Brompton Roller Wheel Replacement

I've been meaning for quite some time to get this done, but somehow other things got in the way. The problem: I didn't like either the stock roller wheels or the EZ wheels for my Brompton. The roller wheels hardly work at all, and the EZ wheels are much better--but I'm after the BEST!. So, my experiment begins . .

Removal of the stock roller wheels was a bit more challenging than expected, with the apparent use generous amounts of high-strength thread lock during installation. Here are the parts of the stock setup:

Pretty simple

Tons of thread lock

The wheels I went with for replacements are indoor hockey wheels, 72mm in diameter, with bearings included.

Should roll nicer

Not much difference in thickness

The inside diameter (I.D.) of the bearing is 5/16", so I was on the hunt for a shouldered cap screw. The stock cap screw is too short, and is a M6x1.0 thread, so there is excessive play between it and the I.D. of the bearing. My hardware store only had SAE-threaded shouldered bolts, so I went with a sleeve over a standard M6x1.0 bolt, 1.25 in in length (I think?). Like so:

I had to go with a brass sleeve, as the aluminum, steel, and nylon were too thick to both fit the I.D. of the bearing and the M6 cap screw.

I'm trying the setup for a while with the inside bearing removed, so the wheel bearing surface is shouldered against the frame, and if that doesn't work so well, I'll install the inside bearing and give that a shot. I used the stock sleeve as a spacer (see below). The idea here is that with the inside bearing removed, the wheel sits closer inward, away from heel strike.

I'll remove the silly graphics

Installed

Fun project! I took it on a test run and it does roll noticeably better.

Petition Against AAA Advocating to Cut Bicycle Trail funding

Recently, AAA advocated to congress that funding for bicycle and pedestrian trails be diverted to funding highways. They will be misguided unless we gather together and voice our concerns. Rails-to-Trails is facilitating a petition to organize our efforts.

Here's the link. 

Pass this along freely.

Community Car, Brompton, and a Couch

About a month ago, we ordered a couch. We got a call that the couch came in, and was ready to pick up. The couch delivery oligopolists charge $50+ to deliver said piece of furniture, so my instinct shouted "DON'T BUY!" (the delivery charge, that is).

I don't own, or know anyone who does own, a pickup truck. The couch won't fit on my bike, and I don't yet have one of these, so I thought of a plan. This plan would be a bicycle/car partnership, consisting of a bike ride on my Brompton folding bike to the location of a Community Car minivan, capable of transporting my new secondary sleeping location back to my house. Community Car is Madison's car sharing program, not an altogether unique program, but nonetheless creative and potentially effective.

Time came to reserve the minivan. I logged on and found that the one en route to the furniture store is already booked by other users, so I opt for the other minivan in the Madison area, which is 10 miles away. 10 miles on the Brompton is no small feat, but I managed. Once I found the van, I folded down all the seats, let the Brompton ride shotgun, and we were off to the furniture store.

Excellent benefit of the chain being inside the fold: No chain on upholstery!

I arrived at the furniture store, slid the couch in (it fit), closed the hatch, and brought it home. Mission complete.

Total cost:               $7/hr for Community Car use (includes everything) x 2 hrs
                             =$14

Delivery folks:       $50+

Savings of :             $36+ for 2 hours.

Don't forget that I also got in some bicycling miles that I would have pedaled elsewhile. Simply a transfer.
      

Autumn Peace

Autumn is an incredible time of year for being on the bike. Today's ride home was especially peaceful and calm. I wish everyone could experience a little bit of this in their day . . . somehow.

An Audi ad for . . . . mountain bikes?

Where My Brompton Fits

For a week or two, I have been switching off between the Brompton and the Casseroll as I ride to and from school. The Casseroll, of course, is parked outside--which is quite nice since it's covered. When I ride the Brompton, I have been lugging it around orientations and from classroom to classroom. This works fine, since it is quite small, but does get heavy throughout the course of the day. I even had a chance to demo the fold in front of my cohort during an orientation by Chris Hinrichs, an Executive MBA professor and fellow folding bike aficionado (he rides a Birdy). Shortly after orientation started, I was finally granted access to our private MBA locker room. Hmmmm, I thought, locker??? Would it fit?

After trying different configurations inside the locker, here are the results:

All cute and folded. So proper.

This is the best configuration: saddle straight, back left corner to front right corner. If I have the ITChair, it comes off and sets to the side inside the locker.

And it closes w/o effort!

Imagine if your employer provided a simple locker system such as this. Our locker room has shower facilities for both genders, and some private bathrooms. Brompton to the bus (or straight to work), bus to work, Brompton from bus stop to work, Brompton inside locker, BAM! I suppose when I have an actual desk/office, I would rather just park the Brommy right next to me, but that's a few months off yet. No locks, no thieves, no weather on bike, just excellence. Just ask the Queen.

Brooks Mud Protection

So, the Salsa Casseroll is slowly morphing into a randonneuring-specific bike. If things go well, it should have a Son Schmidt wheel w/ some Supernova lights and a Tubus Carry or Airy ti rear rack come early Spring. The latest addition to the bike was a kind gift from a good friend back home: Brooks Mudflap, flavor Honey.

I had resisted a mudflap, not sure why, for far too long. Last winter, my crank/bb area would look much like the wheel well of your grandpa's rusted out Buick, so resistance was futile. Mudflap it is:

Original Shot. Blasted Google won't accept 90 deg rotation. 

After a nice soaking in Obenauf's Oil. 

Close-up after the oil-soaking quieted down.

It really looks nice on there. The saddle used to be "Honey"

Closer shot

I really like this bike. Should have had the Velo Orange hbar bag installed. 

Conversations as a Bike Shop Customer

I finally broke down and had to purchase a couple items at a bike shop, this time as a retail customer. As I've spent the past couple years of my life dedicated to improving the customer experience, I was quite interested to see how others do it. Here is my initial finding:

Me: Walk into shop. Navigate through the disorganization to find their chain lube, which is under glass behind the service counter. Really? After waiting for my "turn" to be acknowledged, this is the extent of the conversation that followed:
Me: "Can I get a 4oz bottle of your DuMonde Tech Lite?
Bike Shop Employee: "The what?"
Me: "The yellow bottle. The bigger of the two."
Bike Shop Employee: "Oh . . . "
Me: "Do you have any Bromptons yet? I saw you're a new dealer on the website."
Bike Shop Employee: "What?"
Me: "This:" I held up my Brompton.
Bike Shop Employee: "I dunno . . . "
Me: "Nevermind. Where can I check ou...."

He walked away. I stood at what looked like a check-out counter for 10 minutes while the ONE specially equipped employee came over to check out not only my transaction, but those of 4 other people who had been waiting just as long.

Needless to say . . . LAME! Next time I need something, I'll go out of my way to experiment with a Trek Dealer.

Step it up, Budget!

♪♫Gonna ride my bike until I get home♪♫

1. Bonus points for commenting with the Make of the 1st bike pictured.
2. Extra bonus points for commenting on what's wrong with said bike.


The Bike Song
Uploaded by rockohoward. - See the latest featured music videos.

Bike Shop Conversations

While many conversations I had with customers at the bike shop were quite fulfilling and interesting, I will sum up the majority of conversations had at the service counter below:

Me: "Welcome to [shop name]. What brings you in today?"

Customer: "Wheel. Flat. Fix."

Me: "Well . . . let me take a look at that for you."

Customer: "grunt"

Me: "Ok, looks like your tire is full of thorns and your tube is flat, but the good news is that the wheel is fine."

Customer: "That's what I said."

Me: "Sure. A standard tube is $X, and a thorn-resistant tube is $Y. Tires range from $20-$45 for this wheel. Installation labor is $Z."

Customer: "Give me one of those thorn-proof ones."

Me: "I must say, they aren't thorn-proof, just resistant. Like a bullet-proof vest."

Customer: "Huh?"

Me: (in my mind) "nevermind."

Me: (for real) "Ok, so one thorn-resistant tube and a tire. Coming right up."

Customer: "How long will this take? I need to go to Costco."

Me: "5 minutes tops."

Customer: "Can't I just come back?"

Me: "5 minutes tops." (Finished in 3)

Me: "All done! I can check you out at that register right there (I point)."

Customer: (goes to wrong register and pulls out a check).

Me: "I'm sorry sir, we don't take checks, but I'm happy to accept anything else (literally ANYTHING)."

Customer: (Non-verbal communication of disgust. Throws debit card.)

Me: "Thank you, that will be $XX.YY. Debit or Credit for you?"

Customer: "Credit. Forgot Pin."

Me: "No problem. Thank you Mr. So-and-so (I've helped him several times) very much. Here's your receipt, have a great day."

Customer: (no response)

Me: (to myself) "Ok, I'll go ahead and have a great day, too!"

Classic.

I'm official

If my picture is online, I must be official or something:

http://www.bus.wisc.edu/nicholascenter/prospective/Classof2010.asp

The link is for the wrong class year, but this is my Corporate Finance group.

TREK AND LUXEMBOURG PRO CYCLING TEAM PROJECT JOIN FORCES

Anyone else excited about the European racing scene in 2011??!!! This is amazing. Andy and Frank on Madones.

Details here.