It is a sign that winter is in full swing when the number of bicycle light reviews on BNA increases. In this review we’re looking at Magicshine, a brand that already has some traction in Australia and now has an official distributor: Giro Australia. They have placed two lights, a total of 3000 lumens, in my hands and I took them where I needed them most, off-road mountain biking.

In this article, I’ll look at the “smaller” of the two lights, the 1000 Lumen Magicshine MJ-808E with the CREE XM-L Light Emitting Diode. CREE have earned a solid reputation for quality and are simply the brand of choice for high powered LEDs, so this ticks the right box. Magicshine have a 900 Lumen light which is virtually identical, though uses a different LED and is called the MJ-808 (without the trailing ‘E”).

The MJ-808E is a worthy on-road handlebar mounted light with a push button on the back and 3 light modes; high, low and flashing. Where it really shines however is as a helmet mounted light in combination with the handle-bar mounted 2000 Lumen MJ-880 light for offroad riding. The beam is comparatively narrow with a defined hotspot and serves the purpose of spotting obstacles and reaching far ahead, behind and exactly there where you need more light.

On looks alone it is hard to distinguish the MJ-808E from other generic brand bike lights coming out of Asia. In operation, the battery power-level is indicated by the silicon on/off/mode button which changes colour. Green is good , it indicates over 75% power remaining. The first time I spotted it changing from green to blue on a ride I panicked, thinking that he battery would shortly be drained, however blue is still good indicating 50-75% battery power remaining. Yellow indicates 50-30% and is probably time to turn around and head back home or consider changing to low beam. Red is closer to panic mode and means you have 30-5% power left, but the time to really freak out is when the red button starts to blink, it means less that 5% and pretty soon you will be in the dark.

During my rides I enjoyed trying the different modes, changing the beam strength, but I only managed to run the light down to the yellow light indicating less that 50% battery power. This suggests that the quoted 3 hours run-time on the brightest setting is pretty much on the mark.

A number of features set the MJ-808E apart from generic lights. Firstly, the iPX4 waterproofing means you never have to give it a second thought, even in torrential rain. Secondly, the battery pack is a completely sealed unit that can be easily mounted in various positions on the bike frame and has rubberised bands around the battery unit that save your frame from being scratched. Thirdly, it uses an O-ring mount and, while that isn’t revolutionary, the light stayed-put. Even while riding technical trails and bouncing all over the place, the light didn’t dip or move as I have experienced with other lights or handlebar mounted products. Finally, the circuitry includes overheating protection, which good for peace of mind. While riding I found that the light generally gets good airflow and, while it gets hot, it doesn’t boil.

I do have some criticisms of the product, specifically when using this light as a helmet mounted light. Elastic head mounted accessories are available from Magicshine though, unless you have a hard-shell type helmet, you will probably need to DIY and cut off the plastic mount from the elastic straps and then cable-tie it to your helmet. This creates a semi-permanent mount and, depending on whether your helmet accommodates the mount, is generally not very elegant. I don’t mind the DIY, but I feel like a dork riding around during the day with a black thing attached to my helmet.

When running a helmet light, I prefer not to have the battery mounted directly on the helmet and this battery doesn’t lend itself to being helmet mounted anyway. I found that it was also a bit awkward fastening the battery inside a hydration backpack using the rubber straps that otherwise work so well for mounting the battery directly the bike. The short cable-length means that you have to somehow have the battery fixed tight somewhere near the top of your backpack or get an additional cable extension which is available as an accessory.

On the road, the MJ-808E is a competent high powered light – it will let you see well, though, while sharing the road with traffic, I suggest that it is angled so that it aides you without blinding others. The high-powered flashing mode is a bit useless though is potentially useful as a safety beacon.

The MJ-808E is under-powered for use as a sole light for serious night mountain biking in Australian conditions. You can certainly try it though at the cost of confidence and speed. When used as a helmet light for off-road mountain biking, it wonderfully complemented the Magicshine MJ-880 with its broader 2000 lumen light (coming up in my next review) which meant that I could right faster and with confidence. Because of the price-point, the duo are a very attractive lighting option for technical and competitive mountain biking.

The MJ-808E retails for $179 and is available at good bike shops and camping stores – get in contact with the importer Giro Australia for your nearest dealer.

Part 2 – The MJ-880 200 Lumen Light Coming Shortly

Previously, at The Mont 24…
In 2012, my then 3-year-old Ay Ups seemed perfectly adequate for the race ahead. They were great for night commuting and the occasional fire trail social night ride I’d been doing with mates. Indeed, the previous year at my first ever Mont, they really did seem fine. It was an unpleasant surprise to find then, come race day, when scooting through the twisty Kowen Forest singletrack, their weaknesses jumping out like a hungry drop bear.

Mounted on the handlebar, the bright Ay-Ups’ intense hotspot and rapid drop-off to the sides created a tunnel vision effect. This forces the rider to scan with the helmet light and fill in the gaps between the hotspots and front wheel from memory. I found this very tiring and difficult to maintain at race speed on twisty rerrain.

Sections like Kowalski’s Sideshow and Rolling Thunder became particularly difficult at night, with the bar light pointing out into the inky black off the side of the hill around the fast banked hairpins. This left no choice but to use the helmet light on the foreground instead of looking around the corner.

The Ay-Ups just weren’t doing it. It was an unpleasant slog. I wasn’t sure if I was up for putting myself through that again.

Jump forward 12 months: a new toy arrives
When the MyTinySun light arrived late last year, I felt like 007 getting his new toys from Q before a dangerous mission. My manic work schedule (yes, I have a real job) meant midweek practice trail rides with the new kit didn’t happen. Nevertheless, I was quietly confident I had a secret weapon in my hands. For the Mont 24 MTB race in Canberra, the Ay-Ups were relegated to helmet light duties where the hotspot would be handy.

Turning night into day
Come the first night lap, I knew early on I was going well when I noticed how far forward I could plan lines and how relaxed I felt. The full, even beam from the MyTinySun meant peripheral vision could handle the load as in daytime and I no longer had to ride by memory. This set in motion a virtuous cycle. Not being constantly surprised, and being able to stay off the brakes much more when setting up for corners, helps maintain momentum instead of wasting energy. The increased speed and lower effort means flowing lightly over obstacles, if not popping the bike over them altogether, instead of having to grind and bounce my way through every rock garden and mass of tree roots.

Sections like Kowalski’s Sideshow that were tricky to ride fast, still required full concentration but were a blast to ride. The Sport 2700x allowed you to see clearly the exit line you were aiming for while still giving you a great view of the foreground and everything to the side and in between. This freed up the helmet light to do its job of searching ahead for what was coming next.

The result was a first night lap that was my fastest of the event: 1 hour 8 minutes-odd, according to the Garmin, on a course two kilometres longer – a massive improvement of 26 minutes over the last year, in the same conditions. This compared well with the elite’s night laps at around the 53 minute mark. Not bad for an old fart.

On the second night lap I found myself struggling a little, until I figured out I’d been running the 2700x in half-power mode for the first half. Out of habit I’d dimmed the light to conserve battery on the first long slow climb. In the rush to hit the mode button before arriving at the next fast technical section I had somehow missed clicking it properly.

Back on full beam, confidence returned. Shape-making on the bike and line selection improved and speed through the winding singletrack just seemed to lift of its own accord without extra effort.

A check on the Garmin as I crossed transition showed 1 hour 14 minutes and some seconds. Not at all bad, considering the first half. My last lap, in mid-morning Sunday sunshine, would come in at 1 hour 12 and some cramps. Consistent!

MyTinySun Sport 2700x light beam (on high)

For comparison, Ay-Up V4 Adventure Helmet + Handlebar kit
(Photos: Canon EOS 600D, set at F9 and ISO400 with a 21mm focal length for 15 seconds)

Excellent battery life
Why I felt the need to dim the light on that climb I am not quite sure. My lap times were never going to threaten the 2 hour 47 minute run time on full beam specified on the light’s spec sheet. The battery status indicator only just tripped over to indicating 75%  capacity ten minutes or so before hitting the transition area on the first lap, so the spec sheet run time seems quite realistic.

The light head does get more than a little warm on full power when standing still, but even spinning up steep gradients at 6-7km/hr seems to provide enough airflow to keep it no more than warm to the touch.

Mounting hardware that works
Despite spending several weeks fixed 24×7 on my commuter bike, the O-ring light head mount was just as secure on the Easton carbon bars of my race bike on the rough stuff. I shifted the aim up and down slightly a couple of times during the lap to suit the terrain, but this was a plus not a minus.

The Velcro fasteners kept the battery securely nestled up front between down and top tubes, and the cable connectors behaved perfectly.

The connectors are difficult to pull apart, which is confidence inspiring as the last thing you want on a fast rough descent is for your light to suddenly wig out from a dodgy connector. Gripping each connector end firmly and flexing from side to side loosens the connection easily without stressing the wires. I managed to deduce this by studying the plug’s design, and this omission is probably the only complaint I would have about the instruction sheet.

With great power…
One consequence of having so much light at one’s fingertips is that it imposes a responsibility to be careful with its use. The instructions carry a warning against looking directly into the beam when handling the unit due to the risk of permanent damage to your vision, and they’re not kidding.

On one occasion commuting home, after hitting full beam on a fast descent that is periodically prone to having oil sprayed across the kerbside lane by government buses, I came to a sudden stop behind a small hatchback at the red traffic light at the bottom of the hill. The full 2700 lumens fired straight in the back window. An almost instant  ”What the hell is that?!” exploded from the driver (I’ve cleaned up the language) followed by a sheepish mumbled apology from me and my hand quickly covering the light while I bumped the intensity down.

Light Modes
As noted in the race report above, it is still possible to get confused about which light mode you’re in. In a race situation stopping to check is not something you prefer to do, and taking one’s hands off the bar to dab the button carries some obvious risks! This is no different to any other competitor’s light and so can’t be highlighted as a disadvantage, rather it’s something I would like to see addressed in any MTB light set up.

My other suggestion about the modes involves the flashing mode, or rather the lack of a regular one. The only flashing mode available gives you an SOS morse code signal that cannot be disengaged without unplugging the light. It is obvious that MyTinySun are not aiming this light at the city commuting market, rather it is intended to attract the serious mountain biker or back-country rider. Having a light that can be more useful on commutes, however, would help to justify its price.

Conclusion
My experience at the Mont speaks for itself. For their intended use as off-road trail lights, the Sport 2700x really hits the mark. The remarkable light output with a wide and even beam spread changed my riding from grinding and picking my way carefully around barely-seen obstacles, to flowing my way to bettering my night time lap speeds. Even with a whopping 2700 lumens, these still work best in combination with helmet mountain light which can be a lower powered light with a hotspot.

I’m really grateful to the importers for the opportunity to test this light, as I had almost given up on night mountain bike riding. It transformed a challenging, unpleasant and tense experience into the brilliant fun it always should have been, and has restored my appetite for night racing. I can’t wait for the next event!

MyTinySun also have handlebar remote versions: Pro 2800x (also with 3 Cree LEDs) and a dual lamp (6 Cree LEDs) called the PRO 3600X. Yes, that’s right, 3600 lumens of light. That will burn holes into the landscape!

Great:
• Wide, even beam spread.
• Awesome total light output and punch
• Outstanding run time
• Easy to use
• No “off” phase when switching between intensity modes.

Not so great:
• No flash mode for commuter use
• Easy to dazzle other road users if you’re careless

MyTinySun lights are available directly from the Australian MyTinySun website, the Sport 2700x as review retails for $629 the 5.8Ah battery pack.

Photos 1 & 4 expertly taken by, and used with kind permission of, Aurora Images www.auroraimages.com.au, official event photographers for the Mont 24 Hour Race.

I discovered the difference between good sunnies and cheap sunnies back in the 90′s when I was working hard as a slave to the fast food industry. I saved up a small fortune to buy a pair of quality sunnies, some Arnette’s. They not only made me feel and look good, they were also comfortable and lasted as good sunnies should.  This doesn’t mean I have ignored budget sunglasses completely, though in my experience the difference in quality is like night and day. On the one hand, the cheap sunnies are more easily replaceable if you scratch or break them, but on the other, they usually aren’t as comfortable, they tend to fog up easily, and they may be more likely to let wind through.

The RadarLock Path are definitely a quality pair of sunnies. They are ‘wrap around’ blade style sports sunglasses which Oakley promote as ‘revolutionary’ due to their new mechanism for changing lenses: Switchock. Lets take a look at this technology first.

The Oakley SwitchLock System
If you are familiar with changing lenses on most sports sunglasses, you’ll be familiar with the bending and squeezing required to get the new lense into place. I have never broken a lense doing this and, while it’s a bother, it has never been a major turn-off. Oakley originally presented Switchlock in their Jawbones however in the Radar models this is a completely different system. The Oakley switchlock makes this process of changing lenses on the Radar a little less straight forward at first but thereafter much easier to regularly change lenses. As the major feature of this model, let’s go into detail and unveil the mystery.

1. As a right-hander, to change the lense I held the glass upside down and located the black button with my thumb. What looks like a button you press is in fact a slide button, so using your thumb you slide this back in the direction of the arm.

2. As you slide the button back, with your index finger on the outside you then pull twist the frame in. Obviously, the arms of the sunglasses fold in, but the pivot that will allow the lense to be released is a little further forward.

3. When the corner starts folding in you can release the little black button – the switchlock is now open and the lense can be removed. This is fairly straight forward, the nosepiece wraps onto the lense so you manouver the lense from the nose piece.

4. The lense has little hooks built into its shape and so pulling the lense up-and-out releases the lense from the frame.

Putting a new lense in becomes a little easier; hook the corner in, press the nose piece into the lense and now it sits in place so that you can simply open the sunglasses arm and it all clicks into place.

The switchlock system works well so there is a little less prodding and poking than with other systems. The real advantage is when you ride in different conditions and can decide just before going out which lense you want. After using these sunglasses for a while it took me less that ten seconds for a pitstop to swap the lenses. If you don’t need to change lenses, then the whole switchlock is unnecessary.

The criticism of this system is that you will still get the lense grubby and you’ll need a lense cloth, however there is no lense cloth included though it should be standard. Not a big deal, though for all of the detail Oakley have put into the RadarLock Path, why not go that extra step?

The Details
The Oakley RadarLock Paths come initially with two lenses, which sets you up to be able to benefit from their switchlock system, and the whole package comes in a robust case which nicely holds, pads, and protects the glasses and lenses in transport. You even get a second nose pad which is a little thicker so you can ‘micro-adjust’ and get a good fit.

To further assist in getting a good fit, these sunnies include “unobtanium”. This term is usually used to describe a material or substance that would perfectly resolve a problem in product design but is in itself impossible. After Jim Jannard founded Oakley, he developed a material called unobtainium for use in his eyewear, and in this case the ‘ear sock’ features this rubber type overlay. The point of the Oakley unobtainium is that when it gets wet, such as with sweat, it becomes tacky and thus has better grip. Under a tap I didn’t find that these ‘ear socks’ felt tackier, in fact the opposite, but as I will explain later the fit was that good that this wasn’t an issue.

One of the features that Oakley provide with many glasses is customisation of colours and lenses so that you can mix and match and create a pair of sunnies with the colours you want. The sunnies for review were a standard configuration and quite serious and tech looking with the ‘matt heather grey’ which included accents of black and gunmetal Oakley logos.

When it comes to sunnies, the most important details are the lenses. When you hold the lenses they don’t feel cheap, they had a had a good feel which would lead you to assume that they probably won’t scratch as easily as cheap ones. The lenses are appropriately thick and the edges at the bottom were nicely rounded. There were three things that I really liked about the lenses:

1. Air vents on the top left and right which help to stop them from fogging up;
2. No logos or etching at the bottom edge of the glasses. This is actually an option, but for me these would be in my peripheral vision and I think it is more important to look through the glasses rather than to be reminded of the brand name or some technical detail.
3. Non distorted vision. I tested this claim and, in fact, there was a slight magnification, however it was very minimal and the overall vision through the glasses was consistent without noticeable distortion through the curved lense. This means avoiding headaches caused after a few hours in the saddle when your eyes start complaining that they have to adjust.

The RadarLock Paths came with a grey lense and a G30 Iridium orange lense. Both of course have UV protection and I stuck to the grey lense for the bright sunny riding conditions. The G30 Iridium lense came out for overcast and darker riding conditions as I find they enhance the perception of depth that can otherwise get lost in low and bland light. These two lenses are a good set to have and I would probably only add a clear to the set for night riding.

The Look, the Fit and the Ride
The RadarLock Paths look very fine when you are in the saddle with a helmet on, they’re truly sports sunnies. They are not the type of sunnies that I would wear outside of sport, however. I have tried Oakley Jawbones (which are now the Oakley Jackets) and while they are still sports style glasses, I feel that they look better and I would be more comfortable wearing them out and about.

With functional eyewear the fit is more important that the look. These glasses were great at the front on my nose and had enough space at the top so that the frame didn’t touch my forehead, but on the sides I felt that they pressed in too much. While it meant there was no chance of them falling off, I feared that this would give me headaches, though for the time I had them on I didn’t experience any. These sunnies are a ‘regular fit’ and there is a ‘straight stem’ version for small faces.

The good news about these glasses is that they essentially turned into the type of gear that I like the best – invisible gear. This is the type of gear that you need, like a good pair of cycling knicks, a comfortable helmet or event a groupset, that works as it should and you don’t notice it. I took the RadarLock Paths both mountain biking and road cycling and loved the clarity of the vision, and that there was no wind irritation. Fogging occured only occassionally when stopping at traffic lights and was quite light, the air vents seem to help clear the condensation.

The only criticism I have of the glasses while riding is that, when riding road, compared with mountain biking, where my body is further forward and head down, the top of the frame is in my field of vision, particularly during descents. Oakley have actually recognised this and have an XL version of the RadarLock which increase the height of the sunnies and put the frame, I assume, outside of the field of vision – and you probably get the bonus big lense “Euro-cool” pro cycling effect as well. If you are looking at the Oakley Radar range for cycling it would be worth your while to compare these two and see if the standard size works well or the whether XL is better – simply tilt your head down and look forward, imagining you are descending, and see if the frame bothers you.

It’s a Wrap
It is a matter of preference if you like the wrap around blade style sunnies or prefer two lense type sunnies such as the Oakley Flak Jacket or the bolder Racing Jacket (ex Jawbone) style. The RadarLock Paths are well crafted and for $299.95 are pretty serious for those of us lucky  to be without prescription glasses. You do get the performance and the quality, so even if you’re a weekend rider you will probably end up seeing these as a good investment – unless you are prone to sitting on, losing and scratching your glasses.

Other lenses are available (prices will vary) such as Photochromatic and Transitions. Checkout the Oakley Sports Sunglasses range online for specs and configurations. The specific configuration for the sunglasses on review (SKU# OO9181-04) can be seen here: Heather Matt Grey / G30 Iridium Vented and grey Vented.

The Chakra Plus looks and feels like a more expensive helmet (i.e. you don’t have to look like a noob if you are on a tight budget), the design is edgy, there are plenty of air vents and there’s enough thoughtful details so that you look and feel good.

The Details
Both Chakra helmets feature what Kali call Composite Fusion which simply means that rather than a separate polycarbonate (outer) shell being placed and glued or taped onto the EPS polystyrene foam, the EPS foam part is moulded into the outer shell which gives it a stronger bond and makes it an integrated unit. Additionally, lower density EPS polystyrene foam is used which Kali argue is better in the event of impact.

The Chakra Plus version of the helmet has additional polycarbonate trimmings moulded in at the base of the helmet, which are a nice aesthetic addition and protect the foam when the helmet is placed on a table or on the ground. The Plus version helmet also has the ‘fit adjust’ system which I feel should be standard on any decent helmet.

The overall quality is good, however it doesn’t have the same attention to detail that you would expect from a $200+ helmet. The air-vents in the polycarbonate shell are ‘hand cut’, so close-up you can spot the tiny irregularities. In the composite fusion moulding of the EPS polystyrene onto the shell, the polystyrene sometimes slightly overlaps and the hot-glue which fixes some of the plastic straps fasteners is quite generous, even though it is mostly out of sight. None of these tiny details, however, are of any concern in the overall performance, safety or aesthetics.

The front visor is a much lighter shade of white (with a hint of pink) and fastens very securely. While I found the two white tones were a visual and unusual combination, there are also a black, blue and lime green helmet version to choose from. In comparing the S-M and M-L helmet I noted that the visor better fitted the M-L; though the sun visor didn’t perfectly align to the air vents on the S-M size helmet, it was pretty much a non-issue.

The Fit
For the review I measured my head size and found myself between the Chakra Plus’ Small-Medium (52-58cm) and Medium – Large (58-62cm) sizes, so I opted for large as there is nothing worse than riding for hours with a helmet that is too small. The large size turned out to be too large however, so the distributor, Velogear, kindly send the Small-Medium size which strangely had plenty of room, so much so that in using the ‘fit adjust’ dial, I tightened it almost to the end of the range until the fit was snug.

The fit adjust dial has a mechanism that, once it reaches a limit (tightest or loosest fit), the dial simply turns and clicks, so you avoid over-tightening/loosening and destroying the mechanism.

The big plus point of the Chakra Plus in terms of fit is that the padding is well placed. On other helmets I often find myself removing or adjusting the padding on the front and side as these areas are typically too tight for me. The generous padding of the Chakra Plus is comfortable and the hard EPS foam sits away from my head. The padding is attached with Velcro and it can be removed and washed; the fit adjust works well in combination with the soft internal padding. The main soft padding is a broad one piece construction with integrated bug net and stretches from the forehead to the crown of the head.

My biggest criticism of the Chakra Plus is of the two tri-glide mechanisms, the plastic clasps on the left and right just below the ears that take in the fastening straps and feed it to the buckle. They are crap (am I allowed to say that?). The quality of the the helmet is let down by these as they open too easily (and therefore prone to accidentally opening) and when closed, the straps can still feed through (strap creep), which affects the fit as I will explain shortly.

The Ride
The Chakra Plus Helmet is delightfully comfortable to wear, the sun visor is well placed and even after long and hot rides it felt good. The S-M sized helmet is 288 grams while the M-L is marginally heavier 292 grams. I found that while riding there was plenty of support on the left and right however, the helmet had a tendency to slip forward, meaning I was repeatedly moving it back. To fix this it’s simply a matter of readjusting the side straps. The strap needs to be firm and comfortable at the buckle underneath the chin; adjusting the straps with the ‘tri-glides’ clasps enables you to angle the helmet so that it is tilted further back.

In theory, this would be perfect…except for the strap creep, the movement of the straps in the tri-glide clasps. During long rides on technical mountain bike trails, repeated vibrations meant that the helmet started to tilt forward again. While it was never dangerous, I prefer a broader field of vision. To be fair, just like a bike seat, a helmet is very personal and if you have a different head shape, then this helmet may sit or fit more naturally on you without the movement that I experienced. When John Hawkins reviewed the Kali Amara Helmet with Integrated Camera Mount he said “this helmet is without doubt the most comfortable I’ve used“. The Amara however has a different fastening mechanism and a different tri-glide mechanism, so in my view the tri-glide clasps of the Chakra are a problem that should be improved.

Crashing the Kali
At the risk of disappointing my readers, I had no intention of putting this helmet to the real test and crashing on my head. While I did crash on one ride, during a technical fast section, I ended up thrown over the handlebars and, luckily, had a soft landing on the side of the trail. I naturally tucked my head and rolled. I’m getting too good at crashes.

Even in the event of an accident, the Kali Chakra Plus, just like any helmet legally sold in Australia, complies with the current Australian and New Zealand helmet safety standard AS/NZS 2623:2008. It means that the helmets have been tested and approved (at significant cost) with 2 helmets set aside for ongoing quality control and safety testing from every batch of 400 helmets. I did however spot that the sticker named the Amara helmet rather than the Chakra and my enquiry regarding this went all the way to the top.

A representative of Kali who works with worldwide distributors and also with the development team responded, “…this is a factory printing mistake.  I can tell with certainty because they have used the correct factory reference number for the model (S167 – which is Chakra), but then they have printed the wrong model name: Amara“.  The safety standards stickers are being reprinted and Kali have apologised to Aussie and New Zealand customers, for anyone who currently owns a Chakra model helmet, they will provide the corrected sticker on request.

The Verdict
When I have purchased helmets in the past, I have tried on every helmet in the store. Some brands just don’t suit me, though the Kali did. An otherwise excellent helmet was let down by the two plastic ‘tri-glide’ clasps, which meant I couldn’t get the perfect fit. If Kali would swap or improve this one part of the helmet, then it would be an absolute steal with rival helmets at over twice the price. With a different shaped head you may not have this problem at all, in which case it is excellent value for money at $49.95.

Kali Helmets are available in Australia from Velogear and can be purchased directly under extremely customer friendly conditions – 100% Satisfaction, which means that the helmet can be posted back and exchanged for a new size or a refund can be provided if you’re not happy.

Win a Kali M-L (58-62cm) Chakra Plus Helmet
Velogear are kindly providing the size M-L Kali Chakra Plus Mountain Bike helmet (which was too big for me) as a prize to a BNA reader. All you have to do is briefly let me know, in the comments below, what your favourite MTB ride or event is and why. The best answer wins and will be chosen and announced 7 days after this article is published.

After a bit of casual chitchat about whether I was going for a ride later, they seemed satisfied and turned back the way they came. “We look forward to seeing the review” the constable intoned ominously on leaving.

I had to laugh. The powerful high-beam of the MyTinySun Sport 2700x’s spilled into the National Park and completely illuminated an unlit road late on a Sunday night; this had obviously piqued their professional curiosity. The constable is right: this light is very powerful. The 2700 in the light’s name refers to 2700 measured lumens, and not the inflated theoretical lumens of the emitter that other manufacturers use to boost the marketing value of their lights.

MyTinySun Sport 2700x light beam (on high)

For comparison, Ay-Up V4 Adventure Helmet + Handlebar kit
(Photos: Canon EOS 600D, set at F9 and ISO400 with a 21mm focal length for 15 seconds)

MyTinySun in the spotlight
The MyTinySun 2700x offers a very satisfying throw and, while the beam is slightly centre weighted, it offers a very even spread across a wide angle. This resolves the majority of the issues I’ve previously encountered with other brands of lights, such as losing the foreground when the bar-mounted lights point out into empty space on fast descending switchbacks, as well as fatiguing tunnel vision during technical trail sections.

The MyTinySun’s head is equipped with 3 Cree XM-L U2 LEDs in a finned black anodised alloy housing which also incorporates the main power and mode selection switch. The tempered glass lenses provide a wide 19 degree beam angle. It does get hot, but it is also German made, so it has to pass strict German safety regulations. The light head circuitry includes temperature overload protection to ensure the emitters stay within safe operating temperatures, automatically reducing power output to prevent damage to componentry in hot conditions. This unit comes in at a satisfyingly light 110 grams (excl. battery pack).

The Sport 2700x head uses the common ‘tool-free’ o-ring style of mount, but incorporates a nice toggle lever to enable easy release when required. While convenient, I did find the head moved around a little on my smooth carbon bars when trying to operate the switch with my thumb. Due to the heat generated on high beam after standing stationary for 10 minutes, bracing against the front of the head unit with bare forefingers to press the button was uncomfortably hot. However, I suspect this will be much less of an issue while riding as the motion of the bike provides cooling airflow, and most mountain bikers use full-finger gloves anyway.

An easy fix that improves mounting stability and reduces the risk of trail vibration (causing the light head to shift) is to use Velcro, 3M Dual Lock or the self-adhesive rubber strip that is provided with the MyTinySun unit.

The head unit is IP 67 waterproof, and the connector plugs are shielded by rubber covers to protect water from entering. It means you don’t have to worry about the light even if you hit a tropical storm. I personally would have preferred the leads on the battery and head unit to be each a couple of centimetres longer. I found it necessary to use the extension cable, which made the cable a bit too long, and wrapping it around the bars and stem got messy. There were some neat red Velcro cable tidies included in the kit, so I should probably just use these and suck it up instead of complaining.

The large 5.8Ah battery pack, supplied with the systems sold in Australia, provides for almost 3 hours of operation on high beam. Even with this larger battery, the total system weight comes to a very modest 550g. This is within 50g of the Ferei BL200s we reviewed a few weeks ago, for almost twice the runtime and almost twice the real output. Judicious use of mid beam on the climbs could extend a full battery to 4 or 5 hours duration easily.

Operating the MyTinySun Sport 2700x
I particularly liked the mode switch operation of this light. In Simple mode, there are three light levels and a simple bump of the button toggles between mid and full power. More importantly, you don’t have to pass through an “off” phase to get high beam back when starting a fast or tricky descent; bump the button and you’ve got it back immediately.

To get the third light level, low beam, say when you need to stop to fix a puncture, it is simply a matter of holding the button down for a second and releasing as soon as low is triggered. Bump it once to return to mid-beam again. To turn off, simply hold the button for one and half seconds until the button turns red. Simple to use, it shows the manufacturers have invested considerable thought into their products usability in the field.

The illuminated button doubles as fuel gauge by passing through a range of colours on its journey from green to red.

Engage an Expert
Expert mode gives you a choice of six setups, each providing a range of  light power levels in either Power or Eco programs. These setups give you the choice of going from 330 lumens to 2700 lumens in 3 steps, 330 lumens to 1800 lumens in 5 steps, or 330 lumens to 2700 in six steps, and using either the colour of the button LED or a main light flash sequence to indicate the amount of charge left in the battery.

Engaging Expert mode is as simple turning off the head unit completely (i.e. no status light) with the power connected and  holding down the button for 20 seconds. You then get to enjoy a light show while it cycles through all of the programs. The instructions cover the setup choices available and how to select the program you want.

When you next turn the light on, it remembers the mode and program you previously selected so you don’t have to go through the process again. Tapping the button steps you up and then back down the range of available  light levels in the program. In a competitive mountain bike race this could get a bit awkward with so many light levels, but cruising around at night far away from civilisation, this allows you to better match the light output to your needs so that you can squeeze the most life possible from the battery. These setups would be suited to back country touring and camping. If you get into trouble, there is an SOS flash option that can only be disengaged by disconnecting the power.

Returning back to Simple mode is a matter of holding down the button for 20 seconds again and enjoying another light show. For racing and training though, Simple mode is brain-fade proof, and on that count is just about perfect for my particular brand of insanity: 24 hour mountain bike team relay racing.

Let there be Light
To find out what I think of these lights in action and to read my conclusions, you’ll have to wait for Part II of this review. The MyTinySun is due to see some serious action this summer, so if you see bright lights streaming from Manly Dam in Sydney at night, you will know who it is. Hopefully there’ll be no red and blue flashing lights following close behind.

Until then, you can see more of the MyTinySun Sport 2700x on the MyTinySun website where they’re available for $629 with the larger capacity 5.8Ah battery pack.

In releasing their first action cam, Sony build on their strong background and their ability to innovate. Shortly after their new Action Cam was launched in Australia, I was able to secure a unit for reviewing on Bicycles Network Australia. As you read this review, you shouldn’t be surprised that GoPro are referred to frequently. They essentially created the market of relatively affordable cameras that are compact, simple to use and extremely durable – they’re the benchmark. With that in mind, let’s have a good look at this new contender.

The Sony Action Cam as a Bike Camera
BNA is a bike site, so we are looking at this camera specifically for cycling. To me, cycling means both on road and off-road, vibrations and bumps, camera mounted on the head, the forks, the stem and the handlebars – everywhere you are most likely to use and mount the camera. It comes with a durable waterproof case, so I was encouraged to get it wet as well. Slow moving footage and fluid video? No way! -  fast moving footage with bumps and shakes; I wanted to put the camera to the test.

The Action Cam Close Up
The Sony Action Cam, without the case, is light and compact. Unfortunately, the camera doesn’t stand up on its base; when it’s on your desk, it lies on its side. Since the lens can’t be rotated like a Contour camera, it means that the Sony camera is really only practical for filming while mounted or in the waterproof case.

Lying on its side, the base of the camera is accessible and has a door which conceals a USB port, microphone port, HDMI jack, an ‘expansion connector’ and a light to show charging. I only used the USB port which let me charge the camera and mount the camera onto my computer to transfer files, though there was no simultaneous charging and mounting.

The battery and memory card are accessed from the rear of the unit and are quite straight forward. Out of the box, the camera comes with two batteries, a 4GB SD Memory card, desktop charger and universal mount adapter. The camera I reviewed (the HDR-AS15K) had an microSD 8GB memory card which extended my recording time, at the highest resolution, from 30 minutes to just over 60 minutes.

Camera Navigation and Control
The Action Cam presents the budding film maker with three buttons: next and prev are on the side, situated close to an LED screen; and the record button is on the rear. The tactile feedback of the buttons and knowing that a button has been pressed is reassuring. The three buttons offer a slight edge in navigation over two button cameras, but still require a bit of learning to navigate into menus, change settings and navigate back. The LED on screen info was quite intuitive for the main settings and functions.

The manual for the camera comes as a large sheet of paper with a schematic diagram of the menu and function structure. Truth be told, it’s pretty scary. While you can still try to learn intuitively, to get the most out of the camera and all of its settings, it is worth reviewing.

Waterproof Case and Mounting
Sports action cameras owe a lot of their appeal to their durable waterproof cases. On a bike you can’t always guarantee dry weather, so waterproofing makes sense and further, it protects the camera from dust and knocks. The Sony waterproof case feels tough and durable. It has a rather clever latch for the front door (and lens cover) that opens and closes easily and provides a good seal. The front cover isn’t hinged, rather it’s connected to the main housing with a thin plastic strip which I found detached itself at times. It was a shock the first time it happened as I am particularly careful in protecting the lenses from scratches and dust. When the camera is inside the waterproof case, you are limited to only the record button to control the camera, so you have to remove it if you want to change settings ,or use a smart phone to connect wirelessly.

The waterproof case accommodates a screw in clip that can be clipped onto adhesive mounts. For biking, I completely avoid this type of mount and relied instead on the Sony handlebar mount which can be purchased separately. This mount comes with different sized rubber inserts to accommodate different handlebar diameters and screws tightly with an allen key. The camera can then be attached and screwed on with the integrated ‘screw wheel’ which is reliable and tight.

Once in place, the Sony handlebar mount can be tilted or, by loosening the screw wheel, the camera can be reversed and easily tightened by hand. The handlebar mount has the camera on top of the handlebars, which this is fine for commuting or road cycling, but on the mountain bike I like to keep the top of the handlebars free of any electronic equipment that can be damaged if I take a tumble. As such I mounted the handlebar mount (and therefore the camera) up-side-down, though the allen key screw is tougher to reach from underneath between the gear and brake cables. If there is a tumble, however, the camera is better protected, plus it’s ‘out of the way’ for normal riding.

It is worth noting that the Bike handlebar mount works exceptionally well, it is sturdy and doesn’t seem to suffer from flex and vibration that other brand mounts tend to exhibit. It would be possible to use this as a generic mount for any camera’s that have camera screw on the base, though worth testing to ensure it fastens securely.

An alternative mount is the head mount accessory which is purchased separately. For this mount the waterproof case is not used, which makes it a conveniently light camera, lighter than many other action cameras. It doesn’t, however, work with a normal bike helmet, so on the bike the head mount is only practical with a full face helmet or a skater type helmet.

Because the waterproof camera case accepts a camera screw for mounting, it opens up creative possibilities for DIY mounts and 3rd party mounts to get different angles. That said, the camera prefers to film upright as the lens can’t be rotated, although most video editing software can rotate the footage to compensate. While the shape of Sony Action Cam means that it mounts well with the handlebar and head mount, it isn’t well suited to a chest mount.

Wifi Connection
Connecting wirelessly to a camera via a smart phone is a must these days, and the Sony Action Cam can be used with Sony’s PlayMemories app, which is available for iPhone, iPad and Android. The setup, however, is difficult and after following the instructions that were provided to my by Sony, I headed online and with the help of Google found instructions that guided me through the Wifi setup.

The app is wonderful when it works. I set it up on my iPhone and after pairing my phone and the camera, and connecting to the wireless network of the Sony camera, I could see live video from the viewfinder. The interface allows you to switch between video and photo mode and record directly. Setting the shot via the smart phone is incredibly handy as is the ability to start and stop recording.

From within the app the field of vision can be changed between 120° and 170°, the resolution/frame rate changed, and steady shot video stabilisation toggled on or off. Because the smart phone interface is so much bigger it would be a real advantage to able to adjust all of the camera settings from the app. In using the app, however, I had frequent problems; often the camera wouldn’t appear or would drop out so I couldn’t connect. Even with my phone next to the camera there were frequent connection stability problems to the point of having a serious lag when pressing record; at times the camera never got the message.

When I asked Sony about this they informed me that the PlayMemories App has been updated and this has been resolved. By this time, however, I no longer had the camera to be able to test and confirm.

Sound, Camera and Action
Many of the camera tests comparing the Sony Action Cam with other brands, such as the GoPro Hero and Contour, compare stationary or slow, hand held footage. Cycling is tougher on the cameras; not only is there faster movement, there are also bumps and vibration that make it challenging for any camera to record clean footage. For testing, I was joined by John Hawkins to mountain bike on sandy and rocky Sydney trails. We choose a bright sunny day to test the Sony. Filming at 1920×1080 resolution, the quality of the footage was influenced by the amount of sudden movements, speed and detail of the surroundings. The higher the speed, the more bumps and movement, and the more detailed the surroundings, the less detailed the footage was. All action cameras in this market segment have the same limitations.

Watch the Sony Action Cam Cross Country MTB video in full resolution

The Sony Action Cam, with Sony’s “Steady Shot” technology, has noticeably improved stability, creating a much smoother video. In comparing this directly with the GoPro Hero2, the Sony footage also showed more detail. While both cameras operated well with sun and shadow contrasts, the Sony footage was noticeably paler in colour than the Hero2.

In the moving footage, the Sony was more detailed and had a higher contrast, while the freeze framed footage was softer and more attractive on the GoPro. The Sony didn’t deal with direct sunlight as well as the GoPro, being more susceptible to lens flare and less accurate light balance.

Watch the Sony Action Cam and GoPro Hero2 comparison in full resolution

The ability to change the field of vision to from 120° to 170° is nice and when mounted on the handlebars, I preferred the wider angle. The Sony footage has less fish eye lens distortion compared with the GoPro Hero2 (though the Hero3 probably reduces this).

During filming, the GoPro Hero2 camera heated up and the inside of the casing started to fog relatively quickly while the Sony resisted this, even though the Action Cam recorded for longer during our testing. The GoPro importer suggest that their recently released GoPro Hero3 (Silver) would provide a better comparison, however they were not available for testing.

The Sony was a little “louder” during our filming; though it fits snugly in the waterproof case, it seems seems to have some room to play, so some padding inside the case would probably eliminate movement and noise.

The handlebar mount from Sony was the best branded handlebar mount I have tested. It was constructed to be solid and stable and reduces micro-vibration that could cause rolling shutter. The chest mounted position for action cams is quite popular as it eliminates the vibration of the bike and movement of the head to provide relatively consistent footage. The shape of the Sony, however, rules out this option, but the camera screw mount makes it more easily adaptable.

Recording Modes and Runtime
Filming at the highest resolution (HQ 1920×1080 at 30fps) gave about 65 minutes recording time which filled the 8GB SD card and also coincided with the battery run time. For 1280×720 at 30fps (STD, standard resolution), I got 140 minutes recording time (6.8 GB) before the battery was empty. The Super Slow (SSLOW) mode records at 1280×720 with 120fps and recorded for about 43 minutes, which gives a playback time at 30fps of about 170 minutes of slow motion footage (albeit with no audio in slow recording modes).

The SLOW mode records at 1280×720 (60fps) and the VGA mode an old fashioned 640×480. This will obviously deliver a much longer runtime (pending battery charge) however, if recording time was an issue, it would be easier to use a second battery and a larger memory card. The battery recharges in about four hours.

It’s a Wrap
Practice makes perfect and it’s a matter of taking the time and testing to see which recording modes and settings work best for your purposes. As its first Action Cam, Sony has done its homework and holds its ground. You will be able to generate quality footage and, while the Sony is not miles ahead of the competition, it doesn’t lag behind.

The general operation of the Sony is good and, if the WiFi issues are resolved as reported in the latest PhotoMemories App update, it then really comes down to personal preference in choosing a sports action camera for biking. With the inbuilt WiFi, the Sony Action Cam beats the GoPro Hero2 on hands down price; the Hero2 requires the additional WifiBack pack (~ $99). On price and specifications the Sony Action Cam competes with the GoPro Hero 3 Silver Edition.

The Sony Action Cam is available in most electronics stores and retails for $369. Make sure you’re getting the HDR-AS15K version with WiFi, as there is also a version without WiFi (HDR-AS10) and version without the accessories (HDR-AS15). The Sony camera is being promoted with the Weekend Lives On (WLO) campaign which is a community website where you can upload your awesome footage and photos.

More details and specs for the Sony Action Cam.

The subjects of this review, the Scylla and Kratos tubeless ready tyres, are aimed at the cross-country market and are intended to prioritise speed and low rolling resistance over outright glue-like traction. They are available in a long-wearing all-black single compound or SDX “Greyline” black and grey dual compound. This review deals with the single compound  ”Tubeless Supra 1 for 3″ tubeless ready version. “1 for 3″ refers to the fact the tyre has been designed to be used with tubes on normal rims, normal rims with tubeless conversion systems, and UST tubeless rims. Not all tyres will work satisfactorily with all systems, but Rubena has done its homework here.

Of the two tyres reviewed, the Kratos has the more aggressive open tread with slightly more raised and prominent edge blocks. The Scylla, on the other hand, has the lower and more closely spaced tread necessary for low rolling resistance. As most of my local trails vary widely in surface conditions, I opted to fit the Kratos to the front as the primary control tyre, with the Scylla on the rear where its low rolling resistance would be best utilised.

The quality of construction of both tyres was excellent, at least equal to any of the market leaders, such as the Maxxis Crossmark or Schwalbe Racing Ralph. The sidewalls have what looks like an embossed cross-hatch pattern and the moulding was sharp and uniform. They beaded up easily on my Mavic UST rims, and mounted evenly and straight.

Tubeless ready tyres use a UST compatible bead, but rely on the use of liquid latex sealant to maintain inflation. The leaking of small droplets of sealant through the sidewall initially is not uncommon but, contrary to expectation, these tyres sealed up very well and displayed none of the slow leaking over the first few days commonly reported with other brands of tubeless ready rubber. They continue to hold air well and just require topping up once a week or so, the same as the full UST or tubed tyres on my other bikes.

The Scylla and Kratos were both very light, though in my enthusiasm to try them out I neglected to weigh them before fitting them. They were, however, noticeably lighter than the Schwalbes UST Triple Evos I’ve been running, which are very light for tubeless tyres. Both Rubena tyres have a high thread count casing, 127 tpi, which accounts for the light weight and supple feel of the casing in the hand.

While these tyres were marked as 2.25″ wide, they came in at less than that, more like 2.1″. This isn’t a bad thing, it is just something to factor in when purchasing and, maybe, go a size up in width compared what you’d use with other brands.

Sydney’s sandstone trails are notoriously hard on sidewalls and, unless you’re using full UST tyres, with some brands you can expect the sidewalls to give up well before the tread wears out. After several months riding in these conditions, the Kratos and Scylla have both worn very well; the sidewalls showing none of the usual marking up I would have expected by now.

The tread is obviously directional, although on the Kratos the arrow showing recommended direction of rotation was a little hard to find. These tyres rolled extremely well thanks to the high thread count and they accelerate briskly, as you’d expect from their low weight.

In terms of feeling hooked up to the trail, I’ll admit it took a little while to warm up to them. Much of that was due to setup. The first few rides I ran my usual setup, 25psi on the front and 32 in the rear, and the front of the bike felt washy. Riding at Manly Dam, on the first lap, I burped the front tyre after striking the side of a rock. Clearly 25psi was not enough for the Kratos, so I upped the pressure to 30psi to get the bead to re-seat and left it at that to see how it would go. What a difference! The steering was much more positive and I was able to concentrate on the trail instead of worrying about understeer, although I felt there was still a little room for improvement.

A couple of weeks later, it struck me that I might get a better result if I changed the direction of rotation. All tyres slide to some degree, especially on dirt. On front tyres, it is the edge of the shoulder lugs facing the centre of the tread that you see get chewed out first, since they take most of the load when cornering forces are at their highest. Switching that around, so that the lugs look “toed in” at the top (see photo), sets the shoulder lugs so they are toed out when on the ground. This allows the broadest side of the shoulder block to face into the direction of slide when leaning on edge, giving more bite.

That change brought about an immediate improvement in cornering confidence and predictability, with no tram-lining and no loss of response when changing direction. A return visit to Terrey Hills and Cascades (Belrose) felt much better. Riding in dusty conditions at Taree’s Kiwarrak State Forest, the front felt dialed in.

During this time the rear performed faultlessly. Despite the closely packed low profile tread knobs, climbing performance was excellent. It would still spit out and slip on the occasional loose rock on the really steep sections, as most do, but instead of losing all drive it would bite again to keep you moving forward. Riding the buff single-track at Hornsby’s Old Man’s Valley mountain bike park (due to be open to the public mid-December 2012), they stuck to the track like glue.

One of my occasional riding buddies, Smilie, reported outstanding traction using the 29er version of the Scylla at both ends of his bike at the Scott 24hr at Mount Stromlo: “I had these on at Mt Stromlo at the Scott event; I wouldn’t ride there again with anything else. They were flawless on the red loop – from riding there in the past with other tyres, it was cornering the downhill and luge like I was on rails. But around my local single track they are a bit sketchy where leaf litter after back burning has gone thru there. 9.5/10 at Stromlo , 7/10 at local trails”

One of my WA contacts, Cotic Tony reports “I’ve got them on my HT bike right now and think they’re the best 29er combination that I’ve used so far. I’m running the Kratos front, Scylla rear, running tubeless on Stans crest’s in preparation for the Dusk till dawn… At around 650g each, they nicely bridge the gap for those who want to run tubeless but were previously limited to the delicate but light TLR/2Bliss offerings or the reliable but heavy (900g Ardent) Maxxis UST tyres… On the trails here in WA, I’ve been really impressed with them.”

As the range and availability of Rubena Tyres expands over the next 12 months, they should definitely be on your list when next shopping for rubber at your local bike shop. I would have liked to have tried the 2.4″ sizes in the dual compound versions but unfortunately they weren’t available at the time of review. I will definitely be fitting a set of these to my bike when the Mont 24 swings around again in 2013.

In January 2013, the road racing and commuter tyres, tubes and sealant arrive on Australian shores.

Pros:
Light weight, high thread count
Impressive construction quality
Long wearing tread and surprisingly tough sidewalls
Ease of tubeless setup
Low rolling resistance
Kratos front and Scylla rear are an excellent combination across a wide variety of conditions from WA pea gravel to Sydney’s loose rocky sandstone trails and buff single track
Worth experimenting with direction of fitment to see what works for you

Cons:
The Scylla is less suited to use as a front, except on buff single track, but it performed very well as a rear in a variety of dry conditions
Small for the marked size: buy the next width up from your current brand

Rubena Tyres are imported into Australia by PCI Imports and are available from all good bike shops. The front wheel Kratos retails for $75 and the rear wheel Scylla  for $75 in the Tubeless Supra version.

The Ferei BL200 is one of the most recent entrants into this race and, at a recommended retail price of $229, is outstanding value for money. At a claimed 1600 lumens, it generates enough output to paralyse possums and fry feral rabbits around my local trails. While there is a defined hotspot, there is enough beam spread to be comfortable on all but the tightest of twisty trails.

The light head comprises two Cree XM-L T6 LEDs in a robust weather-resistant aluminium housing with one of the most nicely engineered tool-free handlebar mounts I’ve seen. Moulded rubber inserts are included in three different thicknesses to provide a snug fit across a wide variety of bars. The thinnest was a perfect fit for my Easton 31.8 mm mountain bike riser bars. So far there has been no slippage at all, despite using them on some sketchy, rough trails.

The included sealed battery is a compact 7.2V 4400mAh Li-Ion unit, and is supplied in a colour to match the anodised head unit. It comes with a rubber pad moulded in to the body to prevent frame scuffing, though, for riding in the dirt, I recommend applying some clear tape or Frameskin material to your frame first.

Besides the nominal 1600 lumen high beam, it has a tunable low-beam mode and a choice of three flashing modes. High beam is the default, a second click of the button drops the beam to low, and a third turns it off. Flash mode is engaged by starting with the unit turned off and holding down the power switch for a couple of seconds. A small LED flashes to indicate battery charge level and the high beam run time easily surpasses the claimed hour-and-thirty minutes.

As a commuter, it was reassuring to have flashing lights this powerful. I was concerned about not having the ability to aim the BL200′s at inattentive drivers, like you can do with helmet mounted lights, but so far my experience has, overwhelmingly, been that drivers not only notice you, but are more courteous than if you were driving a car.

In flash mode, my previous experience with a high-end Cateye “look at me” type flasher, was that drivers would either not register your presence or, more usually, seem to take the view that “it’s only a bike” and pull out in front of you anyway. With this amount of photonic grunt, drivers both notice you earlier and treat you with respect. The BL200s give you real “presence” on the road, even if you use them during the day.

One potential consequence of so much light output is blinding other cyclists; I’ve had to be careful to avoid using high beam when crossing the Sydney Harbour cycleway after dark, despite having the BL200s head unit pointed a couple of degrees below horizontal. Flash mode seems to be acceptable to oncoming cyclists with no complaints against them vocalised to date, unlike my usual Ay-Up V4s which used to regularly get grumpy comments from the commuter brigade.

The BL200s functionality would be improved for trail use by separating the on/off switch from the mode switch. While most experienced mountain bike riders would be likely to have a separate helmet light when out on the trails, it would be better not to have to pass through “off” before getting high beam again. I also found myself getting confused on a couple of occasions, inadvertently entering low beam adjustment mode when I really wanted flash mode. With time and practice this would be less of an issue.

This brings me to the subject of beam spread. One of the issues I experienced on the fast, tight, descending switchbacks at the Mont 24 this year was the serious tunnel vision effect from my Ay-Ups. Due to the narrow beam, the bar light would point off into space instead of down the trail, and I’d have to use the helmet unit to fill in the gap in front of my front tyre, instead of looking further around the corner. This meant slowly “tippy-toeing” around the corners with the Ay-Ups, riding the brakes hard instead of flowing, all contributing to mental fatigue and really not enjoying the sections of track that had me hooting and whooping at race speed during the day.

For mountain biking, the BL200s are a vast improvement over the Ay-Ups, and if the beam had a little less hotspot and only a little bit more beam spread without the sharp cutoff at the edge, they would have gone from being very good to just about perfect. For road commuting, the Ferei BL200s are exceptional.

I’ll be shopping for new lights very soon and these are definitely on the short list. As a mountain biker, teaming these lights on the bar with a B5 680 lumen light on your helmet will give you a sub-$400 setup that’s competitive with products twice the price.

Pros:
Beam throw is outstanding
Solid, stable tool free mount
Light and small setup
“Dude, get off my road!” flash mode, even in the day
Outstanding value for money for recreational mountain bikers and commuters

Cons:
Would have preferred a wider beam spread for off-road race use

The Ferei BL200s are available in black, red, blue, and gold/yellow from Ferei Australia for $229.

The iDV MiniHD ticks all of the boxes on the “must have” feature list: waterproof casing, 1080p and 720p video capture, accepts up to 32GB flash cards, compact form factor, and competitive weight. The last two items are not weight-weenie nice-to-haves; having a camera on your helmet, for hours on end, on a long bike ride does add to the load on your neck. The smaller and lighter the unit can be, the better. The iDV MiniHD is comparable in weight to the GoPro Hero2, and is only slightly bigger.

In some areas the MiniHD surpasses both the GoPro and the Contour. The unit comes standard with a backlit LCD display screen that enables you to play back footage on the unit and view in real time what the camera is seeing as it shoots. There is also a wrist-mountable remote that can be used to start and stop the camera and take still pictures. I had no issues using this with full-finger mountain bike gloves. This playback and remote control functionality has just recently become available for the GoPro as an extra-cost option.

The iDV MiniHD’s menu system is simple and very easy to navigate on the colour screen, to the point where I really didn’t need to read the manual to be able to get around and understand what each function did. Battery life was good and it easily captured my 90+ minute morning commute-come-training ride at 1080p.

The water housing and camera body both have a standard tripod screw mount. There are ports for HDMI, USB, and an external microphone, although the unit needs to be outside the water housing to get access. A screw-in adaptor is compatible with the GoPro tongue-and-bolt mount fitting, although it is a very tight fit. This allows you to tilt the camera up and down to adjust for helmet angle. Matching this there is a bayonet clip removable base plate which looks like it should be compatible with GoPro stick-on base mounts. Unfortunately, the centre rib is a slightly different size, so disappointingly it doesn’t fit into GoPro base mounts.

The same issue occurs with the bayonet adapter and baseplate as with the GoPro, with a small amount of slop compromising video and sound quality. This should be resolvable exactly the same way, with the application of a layer or two of electricians tape to the base to pack out and damp the free play. I didn’t encounter this issue on test, since I used the Kali Amara helmet with the inbuilt camera mount, which is quite tight on the slide-on rail mount.

Mounting options are a bit limited. The unit comes with the bayonet clip removable baseplate, and two self-adhesive baseplate mounts. Handlebar and stick-on side helmet mounts are optional extras.

So what does the video footage look like? In poor light it marginally exceeded the capability of the GoPro and for normal adventure use the quality was more than adequate. The field of view at 150 degrees is narrower than the 170 degree wide GoPro Hero2 and Contour Roam, but not excessively so. The detail it captured however was not quite to the same standard, so if you are looking to use it as a safety or evidence camera to capture vehicle number plates, this is not the unit for you. Whether this was due to lens or processor I am unsure.

Other  compromises were:
• the use of the slightly more lossy MOV file format, which is unsupported by Windows Live Movie Maker
• the power switch is not accessible once you close the casing; it needs to be turned on prior to insertion and the casing clasp is not accessible once the unit is screwed onto the mount  (although that may not be a bad thing if you skydive).
• no audible beep to let you know whether pressing the remote or casing buttons has done anything.
• if the unit’s battery charge expires while you are filming, the currently open file is not closed properly and becomes corrupted.

Most of these “niggles” can be worked around with a little planning, however, and purchase of one of the excellent value low-cost video editing packages that are available will yield a better result, regardless of camera used.

If you just want something to capture the experience of weekend rides, ski trips, or surf sessions with mates, this is more than enough camera.

Likes:
Performance for the price is good – less than half the price of the nearest equivalent Contour and GoPro models.
Viewscreen and wrist remote come as part of the standard package
Easy to understand and use menu system
Local support

Dislikes:
Registration plate capture not so good
Power down file save process needs work
Some aspects of operation with water housing need more thought
Beep to indicate button activation non-existent or inaudible

The iDV MiniHD retails for $250 and at the time of publishing is on discount and selling for $199. iDV cameras are available from some sports outlets as well as directly from iDV: www.idv.net.au

GT85 is based on PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene), or what we’d normally know as teflon. Teflon has a number of attractive properties: it displaces water, is non-corrosive, non-stick and can be used as a lubricant. While teflon lubes are not new in the world of cycling, when it comes to cleaners you are more likely to find them to be citrus or silicon based. To put this product to the test, rather than using it myself I wanted to get the opinion of someone who not only knows their bikes, but also knows their oils and lubes; an experienced bike mechanic would be perfect. Having recently pulled bearings apart in the Boca Bearing review, Aaron Dunford of Fusion Peak bike fitting was the person I had in mind for the job.

GT85 – the bike cleaner
Being the bike tech that he is, Aaron got straight into the technology of GT85, looking at the chemical makeup and properties: “The GT85 has Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) in it and this particular fluoropolymer has a very high molecular weight composed of whole fluorine and carbon molecules, low coefficient of friction and it is hydrophobic, meaning water based liquids can not break it down. So on your bike it works very well for cleaning the dirt and grime on the frame, it cleans rubber, plastic and is perfect for spraying on after a bath, while the bike is still wet.”

As a cleaner, the spray it works in two ways. Firstly, it easily displaces dirt and grim; spray and wipe and you are nice and clean. The second effect is that after a coating of this teflon spray, the bike is better protected against muck and is easier to clean the next time around. Aaron comments, “I have been using GT85 as a cleaner in combination with an air compressor for my race bike and it’s immaculate.”

GT85 – the lubricant
In theory PTFE protects and lubricates moving parts. In practice, GT85 is not a “every-purpose” bicycle spray. Aaron explains, “as a lubricant for the chain it’s too thin and applying it can be messy, especially close to the [mountain bike] brake rotor. I like a nice drip bottle so I can squeeze the oil between the plates.”

As a general lube it works well, keeping derailleurs and exposed brake and gear cables in good working order. As a combined cleaner where moving parts on the bike get a light spray it is convenient, though a more suitable lube should be used for the chain. The spray bottle comes with a hose for the nozzle that can be directed, though care should be taken to avoid brake pads and rims (or disc rotors). When trying to use a slow controlled release, nozzle leakage was a problem, which speaks more for having a drip bottle for cycling applications.

Health and Safety
In reviewing the 400ml aerosol spray, Aaron voiced concerns about the health and safety of his lungs, though in the documentation on the company website, GT85 wasn’t noted as a health risk. Gloves and eye protection is, however, recommended, though we consider it unrealistic that people will actually follow this recommendation.

It is worth noting that there is a one litre pump pack that we feel is a more attractive proposition though this currently isn’t available in Australia.

Should I or shouldn’t I?
This is a good cleaner and handy for light lubrication, though you will need an extra chain lube. The good news is that it is not a bike specific product and so has a broad application as a cleaner and light lubricant on machinery. As a Teflon based lubricant, it will also do a better job that WD-40.

The GT85 is new in Australia and available from bike shops for RRP $19, if your local bike shop doesn’t stock it then you can contact GT85 in Australia via email (sales@gt85.com.au) or online: www.gt85.com.au