« Touch My Monkey Bike »
December 1, 2009 Well, the Globe got bikedelic this week. Monkey Lectric lights, baby. They ensure that every bike trip is a good trip. I spent about an hour that first night just spinning the front wheel, playing with the 9 different basic patterns (you can also control color options and how "ADHD" the pattern variations get).
The best thing about these lights (and Down Low Glow ground effect lights) is that they actually address an important safety issue for those who ride at dusk and in the dark - side visibility. A recent analysis from Fort Collins, CO found that over half of car/bike collisions and serious/fatal injuries resulted from broadsides. These lights are pretty hard to miss, and unless they trigger a seizure in approaching drivers they're likely to reduce my broadside risk. The front rack on the Globe keeps them from being too distracting for me, although I will confess to looking for the patterns in reflections as I pass.
Installing them was easy, and they do seem waterproof, as they've been dipped in epoxy, and the battery compartment is covered by a rubber case. I've got two on the front wheel to balance the weight and to enable a pattern that fills the wheel at lower speeds.
Here's a night-time video panda shot of the Monkey Bike on the way home from the store. What's in the rack? Diapers, Donuts, and Dale's Pale Ale. It's how we do.
The "professional" version (i.e. priced way out of our range) of these lights are mind-blowing as well, as you can upload patterns and movies to the lights. Watch, and dream:
Bob Loblaw's Globlog is sponsored by Globe Bikes, who've furnished us with a Globe Live 2 Mixte in return for a series of posts on life with their bike.
Reader Comments (2)
Fancy! We have just plain ol' spoke lights purchased from LLBean, but these... these are in a whole 'nother realm. Not sure I should share this post with my boys because I suspect we would be getting mad pressure to outfit Rex and Ol' Cubs (my twins' bikes-- yes, they named themselves) with such lights.
Did I already share that one of the two presents my husband got under the tree this year was rain chaps? Thanks to your post, I had to get online with Clever Cycles...
Oh sweet! Do please post later on how he likes the chaps.