Wednesday, November 02, 2022

Getting Lit

Schmidt Edulx II (Image courtesy of Angry Catfish)
I'd been putting this off for far too long, this fixing of my Ti Muk II. It's getting on into the year and Winter is coming soon. I figured I'd better just pull the trigger on something and get it here before it was too late. 

Shopping for dynamo lighting is a weird experience. At least, here in the U.S. it is. You don't have a lot of choices, and when you find something interesting, the information you'd like to have about the product is pretty shallow. 

In my case, I needed to understand what length the leads were off the light head unit. The Ti Muk is a bit of an oddball in terms of dynamo lights. Usually this sort of thing would be going on a randonnuer bike, or maybe an "adventure hard tail" MTB. But with a fat bike, the little details matter, and things like leads need to be a bit longer, so that's one of the things I needed to understand. 

You also have to know if you are getting the mount for the light, because - it appears to me at any rate- some companies don't provide that and seem to give you a "better deal" on the light. Well, that does me no good, ya know.....because I'm not duct taping this thing on! 

I'm also sure some of the retailers are fine, but when many of the ones I saw pop up in my Google search are companies I've never heard of, that gives me pause as well. There were a couple of hits that were from places I knew of, so I went with those choices. Interestingly, one of those had such a wordy and - in my opinion - gruff stance on ordering, that I decided that maybe this was just not going to be a seamless experience. So, I bailed on that choice and took a look at a more local one, Angry Catfish out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

It's coming......whether we want it or not!
The order page had all the info I needed to make a decision, and so I went with Angry Catfish, (that name!), and I actually received a call after I placed the order from them. This was due to the fact that the site had indicated what I had ordered was in stock, but in reality, it was not. I was offered a no-hassle refund, or I could wait for them to order one in. 

Since what I had ordered was in a color I didn't really want, but ya know- it was in stock -only it wasn't. Anyway, that afforded me the chance to order the color I did want at no extra charge to me. Nice! 

So, I have to wait a bit, but at least this problem will get solved and I'll be back on the Ti Muk II just in time for Winter to arrive. As long as the new light install goes smoothly, I'll be good to go now. New drive train, new bottom bracket, new light, and heck.....some more new sealant! That should do me. 

I'll report back when I get the light and let you know- and see- how it goes.

Note: I have no affiliation with Angry Catfish and I paid full retail for the light.

8 comments:

Phillip Cowan said...

I've had good luck with my Edelux. They make a big deal about beam shape but it's not all hype. The lens does spread the light out very well and it's not too harsh on the eyes of oncoming bikers. Rene Herse list them with 600mm and 1400mm leads and they always seem to keep them in stock. Like anything German made it's 3 prices but the quality is there.

Guitar Ted said...

@Phillip Cowan - Thank you for your assessment of the Edelux II. I am pretty excited to check it out and see if it is all of what they say it is, and your comments leave me feeling better about the not insignificant investment.

If it works out I think I have another bike in mind for a dynamo hub as well.

teamdarb said...

Good to hear about the Angry Catfish transaction. I am at the point where I cannot tell whether a retailer listed in Google's Sales banner is legit or not. There are quite a few scam business that take priority in Google's searches. It seems Google cares not at all.

A random piece: I road a Gary Fisher Rumblefish. Such a crazy thing to realize this was considered a "long travel" 29er. It was the large frame I tried. I can totally see how a set of dropbars and short stem would turn this into a more fun bike for a short fellow on mellow routes. The bike feels like a loaded full sus Cutthroat to me.

Guitar Ted said...

@teamdarb - Yeah, I was pretty skeptical of several of the search results i got. Glad I was able to work it out with Angry Catfish.

I tested a Rumblefish and wrote a review of it back in the day. Yeah, when you look at that bike, and see the head angle, it about makes you laugh, it seems so steep now! I actually have that bike's predecessor, the slightly shorter travel HiFi, down in the Lab. I could try drop bars on that.....

Barturtle said...

LOL. I bet I know who the gruff one is. I have had no issues with any of my purchases (for over a decade) though them, though. Angry Catfish is great too.

teamdarb said...

@GT
I found the review. I am not sure you will find the same feeling to which I assumpted the addition of a dropbar. I am looking at it from a 5'4 view point atop a frame with much more stack than the suggested sized frame for my height. I am curious regardless as to what you find.

DT said...

@GT @Barturtle - tell me the gruff one is Peter White, lol? I actually visited the shop once, and while the ladies working there were very helpful, he really wasn't interested in making any conversation.

Guitar Ted said...

@DT @Barturtle Ding! Ding! We have a winner. :>)