Today I Will Review A Revolutionary Step in Bicycle Eyewear- Moto-Optix Lenses.

I got a Moto-Optix polarized bicycle lens in the mail the other day, and while I haven't had a whole lot of time to write about it, I have had time to use it, and this really is an incredible piece of equipment.  

The lens comes with everything you see here - well, yours most likely won't come with a fancy handwritten note, because you aren't a famous blogger. The lens is a single piece that you attach to your helmet via Velcro. Installation is a snap; peel the included Velcro from the backer, throw it on your helmet, and stick the lens on. 

Make that Velcro "ripping" sound in your head. 

Once the lens was installed, I removed the blue protective film, and looked at my new windshield. 

Then I wore them around the office for a while. 

To protect the PC staff  from my laser eyes. 

My winged over-mantle looked great, and really emphasized the flare of my beard. On the ride home, however, is where the lens really began to shine. I am a glasses wearer when I am not on the bike anyway, so it's not like glasses "bug" me. However, being able to ride without glasses but still have the sun protection my eyes want is incredibly comfortable, since the lenses are not touching my face or head. It really is an odd sensation at first,  but one I got used to fairly quickly. These aren't some cheap smoked plastic lenses either; the Moto-Optix  lenses are polarized to reduce glare and have incredible optical quality. I have very expensive riding glasses that are not this optically correct. 

I can only think of a couple of things that will make these better; I had a little problem with the Velcro included peeling off of the Styrofoam on the helmet when I tried to  re-position the lens. Unfortunately, some of the Styrofoam stayed attached and ruined the stickiness of the tape in the process. It would be nice if the company included a set of back up strips, just in case. Another great thing (I'm an idea man, you see?) would be to lose the wings on the side, make the lenses smooth, and put reflective material on the edges so the extra space can be used as a mirror. Million dollar ideas? I just give them away. 

I like these a lot, and I will wear the hell out of them for commuting and weekend rides, because they really are a revolution in comfort. Moto-Optix is marketing them to triathletes, and I can see where that is a worthwhile market, but I would say that anyone who is riding a lot should really consider them. Especially here in Texas because heat = sweat, and nothing is more annoying than having your glasses slip while you are riding. The lenses are available in either amber or dark grey tints, and are $39.95 a pair, and in my opinion are a real bargain. Once again, this is a made in USA product, so if you don't want to support terrorists, you should buy USA first. 

Installing The M210 Mini Monkey Light Bike Light - And A Review

One of the things I dislike the most about cycling in Dallas is riding at night; I never feel like I am visible enough. One option is to dress like a cellphone while I ride so that drivers will pay attention to me. The other is to light myself up like a Christmas tree and pray that I catch someone's eye so they don't kill me on their way home.

My current commuting kit. 

That's where the Monkeylight comes in. Blinkies, headlights, and taillights are important, but being seen from the side (and more importantly), getting a distracted drivers attention, is the harder part of the equation. The Monkeylight accomplishes both of those things easily and in a very neat way.

First, the install; the package includes everything you see below. The light, the batteries, zip ties, and a metal "anti - theft" strap, along with stickers and some tiny spoke cards - or maybe trading cards, I'm not sure.

It's in the bag, baby. 

My first thought when I saw the Monkeylight was that it's just a circuit board, and will never last. What you can't see in the pictures is that the board is completely enclosed in resin or rubber, protecting it from the elements. The Monkeylight is very solidly built, and makes my bike look super Hi-Tech to to boot.

This thing is sealed up. 

Installing is pretty straightforward - zip tie the board to the spokes as shown.

Zip ties are my duct tape anyway.

Zip tie the battery cylinder to the hub, on the opposite side of the wheel from the light itself; this is to keep the wheel balanced. I don't question the idea of balancing the setup, but I do question wether the weight of the batteries is offset by the weight of the light itself. I didn't weigh them, but the light board didn't seem like it weighed as much as 3 AA batteries.

That black thing is the waterproof battery cylinder. 

Once installed, turn it on and pedal away. There is both a high and a low setting on the light, and a lot of patterns to choose from - and that is where it's at. Blinking lights are fine, of course, but I'm banking on getting some attention with this thing. Zigzags, hearts, stripes, triangles, and more are generated by the wheel movement. That might make someone look twice; at least that's what I'm hoping for. The Monkeylight isn't only visible from the side, as the LED lights are super bright and throw enough light out to light up the street underneath the bike.

This isn't a great video, but it's hard to capture the effect by myself. This gives you an idea. Below is an "official" video to show you what it really looks like "on the streets" yo.

I didn't weigh the unit, and unless my readers speak up and tell me you need that, I'm not going to start weighing the stuff I review. This weighs as much as six AA batteries, essentially, so if you are a weight weenie, this isn't for you. I'm betting that if you read this blog, you are more of a commuter, and visibility is more important than a few ounces of weight. This thing is super bright, and I don't think there is a better way to make yourself visible from the side - and have a good time doing it.

It is hard to photograph stickers on a chrome frame. 

Oh, I forgot the last step - I had to install a sponsor sticker on the Bloggipede. I am very impressed by the Monkeylight - at $49.99 it is an excellent value - as long as it holds up to extended use. I do expect it to hold up just fine, as it seems very well built. I will report the extended test results in a couple of months, so be on the lookout for that report soon.

The M210 Mini Monkey Light LED is available here for $49.99, and will be shipping in February.

Using the Uberhood Bicycle Umbrella in the Rain - A Review

Like some sort of dust bowl farmer (or any Texan in 2011) I have been praying for the clouds to open up for some time now. Unlike them, I wanted it to rain just so I could do some product testing on the Uberhood bicycle umbrella. We actually had some rain the other evening, so I put on a sweatshirt to fight the chill, handed the phone to my wife/photographer (just like Graham Hancock!) and took my 'hood for a wet spin.

In the driveway leading to my estate

This is obviously not the first time I have ridden in the rain, but it is the first time I have ridden in the rain and kept my face dry. In that respect, the Uberhood does a great job.

Unfortunately it protects much less of the rest of the body from the rain than most of the other methods I have tried on the bicycle. I currently use and carry a bicycle rain cape from Campmor, and it works very well, covering my hands and keeping the rain off of my torso. Just like the Uberhood, the rain cape affords little protection for my legs and feet, so I will eliminate that comparison of the two.

Coverage wise, the cape is obviously better, but comfort wise, the Uberhood certainly wins out when compared to a rain cape. When using the cape, you have to periodically dump the water that accumulates between your arms, or make a conscious attempt to keep the cape taught enough to prevent accumulation. With the 'hood, there is no puddle to worry about. However, the 'hood does allow much more rain to hit your upper body and hands, especially at speed.

Pictured: Speed. 

Certainly, however, the best part of the Uberhood is the coverage it affords your face. My head was dry the entire ride, and didn't get a drop of rain on my glasses, which was really great. when wearing a rain cape, your face is in the wind and rain, which is very tiring.

Dry face, long beard. 

I would expect to use the Uberhood by itself in a light sprinkle, or for a short trip to the store - but if I was riding a longer distance in the rain, I would add a rain cape to the mix, and arrive with a dry face AND upper body. Add some gaiters and rain shoes in and I think you could expect to arrive fairly dry and comfortable, no matter what the weather.

In Action - or Inaction? 

The only problem with that plan is the size of the 'hood when folded. It wouldn't be a problem if the day started with rain, but on a day when there was sudden rain on your ride home, the odds of having the Uberhood on your bike already are pretty slim; a rain cape will slip in a bag easily, but even folded the 'hood is 23" long - and something that size creates a stowage problem on a bicycle. Yes, it has a bracket on the handlebar, but I can imagine that very few people feel particularly comfortable with a metal pole bolted to their handlebars right at their eye level. I like the Uberhood, and it will certainly eliminate excuses on rain days. I hate wet face more than anything, and it is no longer a problem, thanks to the Uberhood!

The Uberhood is available here for $79.99.

Another Pending Product Review

I'm still waiting on my other review items, but I still have an announcement; I will be reviewing a product that is not yet available to the general public.

Wacky Wheels! That's right, I will be the first to review these craaaaazy wheels for fun and exercise!

Just kidding. Instead, I am looking forward to receiving one of these.

This thing looks AWESOME!

The Tigra is a wheel mounted generator/light combo. I have long wanted to give a dynohub a try, but it involves wheelbuilding, and being committed to only having the ability to generate power on only one bike. The Tigra can be moved from bike to bike, and in addition to being a generator light, it is a USB charge. The good folks at Bike Console have also offered to send me a handlebar mount for my iPhone 4S (yes, I'm an early adopter guy), so very soon I will be pedaling along watching YouTube and not giving a damn about power usage. I don't have a headrest to put screens in, but I cannot ride without my videos. 

They see me rollin', they be hatin'. 

Uberhood First Impressions and Initial Review

Most of you have probably heard about the Uberhood from Bikesnob NYC, who made pretty nasty comments about the 'hood, and by extension it's users. Here in Plano we are a more more friendly and accommodating to folks, and we give them a chance before we make broad negative assumptions about a group of people.

I was very excited when I received my 'hood in the mail, because it is the first of several products I'll be giving the old PC gorilla test to over the next couple of months.

We had a little fun in the office when it arrived. 

I couldn't wait to get home and mount it on a bicycle and really give it a try. Despite some city slicker's railing on it, I think that a bicycle umbrella is a good idea - maybe not for rain, but I'm thinking it might keep the 110 degree sun off of my back in the summertime.

I have been in communication with Sandy, the wife of the man behind (or underneath) the Uberhood, and she explained that while her husband was on a business trip to China, he saw many bicycles with umbrellas, and thought that the Uberhood is an "elegant solution" to both sun and rain. The umbrella itself is built in China, but the folding mechanism is manufactured here in the USA, and is patent pending. The company has burst onto the interwebosphere with this product, and they are merely a few weeks old. This is good old American ingenuity stolen from Chinese peasants, and I really want the Luettgens to succeed in their venture. 

Sunday was a nice breezy, sunny day and I wasn't able to go to the Tweed Ride, sadly, but I still wanted to ride around. Needing some supplies for other non bike related projects, I loaded up my daughter in the trailer, mounted the Uberhood on my bike, and took off for glory. 

Uberhood mounted to my 1974  Suburban. 

My first critique of the 'hood is the mounting system. It is a simple system, with two pieces of metal held to the bars by the pressure of bolts, and the umbrella bracket sandwiched inside. All that was supplied was the metal, and even though my Schwinn is old, I had no desire to mar the bars by bolting raw metal around them. Luckily my garage is full of old rim strips, so I grabbed one and cut a liner for the clamp. 

Clamping Mechanism. 

Once had mounted the system to the bike, the next step was to tighten the bolts in order to sandwich the umbrella bracket between the two pieces of metal. I thought I had it tightened well enough, but "well enough" is no match for a North Texas breeze; as we got underway, a strong gust caught the umbrella and made the mount pivot over to the right. I reached out to catch the umbrella and the mast bent where I grabbed it. I rebent the tube, got out a pair of ratchets, re-tightened the clamp, and got back underway.

You can see the bend in the tube here. 

Pictured above the bent mast is the clever mechanism to reinforce the umbrella when it is up, and more importantly allows it to fold down when not in use. 

The hinging/reinforcing  mechanism closed. 

We rode the two miles to Home Depot without much more incident - though the clamp did have a tendency to rotate forward when the breeze caught the umbrella from behind, pushing it forward into my line of vision. This wouldn't be as big a deal if the front two panels were clear plastic, but they are not, and it was a little exciting shooting down the hill towards Home Depot ducking under the umbrella so I could see the what was coming. And that brings us to the other problem with the Uberhood. 

Uberhood in its dormant state. 

The Uberhood is very low for anything other than casual riding. I couldn't stand up to pedal, and I found myself crouched over most of the ride; despite the tall look of 'hood mounted on my bike, my head hits just where it starts to slope back. When you add in the tendency of the umbrella to rotate forward, it made the ride a little frustrating - and no amount of bolt tightening made it as solid as I wanted it to be. 

Hood from the front. 

After I bought my supplies, I tightened the mounting bolts even more and went ahead and rode over to the park from Home Depot. I do have to say that the Uberhood is excellent for increasing visibility in traffic; I didn't see one person drive past me without swiveling their head to look at my 'hood. For that reason alone, I am a little disappointed in the "lowness" of the hood. I like to be seen when I'm commuting, and I am sure that the Uberhood increases that possibility a thousandfold. However, being unable to stand and pedal would make it very hard for me to ride the entire commute under my 'hood. Or through the hood.

Overall, I like the idea of the Uberhood, and want it to work for me, but I'm afraid that it's not going to be much of an option when I commute - and that's pretty much the only time I'll be riding in the rain. I obviously haven't had a chance to test the 'hood in the rain yet, or the hot summer sun, but my first impression is that this is really best for casual path riding for short folks - and I'm not a giant at 6' tall. 

Uberhood. 

We are expecting rain this week, so I will be riding in it for sure so that I can give you a report on the viability of the Uberhood in the weather it was designed to work in. Once again, I like the idea of the Uberhood, but the reality is that umbrellas are inherently unstable, and bolting one to a bicycle subjects it to a lot more wind than a regular umbrella. The handlebar clamp, in my opinion, is not up to handling those stresses, and give the whole setup a rather flimsy feeling. The company should certainly include some sort of rubber lining for the clamp, but should really consider putting together a more robust system that clamps to the handlebars much more firmly. The umbrella itself seems fairly solid, and despite being caught in the wind a few times did not turn inside out. Do you need an Uberhood? Don't ask me, I don't know your circumstances. Jeez.

The Mailbox Is Full To The Brim

After my momentous left hook of an announcement yesterday, I'm following up with a wide right today. I will soon be reviewing another product; the monkeylectric bike light.

Sa-weet

With the weather getting darker earlier, the only thing I worry about is being seen. I leave in the dark and I ride home in the dark. I'm thinking that the Monkeylectric might be the answer to this cursed darkness that envelops us all.

Plus, how awesome does that wheel look?

I Am so Excited I Could Spit

Right now, one of these is on its way to me so that I can review it. This will be the first product I have been sent to review this year. Christmas is coming, and I know that you are looking for the perfect gift - and this might just be it.

Uberhood. 

I will be receiving an Uberhood in the mail very soon, and I am  looking forward to giving it a good solid test. I regret that I didn't find out about it before the summertime, because it does look perfect to protect riders like myself from the vicious North Texas sun.