New Red Zone 8 light
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New Red Zone 8 light
Postby nigel1963 » Wed Feb 13, 2013 10:04 pm
Can anyone make comparisons with the previous version; the new one is quite different?
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby VRE » Thu Feb 14, 2013 7:36 am
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby il padrone » Thu Feb 14, 2013 8:05 am
From Niteflux
Good things come to those who wait:
Attached are photos of the new Niteflux red zone product. It is improved on the original in many ways:
even easier to see from all angles
much easier switch action
longer runtime
easier to attach to seat posts
repairable/battery replaceable
Also, in response to requests from USA, it is also going to be available in DOUBLE power. That is 8W peak power in flash mode and over 400lm!
We are now finished pre-production test on this new unit. It has taken some time to finalise the design but it will be worth the wait. We are now beginning the first production cycle. This will take around 4-6 weeks.
For those who have asked about getting a new niteflux red zone for xmas, I am sorry but we wont be guaranteeing delivery before xmas.
For those who have asked about international delivery, we usually ship these from a warehouse in USA but there have been changes in the postal system in USA banning all batteries in the short term. This is expected to be reviewed with new rules in place on Jan 1 2013. Niteflx bicycle lights will comply with the new rules and international postage will resume at that time.
If you are receiving this email it is because you have sent a back-order enquiry to niteflux. Sorry we cant give individualised replies to all emails. We get too many. Thanks for your patience, we will be making a special offer to all back-order customers: A free upgrade from 4W version to 8W version. Just reply to this email to book your 8W version if you want it. Otherwise, we will send another email when the first batch of stock is available.
"An unjustified and unethical imposition on a healthy activity."
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby william » Thu Feb 14, 2013 9:28 am
I wouldn't buy from them again.
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby Magnum9 » Thu Feb 14, 2013 3:04 pm
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby NhiTrac » Sat Feb 16, 2013 9:15 am
+1Magnum9 wrote:Yet my red zone 4 is the best rear light I have had and nothing comes close in visibility.
Had mine since beginning of winter last year. Still going strong.
Interesting design on the new one.
BMC Teammachine SLR01
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby il padrone » Sat Feb 16, 2013 9:27 am
From the AdelaideCyclist blog:
I just wish they could make one that will mount onto a standard European 50mm rear rack mountIt is the case that some RZ4 units develop problems with the switch when used on a bicycle seat-post. After more than a year in the marketplace, plenty of user info, and some material revisions, we now know that the problem is not caused by any adhesives or other material faults. The problem is caused by stuff that comes up off the road. Not water, because we have done lots of testing in water. It could be fuel, or other chemicals. Some users are much more affected than others because they ride over different roads. Whatever it is, it soaks through the plastic and causes some problems.
We are making a new version that is optimised for seat-post use. it will be a different shape and made of different materials. It will be even easier to see from all angles, will have a longer runtime and be all-round better for seatposts. We will continue to produce the current shape version for backpacks (although this seems to be the minority use for this light).
"An unjustified and unethical imposition on a healthy activity."
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby nigel1963 » Sat Feb 16, 2013 10:57 am
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby Mulger bill » Sat Feb 16, 2013 11:15 am
C'mon Pete, let thy inner MacGyver fun free, there's always a way...il padrone wrote: I just wish they could make one that will mount onto a standard European 50mm rear rack mount
Shaun
EDIT. I've got the remains of a cf seatpost I overtightened in the shed, a little slice and dice and some epoxy putty should do the trick.
London Boy 29/12/2011
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby william » Sun Feb 17, 2013 10:11 pm
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby Coolabah » Mon Feb 18, 2013 8:46 pm
Got mine today.nigel1963 wrote:Backorder customers have recieved an email about first shipments. There are some photographs of the new light attached.
Can anyone make comparisons with the previous version; the new one is quite different?
looks kinda cool - way smaller than I imagined ( tube diameter approx 23 mm , length including endcaps 90 mm, Dunno why but the photo made me think the length was 150 mm or so ) . Consists of carbon fibre tube with silicone (?) end bits. Very limited instructions ( says to log onto website for full instructions but I guess too soon yet...)
Silicone end bit ( ie mini usb charging port end ) : instructions say to add vaseline for easier removal... I added silicone "o" ring sealant which I think is better than a petroleum by-product. End cap comes off much more easily now, but no so easily that it would fall off by itself (?? I think) .
You need to take one end off to charge , the other does not need to be removed to access the switch , very easy to turn on/off.
Its charging up right now will test it out tomorrow ( I leave at O'dark:30 to go to work ) and will post my thoughts if anyone is interested .
edit : edited some inaccuracies , also my initial impressions of this light after riding to work in the dark today are very positive , it has excellent visibility even from the sides of the bike and is at least as bright as my Redzone 4 . Need more use of this light to gain a more reliable opinion of this light but so far so good !
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby Coolabah » Mon Feb 18, 2013 9:02 pm
nigel1963 wrote:Backorder customers have recieved an email about first shipments. There are some photographs of the new light attached.
Can anyone make comparisons with the previous version; the new one is quite different?
Forgot to answer your question . I have had the Redzone 4 for 6 months and have used it 6 days a week, 60 + minutes per day every week with no issues. It is a great light , mine is mounted at the back of my rack attached to pannier bags so is NOT subjected to any waterspray from the road , only direct rain so this may be significant if you read the failure reports ( contamination from roads ) . It is not easy to operate the switch but unless you have arthritis it is OK . Nice and bright.
Just turned on my Redzone 8 for a quick test ( even tho not fully charged yet) and almost took away my eyesight. This thing is BRIGHT. Warning : do NOT look directly at this light when you turn it on , this almost should come printed on the light ( joking , we don't need more warning signs against our own stupidity )
Anyway , will strap it onto my bike tomorrow for a field trial.
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby nigel1963 » Tue Feb 26, 2013 11:55 pm
Thanks Coolabah.Coolabah wrote:Its charging up right now will test it out tomorrow ( I leave at O'dark:30 to go to work ) and will post my thoughts if anyone is interested .nigel1963 wrote:Backorder customers have recieved an email about first shipments. There are some photographs of the new light attached.
Can anyone make comparisons with the previous version; the new one is quite different?
What are your thoughts now please.
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby Coolabah » Sat Mar 02, 2013 4:34 pm
Sorry for the late response I must've missed your post.nigel1963 wrote:
Thanks Coolabah.
What are your thoughts now please.
I really like it. Compared to the Redzone 4 it appears to have a wider field of view- easily >= 180 degrees ie when looking at it from the sides & rear . My impression initially was that it is much much brighter than the Redzone 4, but I now think it is just a fair bit brighter rather than mega heaps .
methodology of simple comparison test : I turned off all the lights in my garage and put each light on steady beam aimed at a distant wall , covered each in turn and looked at the light spread and perceived brightness on the wall, kept covering one then the other numerous times. note : I am asuming that both factory settings have the steady light at 100 % (can't find any documentation for the new light ) , also I do not know if the older battery in the redzone 4 is skewing the results (I don't have a brand new redzone 4) ... both were fully charged immediately before the test.
It is much easier to operate the switch compared to the redzone 4, and there is no chance of losing the USB port cover on the new light
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby il padrone » Sat Mar 09, 2013 11:13 am
It staggers me that a manufacturer would design a light so that it can only be mounted on the seat post
"An unjustified and unethical imposition on a healthy activity."
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby biker jk » Sat Mar 09, 2013 4:44 pm
Moreover, I don't see how the velcro will stop the Redzone 8 from slipping down the seat post on bumpy roads.il padrone wrote:Yeah, great light in many respects. Only shortcoming is where to mount it? On most of my bikes it is just not going to be practical. On my bikes when loaded for a touring ride it would be impossible to mount in a place it can be seen, without engineering some sort of Heath-Robinson mount.
It staggers me that a manufacturer would design a light so that it can only be mounted on the seat post
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby Howzat » Sat Mar 09, 2013 5:01 pm
Looks like the rubber ends would provide grip to prevent slippage.biker jk wrote: Moreover, I don't see how the velcro will stop the Redzone 8 from slipping down the seat post on bumpy roads.
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby Howzat » Mon Mar 11, 2013 11:32 pm
To be fair, this looks so bright you could just throw it in your panniers and you'd still be visible from the moon.il padrone wrote:Yeah, great light in many respects. Only shortcoming is where to mount it?
...
It staggers me that a manufacturer would design a light so that it can only be mounted on the seat post
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby MattyK » Tue Mar 12, 2013 1:15 pm
On the other hand, from that video above it might make for a good disco porn rave... glowsticks? pffft.
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby Ross » Tue Mar 12, 2013 2:38 pm
Great video, thanks for posting. It shows how dim PBSF and Cyclolite Hotshot are in comparison. What sort of battery does it use? Pity it can only be mounted on seatpost, it would be good to be able to mount it on rear stays the same as some do with Fibre Flare.KonaCommuter wrote:
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby il padrone » Tue Mar 12, 2013 2:46 pm
Some years ago I was in a support vehicle for an Audax Oppy team. Driving along at night in the country, I calculated that the riders' tail-lights (mix of Planetbike Superflash and Cateye LD-600) were clearly visible from 4-5 kms away.Ross wrote:It shows how dim PBSF and Cyclolite Hotshot are in comparison.
To paraphrase Howzat, do you really want to be visible from the moon ??
"An unjustified and unethical imposition on a healthy activity."
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby biker jk » Tue Mar 12, 2013 2:54 pm
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby Magnum9 » Tue Mar 12, 2013 3:03 pm
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Re: New Red Zone 8 light
Postby Coolabah » Tue Mar 12, 2013 4:35 pm
Yep. And it works very well , could not get the light to budge at all once strapped up. The end bits appear to be silicone to me (?) . I did try to mount it at other locations with a narrower bar diameter eg seat stays but no luck. Having said that , I am starting to love this light !!! It would not be that hard to mount it elsewhere with a very simple custom bracket even if we are just talking cable ties & a small piece of gaffer tape- it is only new so I'm pretty sure someone with more handyman skills than me will eventually come up with a cheap & elegant solution.Howzat wrote: Looks like the rubber ends would provide grip to prevent slippage.
in response to other comments ( dunno how to multiple reply - oops )
1) Mounting on seatpost : Apparently & according to one email I received , the manufacturer has information that the majority of lights are mounted on the seatpost but he still will offer the RZ 4 for other situations
2) Brightness- you can actually choose to not run it on full power- factory spec settings are low flash, non flash, full power flash & I suspect you can program changes to this- once instructions available. . I like full power for those really sunny days - no-one is blinded but you ARE still visible. Maximum 2 presses of the button will cycle you to your next favourite setting
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