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!

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!

Friday News And Views

Nominations are open NOW!

Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame Nominations:

Just a reminder that nominations are open through the month of November for the next class of the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame. 

So, if you feel strongly enough about a person getting their due, then ask them, or their family in case of a death, and get permission to nominate them. Then write up a convincing paragraph as to why that person should be in the GCHof.

Then send that into the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame by November 30th, 2022. After all the nominations have been gathered they will be given to the nominating committee for consideration and they will vote on the Class of 2023. 

Okay, so now you know, and you cannot say that no one told you so.

Getting Lit - An Update:

So the stuff came in this week. I have attached an image here showing everything I received in the box, minus some cool stickers that somebody at Angry Catfish threw in. I appreciated those, so whomever did that, "Thank You!"

So, Spoiler Alert! The stuff worked. I'll have a post on Monday that will detail all my thoughts on the installation and my initial reaction to how the light works. 

I said I'm done, but actually I have a few details to attend to regarding my set up. I need to weather seal a couple things and I need to address the leads to the wheel, since I left them a tad bit long. 

I'm pretty happy I was able to get this done now because we are entering that season where a fat bike is a thing and commuting with a dynamo light is really nice. There is one more thing that I need to do for the Ti Muk, and it is unrelated to the lights, it is fenders. 

I want to come up with something a bit more "full-coverage" than I have, which is a bodge of a few "origami" style clip-on type fat bike fenders. I see Jones Bikes is offering something interesting, but at $180.00....... Ouch! More on that idea later....

As If It Weren't Already Hard Enough To Get There:

Have you noticed that "That Certain Event In Emporia" has been getting harder and harder to get into? Well, now it has gotten even more difficult, well- that is unless you are a Life Time Fitness member.

Yup! That's how you become more inclusive, by being more exclusive. Gotta be so, right? I mean, this is a gravel event, after all. Or is it anymore? Maybe it's something else altogether these days.

 Look, I don't really care about Unbound Gravel as an event anymore. It isn't for me and that's fine. And of course, they can do whatever the heck they want down there. People will do whatever dance they need to do to get there, if they are into it. 

I will only say that this is completely the antithesis of "gravel events" now. I suspect it will only drift further away from its roots as well. I just have a really hard time believing this event represents the "premier gravel event in North America" anymore. I mean, who declared that? Oh! Yeah, the Unbound folks grabbed that claim, didn't they. Hmm.... 

I think if this were put to a vote, and people knew what they could vote for out there, something like THIS event would be a LOT higher up the ladder than Unbound is. And this event as well. Talk about inclusivity. Talk about having a grasp on gravel culture, well, Unbound is about as far from genuine gravel culture in terms of how its run than the East is from the West. 

Speaking Of Events....

Somehow I came across this event I hadn't heard of before on social media this past week. It's called the Starrucca Crossing. It is a 100 mile, (if you do the full-boat. A 75 miler is also offered), that is held in Northeastern Pennsylvania. 

The date is May 20, 2023, and I thought it sounded like fun. There isn't much to go on, actually, but the short blurb about the course I saw said "...a course that is almost 80% dirt roads"

I thought that sounded intriguing, so I asked N.Y. Roll about the area, since it isn't far from New York and he goes through that way to get back to his home. 

N.Y. Roll said it was "all up and down", typical Appalachian bedrock based road beds. He said it would be quite the haul as far as doing that event. 

So, what exactly am I covering this for here? Am I going? Well......probably not. Number one- I can't afford going most anywhere anymore and two- I work on Saturdays, and getting a substitute to cover for me when there are two employees and a bunch of volunteers? Hard to do. So, just spit-ballin' here. But you should do this. It sounds like fun, and it's $65.00 if you register now. Pretty good deal there. 

I may feature events I think are cool from time to time here, so if you have any you think I should consider, hit me up in the comments or at g.ted.productions@gmail.com. 

That's a wrap on this week! Have a great weekend and go ride a bicycle if you can!

Friday News And Views

Nominations are open NOW!

Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame Nominations:

Just a reminder that nominations are open through the month of November for the next class of the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame. 

So, if you feel strongly enough about a person getting their due, then ask them, or their family in case of a death, and get permission to nominate them. Then write up a convincing paragraph as to why that person should be in the GCHof.

Then send that into the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame by November 30th, 2022. After all the nominations have been gathered they will be given to the nominating committee for consideration and they will vote on the Class of 2023. 

Okay, so now you know, and you cannot say that no one told you so.

Getting Lit - An Update:

So the stuff came in this week. I have attached an image here showing everything I received in the box, minus some cool stickers that somebody at Angry Catfish threw in. I appreciated those, so whomever did that, "Thank You!"

So, Spoiler Alert! The stuff worked. I'll have a post on Monday that will detail all my thoughts on the installation and my initial reaction to how the light works. 

I said I'm done, but actually I have a few details to attend to regarding my set up. I need to weather seal a couple things and I need to address the leads to the wheel, since I left them a tad bit long. 

I'm pretty happy I was able to get this done now because we are entering that season where a fat bike is a thing and commuting with a dynamo light is really nice. There is one more thing that I need to do for the Ti Muk, and it is unrelated to the lights, it is fenders. 

I want to come up with something a bit more "full-coverage" than I have, which is a bodge of a few "origami" style clip-on type fat bike fenders. I see Jones Bikes is offering something interesting, but at $180.00....... Ouch! More on that idea later....

As If It Weren't Already Hard Enough To Get There:

Have you noticed that "That Certain Event In Emporia" has been getting harder and harder to get into? Well, now it has gotten even more difficult, well- that is unless you are a Life Time Fitness member.

Yup! That's how you become more inclusive, by being more exclusive. Gotta be so, right? I mean, this is a gravel event, after all. Or is it anymore? Maybe it's something else altogether these days.

 Look, I don't really care about Unbound Gravel as an event anymore. It isn't for me and that's fine. And of course, they can do whatever the heck they want down there. People will do whatever dance they need to do to get there, if they are into it. 

I will only say that this is completely the antithesis of "gravel events" now. I suspect it will only drift further away from its roots as well. I just have a really hard time believing this event represents the "premier gravel event in North America" anymore. I mean, who declared that? Oh! Yeah, the Unbound folks grabbed that claim, didn't they. Hmm.... 

I think if this were put to a vote, and people knew what they could vote for out there, something like THIS event would be a LOT higher up the ladder than Unbound is. And this event as well. Talk about inclusivity. Talk about having a grasp on gravel culture, well, Unbound is about as far from genuine gravel culture in terms of how its run than the East is from the West. 

Speaking Of Events....

Somehow I came across this event I hadn't heard of before on social media this past week. It's called the Starrucca Crossing. It is a 100 mile, (if you do the full-boat. A 75 miler is also offered), that is held in Northeastern Pennsylvania. 

The date is May 20, 2023, and I thought it sounded like fun. There isn't much to go on, actually, but the short blurb about the course I saw said "...a course that is almost 80% dirt roads"

I thought that sounded intriguing, so I asked N.Y. Roll about the area, since it isn't far from New York and he goes through that way to get back to his home. 

N.Y. Roll said it was "all up and down", typical Appalachian bedrock based road beds. He said it would be quite the haul as far as doing that event. 

So, what exactly am I covering this for here? Am I going? Well......probably not. Number one- I can't afford going most anywhere anymore and two- I work on Saturdays, and getting a substitute to cover for me when there are two employees and a bunch of volunteers? Hard to do. So, just spit-ballin' here. But you should do this. It sounds like fun, and it's $65.00 if you register now. Pretty good deal there. 

I may feature events I think are cool from time to time here, so if you have any you think I should consider, hit me up in the comments or at g.ted.productions@gmail.com. 

That's a wrap on this week! Have a great weekend and go ride a bicycle if you can!

Getting Lit: Part 2

Hooray! the light is on its way! Saturday I received an email from the folks at Angry Catfish that they had received a few Schmidt Edelux II lights and wondered if I wanted a polished silver or a satin silver one. 

I went with the shiny silver one, and so I should have it in hand by the end of the week. I have to say- so far anyway- that Angry Catfish has been really good in terms of customer service. I am impressed. Typically you do not get emails direct from employees and any emails you do get are auto-generated types, if you even get that. So, I am noting that this experience has been reassuring and, as I say- so far- very impressive. 

I should also note that I am getting the standard wired version in a longer length, not the coaxial cable type shown here, mostly because I needed to have a longer wire and the coaxial cable in the extra long length is seemingly not available, or at least I did not see that option. I could have missed that, but if I did, it's okay. I'm alright dealing with wires, especially so since I "MacGyvered" a conduit from an air pump hose to run the wires through anyway. 

Quick update on my weekend: Rain! Wind! So, no real riding at all. I'll be out again, hopefully this week, so look for more "Brown Season" posts soon!

Getting Lit: Part 2

Hooray! the light is on its way! Saturday I received an email from the folks at Angry Catfish that they had received a few Schmidt Edelux II lights and wondered if I wanted a polished silver or a satin silver one. 

I went with the shiny silver one, and so I should have it in hand by the end of the week. I have to say- so far anyway- that Angry Catfish has been really good in terms of customer service. I am impressed. Typically you do not get emails direct from employees and any emails you do get are auto-generated types, if you even get that. So, I am noting that this experience has been reassuring and, as I say- so far- very impressive. 

I should also note that I am getting the standard wired version in a longer length, not the coaxial cable type shown here, mostly because I needed to have a longer wire and the coaxial cable in the extra long length is seemingly not available, or at least I did not see that option. I could have missed that, but if I did, it's okay. I'm alright dealing with wires, especially so since I "MacGyvered" a conduit from an air pump hose to run the wires through anyway. 

Quick update on my weekend: Rain! Wind! So, no real riding at all. I'll be out again, hopefully this week, so look for more "Brown Season" posts soon!

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.

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.