. Bike Races in the Netherlands
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Amstel Gold Race 2024
I don't know really but I think that the race course arrangement has been changed. In essence, men go around in a longer circuit course surrounding the finish area while women race in a short circuit course. As soon as women finish the race, men come into the short circuit.

Where should I go? I may take my Brompton to visit more places during the race.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Amstel Gold Race 2024]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車ロードレース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2024/04/12(金) 11:54:50|
2. Bike Races in the Netherlands
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Brabantse Pijl 2024
I am planning to visit this race but not 100 % sure. This year (I don't remember last year's edition well but ...) the race got a refresh. The women's peloton leaves from Lennik. The finish circuit course got shorter (I guess).

In a way, it is easy to visit two or more climbs on a bike. This year I am planning to take my bike (Brompton) with me.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Brabantse Pijl 2024]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車ロードレース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2024/04/09(火) 00:04:15|
2. Bike Races in Belgium
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JetBoil original and Sumo
I recently got a used Sumo kit (Cup and the burner from the United States of America through ebay). My old old (the very original generation) kit is quite different from the recent ones. I acknowledged the improvement over the old generation products.

First of all, mine used to (for a short while as the head deteriorated quite quickly) look like this. This burner head was fragile and this burner head had to be improved promptly (I guess).

(image 01: filched from the Net - JetBoil original stove's burner head)

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My original kit has a simple valve and its frame is not stable under cold ambient temperatures. Later they (JetBoil) developed a better valve. This silver device seems to have something to do with it. Its frame is stable even the surrounding temperature is quite low.

(image 02: filched from the Net - Showing a silver device attached to the burner valve)

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The burner got lighter and shorter to improve the portability.

(image 03: filched from the Net - Height comparison)

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The burner head may have a few or several generations. This is the first generation, I guess eventually they settled on the one that is in use now.


(image 04: filched from the Net - This is the improved burner head that replaced the original generation head)

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This is the old style knob. It worked but I guess some people complained that it was not easy to turn it when they had thick gloves on where the nature required the protection from the frost bite.

(image 05: filched from the Net - Mine has this old style knob)

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This is the knob on my Sumo kit.

Now it is easy to operate the valve with thick gloves on and it is not possible store the kit inside the cooking cup with the gas canister attached. If is it the feature to prevent accidents like gas leak, it is marvelous but if it is a design flaw, it is terrible. Is it a feature or a bug?

(image 06: filched from the Net - My Sumo's burner has this type of knob)



Paris-Roubaix 2024
This entire blog is my diary as you have already known for long time. Sometime I address "you" as in "as you know" but this "you" is not in the second person, rather in the first person. I am talking to myself.

Anyway, I am writing this to remember what I did, how I did it or how I did it wrong. For example, I did something really stupid this year and I want to write it here.

It was Sunday, April 7th 2024. Sunny with hazy occasional clouds. (It was) Not a typical day for more dramatic Paris-Roubaix, which was completely OK for me as I don't wish for any injuries for the riders. The previous evening I decided in the motel room (Premiere Class, a French economic hotel chain) that I would just visit both the feed zones before eventually making my way to Roubaix Velodrome finish line.

The previous (Saturday, April 6th 2024) I was puzzled and frustrated as I tried to watch my portable DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcast - Terrestrial) TV by the Velodrome aforementioned. I put the device in the search mode and found none of the channels that I wanted. The reception was bad and most if not all were encoded (not free to view).

The previous year, 2023, I could watch the free-to-air broadcast and could enjoy the show. How could this be? I was puzzled. The French authority (or broadcasting companies) decided to encode everything?

I was at dismay.

I left the hotel (an inexpensive motel) around 08:45. I woke up around 08:00, took a shower, packed quickly including Hannah and left. I drove to the first feed zone between "Pavé" sectors 25 and 26. I have been there before. In the end I got one bidon from an unknown rider. He threw it to me, not at me, meaning that he gently tossed it so that it would softly tumble-land on the grassy road shoulder at my feet. How nice of him!

After this I drove to the second feed zone between sectors 14 and 15. Actually I changed my mind and wanted to reach sector 14 but I failed miserably and arrived at the feed zone. How I failed? I failed to notice that my detour route (to avoid hitting the race course) would hit the very freeway ramp the peloton was going to use. How stupid of me! I had known this would happen because I had made this mistake years ago. I just forgot about it the previous night when I calculated the route on Garmin BaseCamp.

This cost me around 25 or 30 minutes. I eventually drove to the next on-ramp as quickly as I could but not as fast as I wished. Eventually when I drove close to the destination, I had to settle with the feed zone where I got no droppings.

After this, I drove to Roubaix and took out Hannah and walked to the Velodrome. This year , there was a change in the route diversion. When you (it is me, I am talking to myself) drive close to the Roubaix Velodrome, Gendarmerie officers (or other Police officers? as there are a lot of Police organization or layers in France) stop you from going into the race course. For the last many years, this diversion point after getting off the highway was the roundabout marked with a cross sign shown in the map screenshot clip a bit lower than the other.

This year (Saturday and Sunday), the diversion point was an another further up roundabout also marked with a cross (meant to be a road block) sign. This was supposed to be a nicer suggestion but turned out to be a trap. It is closer to the Velodrome but since it leads to "a" road, you get a more packed road.



I (or "we", as there were a lot of fellow drivers) used to choose my own streets to get to the destination. There are a lot of streets around this residential area and we got less traffic on the way. For some reasons, there were some out-of-service traffic lights on the way (Police officers were there to guide us). I arrived safely but with a lot of frustration.

I enjoyed the day anyway.

Saturday, April 6th
I left Luxembourg around 07:00? maybe. It was a fine day in April. I filled up the tank on the way at a gas station along the highway in Luxembourg. I drove directly to the sector 15. It was around 10:30 and the place was quiet except for the "Paris-Roubaix Challenge" riders. There were no road block of any kinds at that hour in the morning. I could even drive to the feed zone or the area close to the sector 14. I parked my car at almost the same place as I did last year. After a short rest in the car, I got down to my business. I did some painting on the cobble stones.

After the passage of the peloton, I drove to Roubaix and saw the end of the race.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Paris - Roubaix 2024 summary]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車ロードレース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2024/04/08(月) 20:55:57|
2. Bike Races in France
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Paris - Roubaix 2024



This screenshot clip shows the cobblestone sections 26, 27 and 28. They are featured in the Men's edition of Paris - Roubaix 2024. If you look closer at them, you will notice that the sections 28 and 26 are very close to each other.

You might think that you will watch the peloton at the early section of 28 and move (by bicycle hopefully) to the section 27 while the riders are away tacking section 27. The town (or village) of Viesly is a small one and you can move across it on foot and by bicycle in 10 minutes (cobblestone on foot and through the village by bicycle - total of 700 meters or 800 meters).

It can feasible because the peloton is not widely stretched by then. Do you need explanation? From the start (Compiegne) there are some riders who want to escape the big group. They ride relatively flat asphalted road for 90 km. By then, the gap between the escape group and the peloton could be around 5 minutes. And the peloton is normally tightly packed. You will watch the small group of riders pass and maybe 5 minutes later the big group pass followed by a host of team cars and press security motorbikes (and other vehicles of course).

You have to position yourself on the cobble where you can push your bike and walk back to the village as soon as those vehicles get scarce. Once you get out of the race course, you get on the bike and rush to the sector 26. You should be able to complete the move within 15 minutes. You have around 20 minutes (according to the time table).

Problem is your escape route. If you want to continue your day with other cobblestone sectors, you want to drive away from this area to get somewhere. You have to park your car carefully so that you can drive away as quickly as possible.

I use Garmin BaseCamp to simulate the escape routes when planning the watch plan. I love Garmin BaseCamp. I love my Garmin Camper 660.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Paris - Roubaix 2024 itinerary]の続きを読む

テーマ:自転車ロードレース - ジャンル:スポーツ

1. 2024/04/05(金) 11:13:06|
2. Bike Races in France
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