Lights

Meet the Light & Motion ARC Li-ion:



The ARC Li-ion lighting system consists of an 11.1V 4.1Ah Lithium-ion battery that weighs at a feathery 300g, and a High Intensity Discharge (HID) Solarc lamp that weighs 170g with cable and connector. There are 2 outputs: "high setting" (@ 13.5W) is a stunning 675 Lumens, and "low setting" (@ 11W) is an impressive 550 Lumens. Wattage numbers appear deceiving until one realizes that HID bulbs have over 3 times the efficiency of a halogen bulb. Hence, this baby puts out about the same amount of light as a 45W halogen lamp.

A review of the lamp.




While the ARC Li-ion is already very impressive with a run time of 3 hours on "High" and 3.5 hours on "Low," for peace of mind, I would rather carry an extra 175 grams and get the ARC Li-ion Ultra. The HID lamp head is identical. The only difference is a 475g Li-ion battery that is good for 5 hours on "High" and 6 hours on "Low." Well worth the added weight, IMHO.




Eddy's Bike Shop has a light shoot out of the lights in his basement. Comments in italics are Eddy's.

Projection wall with the lights on.

How Bright is that Light?

We took a few of our most popular lights down to the basement. The test is to show how bright these lights are and what the beam pattern is like. Each light was projected on a wall from 15 ft. away. On the wall we have numbers placed in increments of 3 ft starting with zero. The light is then aimed at the zero and turned on. This gives you an opportunity to check out the light beams and patterns on various lights.




The auxiliary lights on either side of my helmet (and my housemate's) are the Cateye HL-EL400.


As you can see...the EL400 puts out a pretty bright and focused beam. It gives you the ability to see the zero pretty well. This light falls under the category of being seen. The flashing mode makes this light a good light for pre-dusk riding.




Mounted on my handlebar is the Cateye HL-EL300.

The Cateye EL300 offers a very bright light for being LED. The light is also very focused. As you can see the zero is easily read. This is one of the brightest LED lights that we tested. It's also one of the largest LED lights we tested being that it has 5 Opticube LED's.




My housemate opted for the more powerful (and more expensive) Cateye EL-500 for his handlebar. Instead of 5 LEDs, the EL400 uses a single 1W Luxeon Star LED. Also, unlike the EL300, the EL400 utilizes a magnetic switch and is water resistant to 100 ft.

The Cateye EL500 light is a good starter for riding at night. The beam pattern is focused, but not too focused. This light makes the zero easy to read but also gives you the ability to view the 3. The Cateye EL500 has a beam pattern that gives you a 6 foot viewing radius.




And the diva of the night is the Light & Motion ARC Li-ion HID lamp. Although she takes 15 to 30 seconds to power up (the HID bulb requires 25,000 volts from the ballast for initial start up), once she gets going, the light output is nothing short of remarkable.

Are you trying to recreate the sun on the trail? This is the light for you. This baby puts out a fluid beam that doesn't leave any spot without light. As you can tell... this light doesn't have a large "hot spot" like the Niterider version. It seems to put out a more fluid beam that tapers off. The Light & Motion ARC also gives you a great view of our entire basement. This light is a powerhouse for night riding.




The lights weigh more than my helmet. In the center, the ARC HID light. On the left and right, Cateye HL-EL400 triple LED lights. I can significantly reduce the weight of the Cateyes by replacing the 3 AAA alkaline batteries in each with pricier lithium equivalents. Although lithium AAA batteries cost more ($5.95 for two, compared to $1.85 for 2 Duracell / Energizer batteries), they not only weigh 33% less but drive the lights 5 times longer, with equal or greater light intensity. If weight is a concern, it is worth the coin, IMHO.




My housemate decided to come along. Midway rigging up his bike for the night ride. (Yes, that's a big bike. A 23" frame to be exact).




Golden Gate Bridge from the south. Housemate on the right, with the lights on his helmet.




A somewhat better shot. I suck at night photography, especially without a tripod.




Crossing the bridge at about 2 AM.




View of the bridge from the north.




A closer look.


At this point, we turned back as my housemate was feeling unwell. We didn't manage to hit the trails tonight. Still, it was a wonderful and unusual night though. There was hardly any wind, and it was actually relatively warm (about 64 F / 18 C).

Since I didn't get to use the ARC on the ride, on the way back to the car in San Francisco, I engaged in some juvenile (and illegal) antics by stunning drivers with it. It is tantamount to aiming a stadium light at someone. I could see right into the interior of a passing car, what clothes the driver is wearing, the cut and pattern of his clothes, the "deer caught in headlights" stunned look of his passenger going "WTH is that?" It was priceless.


Route on a 1:100K map.




Elevation profile.




1:24K map.


Some data:
Total distance: Cyclo-computer 9 miles (14.4 km) / GPS 9.67 miles (15.5 km) / TOPO! 9.27 miles (14.8 km)
Total elevation climbed: Altimeter 580 ft (177 m) / GPS + TOPO! 772 ft (235.4 m)
Temperature range: 62 F (16.6 C) to 64 F (17.7 C)

Alien Redux

(Follow up from Customer service).
The chain tool sub-assembly replacement arrived yesterday:



According to the postmark, Topeak / Todson mailed it out on Oct 4th 2005, which is pretty impressive considering that I sent them the email on Oct 1st, Sunday at 10:30 PM.

These guys definitely have my loyalty as a customer.

Fremont Older mini ride

Short workout ride on a Friday evening (have to remain in form). With a 600+ ft gain in elevation, climbing up from the dam below Stevens Creek Reservoir to the top of Coyote Ridge has the effect of stimulating the cardiovascular system somewhat. *wise ass grin* Technical-wise, Fremont Older is a beginner's ride: i.e. as long as you do not go off the w-i-d-e trails, descend faster than your skills (and equipment) allow, strip and dance naked in Poison Oak, etc., nothing bad will happen. On weekends, watch out for rangers with radar guns ($135 speeding tickets).


Track log of the ride. Blue diamonds are track points, 568 of them.




TOPO!'s elevation profile.




From Stevens Creek Reservoir Park: dusty fire road leading up to Coyote Ridge.




View from halfway up.




Top of Coyote Ridge (1000+ ft).




View of Silicon Valley (eastwards) before descending to Prospect Road.





Hunter's Point: elevation 900 ft.

Sounds of laughter, shades of earth are ringing
Through my open views inviting and inciting me.
Limitless undying love, which shines around me like a
Million suns, it calls me on and on
Across the universe

Jai guru deva om
Nothing’s gonna change my world,
Nothing’s gonna change my world.

I had a good day.


Epilogue:
Total distance: Cyclo-computer 8.7 miles (13.92 km) / GPS 8.98 miles (14.37 km) / TOPO! 9.06 miles (14.5 km).
Total elevation climbed: Altimeter 1150 ft (350 m) / GPS + TOPO! 1029 ft (313 m).
Temperature range: 72 F (22 C).
Fluids consumed: <0.5 liters.

Sweet singletrack video

This is a great video of a singletrack on top of a ridge by scottay.
He spliced in scenes from the rear-facing cam after showing the forward view.

Click on picture to download the video (36 MB QuickTime):




Check out how steeply the ground drops off the trail on either side. In some sections, there isn't space to "dab" (i.e. put one's foot down) at all.

Customer service

The chain tool on my Topeak Alien Multi-tool broke. I was about to head out to purchase a replacement when I thought, "Why not check out the reviews to see if there are better ones out there?" Whilst browsing MTBR.com, I noticed the entry for the Topeak Alien Multi-tool, and, out of sheer curiosity to find out what other riders thought of my faithful old tool, decided to peruse it. It turned out that many riders had their worn or broken tools replaced by Topeak. Thinking it can't hurt, I decided to give it a try.

After sending an email to Topeak, they directed me to a support site with a novel method of serving customers: an online version of "tickets," which determines who gets served first, and where the requests are directed. It also serves as a repository of the correspondence between customer and service staff.



It took less than 3 minutes to create an account and submit a ticket with a description of my problem:



Subject: Broken Chain Tool

Dear Topeak staff,

Thank you for designing such a great tool. I purchase your original Alien tool a long time ago. Since then, it has helped me out of many sticky situations. It has accompanied me on a 3 week, 1000 mile cycling tour around Java, Indonesia. It is indeed equivalent to having a bike tool shop with you when you ride.

Last night, the chain tool finally gave up the ghost. The threads on both the "pusher" and the silver body of the tool seized up. I used a long rachet to separate the pieces but the chain tool no longer works.

I feel nervous riding around without a chain tool. Is there a program where I can purchase the chain tool sub-assembly? It doesn't look too difficult to swap out.

Thank you and have a nice day.


The ticket was submitted on 2005 Oct 1st Sunday 2230hrs.

The next afternoon, I received a reply, both in my account and my mailbox:



Subject: Replacement mailed

Hi,

We are placing a replacement part in the mail.

Happy riding!
Best,
Juan C. Agudelo

Todson, Inc.
8 Spring Brook Road
PO Box 637
Foxborough, MA 02037
Tel: 800-213-2802x356


No need to fax a copy of my receipt. No mention of limited warranty. No request for me to send in the broken part. No proof of ownership required. No questions. Just speedy service.

BTW, this is not the new Alien II Multi-tool, but the original Alien Multi-tool, which I bought back in 1991 in Singapore. This is Oct 2005.

Is that customer service or what?


Update:
Oct 11th 2005: the chain tool sub-assembly replacement for the Alien has arrived.

Run, Ripley! Run!

Black Mountain Ride

Haven't ridden all week and needed a "maintenance ride," and so I decided to return to Black Mountain nearby for a fun workout.


Route highlighted in red. GPS track points in blue. As it can be observed, the GPS unit had a difficult time getting a fix in the canyon.




TOPO!'s elevation profile of the route.




Stevens Creek Canyon Rd, a gorgeous, shady road that rises 659 feet over 5.54 miles to the Stevens Canyon trailhead.




Stevens Canyon trailhead. Watched a rider jump this. According to him, clearing the logs is only part of it. After you land (successfully), you have to jam your rear brake, and make a hard left to follow the trail so as not to smack into the trees immediately ahead.




The green sign amused me: it is so incongruous that a sign like, "Entering Palo Alto City Limits," is planted deep in a forested canyon.


Half-way through the climb, I ran into a horde of black flies with bad tempers. You see, most flies just buzz around your head and irritate the heck out of you. But, on the downhills, you lose them. Well, these flies are different. They would buzz around my head, ears, neck, mouth, nose, and even get behind my shades to my eyes. And when I get on the downhills, they will fly to the rear of my helmet and hide in the air channels. Sometimes they get wedged between my head and the helmet. Then, they will get pissed and bite me. I have like 30 bites on the back of my scalp. And they are unbearably itchy.

Finally lost them when I reached the summit and I took off my helmet though. Guess they just couldn't keep up with the constant wind gusts.

Thought I had it bad until I read this post on a thread, "You know those little holes in your helmet?":

I had a wasp fly in once. Focker hit me 5 times before I got the helmet off. I musta looked like I lost my mind, flailing away at my own head like that... -- RobW




Stevens Canyon trail goes from forested singletrack to a fire road that winds in and out of forested sections and open meadows.




A wider perspective.




Stevens Canyon trail ends and becomes Indian Creek trail, a fire road which climbs about 850 ft relentlessly to the summit. Here, I'm looking down.




What lies ahead.




Panorama from Indian Creek trail. Current elevation 2065 ft. Stevens Canyon trail runs along the forested section on the left. The canyon is a product of the San Andreas fault, and, in certain sections, the trail actually runs on top of it! Skyline Boulevard / Highway 35, a twisty road popular with sportbikes and automobile enthusiasts, lies on the ridge across the canyon.




Altitude 2400 ft. Just about 410 ft more to the summit. Looking down here.




View from the summit, eastwards. Silicon Valley and the Diablo mountain range, with Mount Hamilton immediately on the left of the tree in the center.




A closer view. On the left, part of the bay, and the city of Milpitas. Mount Hamilton on the left of the tree in the center.




The summit of Black Mountain, elevation 2810 ft (857 m).




USGS marker.




Moi.




Looks like I'm wearing stockings, doesn't it?




Descending 5.11 miles of Montebello Road took under 10 minutes as I lost 1987 ft in elevation.


Epilogue:
Total distance: Cyclo-computer 19.9 miles (31.84 km) / GPS 20.76 miles (33.22 km) / TOPO! 21.05 miles (33.68 km).
Total elevation climbed: Altimeter 3080 ft (939 m) / GPS + TOPO! 2978 ft (908 m).
Temperature range: 62 F to 68 F (16.7 C to 20 C).
Fluids consumed: 1.5 liters.