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Night ride gear~ revolights

Kevinchows

Speeding Up
Sep 24, 2011
53
0
Hey all, about a month ago I come across this lighting project on kickstarter. What do you guys think about this light?
tumblr_lpcim3YYwJ1ql5kun.jpg


I definitely want this, even it cost 220 USD. Feel a lot safer with this light.
 
Tron!

Yeah, I have been thinking of ways to better illuminate myself, since I started my hardcore night training.

Thanks for the info. Will check this out, and see how viable it is for high end road bikes (weight, mainly)
 
More info for this lighting system:
6-8 ounces per wheel
~134 lumens. Each LED is rated for 16.8 lumens of light, and since 8 LEDs are on at any one moment the total projecting forward is 134.4 lumens.
 
Thanks for the info.

Please put all weight figures in grams in the future (us Euro boys are standard, for better or worse...)

6-8oz = 170g - 226g. A big difference.
 
I saw that too and it blew me away. The price isn't too bad, but it could be better. I expect that demand will rapidly outstrip supply considering how cool it is!
 
This is by far the best way to light up the road at the same time make myself visible as night without looking like a Christmas tree
2109407065_5cabdf1cec.jpg
 
Night ride gear (Brevet Lighting) - lower cost solutions

1. For rear/side visibility, I highly recommend the "fibre flare" lights. Very bright, and visible to almost 360 degrees (except where blocked by the seat stay to which it is attached), and last for many, many hours, (or should I say many, many months, if you use them on the flashing instead of constant setting, as I do for commuting). I have one on my road bike, one on my commuter, and one on my son's bike.

http://tinyurl.com/3fs3ebt

2. Also for visibility, having some light/thin silver reflective tape on your frame (barely noticeable wrapped on the rear seat stays) and wearing a reflective vest is just about as important as your lighting.

3. For front lights, I have found that the Gentos Sen LED lights are very small, bright, with adjustable beam, use standard AAA (単四) batteries, are reasonably priced, have not had any problems riding through many drenching rainstorms, and can be attached on top (or bottom or both) of road handlebars with a cheap "bike guy" attachment. These lights seem much better in terms of weight/cost/performance than cycling-specific lights I have tried.

Gentos Sen SG 325:

http://tinyurl.com/44mvs4a

Bike guy attachment:

http://tinyurl.com/44f3tzu

The revolights site at the link notes that they are a "diffuse" front light. ... But wearing a headlamp eliminates the need for a "diffuse" light that will catch signs above or off to the side of the road, and I don't think the "diffuse" revolight would be focused enough to see as you go down a hill at any speed on a dark road ...

http://tinyurl.com/4yu4t3x

With a light that takes AAA batteries, you can just reuse Eneloop rechargeables. Then again, on a "multi-night" ride like Paris-Brest-Paris where you cannot just pop into a convenience store when your 3rd or 4th set of AAA batteries dims, the benefits of a dynamo light become apparent ... but you need to build a front wheel around a dynamo hub, the cost adds up, and you have a specialized piece of equipment rather than a lightweight, all around light you can take on any day ride in case of a late return. I just got some Energizer Lithium AAA batteries (cost much mroe than Alkaline, but last 3x? 8x? depending on application). I will try them on my next Brevet to see if I can ride through all/most of a night on a single set to remedy this issue.
 
David - what's your thought on the Shimano Dynamo Hub? Any feedback from the brevet community? I'm considering offering a special Randonneur version of our wheels based on a 38mm 32hole clincher rim with special reflective paint molded in the sidewall. I notice the Shimano Hub also accepts a Centerlock Disc - then I could offer either rim brake or DB version (???) Weight on this would be much lower than equivalent Alloy wheel and strength wouldn't be an issue - and, in fact, it would be better for long ride due the shock dampening of carbon.


With a light that takes AAA batteries, you can just reuse Eneloop rechargeables. Then again, on a "multi-night" ride like Paris-Brest-Paris where you cannot just pop into a convenience store when your 3rd or 4th set of AAA batteries dims, the benefits of a dynamo light become apparent ... but you need to build a front wheel around a dynamo hub, the cost adds up, and you have a specialized piece of equipment rather than a lightweight, all around light you can take on any day ride in case of a late return. I just got some Energizer Lithium AAA batteries (cost much mroe than Alkaline, but last 3x? 8x? depending on application). I will try them on my next Brevet to see if I can ride through all/most of a night on a single set to remedy this issue.
 
1. For rear/side visibility, I highly recommend the "fibre flare" lights. Very bright, and visible to almost 360 degrees (except where blocked by the seat stay to which it is attached), and last for many, many hours, (or should I say many, many months, if you use them on the flashing instead of constant setting, as I do for commuting). I have one on my road bike, one on my commuter, and one on my son's bike.

+1 And they survive torrential downpours no problem (and keep working during them) I get round the seat stay thing by having one on each seat stay, and different colours - one red, one blue.

2. Also for visibility, having some light/thin silver reflective tape on your frame (barely noticeable wrapped on the rear seat stays) and wearing a reflective vest is just about as important as your lighting.

Reflective ankle bands are excellent as well, esp. in combination with the fibre flares, send light everywhere as your legs rotate.

Lezyne have brought out some new front lights for the coming year that look interesting.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/lezyne/lights-reflectives/
 
Dynamo Hubs

Tim:

I do not have any experience with Dynamo hubs. I'm going to try the Lithium batteries and see if I am happy with them. If they work, I will probably never move on to explore the dynamo options. If they don't ... then I'll explore them.

I've heard that U.S. audax rider BBS's have lengthy discussions of the merits of various dynamo versions ... but have not yet checked them out.

Best, DGL
 
1. For rear/side visibility, I highly recommend the "fibre flare" lights. Very bright, and visible to almost 360 degrees (except where blocked by the seat stay to which it is attached), and last for many, many hours, (or should I say many, many months, if you use them on the flashing instead of constant setting, as I do for commuting). I have one on my road bike, one on my commuter, and one on my son's bike.

http://tinyurl.com/3fs3ebt

I've had two short out on me in the rain. Not saying they aren't great, but man, too expensive to keep buying more.
 
Fiber Flares

Yep. They would be perfect if they had a slightly more waterproofed, durable design.

The fiber flare on my road bike got some moisture in it on one ride in a torrential downpour and started to act a bit odd (it would not turn off), but I dried it out at home by opening the rubber end covers and removing the batteries and since then it has been fine for over a year. Including in a day and a half of rain during Paris-Brest-Paris in August.

Also, I broke one of the attachment clips and used tape to keep it on my seat stay -- works just fine.

No problems at all with the one on my commuting bike.
 
I want to throw my best choices into the mix:

Front: Minewt Mini USB
More expensive than a simple flashlight attached to the bars, but still less than 100$. USB chargeable and with this years version you get 300 lumen. I have got the old 150lumen version, which is still plenty bright. Major advantage for me, is that battery pack and light come separate and with some tinkering, you can use the battery to charge other usb devices on the road.

Rear: Planetbike generic backlight. Cheap, but with two AAA batteries and leds pointing in multiple directions well visible.

Special: The double-view is probably the best price I ever got. Strapped to the top of your helmet, it shines front and back from the highest vantage point on the bike. Not a primary light, but so light, that I just keep it on there as a failsafe. Batteries last long too.
 
I've had two short out on me in the rain. Not saying they aren't great, but man, too expensive to keep buying more.

As I said, for me I`ve not had this problem at all, but I always position the fibre flare so that the on/off switch is at the top. Also, I don`t leave the light on the bike if it is raining - take it straight off when I have finished and wipe off any excess moisture.

My only criticism of the light is the design of the on/off switch itself - if you`re about to enter a tunnel, can be quite awkward hitting the light in the precise place to activate the light.
 
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