Spoke lights

lost_in_thought

Another post about lights has reminded me, a friend suggested these for my night-time commute, and I have to say she has a point!

http://www.bikecommuters.com/2007/12/27 ... oke-light/

And these are even better!

http://www.monkeylectric.com/m132s_hacking.htm

I'm sure you'll let me know yuor thoughts...

Coriander

Groovy - I do feel incredibly vulnerable from the side and have wondered about something like this....

Bassjunkieuk

Good points: Sure as hell look different to all the other bikes on the road and will make you easier to spot on dark roads.

Bad points: Err, not to sure at the moment! Maybe we should petition for programmable one's so we can show off our FCN at night?

Of course once you start lighting your wheels up it's only a small step from neon downlighter's on your downtube, and a thumping soundsystem in your rucksack!

Kieran_Burns

I have these tyres on my bike:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Conti ... 360030001/

the beading around the side is very clear at night and the tyres themselves have a great slick middle section with good tread around the outside... I have to say that they are a good choice for a tyre

lost_in_thought

The monkeyelectric ones are programmable to an extent...

Interesting!

Oh and you can get iPod speakers that go in your bottle cage...

http://www.ihomeaudio.com/products.asp? ... pt_id=1007

I do love a good gadget!

Bassjunkieuk

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I have these tyres on my bike:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Conti ... 360030001/

the beading around the side is very clear at night and the tyres themselves have a great slick middle section with good tread around the outside... I have to say that they are a good choice for a tyre

My Schwable Marathon +'s have a scotchlite strip around the edge to, if they bike is ready for Friday it will be the first time they have actually been out in the dark :-)

As for bottle cage mounted iPod speakers, I think i'd be a bit wary of those. Especially as I've managed to eject 2 water bottles (managed to retrieve one, but the other got run over - seperate occasions) from my bottle cage I think I'd be zip-tying or taping them in! Besides I like the sound of the wind in my ears and the ripping noise of removing scalps :twisted:

dafruk

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

Of course once you start lighting your wheels up it's only a small step from neon downlighter's on your downtube, and a thumping soundsystem in your rucksack!

Well with some of the tarts on this site it can only be a small matter of time anyway.

the_hundredth_idiot

lost_in_thought wrote:

The monkeyelectric ones are programmable to an extent...

Interesting!

Oh and you can get iPod speakers that go in your bottle cage...

http://www.ihomeaudio.com/products.asp? ... pt_id=1007

I do love a good gadget!

I like the look of that. And the pleasure I'd get from using the remote control to flick it to something easy and cheesy as I went past school kids - that'll teach 'em to inflict their tinny mobile phone music on me. 8)

2wheelzgood

lost_in_thought wrote:

The monkeyelectric ones are programmable to an extent...

Interesting!

Oh and you can get iPod speakers that go in your bottle cage...

http://www.ihomeaudio.com/products.asp? ... pt_id=1007

I do love a good gadget!

I'm sure Litts is really a bloke!

downfader

Its like those lazers on car hubs :shock: 8)

Orcourse.. go down maplin and just buy some leds, some wire, etc... you could proly build that yourself.

redvee

This is for anybody who dabbles in home electronics

http://www.ladyada.net/make/spokepov/make.html



The image is static as the wheel rotates.

marchant

I remember posting about these a while back (no I'm not affiliated with the company in any way) & I think they're programmable

2wheelzgood

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

Good points: Sure as hell look different to all the other bikes on the road and will make you easier to spot on dark roads.

Bad points: Err, not to sure at the moment! Maybe we should petition for programmable one's so we can show off our FCN at night?

Of course once you start lighting your wheels up it's only a small step from neon downlighter's on your downtube, and a thumping soundsystem in your rucksack!

Nice one marchant.
http://www.hokeyspokes.com/specs.htm
up to 16 characters on a Hokey Spoke!

FCN:4 Not Trying

Maybe not as snazzy as the monkeyelectics and not as customisable as the DIY homer simpson one (how actually knows wher to get and how to build those boards anyway?!), but rather cool.

$30 for one though and you'd want multiple colours!
:shock:

Just wait. When the dark draws in, all the hipsters with aerospoked fixies will swap for neon lights!

Mithras

I saw one of these that spelt out "POLICE" in blue.....brilliant idea for response work on my bike. Will the boss go for it....mmmmm NO

dirk_van_gently

I have a pair of Fireflies, little widgets that go on the valve caps, activated by the light level and motion, so you don't have to worry about switching them on.

Well impressed with the Homer simpson widget (can't view the site it's blocked), wonder if I could get one that projects a 1950s police box onto the spokes?

whome

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

Of course once you start lighting your wheels up it's only a small step from neon downlighter's on your downtube, and a thumping soundsystem in your rucksack!

You mean like this -
http://www.bikerubbish.com/rubbish/july ... wglow2.jpg


(which I think looks great - and a tandem longtail, excellent)

boybiker

dafruk wrote:

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

Of course once you start lighting your wheels up it's only a small step from neon downlighter's on your downtube, and a thumping soundsystem in your rucksack!

Well with some of the tarts on this site it can only be a small matter of time anyway.

I wish people would stop calling me a tart

sian_c

Just bought some of the Fireflys (cos they were cheap & not too OTT!), but was a bit dim & didn't think about the fact that they're advertised as fitting to cars & bikes.... So when they came through they didn't fit to my bike - with PRESTA valves, doh!!

Anybody know of any alternatives? As in, not a massive thing that clips onto your spoke, but something a bit more low key??

sazzledazzle

whome wrote:

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

Of course once you start lighting your wheels up it's only a small step from neon downlighter's on your downtube, and a thumping soundsystem in your rucksack!

You mean like this -
http://www.bikerubbish.com/rubbish/july ... wglow2.jpg


(which I think looks great - and a tandem longtail, excellent)

I can almost feel the UFO sightings shooting upwards everytime they take that out at night!

Does look funky though

lost_in_thought

You can get adapters on your presta valves that give them a schrader valve thread to which oyu cuold mount the fireflies, complicated I know but seeing as you already have the fireflies perhaps economical - ask your LBS or search online.

always_tyred

You can get spoke clickers too, so that people can hear you coming.

Sod it, go all out and buy a Grifter (you could even have a fixie Grifter if you wanted to be the coolest cat in all of cool land).

sian_c

lost_in_thought wrote:

You can get adapters on your presta valves that give them a schrader valve thread to which oyu cuold mount the fireflies, complicated I know but seeing as you already have the fireflies perhaps economical - ask your LBS or search online.

Excellent!! 99p from my local bike shop... Will go get some later & have my flashy blue wheels after all

dirk_van_gently

lost_in_thought wrote:

http://www.bikecommuters.com/2007/12/27 ... oke-light/

I got a couple of these via a mate in the US, and frankly they are just tooooo big to put onto spokes. They are quite heavy in their own right, and then there are 3 AAA batteries, and all that lot is spinning at a fair rate, must upset the balance of the wheel.
Nice gimmick for a kiddies bike, but not a real practical option, I'll stick to my fireflies.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Think of the extra weight as winter training!!!!

lost_in_thought

So, I actually got soem spoke lights - Flashflight Spokelit ones.

http://www.mygifts.co.uk/gift-ideas/spo ... ZZSPOKELIT

Haven't tried them yet, but they look good, easy to attach, and bright!

sian_c

Hmm, they look pretty interesting too! I've got the fireflies on my bike, but not been out in the dark with them yet to see what they're like.

I take it these Spokelits are designed so that they wouldn't get in the way of a bike computer magnet?

biondino

Aw, they're in the "gifts for kids" section of the website

Of course, with my super duper aero minimalist wheels, I don't have enough spokes to fit reflectors :?

sian_c

Aren't we all just big kids!!?

And if your bike is that fancy then you should be going so fast that they wouldn't be able to see the lights anyway until you've already sped off into the distance

biondino

Even my front light will be red shifted. And my rear light will be, um, infra-red.

lost_in_thought

biondino wrote:

Aw, they're in the "gifts for kids" section of the website

Of course, with my super duper aero minimalist wheels, I don't have enough spokes to fit reflectors :?

I'll get some clackers next... just you wait... or spokey dokeys or whatever you call them.

sian_c

lost_in_thought wrote:

biondino wrote:

Aw, they're in the "gifts for kids" section of the website

Of course, with my super duper aero minimalist wheels, I don't have enough spokes to fit reflectors :?

I'll get some clackers next... just you wait... or spokey dokeys or whatever you call them.

Why don't they give those away in cereal boxes any more? Spokey dokeys were the best invention!