Getting Lit: Part 3

Shiny! A look from the cockpit of the Ti Muk 2

 As I mentioned Friday, I got the Schmidt Edelux II light mounted and tested on my Ti Muk 2. I know that the Schmidt light looks rather simple and plain, but there is a lot going on "under the hood" here and I'll get to explaining all of that. It should help to make sense of the $270.00+ price tag for this piece of kit. 

Yeah.....that's expensive, but a good LED rechargeable is at least $120+ now, and you have to, you know......recharge the thing sometimes. You will do that a LOT if you run the light all the time at its brightest setting too. So, you have to keep that perspective when you compare an LED light to a stand-alone dynamo system. 

I'm not saying the Schmidt light is "better" or "worse". It is an option, and it may or may not make sense to you. For me and my purposes, this makes sense, especially on this bicycle. 

The Edelux II is Schmidt's latest version of this light and it features the following things;  

•  High light output thanks to optimal LED-cooling with copper heat sink and aluminum-housing
• Easy handling with magnetic switch and automatic light sensor
• Long lifetime with potted electronics, robust housing and coaxial cable
• Bright standlight
• Conforms with German legal regulations StVZO
• Made in Germany | 5 years guarantee

The lens is an anti-reflective glass, not plastic, so it lets more light through and it will not degrade over time. It can be set off, on "light sensing mode", which allows the head lamp to turn on only when it gets dark enough to need a light, or "Always On" mode for day time running lights. This is all controlled by the magnetic switch and reed switch which allows the internals of the head lamp to remain sealed to the outside world. 

All the internal electronics are potted, (encased in silicone, most likely) to further protect them from the elements. The wire Schmidt uses is a coaxial wire instead of the double stranded, plastic coated wires you typically see and which are pretty fragile. The coaxial cable, if you aren't familiar, is a single strand in the center of copper wires encased in a heavy insulation which then is surrounded by a second conductor of braided copper wires and then this is encased in a thick, rubber insulation coating. This is a far more robust way to run a wire to the hub. 

Furthermore, the light came with a grounding tab and has a port with a spade connector for the SON rear tail light I have. So, that was a big plus in this case for me to purchase the Schmidt light. 

I only wanted to buy a head light once, so in my opinion, the Schmidt Edelux II was my best option here. 

The set up from the front.....

 It was important to me to have the light not be interfered by cables or any potential bags/loads I may choose to carry up front. This meant that in my case, a mount up high on the handlebars was optimal. I already had the Bausch and Mueller light mount, so I employed that to mount the Edelux II from. This put the light 'out front' of the cables and well above any load I may choose to place on the front rack. 

Note how the cable runs from the bottom of the light unit into an old floor pump hose which is peeking out on the non-drive side of the head tube by the Salsa Cycles head badge there. I did this with the previous cable as well. It insures an extra layer of protection against the elements in case things get mucky, wet, or rough. 

....and from the back side where the SON tail lamp is mounted to my rack.

Again, the SON tail lamp is rack mountable, and has a coaxial cable like the head lamp does. I ran that cable up another section of floor pump hose to the front of the bike from underneath the rack to underneath the top tube up to the head tube. From there that cable exits the floor pump hose and runs via some spiral-wound plastic wire loom protector, (much like you'd see on spark plug wire looms in automobiles) to the head lamp. 

 The connections at the hub.

Schmidt makes a coaxial connector for the disconnection of wires at the hub to ease front wheel removal. I did not get this option as I do not take the front wheel out often, or hardly ever, so I deemed that this feature was unnecessary for me. Although I did leave enough wire to install that should I decide to go with that in the future. 

So, that's about it. The light is pretty bright. Brighter than the previous Bausch and Mueller light, for sure. The SON tail lamp seems brighter as well. I don't know if that is possible, but that's my impression now. Of course, having the stand light feature is a big plus with being a commuter and all. I also like the stand light as it illuminates my way back into the house at night without trying to fumble for a light switch. 

That should wrap up the repairs and maintenance I started on this bike back in September! I'm good to go now through till next year sometime before I'll need to do another oil change on the Rohloff hub. 

Thanks to Waterloo Bicycle Works and Angry Catfish for the support and excellent service!