About time for an update. I changed out the PB Superflash for a PB Turbo on the helmet, added a Cygolite HotShot in pulse mode to the seat post and moved the 100 lumen DIY solid on lights to the back of the rack for a nice three level effect. One Red Zone 4 went AWOL in a ride to out strip a violent storm and hte other gradually lost every function. I did not replace them. The Hotshot's mount was an issue so it is now screwed into a spare PB seat post mount as the clip is too small to use that mount as an alternative. My three XPG with aspheric lenses got a rebuild as I used a sealer with acetic acid fumes on version 1. Version 2 got an XPE for a smaller tighter beam to get a lane width patch further ahead and two R4 XPGs up from R1. The headlights got new snoots. The bike was repainted and brass fenders installed. These reflect light very well both from my headlights and tail lights and from headlights.
This is the bike before the rim tape with the helmet sitting on the saddle instead of my head:
Not in headlights:
This is in low beam headliights (distance = 2 lanes away):
More lightweights have been added to the front wheel and the rebuilt rear wheel got a set, too since these shots.
The front beamshot on the garage door (no helmet narrow "high beam":
The rear lights street signs (on other side of the road) too (minus helmet PB Turbo light):
That is the Hotshot brightening the wide field of the twin 100 lumen lights.
I found the wheel lights a bit heavy and the coin batteries are an environmental issue when used up. So I got interested in Glo Rim tape for the Velocity Deep Vees (
http://therimskin.com/glow).
So here is a video with several comparisons that show my lights about a year ago using UV flashlights to activate the Glo tape on the rims:
I am playing with another Glo tape ferom Nori Lights (
http://norilights.com). I have V1. V2 has improved activation lights. Here is a video of the Nori tape on one quadrant of the front wheel (Glo RimSkin and reflective green on the rest of the front and the rear wheel:
Enjoy
BrianMc