Tag: bicycle

Bicycle Photos

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Photo info: OLYMPUS E-PL9, 9mm, f/5.6, 15 sec, ISO200
 “Piplup at Night” Cedar Park, 2023

I’ve recently started following a several people on Twitter who ride and post cool photos of their Brompton (and other folding) bicycles and I thought I would give it a try too. Since I have a ginormous Borough bag for the front of Piplup, it’s easy to carry my tripod and a camera. So this evening I went for a ride around the neighborhood and took a night shot.

I think it came out okay – not the best of backgrounds, but not bad for the first shot. For these bicycle photos, I am going to use Mariko’s old Olympus E-PL9 camera since it has a wide-angle 9-16 mm (18-32 mm equiv.) lens. I am not familiar with the Olympus menu system so it’s a little frustrating to use but I love all cameras so it’s still fun.

I’m looking forward to taking more photos while bicycling! Follow me on Twitter if you’d like.

Photo info: OLYMPUS E-PL9, 9mm, f/4, 1/60 sec, ISO2000
 “Wide-Angle” Cedar Park, 2023

Lunchtime Ride to Test New Parts (and Have Fun)

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“Riding Along” Cedar Park, 2023

I installed the new 44-tooth chainring last night and took Piplup for a spin along the hike and bike trail today. The new chainring makes climbing hills much easier! I am very pleased with it!

But, halfway through the ride, I noticed that the chain would slip every so often when in the 2- gear, and sometimes in 1-. Since it was only happening when the chain was on the larger rear cog, I believe the derailleur/chain pusher needed adjustment. But it could also be that the chain has a stiff link. This seems more plausible since I had to remove two links when I replaced the chainring.

With that in mind, I made flexed the links that I had tinkered with a bit to loosen them up. I also made sure the chain tensioner jockey wheel was sliding correctly. Hopefully that takes care of the issue. Fingers crossed!

Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/4500 sec, ISO32
 “Piplup” Round Rock, 2023

If you want to ride along with us, please watch the video I made. :)

Brompton Updates

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 35mm, f/2, 1/105 sec, ISO2500
 “50T” Cedar Park, 2023

My next major update for Piplup is an 44-tooth chainring. The bicycle’s standard configuration comes with a 50-tooth chainring which is a little too high for me. In other words, the gearing isn’t low enough to provide a comfortable “granny gear” for climbing hills, and the common 44T switch should help with that.

I ordered the black chainring, so the silver ring part just inside the black chain-guard ring in the photo will change. I really like the look of the “black edition” Bromptons, so I am going that route with the new components, which include the chainring, fenders, and rear rack. FYI, the 2023 Bromptons have an option for black edition, but it costs more than the silver version. I would have liked to go that route, but I can’t complain since I bought my Brompton during the 20%-off sale.

Afternoon Ride

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 35mm, f/8, 1/750 sec, ISO320
 “Piplup” Cedar Park, 2023

I went for another ride with Piplup today. I love my Brompton bicycle so much! I’ve been getting more and more excited about doing a bicycle tour, and I’ve put some dates on my calendar, but I’m traveling quite a bit this year, so I might not be able to squeeze it in until next year.

Well, at least I can ride locally, which is a lot of fun.

Chilly Ride

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 30.2mm, f/3.6, 1/160 sec, ISO400
 “Piplup and Sign” Cedar Park, 2023

I bundled up at lunch at went for a ride to the nearby hike and bike trail. I wanted to see if there was a lot of tree damage due the the ice storm. On the way there, I rode through our neighborhood and it looked like a tornado had come through! So many trees were broken, and some even were leaning on rooftops.

When I got to the trail, I was only able to ride a hundred meters or so before I had to turn around because the clean up crews were cutting and clearing fallen branches. But I did manage to get a rare selfie! As you can see, it was cold! Still, it was a fun ride and nice to get out after being cooped up in the house for the past three days.

Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 2.71mm, f/2.2, 1/120 sec, ISO64
 “Cold Selfie” Cedar Park, 2023