Bikecharge Installation And Review

I was recently riding my bicycle, listening to Howard Stern and using my speedo to track how slowly I was moving, and I saw this.

Now, the last thing I want to see is that I have a low battery, because it means no tunes and no tracking for the rest of the ride. (It also means that Mrs. The Plano Cyclist can't call me and ask when I will be home, so it's a bit of a mixed bag.) When I saw the notification, I mentally kicked myself, because I had a dynamo system sitting on my workbench, waiting to be installed on the bloggipede.

Even though it was waiting patiently, it took another incident to get me to install the Bikecharge. I had received a notice about a recall on my Light and Motion 180 for a circuit board problem; the light I had was in a batch that had problems with the light turning off unexpectedly. "Pshaw", I said, "this is a great light, and I don't think it will be a problem." And it wasn't - until one night at about 6:45. Once you are used to having plenty of light, it is hard to adjust to having none. I usually carry a blinky in my bag, but on the night the lights went out in Plano I didn't have it with me, of course. It was a dark ride home, and the whole time I was thinking about that Bikecharge dynamo, just sitting on the PC workbench.


Having been given two reasons to install the Bikecharge, I went ahead and did it. I had been avoiding installing the unit because I read the instructions, and I had to replace one of the hub nuts with an included narrower nut. That may sound funny from a guy who has no problem stretching a frame, but hubs are my one stopper. Despite having plenty of tools and abilities, I hate dealing with them. It is a weird hang up I have, and one that I suspect is actually slowing down the tandem rebuild.

Despite having to deal with my irrational hub mental block, the install was a snap - remove the wheel, replace the outer nut with the thinner nut (simple) and then put your wheel back on. I use a nutted front hub on the bloggipede, so once it was tightened, I did some adjusting and got everything pointed the right way. Install took all of ten minutes, and I wish I had scheduled the staff photographer that day, because it was impossible for me to do it and take photos at the same time.

Remote on/off switch

Once the unit was installed, I connected the remote "on" switch and strung it up to the handlebars. This part took longer than the actual generator installation, to be honest.

USB Plug

After that, I installed the USB cable, strung it up, and was done. The Bikecharge comes with little clips to facilitate the stringing of the wires, and I have no worries that the wires are going anywhere.

After the installation, it was time to test this baby out. The wide silver part gathers up the generated energy via the little tab shown below. Here it is engaged.

And disengaged - there is a slider so that when you don't need juice/don't want the drag on your wheel, you can reverse the tab and disengage the generator. I'm sure some of your ears perked up when I said "drag", so I will address it directly.

Yes, there is some drag. I haven't got a way to measure, but there is a perceptible amount of drag on the front wheel with this system. I have an older bike with a bottle type generator light system, and I will say that it drags much more than the Bikecharge. I don't know how the Bikecharge drag compares to a generator hub, because I don't have one. It doesn't matter, because to make an omelet you have to break a few eggs. You can't generate power without some drag.

Rear of unit, with taillight and usb and control wires. 

And does this thing generate power! I am impressed by the amount of light that it puts out. I have been spoiled by the Urban 180 light output; I would say that the Bikecharge puts out almost as much. It's certainly brighter than every other light I have tried, and a ton brighter than the bottle generator light. One of the nicer features of the Bikecharge is that it stores a small amount of energy, so that when you are stopped the light stays on. That way I don't suddenly disappear when I stop moving. The USB charge feature works very well, and I was able to recharge my half full iPhone on an hour ride, while still using the Bikebrain app and listening to Harry Nilsson.

The Bikecharge is $99, and a great investment for a commuter. Pair it with a phone mount on your handlebars, and you are all set to enjoy the day on two wheels from dawn until dusk.

***
All of the above was written when I originally installed the light in February - and I have ridden in extensively since then. Sadly, the tiny little screws in the engagement tab worked themselves out after a few rides, rendering the Bikecharge useless. I have contacted the company to see if they can send me replacement screws, so I can continue to test it. I'm sure they will, and I assume that my unit was an outlier. I will let you all know what kind of response I get from the company.

Tuesday Morning Weight Loss Check In

Did I blow your mind there? Tuesday?

After using the flu diet for a few days, and trying to cough my lungs out for a week afterwards, I will freely admit that I have been very passively dieting and exercising. I figure my "bod" needs to get well before I start beating up on it again, so there really isn't much to report. I'm still down (198.2) and am keeping an eye on my food intake, but not watching calories as much as I was.

What hideous feet. 

While I have not been working out, I have been stretching like crazy. My trainer recommended I buy a styrofoam roller and use it to stretch - man, what I have been missing! My favorite stretch is to roll my back up and down the roller, pausing where I find it tight. It is incredible, and I feel great when I am done. I also roll the outside of my thighs down the roller the same way, and it is great. Mrs. The Plano Cyclist is a great yogi, and has always stressed the value of a good stretch. I will freely admit that I haven't really stretched since I was in 9th grade P.E. and Coach Washington made us. Even then, I only did it in an effort to see up the girls shorts (and was quite limber for all of the effort I put in. Thanks coach!) During my cycling resurgence, even when I was really riding hardish, I never stretched. Now, on the other hand, I have really embraced the stretch. Even of I haven't exercised, I will still take a few minutes and do some stretching, just to loosen up. A foam roller is about $20 at Academy or Dick's, or Oshmann's, and is a worthwhile purchase of home gym equipment.

Not as ominous as this picture makes it look. 

 I generally don't encourage buying home gym stuff, because it never gets used by the average person. In this case, I make an exception, because you really should be using a foam roller to knead your muscles. In a pinch, you can use it for a coffee table as well.

How very modern. 

So what else do you have to look forward to from me this week? I plan to write up the Bikecharge system, and hope to put together a Linkdump for Friday as well. However, I have some professional licensing stuff that I need to attend to, so you may get only one or the other. I'll do my best to get you both articles, but unless you guys start clicking those ads like crazy and telling your friends to read and do the same, I can't count on this work to keep a roof over my head. I have been trying to get someone to give me a house to review, but no such luck yet.

Speaking of reviews, not too long ago, I got an email from Paul F. Pinsky, an author, asking if I would like a copy of his book, "Biking Through The Hoods" to read and personally enjoy. Since I love free stuff, and the title and premise of his book were intriguing to me, I took him up on the offer. "My audience doesn't really care for books", I told him, "no one has yet claimed the free Zen book I'm giving away, so I doubt they themselves read." I told him I would read his book nonetheless and tell my readers about it. I have cracked it open and read a few pages, and it seems well written and interesting. I will review it in toto when I finish it, but am not reading a ton right now - that licensing stuff I was talking about.