Brighter-Lights

Some house theirs in the battery pack, others house theirs inside the light head unit...

Next topic : Cleaning a dirty ultrasonic cleaner.... LOL... They can be acquired cheap online, but those are not nearly as big as Johan's one...

Tyres sit a tighter on Stans rim. I've got 2 AMC sets and I rode normal tyres tubeless with just tape in the past. I now use the stans strip because I can then inflate most tyres with even a handpump.... AMC has a oval like shape on the inside and just tape will work. Depends if tyre fits tightly to start with ie. Kenda's or Spez or Geax TNT sits very tight. Pref don't use tyres you can fit without tyre levers... the tighter bead of the tyre helps a lot when inflating and won't ever burp... I prefer the flat outsides of the Stans rim profile.

I've had my fair share of bad luck in races with tubeless, but mostly due to experimenting with ultralight tyres. I've also trained 1000's of km's on ultra light tyres with not one problem in months. I've pulled my valves from my Stans strips long ago... I just inserted them again and tightened the screw and they were fine... You can get a small 3x4mm O-Ring and slip it over the valve and it will seal even better (remember to not screw the locknut too tightly else the O-Ring will pop off) Today... I use road bike valves, ripped from a trashed road bike tube, with my stans strips... I tighten the screw all the way and they seal. I pump hard with a hand pump and they don't come loose or rip out or leak... What rim strips are you using? Stans has a nice thick area at the valve hole.... hope the bike shop didn't take your ripped out strips... you can still use them... As for the cut... 1cm is a big but not fatal... I've plugged a 8mm cut on a 410g tyre with a normal automotive rope type plug and went ahead to ride over 400km in a 24hr solo with the same tyre (I plugged it the day before the race for the second time as the original plug were worn down, so the day before the 24hr I pulled the old plug and inserted a new one... ) I kept riding it for another 500km before the side knobs started falling off the tyre and I had to trash it... I would first stitch the tyre....use a needle and linen thread. 6 loops per cm should be fine... make double loops. clean the area to be joined before stitching and put some super glue on after the stitching. Then put a 30mm heavy duty patch on the inside and clamp it for a day to vulcanise properly... You would be surprised... Light tyres cut easier and when using them tubeless, ride them softer. A hard tyre cut much easier. I inflate a 2.0 Python Air Light to 1.9 bar at the back and I'm 67kg. On the full suspension I would ride it 1.8 bar. Just get used to riding rocky sections with a little finesse. PS: I've seen some Bontrager Tubeless Ready tires with snapped beads... I have a habit of never inflating a tyre over 2.5 bar when seating it for tubeless... that way there's not a chance of damaging or stretching the bead... www.brighter-lights.com Brighter-Lights2009-05-05 16:21:10

Just stuff that's lying around that I'm not gonna use soon. The 7 Led voltage indicator's and DC moulded plugs I got for making a light that works with the Sigma Nipack battery... too busy with bigger projects to care about that now... A rubber/foam boot easily keeps moisture out of the DC connectors... I'll add that to every set for free. The connector's I've been using cost me almost R300 a set with duties!!!!! Crazy... The li-po indicator's works with the Revelation-1. The light that will replace the Revelation-1 now has a battery level indicator built into the driver circuit. The Rev-1 replacement doesn't have a name yet but will be ready in about 3 weeks. Now with in house moulded mounting, battery enclosure, moulded plugs and 540 lumens for 6hr20 high beam and 300 lumens for 13 hours dim. All this at 400g. R3500-00 The Revelation-3 stays the same. (750 Lumens) R4400-00 The Revelation-4 (980 lumens) to be replaced by a new light with 2550 lumens for 1h45 to 420 lumens for 12 hours. This monster needs some work to get rid of heat... So far a cast aluminium housing with cooling fins... will only be available in a 2 to 3 months. Is the brightest LED bike light ever made in the world. R9000-00 I'm literally sleeping with lights and parts next to me in bed and some nights I wake up with new ideas and start new drawings in the middle of the night... Gonna show you awsome new lights soon... Brighter-Lights2009-05-05 13:17:10

Thanks I know ;-) hahaha

I can help you guys with some of your problems... Moulded DC connector set (male + female) with 30cm cable on each plug... R38-00 per set (severals sets left) -> works with Sigmasport Nipack, Evo ** 4 Stage battery voltage monitor for Li-ion or Li-po battery with 2 cell or 3 cell. R95-00 (1x 2Series and 3x 3Series left) (can be used for 12v SLA if 3rd of 4 warnings is taken as absolute low. 2 Series : 7.4v and up -> Blue LED shines 6.8v to 7.4v -> Blue LED flash 6.6v to 7.4v -> Red LED shines below 6.6v -> Red LED flash + Beeper 3 Series : 11.1v and up -> blue LED shines 10.2v to 11.1v -> blue LED flash 9.9v to 10.2v -> red LED shines below 9.9v -> red LED flash + Beeper 7 LED battery level indicator for 4.8v and 6v. R80-00 (6 left) Can be used to indicate 5x NiMH pack, 4x Alkaline AA pack, 4x AA NiMH pack, 6v SLA -> Works with Sigma Sport Nipack. The above DC connector set, 2 tap washers, clear heat shrink and the 7 LED monitor make a nice inline battery level indicator if done like I did in the photo below: Brighter-Lights2009-05-05 09:09:15

Fluids only can work, but you have to train with it and test it and teach your body to cope with it... My experience with myself in Trans (done it 3 times) is that at some stage I will crave real food, especially when I start feeling colda at night. Boiled patatoes with salt, biltong with fat, cold meat sandwitch/chicken burger are my fav. real foods in Trans... I eat a great deal of energy bars but sooner or later you'll start to hate them... I remember being gatvol for PVM bars as early as 140km at Doornkraal. We always buy about 20 each and always had a lot of them left after the race... I've been on Bergplaas late afternoon twice, and just as the sun set once. It's cold up there and the soup they give makes you feel fantastic and does wonders to your mindset. I think Trans is an easy race, compared to a 24hr solo for instance. I also think Trans must be a lot harder for the slower riders who leave from Doornkraal in darkness... If you're fit and find a good bunch you'll soon cover the first 110km... From Checkpoint 2 (geelhoutbos) to Bergplaas is the most demanding in terms of climbing and tech terrain. From Bergplaas it's downhill and undulating to Komdomo and a nice 'recovery' ride... then all that's left is never ender and your home! Good luck..

Squirt doesn't last long enough for me... I don't want to stop every 50km to relube... Aerosol chain lube goes a lot longer and costs like 10 times less...

It's happen to my twice before. Once down Bergplaas towards Doodsklip... that was from riding stupid hard over bad rocks and a 1.9 tyre... (hardtail) In January in Bruintjieshoogte race - Kenda Karma 2.0 DTC 450g, Anthem. Lasted the whole of a sick rocky downhill at speed... then as I approached the photographer at the bottom of the downhill on what appears to be no bad terrain, one loud BANG! and 2 holes... one in the middle of thread, one in the sidewall right next to the rim edge... had to put a tube in... Still surprized...but something pinched it right there where it appears to be smooth in the photo...

I've used all the commercial products available here... for the amount of riding I do, dry lubes doesn't cut it... Squirt works nicely to lubricate cables, but on a long ride I have to stop to re-lube... I hate a dry sounding sqeeky chain... Then the prices... Castrol Chain Wax... if you want to spend some money on a great product. R120 for a large aerosol can. 500ml? Lasts very long. My favourite and first choice: The best value for money and the best performing lube... Find it at Midas... Wynns Chain lube in a grey and orange 500ml aerosol... Easily lasts me a whole year. If you apply too much, the chain will get black and dirty... If you apply just enough, the chain stays clean and a light mist of the chain is all I do every 100km... Once a week I just clean everythign with a hard brush and dish soap... no black stuff... About R50 for 500ml... Castrol Chainsaw lube... (Lubricut 150) Very thick and sticky, your chain will never shed this stuff in a muddy/wet race... Can't remember the price... Brighter-Lights2009-04-28 01:58:51

I had a customs nightmare last year when the same (SAD500) sh*t happened to me... A client sent some restoration work and accidentally declared $5000!!!! About 7 trips to PE... R1000 for the clearing agent, over R2000 VAT (after realistic values were motivated) a temporary importation permit. When I exported the items after my restoration work... I had to go to SARS again 3 times before I got the VAT payed back to me... So much for democracy and the freedom to trade...Brighter-Lights2009-04-23 05:39:59

The difference between the F100 stickers on the black fork and the white one is that F100 is centered and facing forward on the black fork, where the F100 on the white fork is more inwards of the leg - could be that the decals were applied skew in the first place. Maybe a better FOCUSED photo will reveal more detail... Brighter-Lights2009-04-23 02:18:27

I've never had a tyre delaminate due to any kind of sealant, stans, midas slime like stuff, latex only, latex with water... never had delamination on probably 15 + tyres in 3.5 years....

Kenda Karma DTC sits very tightly on the rim and works great with diy tubeless... at 450g it's light and fast... It punctures easily but I've never had a problem with mine. My fav front tyre is Spez Fast Trak dual compound... real 2.0 and 460g My fav back tyre is small block 8 1.9 DTC - 420g and Python Air light 2.0 - 500g... rarely have problems with these and I plugged the sidewall on the Python a while ago and it's still fine... What sealant did you use?

I have to agree with this... The program reporting about the MTB Nationals was a disgrace and not only frustrating... but BORING... We have a Worldcup here... with Nationals on the same course a week before... but they show a boring road race in the Cape... then waste 2/3s of the time talking boring sh*t and when they finally come to the MTB Nationals... they focus on the overseas riders who came early for the WC... Nationals should have been about OUR riders, we don't care about world champions and European pro's riding the national cup... We want to see cycling and are tired of being bored stiff with stupid chit chat...

My bike recently got damaged on 1Time... Flew from PE to JHB. Bike was packed in a bike bag. When I assembled my bike in JHB, the derailleur hanger was bent very badly, bad enough to trash it but I had to train and I took it off and managed to straighten it without too much trouble. Both disk's were also bent. Frustrating... On my flight back I took the disks off and took the der + hanger off and added some bubblewrap here and there and everything were fine... It still wasn't nice to fly with my bike and I doubt I will ever fly with my bike again... Brighter-Lights2009-04-22 23:45:05

7000 lumens at 100W... 70 lumens per watt, quite good, but useless as a bike light... Led's we use in bike lights currently about 100 lumens per watt at 350mA and comes down to 80 lumens per watt at high current. Would need a massive heatsink + housing... 33Volts and 3.3Amps - the battery to run this for 1.5 hours will be: Lead Acid : 10kg Lithium Polymer : 1.8kg If you look at the monster LED lights they use for offroad racing on ralley cars, they still use the same single LED's I use in my lights, arranged in clusters or bars of up to 1.5m wide... BTW... I'm designing a new light with 12 LED's and 2400 lumens. Same features as Rev-3 and Rev-4, 5 power levels, temperature cutoff, battery level indicator + cutoff etc etc etc. 500g battery will give 1h40 on high and 12 hours on lowest level. 50mm x 150mm finned cast alu casing. I'm going massive... in the last 24hr I had 2x 750lumen lights on my bar and I want more... I want to set everything around me on fire with this light and a little 'dimming' on the climbs, I'll need 6 batteries to run through the night on a high level, vs the 4 batteries I used with the twin light setup. The truck/car version will be a straight 12v light with no dimming controls. LED's .... cool stuff...

But the Merc and the Jeep still has suspension in the front... and at the back... ;-)

For R25 000 you can buy a return ticket to South America and cycle Patagonia for 2 weeks... and do some of the best freswater game fishing along the way... For R25 000 you can tour SA on mtb for 100 days if you camp... Freedom Challenge 'race' for R10 000.... you have 21 days... It's your money...

I can't make up my mind... Back on a light hardtail now, but it's so friggen bumpy that I often think and feel slower on rough stuff, but it def. climbs better... Then again - some of my best results to date were on a dual susp. Hardtail (9kg) for shorter races with lots of climbing. Full Susp (10.6kg) for 24hr Solo, more technical races... I actually think the dual suspension is faster than the hardtail on almost everything except on big climbs... I'm confused.. now I feel like building up my full suspension again Brighter-Lights2009-04-02 12:48:24