Aussie on a Brompton

WordCamp

Misc 24/09/2014 Leave a comment

This weekend will be a sort of “back to school” for me, as I’m heading for the Sydney WordCamp event –

Taking some words from the Xen.Com.Au website, WordPress can be explained as “…a very popular CMS (Content Management System) which powers hundreds of thousands of websites around the world. As well as the free version, which allows you to start blogging quickly and easily without any experience, there’s an ‘installed’ version which is hosted on a server of your choosing.”

So, with my interest in blogging I decided to attend WordCamp 2014 to see what the “User Track” portion of the schedule had to offer (while leaving the “Tech Track” for the serious/professional/techie” types?) –
http://2014.sydney.wordcamp.org/schedule/

My WordPress blog has been an interesting “occupation” for me & I’m not expecting WordCamp to inspire any layout re-designs (although, who knows?). My blog update processing aims are to “keep it simple” & WordCamp could be an interesting time?

Ignorance is ok

My Brompton, Tweaks 22/09/2014 Comments: 3

Ralph’s serial number reveals a September 2011 build but I’m unaware of any info about when the conversion to an Alfine 11-speed came about. When I acquired Ralph in Australia in late 2012 I’ve concluded that the local seller had the Brompton about a year. Within that time Ralph probably travelled a lot as cargo (courtesy of the owner’s profession) & I suspect the on-road kms weren’t excessive? From my observation the Alfine rear hub operation seemed fine – although I’ve been puzzled how the right side hub cap/seal came to be butchered (replaced earlier by me – refer “Ralph refreshed” posting – & my assumption is that it was removed & replaced without use of the special tool?). No service history is known & I expect that nothing was due for the hub, considering the likely non-excessive use?

Rear hub gear lubrication is usually via the hub being packed with grease but for the Alfine 11-speed (& the Rohloff 14-speed) the lubrication comes from the hub containing oil. Instead of dismantling the hub, the Alfine 11-speed has an “oil port” in the hub shell & the design provides for oil to be injected via a syringe. Shimano has produced an oiling kit & a special oil (no spec stated but it seems akin to an automatic transmission fluid?). An Internet search located the basic kit at a very reasonable price (with 50ml oil rather than the commercial 1 litre can) & my purchase duly arrived – from Estonia!?

Why have I purchased an oiling kit? Ralph had developed an occasional “gear skip” when changing into 6th gear & I suspected that an oil change may be in order? (contrary to my assumption of limited kms but…)

The oiling kit instructions seemed straight-forward: basically the syringe is connected to the oil port & used to suck the oil out of the hub & then fresh oil is injected via the syringe. However, some practicalities didn’t seem to match the simple steps but fortunately, I discovered a web blog from a young lady who gave far more detail on the difficulties she encountered when servicing her recumbent trike. Her revelations warned me of the need for patience when using the syringe to withdraw or inject oil (owing to pressure in the hub).

Here’s a pic of Ralph with syringe connected, ready to have the old oil sucked out of the hub

In extracting the oil I was surprised to only get about 5ml of oil & that it looked fairly clean? (I was expecting 25ml & that the oil would be black – ie “dirty”?) The next stage of an oil change was to inject 25ml of clean oil, drive the hub while changing gears for a minute & then extract that oil (ie to “flush” the hub). With the seeming cleanliness of my initial extracted oil, I decided to inject about 15ml & see how the extraction went. After the hub & gear operations, the extraction process showed about 15ml of really clean-looking oil. From this I concluded the extraction process was working ok (& my initial 5ml extraction was probably all the oil that was in the hub?) & that the hub was fairly clean inside (as evidenced by “flushed” oil looking pristine?).

With my limited stock of (normally rather expensive) oil, I resolved to re-inject the 15ml & then top that up with another 10ml. (If the hub required extra work then I would still have another 25ml of oil to use.) Here’s a pic of Ralph with the syringe ready for an injection

On completion – & with some trepidation & curiosity – I took Ralph out for a little test-ride. All seems well; smooth changes & no skipping! Phew!

So, quite a mystery how Ralph came to have so little oil in the hub? From the oil cleanliness it seems to confirm the limited kms of riding (pre-purchase & my own use). I’ve read that Shimano Alfine hub seals can leak but I’ve only seen the slightest of evidence with Ralph. Was the limited oil via servicing? (still puzzled as to who butchered the hub dust cap? While the cap wasn’t intended to retain the oil, it’s mangling was indicative of someone “servicing” the hub!) Maybe the lack of oil came from the initial Alfine conversion company? (or Shimano not filling the hub initially?)

Sorry Ralph, hopefully all’s well?

Marathon setup

Bits, My Brompton, Tweaks 18/09/2014 Leave a comment

This blog post is intended as an update to my previous post, “Puncture practice” (the sorry tale of on-road tube replacement?). My order for Schwalbe Marathon tyres for Ralph was delivered within a few days from Kobie, the Australian Brompton Distributor. While our other Bromptons have Marathon Plus tyres fitted, I decided to replace the Kojaks on Ralph with Marathons for a variety of reasons. First would be the likelihood of better puncture protection than the Kojak tyres & second, they may be easier to fit onto the Alfine 11-speed hub Sun rear rim than the M+ tyre. With Brompton recommending the M tyre in preference to the M+ & the distributor offering the M tyre for shipping, my mind was made up! I’m guessing/hoping that the on-road performance difference between M & M+ tyres won’t be noticeable. We’ve had no issues with the M+ operations & if it was any other Brompton than Ralph then I would probably stick with M+ tyres?

The removal of the front & rear tyres was only slightly more difficult with the rear Sun rim & to prove that I wasn’t imagining/exaggerating the difference between the rims, here’s a pic of the Sun rim & the old-style single-wall front rim (both fitted with thin BBB rim tape) to illustrate the profile comparison.

Fitting the M tyre to the front rim was straight-forward & by ensuring the tyre is squeezed into the valley of the rim while the remainder of the tyre is “thumbed” over the rest of the rim, the assembly was rapid. Probably a Kojak may have been easier (sorry, I’ve had no experience with fitting Brompton’s own brand tyre) but I can’t say that the M tyre was any easier than an M+ (apologies that I wasn’t attempting a back-to-back direct comparison).

As for Ralph’s rear wheel, I can only repeat a portion from the previous sentence, “I can’t say that the M tyre was any easier than an M+…” – & from my experience it’s still bloody hard! That Sun rim is terrible: the lack of valley means that the initial tyre fitment stops with about 40cm still to be pushed over the rim. From there it’s a case of rest, squeeze tyre into the well, push tyre further onto the rim & then repeat (& keep repeating). One difficulty-factor is that the tyre is new & “un-stretched”, whereas next time it should be a little easier?

Remembering my first attempt at fitting M+ onto Ralph before last year’s UK trip, I had bruised & raw thumbs. On later tyre changes, I’d installed much thinner BBB rim tape & now it’s tough for the thumbs but ok (not quick, not easy – just ok). For some time I’ve wondered how long the Sun rim will last before being worn out & have researched that Velocity Aeroheat rims are available with the 36 spoke holes required for the Alfine hub. Perhaps I should start checking whether the Velocity rim has a better profile than the Sun rim?

Another of my issues during the roadside tube replacement recently, was my CO2 cartridge tyre inflation “hiccup”. At home in the garage seemed an ideal time to get the practice I needed? I used cartridges to inflate both tyres & the results weren’t very comforting! For one I managed to get 7 bar pressure (100 psi?) but for the other, it was only 5 bar (this measured by connecting my floor pump & checking the gauge). This maximum inflation of 7 bar was what I would want in the tyre but it seems a bit “hit-&-miss”? Whereas my road bike inflations have always seemed successful, I think the greater number of spokes & the cramped space on the Brompton wheels make the exercise more fiddly? Thinking about it now, I should have first secured the Presta valve with the locking ring (or partially inflated the tyre with a hand pump?) to ensure the CO2 adapter pressure against the valve was stable – drat, more practice needed? (For the uninitiated, tyre inflation with a CO2 cartridge is almost instantaneous & if you don’t get it right – or you haven’t ensured the tyre is properly mounted, the tube isn’t pinched, etc – then your inflation result may not be “as expected”?! (Taxi?!…) Another caution to the “almost instantaneous” inflation is that the cartridge becomes freezing cold very quickly! – refer pic showing 2 cartridges: one unused, one just emptied)

Just for confirmation, here’s Ralph now fitted with a new set of Marathon tyres:

Puncture practice

My Brompton, Rides 15/09/2014 Comments: 9

Lovely morning for a ride & so thought we might just check out the progress on some new cyclepath near Parramatta (an extra section that avoids a road detour to skip around a factory – & stay close to the riverbank?). We drove the Tardis to the Silverwater end of Olympic Park & unloaded our Bromptons, Ralph & Peregrine.

While crossing Silverwater Bridge I wondered about Mrs Aussie up-front & carrying Peregrine? (oh no, some mechanical issue I thought, & she’s carrying her Brompton off the narrowish footpath?) Catching up I then realised what the issue was – she was avoiding quite a bit of broken glass! – & I rode straight through it while trying to see what could have been wrong with Peregrine! A quick check of the tyres & all seemed well so we rode on. Later we needed to undertake a detour around an industrial area – lo & behold, some more glass about? Shortly after, I felt Ralph to be weaving slightly & dismounted to confirm my suspicions: rear tyre puncture!

Ralph’s Kojak tyres have held up well (aside from the country-side thorn some months ago?) & this time I was going to try to remember to take photos. Here’s the first –

Parked the rear wheel, whipped out some tools (chose the old faithfuls from my luggage bag rather than the Brompton Toolkit) & removed the chain tensioner.

It was about here that things got out of step. I should have changed to high gear to reduce tension in the gear change cable & then disconnect the cable. Instead, I removed the axle nuts & pulled the rear wheel out – only to realise the gear change cable was still in place (& possibly suffering from the action?). Another pic – this one with all removed neatly.

Aside from the challenge of removing a Brompton rear wheel (Ralph’s 11-speed Alfine probably no more difficult than standard – just different), I was mindful of the next task to remove (& later replace) a tyre on Ralph’s Sun rim (a very flat well in the rim profile making for little leeway when getting the tyre over the rim). My trusty Michelin tyre levers got the tyre off (I wouldn’t have risked using the original-style levers in my Brompton Toolkit – must remember to get them replaced sometime) & I removed the tube. Some air in the tube & I managed to locate the puncture hole. Using the hole as a guide, I inspected the tyre both inside & out before presuming that the glass/whatever was gone & not likely to reoffend? A new tube fitted, it was now time for the worst part of the exercise – refitting the tyre on the Sun rim. Some pics here to reflect my progress: nearly all the way & during a rest-stop, an indication of that last 10cm or so (the thumb-wrecking part?)

Success! Relief! Tyre on! Some air in the tyre to check for tube pinching & then deflation for the wheel refitting (I never disconnect the Brompton brake cables & so my tyres need to be fully inflated after fitment of the wheels, otherwise the inflated tyre won’t fit between the brake pads). Wheel refitted, chain in place & on with the chain tensioner (er, no – some tiredness perhaps, out of practice maybe, but reconnecting the gear change cable with the tensioner in place is “very difficult”) – refer pic –

Oh well, tensioner back off again & cable reconnected (& careful inspection that I hadn’t damaged it on my out-of-sequence wheel removal?). Back on with the tensioner & then re-thread chain around jockey wheels? Some brain-fade here, as to where the chain has to be positioned with the tensioner – perhaps not helped by consistent calls from passing cyclists (with their quick-release wheels) to enquire if I need assistance? (little did they know?). Peregrine saved the day; by being available as a model.

About this time, I decided to re-inflate the rear tyre & so reached for a CO2 cartridge & adapter. I now realise it was the first time I’d used that adapter type & the first time I’d re-inflated a Brompton wheel on the bike with a CO2 cartridge (although lots of experience with big-wheel bikes). Needless, to say, things didn’t go well – the access at the Presta valve positioning wasn’t great, I got the adapter alignment wrong & I was slightly in contact with the cartridge when I opened the adapter tap! The end result was of course, lots of hand pump action to inflate the tyre! (The CO2 progress was something like: open adapter tap, realise/remember that the cartridge temperature drops to freezing – & I was touching the cartridge – & jump/bobble around with the device while most of the CO2 goes anywhere but into the Presta valve?! A definite case of “do practice this at home”?)

All the fun was over, now time to cleanup (really a good motivator to have a spotless bike, & always seems to be the time to think about disposable gloves, hand wipes, etc for next time?)

Here’s one final pic (yes, I did fully tighten the Presta valve locking ring before moving off). Unfortunately, we didn’t get to check out the new cyclepath (instead we headed for a cafe for brunch). Maybe next time? (once the new Marathon tyres order has arrived & been fitted?)

Fotoz birthday

Misc, Trips 13/09/2014 Comments: 2

Doing something special for your 50th birthday seems a good idea (can’t immediately recall what I may have done; too long ago?) & sometimes people go to a lot of trouble!

“Mr Fotoz” is a family member, pro photographer, video producer & seemingly a “life-long train nutter”? An invitation for the family to join him on a steam train trip to the Blue Mountains, near Sydney, wasn’t entirely a surprise & was sure to be memorable. What was unexpected however, was that it turned out to be “his train” & he was arranging the lot! ie booking the engine, heritage carriages, crew, approvals to run the steam train on the main lines, planning & marketing the event & selling tickets to fill the train! (apologies to any mates or enthusiasts if that’s over-simplified things but every time I hear or think any more about it, my head hurts)

So, early one recent Saturday morning we set out for Westmead station, one of the intermediate stops along the route from Picton to Lithgow. There we waited with our picnic baskets, wine, cameras, etc & “almost on time” the Fotoz Flyer came steaming into the station – with Mr Fotoz in the driver’s seat!?

Settling back for our adventure, along with 100+ enthusiastic passengers, the 5917 engine hauled us up into the mountains putting on a sight & sound display that was amazing to experience. All along the way spectators were out beside the route or even following in cars. Inside the train we wined & dined on our goodies & plenty of supplied nibblies. The experienced hands donned safety goggles for observing our journey via the open windows (the amount of coal grit on the tables was enough to dissuade me from sticking my head outside) & we all marveled at the sounds of a steam train working very hard (both up the hills & on the flat).

Steam being steam, our trip had a number of stops while the water was replenished (& for once the crowds around the action were parted by a decent shower of rain?).

The whole experience was a step back in time – such as these “mod cons” in our first-class compartment & some of the travellers in period costume?

There was an extra section of the journey after Lithgow, off the main line, when we travelled on to Wallerawang so that the engine could be turned around for our journey home (where we sat & waited in our carriages while the engine chuffed off & later appeared via a cunning “triangular loop”, ready to take its place at the other end of the train – such are the difficulties of arranging steam travel on modernised infrastructure?)

Our journey back to Westmead to depart the train was pretty well on time, perhaps with not quite the same excitement as when traveling up into the mountains? Overall, we had about 12 hours of fun – & really appreciate the efforts of the organisers who would have spent 15+ hours for Saturday, as well as the involvement of getting the train to the Thirlmere start point on Friday, as well as returning to Eveleigh on Sunday (& everything it took to even get the approvals?!)

Finally, the downside of the adventure for the participants was the inability to get the full spectator experience. We’ll have to be content with the excellent video work from Bevan Wall on YouTube –

BTW, regular viewers may be detecting the likelihood of a backlog of posts? I now admit defeat to the notion of keeping my blog posts in chronological order (hey, a new interpretation for doing things “sooner than later”?

BAC thoughts

Uncategorized 27/07/2014 Leave a comment

Ooooh, Australia’s getting its own Brompton National Championship (BNC) in October! From the ad it’s listed as a Brompton Australian Championship so I guess that makes it the BAC? The announcement probably created a lot of excitement, especially so for anyone already having done a BNC or BWC event. Very quickly my thoughts turned to what outfit to wear? Before long I started wondering what makes it such a great happening…

One year ago today we were at the Brompton World Championship (BWC2013). It was wonderfully memorable & even with lots of videos watched beforehand of previous events, the weekend was bigger than expected. Leaving aside the historic Goodwood Motor Racing circuit setting & ignoring the excitement of arriving to pick up the race package, seeing 600+ Bromptons of all configurations & colours along with a huge array of rider outfits was rather overwhelming.

The main event was the BWC race; 4 laps of Goodwood after a “Le Mans start” run to our folded bikes arranged on a grassed “grid” & a frantic unfold before wheeling them onto the asphalt & riding onto the track itself. All this was undertaken in “waves” or groups of about 150 Bromptons, with 90 seconds between, & the race timing (from a transponder fitted to each bike’s race-number) to start from the point of crossing the start line on the track. (This method for the race start gave an equal chance to all the contestants & made for a safe & less hurried chaotic scramble.) Yes, we knew about the untimed fold but did that matter? Knowing that we didn’t need to race our unfolded bikes between those still getting their act together, made for a less stressful, gentler, almost chivalrous start?

Onto the track & we all pedaled away furiously; my pace as usual, rather slow courtesy of my restricted heart capacity. Yes, I was flat out, or so it seemed, but my mid-track position kept me out of the serious rider’s race-lines & placed me ideally to watch most of the field hurtle by (& to be lapped twice by the leaders). The starting gap between the waves didn’t last long & the track soon became an endless stream of colourful Bromptons piloted by nattily attired riders. (The only time I saw Mrs Aussie was when she came alongside suggesting a “team finish”, but sadly I had to inform her that I still had another lap to go!) Across the finish line for the last time & the riders turned off the track, into the arms of many helpers ready with our medals & shepherding us to the after-race snacks & onward towards the post-race tea party.

So, with a heavy heart we’ve missed out on today’s BWC2014 – our fault, but maybe next year? In the meantime, BAC2014 is on the way & there’s an eager anticipation of the event details in a few days. Will we get a good course? Will the unfold be timed? What to do about the outfit? Truly a National Championship for all – don’t miss it.

100 days to go

Misc 11/07/2014 Leave a comment

The “tbc” Brompton Australian Championship now has a date! More info to follow, they say but from today we’ve only got 100 days to go before the very first BAC…

Cafe creations

Misc 09/07/2014 Comments: 4

New cafés are always interesting to check out offerings & my recent visit to LidnJar at Rhodes was no different – but in fact with differences? Quirky furniture is nothing new as an attraction (or challenge) but the new cafe took it to a new level by including the whole fitout. Some pics follow & I’ll leave it to you to like/dislike their decor. As for the food & coffee, I was very happy with what I had & no doubt will return soon. (Actually my return will also allow me to check out whether their decor attempt was in fact intended, or maybe the fitout was temporary to suit the opening?)

Juicy outing

Trips 01/07/2014 Comments: 2

We discovered a lovely bit of cycling road recently (well, particularly lovely for me as it seemed to have no major hills?). It covers about 10-12km along a river valley on a non-through road. It is well sealed, narrow, winding & undulating & as a round-trip of about 20km through nice scenery, it would seem to be ideal for my Brompton escapades?

Unfortunately, I have yet to ride along it, for our discovery was while on an outing with the Tardis to give it a Sunday run on a cool day that was expected to wind up becoming very wet. As part of the day out, we were going to attempt to locate an orchard near Wiseman’s Ferry that was offering “pick your own” Mandarins. So we headed out & had a pleasant time relaxing around the Hawkesbury River locality, & after some lunch we turned back to the task of locating the farm & orchard.

Immediately we turned onto the road we started encountering vehicle traffic coming in the opposite direction. There were a number of properties along the road & with the afternoon getting on, we continued along thinking the traffic was purely coincidental? However, the traffic became more of a flood; convoys of cars all heading in our direction? With the narrow & winding road, we were continually moving over or stopping to await a gap in the traffic before we could continue along. At some point along the road we came to the conclusion that the traffic must have been coming from the farm, as there was little else along the dead-end road. Getting toward the property we were seeing “count down” signs to the farm & concluded that we should arrive prior to the closing time, so should keep going & would likely have the place to ourselves?

Eventually we arrived at the farm, to be confronted with fields of cars (hundreds?) parked near acres of citrus trees. Boy, was picking your own fruit popular?! After being directed toward a field to park, we made our way to the sheds on the property & learned the ropes of obtaining our fruit: a deposit paid for some shears, a map display of where the various Mandarin varieties were located, some rules for picking (snip the stems & don’t pull at the mandarins, no throwing of fruit – presumed to be aimed at the kids? – etc, etc), a bucket for the fruit (we couldn’t see ourselves being able to consume multiple bucket-fulls?) & away we went. Out into the orchard, easily filling our bucket from countless trees heavily laden with fruit; all while carefully stepping between discarded peel & damaged fruit. With the plan of paying for weighed buckets of Mandarins, I suppose there was something in the rules about “no eating of fruit” but it hadn’t been heeded, judging by the amount of peel discarded? As for “no throwing of fruit”, kids will be kids?

Our picking went off admirably, with “just a little” tasting (essentially to verify the tree quality?) & then back to the sheds to have our booty accounted for. A trudge back to the Tardis & then wending our way back along a still busy narrow, winding road & then returning along the main road to home; a lovely day out!

As for the discovery of an ideal cycling outing for me, time will tell. We shall have to carefully investigate the various picking seasons if we hope to get the road to ourselves.

New challenges

Lawn bowls, Rides, Trips 28/06/2014 Comments: 2

A lot has happened in the last few years. Bromptons, retirement, the Tardis & now Lawn Bowling. Lots of other things too but the last year of bowling has been a rather surprising activity.

My only practical experience had been a workplace Christmas function many years ago, when a large group hit the greens for a “barefoot bowls” session. That had been fun but the post-retirement intrigue of seeing bowlers at my local club lead to inquiring about “proper coaching”. Some weeks of coaching & I was joining up as a registered bowler; all very whirlwind I suppose but it’s been an ongoing learning experience.

The early surprise was the workout on leg muscles that I’d forgotten about. Once I started playing social games I realised it wasn’t just a walk in the park: more like a 4 hour walk, with bending & stretching & regular weight-lifting of 1.5kg lawn bowls. This physical involvement has an accompanying mental effort as well, with continuing concentration on the bowling action, the game aspects & changing conditions throughout the time. In addition, I’ve gained an appreciation of the social structures of the game (team selections & socialising, play etiquette & player support) & how the game is an ideal exercise for the “senior body”, as well as participants of all ages (& gender). All very surprising & unexpected?

I suppose I was expecting a challenge when I started, of the game requirement to deliver the bowl along a curving trajectory to a target point on the bowling rink. The challenge is even more immense than I expected, with variability in weather & rink conditions endeavouring to counter any personal effort for consistency? In truth, “it’s bloody hard” – but addictive?!

I’d often seen bowling green maintenance being undertaken but now I’ve got a much better appreciation of what goes on. Here’s our club Greenkeeper/magician, Fred, whizzing about on his mower.

The last few months has even seen a ramped up involvement, with participation in the Zone Pennants championship play & in various club championship events. Throughout this time I’ve been getting a better feel for how I’ve been delivering the bowl (as compared to the early self-questioning such as “how did it end up there?”) & progressing successfully through various championship rounds. This busy time has seen some periods of 7 days play per week! As you can imagine other activities have suffered & my cycling has often been limited to riding Ralph to the bowling club to practice. Unfortunately our club Pennants side hasn’t won our section so that’s our season over for this year & unfortunately again, my Minor Pairs final was unsuccessful (although my partner & I have been rather pleased to even make the final against some very experienced players) & so now it’s time to escape for a bit in the Tardis?

Actually, this escape trick isn’t quite what it seems, for the Tardis is carrying a spare set of bowls along with Ralph & Peregrine. With almost every town possessing a bowling club then it’s likely there’ll be a little research along the way? Here is a very recent escapade at Lennox Head: note Ralph & Brompton C bag waiting patiently to carry about 7kg of bowling equipment back to the Tardis.