What this blog is about

Bicycle commuting, bicycle touring, bicycle racing; bicycle ADVENTURING.
To the grocery store, up a mountain, across the country or to the finish line--
it's all an adventure.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Bike Lights

I'm a big fan of Planet Bike's red rear bike light, "Super Flash" (or better yet, "Super Flash STEALTH"!). It's got the best everything (flash mode, brightness, mount, long battery life) and a reasonable price ($30). Also, Planet Bike gives 25% of profits to bicycle advocacy AND, more importantly, 4 of their 5 employees ride Xtracycles. AND I just got some SICK (that means "awesome") winter gloves by Planet Bike that I'm really excited about. Review pending.

And if you really want to Geek Out, you can watch this comparison of 3 different rear lights, including the Super Flash:



Anyway.
I have yet to come across a front light that I would recommend (that doesn't cost a ton of money). I did find it quite ingenius, or maybe obvious, that Planet Bike included this information on their website:

(Just a sampling..)






Yeah, before you get excited, that last one costs $400.

Okay, yes I did drop $100 a few months ago for a Down Low Glow.. but that was for SIDE visibility and so I could be COOL.

Also, while we're on the topic- there is a light I'm interested in that runs on MAGNETIC power. You may have heard of DYNAMO lights: lights that get power either from a reel rubbing against your tire or a special hub installed in your wheel. The main disadvantage of these has been that they would turn off when you stop riding (but you still need to see! ..or be seen) but this problem has been worked out and dynamos now usually know how to store power for while you're stopped. The magnetic light has this figured out as well, with the added plus that there is no increased friction from a reel rubbing your tire! Hoorah! However, I don't know much about how BRIGHT these lights are. It's a Danish product and those Danes are more about practicality than about overkill like us Americans.

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