Magnic Lights and Cruzbikes

[Eric Winn]

Take a look at the different mounting adapters for the magnic lights here:

http://www.magniclight.com/MagnicLight/index.php/en/hikashop-menu-for-categories-listing/category/listing/23-adapter

In this part of their website you can click on the little pictures and get a big one (mostly) to be able to see more detail.

Considering the Cruzbike geometry, where could these be mounted so they would work on a Cruzbike? Primarily on the front. I don't see as much of an issue on the rear.

I can see maybe one front light under the chainstay on the left side about where a combined speed and cadence sensor goes as long as the light didn't stick out too far into your pedal arc. The right side wouldn't work because of the crank and chain assembly in the same region.

-Eric

 

[Charles.Plager]

Hi Eric,
Hmmmm.  I was going

Hi Eric,

Hmmmm. I was going to suggest the non-drive side of the chainstays, but the pedals might get in the way (as you pointed out). You could mount them on the fork on the non-drive side and angle them so that they aren't blocked most of the time.

For Cruzbikes, you'd really like them to be able to mount the generator and the light in different places. I don't think us Cruzbike riders are a big enough market to convince them to do that, but some other people might want to mount the light higher up on the handlebars, so maybe there's hope.

Send them the link to the Vendetta page and see what they say(?).

Cheers,
Charles

 

[keithkling]

It looks like they will be willing to make the parts separate. This is from their website: "With this new technique it is also possible to exchange old dynamos and use your existing light system with a Magnic Light dyamo but in this early stage of development we only focus on one product."

So, in the future we may be able to mount the light on the bars and the dynamo on by the wheel. If enough people express an interest in that they sound like they are willing to listen. They are a very new company.

Really cool technology!

 

[chrisblessing]

Magnic light

I can't imagine that the light can be more than a few centimeters from the magneto, as it uses an induced current to power the light. That would have to be one powerful magnet.

 

[Eric Winn]

I had emailed them a question

I had emailed them a question about creating a remote LED assembly with wiring from the generator assembly specifically for installation issues on a Vendetta back on 10/30/2012 but never received a reply.

I'll try again and see if this is in the near future or not. I suppose it depends on if they have been successful in demand for their current design.

I'm very interested as it looks like the illumination quality and low weight are quite good and getting better as they further refine it.

-Eric

 

[Andrew 1973]

Good Concept

As I use my bike for commuting, visibility is key and I am intrigued by advances in lighting like this. However, they are a bit expensive for my budget for something I haven't seen for myself. If I could try them out first, I might be convinced to loosen the purse strings.

 

[Eric Winn]

Randonneur reviews Magnic

Randonneur reviews Magnic light. mclaus over on BROL posted this link. Adding it here for fellow Cruzbikers to take a read...

Looks like the concept works really well. Now if I can figure out if there is a way to mount them to the Vendetta chainstays without getting in the way of the pedals....

-Eric

 

[Eric Winn]

User Manual and other links

User manual:
http://www.magniclight.com/MagnicLight/manual.pdf

Video of installed lights from one of the KickStarter backers who recently received his set:

Makes me wonder if putting them near a Stages power meter, cadence sensor, etc which is likely unavoidable on a Cruzbike is going to mess them up?

-Eric

 

[Eric Winn]

New Magnic Lights Kickstarter

New Magnic Lights Kickstarter Project here and I'm a backer this time for a set of lights so I may need Mr. Tolhurst's help in figuring out how to make them work on the front of my Vendetta. The rear should not be a problem.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dynamodirk/magnic-light-ic-intelligent-contactless-bicycle-dy/widget/video.html


-Eric

 

[Eric Winn]

Interest seems to be picking

Interest seems to be picking up in these things. The latest Magnic Lights Kickstarter project has already met the funding goal with 32 days left. There are still some backer goodies available but they are going fast.

-Eric

 

[jimbo3b]

This is the future of commuting on a bike.

I'm very happy with my dynamo hub and running lights on my conversion, and if I'm going fast enough, I can power my i-device. It's nice for both commuting and touring.

However, for commuting, you don't need to power an i-device. Magnic lights are always there, always on, always making you visible. They should have lower drag than a dynamo hub (zero friction, so the only drag would be due to utilizing eddy currents), and you have no extra weight for wiring runs.

In my mind's eye, I'm visualizing a mini-fairing on the front wheel for mounting the magnic lights. For example, would coroplast be strong enough?