Mountainbiking Association of Dublin

Archive for December, 2007

2007 Bicycle Christmas Party

Wednesday, December 5th, 2007

The 2007 Dublin’s Cyclists’ Christmas Party is the biggest seasonal party ever held for the capital’s cycling crew. Fabulous venue - The POD at Harcourt LUAS stop, great entertainment - music for all ears, fine food and fab company…….all for a fiver. Special prizes for those who decorate their bicycles in the most festive fashion.

Come along and meet your cycling campaigning colleagues, the messengers who keep the city centre businesses bustling, lots of commuters, tourers, racers, mountain-bikers………..they will all be there. Politicians and figures from the Councils and government departments with responsibility for transport are also invited so this is your chance to charm or corner them over a pint and explain how it all should happen. The fun starts at 7pm. Fabulous area for bikes in off the road so your steed will enjoy the evening as much as you do.

Bring your family and friends - in fact, anyone who cycles, used to cycle, might cycle in the future, or just wants to hang out with all of those fit cyclists for an evening. Spread the word - extra posters downloadable on www.dublincycling.ie Look forward to seeing you there. The Dublin Cycling Campaign Social Committee.

Posted in announcement, events | 6 Comments »

Lumicycle NiMH 2000-2006

Saturday, December 1st, 2007

Light System	Lumicycle NiMH 2000 System (12w spot & 20w flood), smart charger

Reviewed by	Morgan O’Connell
Duration Used	5 years
Price Paid	€290
Burn-time	About three hours on 12w
Good points	Simple construction and all parts available as spares Long burn times They can be user-modified (e.g. LED upgrade) Last for years
Bad points	Battery bag removes paint from frame like sandpaper (I’d get the bottle battery if buying again) Had to buy mounting brackets separately (these now come as standard)
Rating	5/5

Reviewed by	Paddy O’Brien
Duration Used	2 years
Price Paid	€290
Burn-time	Three Hours
Good points	the smart charger is deadly .. takes about 4 hours for a full charge but you can’t bust the battery by overcharging
Bad points
Rating	5/5

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Light and Motion Solo

Saturday, December 1st, 2007

Light System	Light and Motion Solo

Reviewed by	Fergal J Kilkenny
Duration Used	1 year
Price Paid	€130
Burn-time	Just over two hours
Good points	Affordable Durable (rubber coated lens and tough plastic body) Versatile (helmet and bar mount) Good light output and duration (a little over 2 hours) Small battery size
Bad points	Small things really - 14 hour recharge time (no problem though if you hook it up to a timer plug to prevent overcharging) Battery is a little bit heavy.
Rating	?/5

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Light & Motion Solo Logic

Saturday, December 1st, 2007

Light System	Light & Motion Solo Logic Mv Ni-Mh Light

Reviewed by	Martin Lynch
Duration Used	1 year
Price Paid	€150 (haggled when buying a few items in superstore last Sept)
Burn-time	2hrs (15mins dim at end to let you know to replace battery) get the turbo charger for avoidance of the DOH factor when you relaise the battery has not been charged!
Good points	Light and durable battery charges fast about 1.5 hours
Bad points	Not mad about the finiky bike mount, but I use the helmet mount more often
Rating	4/5

Reviewed by	Cormac Ahern
Duration Used	1 year
Price Paid	€180
Burn-time	2:20 so far
Good points	Quite bright. Useful dimmer function. Compact battery. Stable handlebar mount.
Bad points	Overly long cable. Difficult to mount on frames with exposed gear/brake cables.
Rating	5/5

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Light & Motion Solo Logic Li-ion Cub

Saturday, December 1st, 2007

Light System	Light & Motion Solo Logic Li-ion Cub

Reviewed by	Karl Dempsey
Duration Used	1 year
Price Paid	€160 (eBay)
Burn-time	1hr 40mins on full power
Good points	Compact, lightweight Li-ion battery 1.5 hours charge time (with fast charger) Broad spread of light with good reach Handlebar and helmet mounting options
Bad points	Not much, but burn time could be a little longer (Li-ion Cub battery).
Rating	4/5

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Blackburn X3

Saturday, December 1st, 2007

Light System	Blackburn X3

Reviewed by	Oisin Boydell
Duration Used	1 year
Price Paid	€175 on CRC
Burn-time	It has different power output levels, but even on the brightest it has never run out for me on normal length night rides (up to 3 hours)
Good points	Bomb proof construction and LED bulb so nothing to go wrong. The LED means that it gives a bright white light using low power which means a longer burn time. Intelligent charger - just leave it plugged it and it handles the charging (including top up charging) automatically which prevents over charging and means its always ready to go. Comes with helmet and handlebar mounting brackets. 3 different light intensity modes and flashing mode.
Bad points	The battery pack is bulkier than some other brands and it doesn’t fit in a bottle cage. I use the helmet mount and just throw it in the camelback so its not really a problem. There are brighter systems out there for more money but the output is equivalent to other single bulb systems and is fine for normal night riding.
Rating	5/5. I can’t find much to fault with this system - reliable and don’t have to worry about remembering to charge the battery.

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Nightlightning Digital Blaast! DCM (12W SSC P4 LED)

Saturday, December 1st, 2007

Light System	Nightlightning Digital Blaast! DCM (12W SSC P4 LED)

Reviewed by	Stephen Haines
Duration Used	4 months
Price Paid	NZ$339 (€179) plus battery pack: Li-ion 2.2Ah 14.8V battery & fast smart charger NZ$268 (€141) - can use any type of battery pack from 12v to 14.8v (12.5% GST tax off these prices for international orders)
Burn-time	High 4hr, Low 38hr with 2.2Ah Li-ion battery
Good points	Super bright, slays the 35W halogen light I was using, brighter than the LED-Lupine Wilma 6 that sells for Euro 900 - check out the comparison on their website Light and compact Fully featured: function dimming, flasher modes, fuel gauge & battery protect, and you can set the low, medium, & high levels Can be upgraded easily Small company very responsive and sells all spares or even DIY kits Postage from NZ about $20-30 and delivery in a week
Bad points	Handlebar mount is a bit budget looking but works ok Nightlightning battery does not come with bag but fits easily into pack or jacket pocket
Rating	5/5

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Exposure Joystick

Saturday, December 1st, 2007

Light System	Exposure Joystick head light

Reviewed by	Ciaran Clissmann
Duration Used	1 year
Price Paid	€200?
Burn-time	3 hours plus. Never run out while riding yet
Good points	very bright spot, excellent range helmet mounted to see around corners no cables or heavy battery - it’s all in the light unit
Bad points	narrow beam - you need a flood too
Rating	5/5

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Exposure Turbo Race handlebar flood

Saturday, December 1st, 2007

Light System	Exposure Turbo Race handlebar flood

Reviewed by	Ciaran Clissmann
Duration Used	1 year
Price Paid	€350?
Burn-time	3 hours plus. Never run out while riding yet.
Good points	bright flood, good range, but no better than others I’ve seen no cables or heavy battery - it’s all in the light unit.
Bad points	awkward to mount and remove - you need to use an allen key each time. currently being fixed, stopped working for no good reason over the summer not as good as the joystick; despite the no-cables convenience, the crap mounting system and mediocre performance means I’d buy something else.
Rating	3/5

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NiteRider Technical Lighting Systems MiNewt

Saturday, December 1st, 2007

Light System	NiteRider Technical Lighting Systems MiNewt

Reviewed by	Ronan O’Connell
Duration Used	6 months. Only 2 rides; one of which was in the Phoenix Park and the other was about 2 hours long
Price Paid	€165.86 (free delivery from Chain Reaction Cycles)
Burn-time	Light has two power settings. According to the documentation up to 6 hours at the lower power and 3 at higher. I’ve only used it for two hours at the lower setting.
Good points	Very light and compact. Attachment mechanisms (Velcro strap for the battery pack and strong circular bands for the light itself) are easy to use and should fit any bike.
Bad points	Comes only with bike mount. Need to buy helmet mount and extension cable to use on helmet. That’s about another €30. Up to 6 hours to fully charge, though I don’t really see that as a problem.
Rating	5/5 (but I’ve not tried any other lights, or indeed used these much)