Can you believe it’s already fall? Seattle has been hit by some nasty weather this fall: rain, clouds and wind storms. And most disturbing of all, darkness! Time to start pulling out our bike lights.
What type of lights do you use?
Even though we talk about upgrading to generator lights, we haven’t made the leap yet. We’re still using battery-powered lights. And not even bike-specific battery-powered lights, we use a variety of AA flashlights that we connect to our handlebars with DIY guy’s signature re-used/re-purposed inner tube mounts.
Bike Light Kickstarter
We’re not serial product testers and endorsers here at Car Free Days. We don’t blindly endorse every Kickstarter campaign that shows up in our inbox. In fact, the last time we got excited about a Kickstarter campaign, we were emotionally attached (a documentary by one of the Xtracycle founders). It’s been two years already and so far, the promised movie has yet to materialize.
That said, the latest Kickstarter campaign we’ve been asked to review looks pretty good. These guys have a track record for delivering on time and as promised.
When Slava Menn contacted us and suggested we check out his Kickstarter for indestructible bike lights, we were intrigued. The Kickstarter title alone was worth a click. “Fortified: Bike Lights that Last Forever. We Promise”
Forever? We Promise? Maybe we should at least see what this is all about.
We clicked the link, read about the product, watched the video and then spent a little time clicking around the web and reading other testimonials and reviews.
- A bike light backed with a “lifetime, no matter what warranty?” Hmmm
- A proprietary/custom security screw and allen key to protect from theft? That’s a good idea. I hate having to remove all of my lights when I park my bike on the street. It would be nice to be able to leave my lights on the bike and not worry about them getting stolen.
- Removable battery that uses USB charging? Nice!
Their Kickstarter is already fully funded. In fact, at this writing it’s 474 percent funded. They’ve already raised $113,758! Fortified certainly doesn’t need your pledge any longer. Even if Fortified’s bank account will be flush with Kickstarter pledges once the campaign ends in 19 days, pledging your support might be an opportunity to get some kick ass lights at a good price. At the same time you can show your support for a new company and product.
How about you? Do you back Kickstarter projects? Any duds? Or gems? Please share the good and the bad!
And please, have a good weekend! Looks like we might get some sun in Seattle this weekend!
– Anne
Anne & Tim
Tim King
Anne
cfdgirl
Tim K
Car Free Days 
Awesome! Thanks for sharing.
I put a generator hub and IQ Fly headlight and Toplite tail light on my Xtracycle a few years back and love them sooooo much. Never having to charge batteries and having lights that are bolted onto your bike silences two of the nagging hassles of utility cycling. Even apart from the convenience factor, the LED IQ Fly has the best and brightest beam pattern of any bike light I’ve ever used.
As for Kickstarter, I’ve backed 15. 1 didn’t fund. 1 refunded after giving up. 1 where the (token) reward didn’t arrive, but the podcast flourished and is awesome (decodeDC), 7 delivered their rewards on schedule. 2 are pending but look to be on schedule. The last three are all films and are all stuck in lengthy post-production hassles (including Kipchoge’s “Stuck On Earth”).
Those lights look kind of cool and the kickstarter seems like a reasonable bet for battery lights.
Hi Jeff — agreed, generators are the way to go wherever/whenever possible. Any new bikes or new wheel builds in the households will likely get them. But because of our ridiculous fleet size (right now we’re averaging, (ahem!) about 4.5 bikes/family member), the cost of outfitting every bike with dedicated lighting isn’t possible. Good battery/portable lights mean we can swap as needed when we want to ride something else (or when the kids outgrow their current rides – which they do too often).
Great feedback on your kickstarter track record — wow! 15 w/ only one dud (and refunded, too) is pretty fantastic. Heck I probably have more issues with Amazon purchases.
For me, generators on my main ride. The rest are battery lights. I have sponsored some KS ideas, but never keep track of them.
I have a Schmidt generator hub with a Busch Muller light on my commuter and oh my goodness I love it so much. I haven’t touched my battery powered light since I made the switch a couple years ago. Even though some of my other bikes are a lot nicer, in dark/rainy Seattle its the bike with the fenders and no-fuss lights that gets ridden.
No experience with kickstarter!
I use battery operated tail and headlights by designshinelighting.com.
They output at 800 and 1300 lumens respectively. I chose these lights for their daytime running capabilities as I am family riding in a statistically dangerous area of NJ for pedestrians/cyclists.
They are visible at high noon on a cloudless July day and match emergency service vehicle lightbars in terms of brightness. Their closest competition would be dinottelighting.com