Lights Save Lives

[Jason Knight]

BTW, this light is nearly identical to its MUCH more expensive Cygolite counterpart in appearance, specs, and features. Two sellers fronting for the same manufacturer?

The vast majority of products are either built in the same factory, or built with components from the same suppliers. Very few if any products are true one-off's particularly if manufacturing is done in China.

It's a bit like TV's. There are really only three companies that develop panel designs. LG, Samsung, and Sony. All the other companies making them are either OEM providers to those makers -- like how Kyocera is actually Sony -- or license the design -- see how Planar and Ritek license from LG -- or flat out ripped off the designs like what Konka did to Samsung.

More common though is that few "brand names" manufacture their own stuff anymore. Instead they farm out a factory to make a "run" of the product. A lot of times once those factories have filled their orders -- and this again is very common in china where IP laws mean absolutely nothing -- rather than break down the tooling or let it sit idle, they'll just keep spewing out product and letting anyone and their brother buy them, brand them, and sell them as knockoffs.

Knockoffs identical to the genuine article because they in fact are. This is why you'll often see on e-fence or Amazon the extact same products listed from seven different "brands" with zero discernable differences.

Made all the funnier by the rich fools who go "those aren't real" because they still think a brand name means something like it's still 1950.

This is why I'm surprised we don't have "genuine" Apple knockoffs given what a bunch of sleazy turds Foxconn's management is. But honest companies like TSMC are the likely bottleneck on that.

 

[PatriciaK]

For most people, spooking horses is not a real issue as we have very few in the populated areas. I do see some along the bike trails through the woods. Real nice. You're city needs to enforce the bike lane laws better.

If you live in Amish country, spooking horses is definitely an issue . Live in western WA now, but grew up in NE Ohio Amish country (not Amish myself). A spooked horse on the road (where the buggies drive) can be a catastrophe!

 

[kev123]

One important thing that I have is using the mirror and I ride with traffic seems to help a lot if you're going the same direction that traffic is, yeah I just bought a fluorescent green reflective jacket coat, yeah it gets people's attention and I have lights on my bike it seems to help a lot I have traffic slow down and wait for me and I couldn't see that they notice you still got to be careful out there because some people just aren't paying attention, yeah I've had some people cut me off so I keep an eye on my rear view mirror it seems to help a lot, yeah cars rule the road that's what I always keep in mind, for a lot of drivers bike riders and pedestrians are a nuisance, especially when they're getting off work or coming home from work during rush hour, hungry tired,We got a lot of bike lanes and my town city, a lot of bike trails I can take a lot of bike trails two different places in town and not have to ride on the roads or bike Lanes on the road so yeah the more for me my experiences it's more reflective the more I get response from drivers my 1 rule is they're in charge the road belongs to them I'm justWay in their way, it seems to help a lot just being a defensive drive a riderI've been riding bike for years and years

 

[tomjasz]

The vast majority of products are either built in the same factory, or built with components from the same suppliers. Very few if any products are true one-off's particularly if manufacturing is done in China.

It's a bit like TV's. There are really only three companies that develop panel designs. LG, Samsung, and Sony. All the other companies making them are either OEM providers to those makers -- like how Kyocera is actually Sony -- or license the design -- see how Planar and Ritek license from LG -- or flat out ripped off the designs like what Konka did to Samsung.

More common though is that few "brand names" manufacture their own stuff anymore. Instead they farm out a factory to make a "run" of the product. A lot of times once those factories have filled their orders -- and this again is very common in china where IP laws mean absolutely nothing -- rather than break down the tooling or let it sit idle, they'll just keep spewing out product and letting anyone and their brother buy them, brand them, and sell them as knockoffs.

Knockoffs identical to the genuine article because they in fact are. This is why you'll often see on e-fence or Amazon the extact same products listed from seven different "brands" with zero discernable differences.

Made all the funnier by the rich fools who go "those aren't real" because they still think a brand name means something like it's still 1950.

This is why I'm surprised we don't have "genuine" Apple knockoffs given what a bunch of sleazy turds Foxconn's management is. But honest companies like TSMC are the likely bottleneck on that.

Wow, life is possible in an alternate reality…
More of your glaring generalizations and all from the narrowest view.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

I've been looking at the magicshine lights and they look pretty good for the price. Their e-bike lights also seem to be compatible with a lot of drive systems. They also have some good mounting options which you don't always see.

It is unfortunate that many of the technically best lights out there have poor mounting options. Handlebar space is at a premium so unless you can use some kind of out-of-the-box scheme to mount the light or be left with a major engineering problem to mount a simple light. Like I said handlebar space is at a premium and if you have a front bag the handlebars are a poor place to mount a light. If you have a front basket or fancy front rando rack, even if there is a light mount on those things, you can expect to be jury rigging something.

 

[Robspace1]

I have Jones Bike H bar. It gives you two bars and plenty of room for bags, lights, etc. Ch3ck it out https://jonesbikes.com/aluminum-h-bar/

 

[Jason Knight]

Wow, life is possible in an alternate reality…
More of your glaring generalizations and all from the narrowest view.

Really? In what way? Care for something more than "wah wah, is not!"

Are you saying that Sanyo or Sceptre manufacture their own panels? No, they're LG or Sammy. Do you think Apple actually makes "Apple Silicon?"

Or AMD? Or nVidia? no, that's TSMC... well, nVidia has occasionally used Samsung's fabs.

Do you really think all these different ARM processors used in Android phones were designed by the companies manufacturing them like Samsung, Rockchip, etc? No, they license the designs from ARM. That's what ARM does! And you can throw Apple on that list.

Do you think Apple makes their own motherboards? No, they outsource to companies like Foxconn. You know Foxconn right? The company with a history of abusing employees into suicide and being so popular with the Chinese gov't they can turn the surrounding city into a miniature "love canal" and get away with it?

I mean, look at the 100% knockoffs of Hakko soldering equipment that in fact aren't knockoffs, just cut corner manufacture in the same factories Hakko outsources to!

Much less are you disputing "over-manufacture" and "who cares about IP" in places like China are commonplace. Even more so on things like textiles?

Go to ebay and look up "bicycle top tube bag". How many times do you see the exact same bag with a different brand name slapped on it.

Go to Amazon and look up "bicycle suspension fork" and you'll see the exact same units listed as Bucklos, MZT, RST, Bolany, Zoom... AND you'll see that Rockshox has the same design in the same dimensions but in different (and slightly better) materials. Why? Same tooling, same factory, corners cut.

And on topic, just how many different sellers and brands are these exact design, just with varying anodization or paint with different brand labels slapped on it?

Hell I've got three different versions of that first one (red for my old cruiser, blue for my ex's bike, silver as a spare), all labelled by three different "brands" on the underside, and when you pop them open they're all made by the same factory in Guangzhou.

Do you really think all the wealthy jackasses "shipping jobs overseas" are actually building these factories and running them when they can just buy manufacturing time? From red hats for morons to imitation Apple Airpods that sound better than the genuine article, manufacturing past order and dumping on the market is just late-stage capitalism -- and alleged communism's -- version of "It fell off the back of a truck"

Again, just look at tech, where pretty much all CPU's and GPU's makers that aren't Intel -- Aka nVidia, AMD, Apple -- are made by just ONE company. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation. And because they're not in China and are a branch of the Taiwanese government, they're one of the few who don't "s*** where they eat" as it were.

Are you genuinely contesting that? But sure, I'm the one living in a fantasy land and making generalizations.

 

[Jason Knight]

It is unfortunate that many of the technically best lights out there have poor mounting options.

My least favorite has to be the glorified rubber band approach. It's bad enough they barely stay in place, go out of whack on every major bump, and are just plain cheap despite showing up on some rather expensive options... but the fact any yahoo can just come along and walk off with it?

Like I said handlebar space is at a premium and if you have a front bag the handlebars are a poor place to mount a light. If you have a front basket or fancy front rando rack, even if there is a light mount on those things, you can expect to be jury rigging something.

That's where my switching to a double-shoulder fork worked out great for me, I was able to add a larger front bag that hangs off the upper shoulders intead of the bars.

Doesn't look it in the pic, but yes it does clear the full travel of the fork. Strange angle.

Though as @Robspace1 suggested H-bars can give you more room.

Another option I've seen a few people around here use are clamp on secondary gear bars like these:

The nice part being you can use it to raise things like lights up higher, and if you mount your display and phone on the regular bars these secondary bars can act as a sort of "roll cage' for your more fragile devices.

I'm getting similar "protection" of the display on my aventure by having moved the display from sticking up dead center to being on the left and pointed more downward. It's less likely when things go south to get planted in the dirt. Also gave me the cable length to put the control pad back out at the end of the bars given how much wider those are than stock. AND it even reduces glare by not being "dead on" in my FoV.

 

[Dave Rocks]

 

[linklemming]

I've been looking at the magicshine lights and they look pretty good for the price. Their e-bike lights also seem to be compatible with a lot of drive systems. They also have some good mounting options which you don't always see.

It is unfortunate that many of the technically best lights out there have poor mounting options. Handlebar space is at a premium so unless you can use some kind of out-of-the-box scheme to mount the light or be left with a major engineering problem to mount a simple light. Like I said handlebar space is at a premium and if you have a front bag the handlebars are a poor place to mount a light. If you have a front basket or fancy front rando rack, even if there is a light mount on those things, you can expect to be jury rigging something.

I have been night riding since 2006 when led lights were just coming out. There was a 5 year period when all my rides were at night due to weird work hours. All this riding was done offroad in challenging conditions. So basically, I am not new to lights and/or night riding.

I just recently upgraded to Magicshine lights (for offroad only) and thought I would offer some advice.

Many times, they offer lower pricing thru their website vs amazon. The problem is they have a questionable return policy if ordered thru them direct. It used to be if the item was in good shape (not used) and it was within 7 days of purchase you could get a refund (according to their website). I tried to return a Monteer 3500s after powering it on and determining it was way to spotty for me (I wanted to use it on the bars). I initially emailed them thru their website and noticed a few days later they had updated their website to remove the 7 day period and seemed to use extremely vague language on what conditions would be allowed for a return. They never responded to subsequent emails so I am stuck with the Monteer 3500s. Amazons return policy is much better.

It has been rumored that their lumen ratings are overated.

Monteer 3500s - Definately spotty despite literature claims. Would be great on the helmet but you would need to put the large battery in a backpack(2s/2p 18650). Doesnt seem like 3500 lumens to me compared to some of my other 1000-2000 lumen lights. Good compliment to the Monteer 6500s though. Handlebar mount isnt their best design (I bought a better design like on the 6500s). An additional helmet mount is needed.

Monteer 6500s - What an absolutely amazing light. Beam pattern is so good (flood + spot), I really dont need a helmet light anymore. About the only thing I need a helmet light for is tight switchbacks. I typically ride it on the lowest 2 settings. My previous setup was dual niterider lumina 850s on the bars and a niterider dual 1800 on the helmet and the 6500s blows that setup away. Even using the dual 1800 on the helmet with the 6500s on the bars seems pointless as it doesnt really add much. The battery pack uses the newer 2170 cells (2s/2p) and can be used as a power bank.

The 3500 and 6500 are not locked into proprietary batteries so battery replacement could be cheaper.

Lots of good reviews on the Monteer 8000s as well.

For onroad and around pedestrians, I find the SPL-01(https://ebikes.ca/spl-01-1900-lumen-ebike-light.html) a great light that connects to my 52V batteries. Great cutoff. Lots of weird beam artifacts but Im being pretty picky. I use it for mild offroad as well. Could work as a strict offroad light.

 

[tomjasz]

Again, just look at tech, where pretty much all CPU's and GPU's makers that aren't Intel -- Aka nVidia, AMD, Apple -- are made by just ONE company. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation. And because they're not in China and are a branch of the Taiwanese government, they're one of the few who don't "s*** where they eat" as it were.

Are you genuinely contesting that? But sure, I'm the one living in a fantasy land and making generalizations.

Make friends. They give you a perspective impossible to gain from a screen and keyboard.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

View attachment 142336

Cool setup! Did you get the handlebar extender just to mount the lights? If not, how else do you use it?

 

[Robspace1]

View attachment 142336

Nice setup. It looks similar to mine. People I ride with in a bike club ask about all the "extra weight". My answer is that it's really not much extra and I have a 1000 watts of battery helping move it down the road lol.

 

[Robspace1]

This is my beast with the Jones H bar. This sway back double bar makes for a really comfy ride with lots of real estate for my lights, control screen and rear view camera screen. Well worth getting.

 

[Dave Rocks]

Cool setup! Did you get the handlebar extender just to mount the lights? If not, how else do you use it?

Yes to get the lights off the handlebar.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

This is my beast with the Jones H bar. This sway back double bar makes for a really comfy ride with lots of real estate for my lights, control screen and rear view camera screen. Well worth getting.

What, no over-the-horizon radar?

Just kidding. The H bar and rear-view camera make a lot of sense. A good rear view is essential, but somehow my mirror is always aimed the wrong way.

Not having to justify every gram is quite liberating. So is not having to wear lycra.

 

[Robspace1]

What, no over-the-horizon radar?

Just kidding. The H bar and rear-view camera make a lot of sense. A good rear view is essential, but somehow my mirror is always aimed the wrong way.

Not having to justify every gram is quite liberating. So is not having to wear lycra.

The camera works great in the dark. It has night vision. It also works good on overcast days or when riding under tree limbs, like on the bike trails. But, on a bright sunny day, I use the side mirror. Too much glare on the cam. Yea, the spandex went out with the 80s hair bands. Roadies are too busy trying for the next French bike race to actually look up, smile or wave back. I ride for fun and some exercise, nothing more serious then that.

 

[JedidiahStolzfus]

What, no over-the-horizon radar?

I have a LIDAR unit out in the workshop that I've been looking for something to do with it.

 

[fooferdoggie]

a find a good mirror and my Garmin radar is a fantastic combo. the radar lets me hear cars coming up and how fast they are moving. a glance shows me their position and speed too. so I don't have to look in the mirror till needed. it has saved my life once when this idiot passed a line of gas behind me right as I was going to turn left. he was going at least 60 at the time. tit would have been hard to see him in the mirror and I would not have been looking in the opposite lane. plus it works in the rain and fog and at night.

 

[Robspace1]

a find a good mirror and my Garmin radar is a fantastic combo. the radar lets me hear cars coming up and how fast they are moving. a glance shows me their position and speed too. so I don't have to look in the mirror till needed. it has saved my life once when this idiot passed a line of gas behind me right as I was going to turn left. he was going at least 60 at the time. tit would have been hard to see him in the mirror and I would not have been looking in the opposite lane. plus it works in the rain and fog and at night.

I may have to look into those. What model do you have?