litepro photos on Flickr

Rohloff Birdy with disc brakes by benny ng

13 3

Finally took the new Birdy bike down and added oil to the Rohloff Hub today after a long delay. Pacific cycles is really crap. They have no documentation with their products and the online PDF downloads are a joke. I wonder how can R&M accept these kind of standards of products with their name on it.

Took it for a spin around the block, but the saddle isn't comfortable. I think I'll change it to one of those Ah Pek fat ass saddle later. Understand it's much more comfortable.

The brakes are nice, good stopping power, but in reality, not much different from a good set of V brakes. The Rohloff hub is nice, gear change is quite smooth, but frankly, I know nothing much about it except that internal gears are relatively lower maintainence. Swapped out the stock front and rear suspension, seat post, pedals, handlebar, kick stand and seat post clamp.

I think there should be a few other changes before I add more stuff on the bike for touring. We'll see.

Taken with Canon FD 85mm f/1.2L on Sony NEX-3.

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Black Birdy Bike by benny ng

11 6

Love these narrow cobbled streets in Tokyo with traditional buildings. So charming.

I think I'm going to enjoy riding in Autumn. Need to sort out the carrier options and we'll be all set. I wonder how to I tie a tripod to the bike. Hmm...

Taken with Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 on Sony NEX-3.

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Rohloff Birdy with disc brake by benny ng

6 1

New bike! Got a folding one cause I never had a folding bike before. It's also cute and quirky.

Original Specifications:

Frame: Birdy Monocoque Aluminum 7005 T6, WIG-welded

Surface: Powder coated

Fork: Birdy spring suspension, aluminum leading link swingarm

Head Sets: AL-2 1-1/8" H:22.2mm star nut +2mm

BB Parts: 68/122.5mm alloy axle

Seat Post: Birdy AL7075 34.9x570mm black anodized w/ laser scale

Tire: Schwalbe Marathon Racer 18x1.5" (40-355)

Rim: Alex DA16 FV 32H anodized red & indicator

Front Hub:: Birdy 32H 100mm red

Rear Hub: Rohloff 14speed 32H

Chainwheel: Birdy 52T w/ double CG all black

Freewheel: Rohloff 13T

Derailleur: Hub gear

Shifter: Rohloff Twist shifter

Saddle: San Marco Zoncolan, black kevlar, cromo rail

Pedal: VP-197 silver cage w/BS reflectors

Handlebar: AL2014 520mm black anodized

Stem Birdy: new hinge adjustable stem 10degree

Brake: Avid BB7 MTB IS, rotor: 160mm

Brake Lever Avid SD 7

Suspension Unit: Red PU

Dimansions Folded: 60cm(H) x 39cm(W) x 72cm(L)

Weight: 12kg

Taken with Canon FD 85mm f/1.2L on Sony NEX-3.

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Tokyo Birdy! by benny ng

6

End of short riding session. Albeit that it's just around my house and to the nearby park.

Overall impression is that the ride quality is quite good. Gear shifting attributes of the Rohloff cannot be asscertain as the only other comparison I have at the moment is a 6 speed Shimano. Definitely an improvement, but there were sometimes I think the gear didn't shift into place. I'll have to check again.

Braking power is definitely better than other bikes I've tried. Especially when going down a very steep slope, the control was excellent. The noise is quite evident though.

The handle bar position is not quite comfortable. This could be due to two reasons. The Litepro Cabon Fibre handle is slighter further out than the stock handle. And the Litepro seatpost puts the seat slightly back. This could add up to a 5 cm difference. I'm aiming for a more upright position for comfort so this will need to be addressed. I may switch back to the stock seatpost but when I bought the bike, some of the original parts were not returned to me after the Litepro "upgrade". Arrgh!!

The San Marco saddle from Zonocolan is not the most comfortable. Whilst it looks nice and slick with matching color, my ass hurts after the short ride. Perhaps it needs time to break in a little. For a Birdy with a comfort stem, this is a strange choice of saddle. The stock saddle on European R&M models and the Japanese BD-1 models seems much more comfortable.

The Marathon Racers tyres are good, on pavements and slightly off-road condition. Not sure if I will switch to the Schwalbe Kojak or the Panaracers yet. We'll see. For now, I'll stick with the Marathon Racer.

Taken with Canon FD 85mm f/1.2L on Sony NEX-3.

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Rohloff Speed Hub 500/14 on the Birdy by benny ng

7 1

This thing really adds weight to the bike. But it's quite smooth to ride with. Compromises.

I'll have to lighten the bike in other areas. There is also other color version. Wish mine was a silver/chrome version. Much easier to swap or upgrade with other parts. Oh well.

Shot with the Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH on Sony NEX-3.

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Birdy @ 小石川後楽園 by benny ng

6

A small section of the footpath was not paved. Obviously no problem for the little black birdy.

Shot with the Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH on Sony NEX-3.

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20160416-DSC01187 by Pinholecam_01

6 4

Rohloff Birdy Disc Brakes in Monochrome by benny ng

4 4

Due to the crappy Imperium kick stand that was bent, the Birdy is excessively tilted one side. Hence the profile of the bike is always slanting in the rear. I'm going to switch back to the stock adjustable kick stand to see how this would work.

Anyway, another picture with the greens stripped out. Semi-monochrome effect.

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Rohloff Birdy with disc brakes by benny ng

5 1

To be honest, I'm not too sure about this bike as I have never rode on a foldable bike before. Somehow, the stability and control seems to be compromised. However, the reports I've read so far seems to give this bike a very high rating. Upon closer inspection, it's a really clever design which the folds are integrated with the suspension. So the flex and the noise is not a problem here. The only thing is that it does not fold down as small as a Brompton and the folding for the front wheel is a bit awkward.

I thought the 18" wheels is going to be a problem and I'll need to pedal a lot more to get going, but there's really no difference from my other bike with 27" wheels. Interesting. Anyway, 18" wheels are a dime a dozen here in Tokyo. No problem at all and no special or pre-ordering needed. Rims are easy to find too. 20" upgrades are easily available too, but the original fenders won't fit after that.

Taken with Canon FD 85mm f/1.2L on Sony NEX-3.

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BD-1 Multi-S フロントサスペンション by benny ng

4

オイルショックアブソーバーにスプリングを組み合わせたBD-1、Birdy、Fretta、Pacific専用のフロントサスペンションです。オイルサス特有のマイルドな振動吸収力で走行中の振動を大幅に軽減し、コイルサスの様な反発時のオーバーアクションを軽減する事により走行中の安定感も向上致します。アルミ部分は軽量と強度を重視しCNC加工を採用しております。台湾製品です。

これが元のオプションを使用して比較する方法を知りません。自転車は、すでに装着Multi-Sのフロントサスペンションで配信された。

製品と私の唯一の不満はフロントフォークからサスペンションの離脱は少しきついようである。このように、折りたたみは少し遅くなります。

重量:　138g

サス全長:　96mm

オイルサスストローク:　20mm

Front suspension set from Multi-S for the Birdy, BD-1, Fretta or Pacific 18 folding bicycles. It's oil based. There are currently only a few options available, most commonly from O-Dot/Color Plus and Sky Shock.

The Multi-S Suspension kit is suppose to give a good damping. Fairly Quiet. Taiwan product. Suppose to be made in Germany. Who knows. It seems quite popular with the Taiwanese and mainland Chinese Birdy owners.

As for how does it compare to the stock option, I have no idea. the black Rohloff Birdy was delivered with the Multi-S front suspension fitted on already.

My only gripe with the set is that the dis-coupling of the suspension from the front fork seems a bit tight. So it slows down the folding. But hey, that's great when the bike is assembled.

Shot with the Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH on Sony NEX-3.

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Birdy @ 後楽園 by benny ng

4 2

Just at the outer perimeter of the Korakuen. Cloudy day and a pleasant ride.

Shot with the Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH on Sony NEX-3.

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Birdy Tour @ 神楽坂 by benny ng

3 3

Took the Birdy for a quick evening spin. Went to Kagurazaka and there was a festival there. Road was crowded and it was difficult to cycle with all the street stall and pedestrian traffic. Oh well.

Stop by the Akagi Jinja which was off the main road. Quite a nice change from the crowded street outside.

Tried out the gear shift again and now it all seems to be working properly. Good.

Taken with Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 on Sony NEX-3.

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Black Birdy at Mejirodai by benny ng

3 3

Taken at the Mejirodai Sports park.

Plenty of nice parks in Tokyo but it seems that you can't cycle inside the park. Shame. Quite nice to cycle in about 20 degrees celsius temperature.

Trying out the Bike Brain application by BioLogic. Seems nice. But I can't set starting and ending address and use it as a route planner. Got the iPhone 4 case from BioLogic too as it can rotate and it's suppose to be waterproof. But it's so hard to read the screen in the sun. Battery drain is also another problem. Oh well.. May be a dedicated bike navi system. Garmin?

Taken with Canon FD 85mm f/1.2L on Sony NEX-3.

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visc 2015 Red by Nava Bike

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Speed Falco Full Upgrade by Nava Bike

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Black Birdy @ 津久戸町 3-18 by benny ng

Mood shot at a deserted residence.

Taken with Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 on Sony NEX-3.

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Vintage Birdy by benny ng

1 2

Decided to give a more vintage feel to this picture.

Shot with the Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f/1.2 Version 1 on the Sony NEX-3.

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Bicycle in a bag!! by benny ng

3 2

Time to go traveling with the Birdy!

ขาตั้งคู่ Litepro by Nava Bike

Zoncolan San Marco Saddle on LitePro seatpost by benny ng

1

Very light setup. But takes only up to 80kg. Not ideal. Now looking for a better seatpost.

Also, the stock saddle isn't the most comfortable. A lot of suggestions for Brooks, but I might go for one of those Japanese comfort type with gel.

Taken with Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH on Sony NEX-3.

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X-act Kick Stand back on the Birdy by benny ng

1 4

Swapped back to the original stock X-act Kick stand. Supposed to be adjustable, but I haven't figured that out yet. The bike I bought does not comes with instructions.

Now the birdy stand properly. Great.

In any case, love the brakes. Very precise control.

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20160416-DSC01179 by Pinholecam_01

2 1

Litepro AERO Wheels set by Nava Bike