Wiggly Cat Fix

Cateye Headlights

Note the Big One's Position Relative to

Brake Handles. The Chrome is Mostly Gone on that Side

My experiences with Planet Bike fenders and tail lights may have created the impression that PB stuff is troublesome. It is, but no more than most bike stuff. Today, I talk about another supplier of bike stuff, Cateye. I have three Cateye headlights. The one on the right side of the photo, sometimes known as "the flamethrower," is a Cateye HL-EL530. It's the most powerful LED light they make that uses AA batteries, and is now just over one year old. When newly charged, it's nearly as bright as a motorcycle headlight. On the other hand, it jiggles. It jiggles in each of the three mounts  I use it in. It isn't a real serious problem, but it gets irritating to have to steady one's headlight while riding. Actually, it jiggled up until last week. It no longer jiggles, wiggles, or does any other improper behavior.

If YOU ever get a jiggly Cateye, the fix is laughably simple. For other reasons, I had to zip tie something. Inspiration hit, and I slid the leftover zip tie piece against the bottom of the light and then slid the light/tie combo on to the bracket. The little plastic shim was just perfect to make the light rock steady. If I ever lose the zip tie shim, a toothpick would make an admirable substitute.

Leftover Zip Tie Remnant

Stabilizes Wiggly Cateye HL-EL530

I do have another observation about the current crop of Cateye lights. They have chromed plastic bezels. The chrome seems to wear off even if you never touch it. It's even wearing off on my little "be seen" blinky where the chrome is UNDERNEATH the clear plastic lens. It's got to be either UV or just bike riding vibration. This wear does not appear to hurt the light function in any way, and the lights haven't shorted out from getting wet which is a real good thing. Both of these lights are about one year old. I can't say worn chrome is a big deal, but Cateye might have thought of this before I discovered it.

Chrome Gone From the Plastic on

Cateye HL-EL530

 

Chrome Gone Even When Protected

by Clear Plastic on Cateye HL-EL135

Give Cateye Credit for Effort

After much looking at fancy, heart rate bike computers and GPS stuff, I elected to keep life simpler, and I purchased a “Cateye Commuter” for Buddy. I moved the “Cateye Vectra Wireless” from Buddy to the road bike, where it replaces the now-disgraced worthless French bike computer. The “Commuter” is a new model that came out this spring from Cateye, and it is intended specifically for bike commuters. It lacks expensive gewgaws such as cadence, heart rate, and computer download connection, but that stuff is mostly irrelevant for commuting. Since the “Commuter” has an elapsed time function, cadence is easy to determine anyway.

Anyway, the “Commuter” differs from most other cycle computers in five ways. Three of these are very nice, one would be nice if I could only figure out how to get it to work again, and one is worthless marketing hype.

THREE VERY NICE FEATURES
No Buttons – The “Commuter” is designed so that you do not have to push any buttons to make it change functions. Cateye accomplished this via a mount that rocks when you push down on the rear of the unit, pushing a mode button on the back. This is a big improvement over Cateye “single button” units, because you can change functions even if you have ski mittens on. Heck you could change mode by pushing it with your nose if you were so inclined. I suspect the “button underneath” is also less susceptible to water intrusion when caught in a North Texas downpour.

ETA – The “Commuter” contains an “Estimated Time of Arrival” function. I set mine manually, for my commute distance of 20 miles. Riding TO work, I arrived three minutes before the estimate. The estimate would have been closer, except my ride to work is nearly a half mile shorter than the return trip home. Going home, the unit did not do as well. It failed to anticipate a leisurely stop at a major coffee chain in its ETA; post-coffee, it predicted I would arrive home a minute earlier than my actual arrival. I have one caveat to mention about this ETA function. The computer only increments distance settings in full miles. Since a typical bike commuter will cover a mile in four to five minutes, this means a nonrandom ETA prediction error of as much as three minutes. You’ll soon learn what the nonrandom error is on your commute, and mentally account for it. If you commute with the ETA display activated, you’ll also notice that most of the time you are riding FASTER than the average speed, because of stopping delays (signs and lights) that slow each of us down. Using commute distance to the nearest tenth, and allowing selection of “commute distance 1” versus “commute distance 2,” (many people have more than one commute route) would have made this significantly more useful.

Temperature – The computer displays temperature in the units of your choice. Temperature is a subject of great interest to me when I commute, as it relates to how much water I’m sweating off in summer, and how quickly stuff will go numb in winter. I’m not sure there are other bike computers in this price range that have temperature display.

IT’D BE NICE ITEM
The computer contains a backlight. According to the instructions, this lights for a few seconds when the display is pushed. There’s also a separate “light” button on the back. This would be a very handy feature for me in the portions of the year in which a significant portion of my commute is in the dark. It actually DID this the first time I used the computer, but somehow the feature turned off. I know the backlight still works because I can light it if I take the computer off the bike and push the “light” button. Oh, well, I guess I’ve got a couple of months before this becomes a serious irritant. Perhaps poring through the instructions again will lead to clarity.

WORTHLESS MARKETING HYPE
Cateye has gotten silly in one regard with the “Commuter.” Their PR hypes this computer for a totally useless “Carbon Offset” feature that somebody imagined ought to be of great and unique interest to bike commuters. As in the review, here, and I see the same schlock in other reviews. Even if I were interested in how much carbon my commute might be saving, such information is totally useless to me on the road. What’s more, it’s easier and quicker to compute the information manually, based on simple mileage, than to get it to come up on the “Commuter.” Still, I tried hard to make this feature useful. I queried all our office liberals (contrary to public opinion, there ARE a few left wingers in North Texas), in an attempt to find one that would purchase carbon offsets from me. I was willing to be quite reasonable on the price. None of them were willing to put their money where their mouths are, so the “Commuter Carbon Offset” feature appears unlikely to turn into a Steve profit center. OTOH, perhaps some loyal reader might be interested in purchasing offsets? Email to imgullible@moremoneythansense.com and we’ll discuss it. Do it for the planet!

There’s an irritant associated with this useless carbon offset feature as well. Despite repeated attempts, and careful rereading of the instructions, I have been unable to set the date on this computer, beyond switching between m/d and d/m format. As far as I can tell, the only things it actually uses the date for is for this carbon offset feature, and as a display when the computer is approaching “sleep mode.” After consideration, this inability to set the date is not all bad. I’ll have a handy record of how many tons of carbon emissions I have kept out of the atmosphere since I first got the computer, which may be more useful than knowing it in strict calendar terms. I have no idea why Cateye picked displaying the date when the computer nears sleep mode. I’ve never really had any notion that date display was something I cared about in such a device, compared to total mileage, which is NOT simple to access on this computer, but which helps me decide when to purchase wear components such as brake pads, and when to go through items and check to make sure fasteners are not coming loose.

BOTTOM LINE
This is a fairly useful computer for commuting, subject to the caveat about the ETA distance. If I can get the backlight working again, that’ll also be an excellent “in the dark” commuting feature not included in most bike computers in this price range. The carbon offset feature mostly provides me with something to make fun of Cateye about. Considering it cost me about the same amount as a Cateye Strada, it’s a better value than a Strada for a commuter, and particularly for a commuter whose commute is a consistent distance, consisting of a nearly integer number of miles or kilometers. I imagine that Cateye will get better at making a computer that is useful to commuters, but it is to their credit that they have made an attempt, and actually succeeded in some elements of that attempt.

USEFUL COMMUTER COMPUTER FEATURES THE CATEYE LACKS
Until I saw the “Cateye Commuter,” I’d never really thought about what I’d like in a commuter bike computer, but there are really quite a number of useful things that might not be nearly so useful for general riding, or even for noncommute utility cycling. I would love to someday be able to reminisce about the “Commuter” as the first attempt at what became a distinct market niche for bike computers. Here’s stuff I’d like to see incorporated in future bike commuter computers.

• Multiple commute distances, set to the nearest tenth of a mile or kilometer
• “Feels like” temperature in addition to actual temperature (I wouldn’t pay much extra for this feature)
• Wind speed and direction (I wouldn’t pay much extra for this feature, either)
• Estimated “on bike” time at completion. My personal record stands at one hour, nineteen minutes. If I have a shot at a new record, I wouldn’t mind if my computer mentioned it to me. “On bike” time is different than elapsed time, which typically excludes traffic stops due to lights and signs. The “Commuter” already has this information, it just doesn’t provide it.
• Function that allows you to get a good ETA if you multimode commute, such as if you ride the TRE on part of your commute, which I did occasionally on my old commute. Basically, you’d add a time increment to the on-bike mileage.
• Setup for multiple bikes (lots of people commute on more than one bike)
• Time until dawn and dusk. The computer’s got a calendar & time, and knows what time I started, so it could compute sunrise/sunset, knowing a latitude. With this info, it could also estimate how much battery I’ll be using and how long until it gets light or dark.
• Estimated headlight battery life remaining. The computer could do this quite simply, by just tracking how many hours of darkness have been encountered and subtracting that from the “battery life” value entered by the owner.
• Simpler setup. I don’t need instructions in Japanese, but I WOULD appreciate them not being harder to follow than similar products from the same company.
• Allow the user to set what gets displayed before the unit goes to sleep. Seeing the wrong date in the “Commuter” irritates me anew each time I see it.
• Include a headlight mount in the unit’s bracket, so it clears up some handlebar room. This’d have the added benefit of increasing light sales by whoever includes this feature.
• Don’t complicate things with the useless carbon offset.

What added features would you add for a commuter computer?

More on Lights You Might Not Know

One bracket fits most Planet Bike tail lights

Yesterday, I related here how my Planet Bike Superflash started turning itself off. Tonight, I performed minor surgery on it and bent the switch bracket a smidge to make it harder to turn on (and also off). We'll see if that cures the irritant. I won't mind a light being a tad harder to turn on if it doesn't turn OFF by itself. In the light's defense, I now have nearly a year's use from it with three sets of batteries, so it's not a total waste of the $15 I paid for it. AND, there's another consideration to this light, and to some Cateye lights as well, that is worth considering. So, campers, if a PB or Cateye is on YOUR Christmas list, and you're unsure if that was wise, read on.

Simply put - when considering a low cost light, also consider the bracket. Planet Bike includes not only a seat post bracket with its tail lights, but also a seat stay bracket. This gives you a lot more choices of where to mount the things. What's more, most of their current lights all use the SAME bracket. This means you can swap lights amongst the various bikes you have and use different lights. This sounds like a pretty minor item, but it means I can carry a spare light of a different model and it'll fit the bracket I have installed. It also meant that when I thought I had a Superflash problem, I was able to get the model available at the LBS and it just snapped in place, allowing me to be on my way in no more time than it took to put the batteries in. If I want, I can put brackets on multiple bikes and in multiple places and have easy light mounting regardless of whether I have a trunk installed or whatever. Planet Bike treats its front lights the same way - one bracket fits multiple light models. You buy a few spare brackets and you can have two lights on each and every bike you ride without going broke buying lights. If a light goes bad, a replacement will give you yet another bracket option.

 One bracket fits most Cateye headlights

Cateye headlights (the Cateye tail light brackets seem much less standardized) are much the same way. While I'm not overly keen on how stable the Cateye headlight bracket is, it'll take any light from the little blinky one up to the 530 model. In response to a comment I made on "Lovely Bicycle," here, that suggested I get a new bracket, I was able to discount that advice because I have THREE Cateye brackets on two different bicycles, and I've considered buying a couple more so I can run two headlights on any of the frequently ridden bikes with a simple snap & go. I find moving brackets around to be fiddly and the plastic loses a bit with repeated tightening and loosening. Without extra brackets, I'd not be routinely running with two headlights on each bike. During the day, an empty bracket weighs very little.

So, my HL-EL530 that jiggles in the mount would NOT be helped by a new mount (it needs a shim), and I'll keep buying Planet Bike tail lights, even if my Superflash surgery proves unsuccessful. The more brackets I've got, the more I get easy lighting options. Lights that go on a bike easy get used. Something to keep in mind!

PS: Nobody noticed, but in the previous light post, the Planet Bike Superflash is mounted upside down! The PB rear light brackets work equally well in either direction. When mounted on my Tricross seatstay, the light could not be installed OTHER than upside down. Now, with it mounted on the rack stay, I have it mounted rightside up again.

Commute Tracker Comparison

At Least Tryparkingit Supports Its Site

I’ve kept a log of my bike commuting since May, 2008. Four years ago last weekend. It has come in handy for purposes of spotting trends and also in helping me keep up with bike maintenance. I keep it in an Excel format that was derived from the “tryparkingit.com” website that is maintained by the North Central Texas Council of Governments.

On a number of occasions in the past, I’ve noted that the site has some shortcomings, such as here. Other posters have been less generous. However, the site does work consistently – like ALWAYS – and it has saved every bit of data I’ve ever input into it. Right now, it is one of two commute log sites listed in my sidebar. I’d LOVE it if my loyal reader has others to suggest. You see, I’m going to go back to listing only a single site. I pick the one others love to berate. Follow on to see why.

Partly just to “try something different,” I began keeping a duplicate log of bike commuting on the “Cateye World Commute” site at worldcommute.com in January 2011. It had the advantage of being to easily accommodate daily changes in commute distance as well as other, non-commute trips. While it had a bunch of “carbon reduction” stuff that is pretty meaningless, so does the “tryparkingit” site. My initiation into dual recordkeeping was noted here.

Having used both sites nearly daily for well over a year, I’ve had enough time to make a recommendation to my loyal reader. Rather than a recommendation, I’ll instead say what I plan to do, and why.

In short, I plan to continue using the “tryparkingit” site and discontinue using the Cateye site. While the Cateye site has more flexibility and better site sophistication, it doesn’t do what I need a commute site to be able to do. As far as I can tell, it won’t tell me what I put into it beyond a couple of weeks’ worth. What’s more, despite repeated inquiries to find out if I simply misunderstood, the site failed to do what it promised – to respond to inquiries. Ever. It doesn’t have any support for the user that I can determine, while the NCTCOG site has EXCELLENT and prompt support. I have made three inquiries to that site, and each was answered within the same day. THAT is service that is pretty unusual on a community site.

Promises Made, Promises  Broken with Cateye

For comparison, I attach screen shots of recent communications with Cateye. I'm not sure this will help those of you who do not live or commute around North Texas, but in my book, “Promises Made, Promises Kept” counts a lot more than pretty graphics.

Like All My Previous Inquiries, this One Failed to Achieve any Response

SO, as I leave the Cateye “Worldcommute” site behind, are there recommendations for another to take its place as a contender to the wonderfully supported “tryparkingit?”

My D#$% French Fries

The Appeal of the Mavic Wintech

May Be Seen in its Sender/Quick Release

The French are renowned for their food. I don't think it was because of French Fries, which really have nothing at all to do with France, but the title WAS one of my favorite lines from "Breaking Away."

The French were once great in manufacturing bicycles and bicycle components. Mavic is still near the top when it comes to wheels and rims. My road bike has Mavic wheels and I'm looking for an affordable set of Ksyriums. I LOVE Mavic wheels. On the other hand, I don't think the French are real great at electronics, though Mavic tries real hard.

A case in point is their Wintech line of cycle computers. My Wintech is referred to by me as my "worthless French bike computer." I've got a low-end Cateye wireless computer on my commute bike, and it has never given me any trouble whatsoever. It has exactly one button for normal operation. The Wintech is a different story.

Here's why.

I purchased a Wintech several years ago. Actually, it was about five or six years ago. Wireless computers were not so common as they are nowadays. Wanting a clean installation, without having to zip tie a sensor to the fork, the Mavic Wintech computer appealed to me because its sensor is integrated into the quick release. Elegant solutions such as this appeal to the engineer in me. The computer was fairly high end for its day, including a cadence option, though I got mine for far less by virtue of it being "pre owned."

I installed it with no troubles and it even seemed to work right - most of the time. Occasionally, the sensor would get confused and I'd clip along at an indicated 0.0MPH, but it would then realize its error and indicate the speed again. The first sign that the French are not quite world class in electronics was the way that the clock would gain time over a period of weeks. Still, it isn't hard to subtract 15 minutes to the indicated time on a bike you ride every day. Even my Cateye has gained five minutes over the year I've had it.

The Wintech, however, had other tricks that have led to its current nickname of "worthless French bike computer." Last year, it started losing pairing between the sensor and the computer. Fortunately, I've kept the manual, so I didn't have too much trouble resetting things (it'd be tough without a manual since this is NOT intuitive). During the Hotter 'n Hell 100, it finally decided it didn't want me to go the distance, and I figured it needed a new battery. Well, it worked fine afterwards, for about a week. Fiddling with the sensor orientation would occasionally help, as did bending the little contact inside, but by this time, I was noticing a stark contrast between the Mavic and the Cateye. The Mavic was a high-maintenance French courtier, while the Cateye just worked - ALL the time.

I began to notice other things as I got to the point where I had the Wintech manual memorized. The manual is 102 pages long. Of course, only 12 of those pages are in English. The Cateye manual, on the other hand, is localized, and I don't happen upon the Finnish or Japanese version by accident.

Anyway, while I LOVE the idea of a wireless computer sensor integrated into the quick release, I wish someone good at electronics would do it. I imagine that such things could be sold as accessories to major wireless units. After my recent medical experiences, I've considered getting a new computer. Something with heart-rate and that I could use for who knows what. Interestingly, Mavic does have such a computer, but I think I recall what Scotty said on Star Trek - "Fool me once and shame on you. Fool me twice and shame on me!" With a Mavic heart rate monitor, I'd be worried about getting electorcuted.

Cateye and Garmin seem to be in the lead for such a high tech computer. I would, however, be reluctant to spend more money on a bike computer than I spent on the whole road bike, so I'll probably soldier on with "the worthless French bike computer" until tweaking no longer works. Now I bought a new sensor. Unfortunately, the Mavic manuals and website give no compatibility info, so we'll have to see if things work together.

Display of "the Worthless French Bike Computer"

PS: In an amusing bit of trivia, Mavic Wintech computer magnets do NOT work with Mavic wheels that use bladed spokes. They do offer a special magnet for those want to use their Mavic products together.

Accumulations

A week ago Friday marked my 400^th consecutive commute since the last time I drove to work - February 9, 2011. Over that period of time, accumulations have built up.

Mileage Accumulations
The obvious accumulation is the mileage and how those are distributed. Namely, I tend to simply keep riding a bike to work every morning because it is set up. That mileage switches to a different bike when the first one becomes inconvenient due to maintenance or other needs. This year, I rode one bike the first couple of months, and another the rest of the year.

Wear Accumulations                 

Trunk Bag Earlier This Year

 Wear is a commuter’s equivalent of rust – it never sleeps.  For example, I noted early this year that my bike trunk bag was starting to come apart. Well, the initial wear has become a lot more wear.

Trunk Bag in Early November. Another Has Been Procured. Cracked "Superflash" is at Bottom of Photo

For another example, I note that the “love affair” with Cateye equipment has lost some of its initial attraction. The “Cateye Commuter” has experienced added failures, such as the spoke magnet. The Cateye rear light also failed and I’m using a second one that I “borrowed” from my oldest daughter’s bike. The Cateye front lights also show wear, and I minimize my use of the HL-EL-530 so that I do not experience yet another bracket failure. In truth, I’m not sure that the Cateye lights are worse than their Planet Bike equivalents. My “Superflash,” for example, regularly experiences switch failures and the plastic “on/off” switch cover has a crack in it.


One Form of Broken Cateye Equipment

The wear is not limited only to lighting and bag items either. I’ve noticed that a chunk fell out of the shackle of my Kryptonite U Lock. It doesn’t affect the function, but the typical lock reviews don’t note how durable these things are in daily use over time. The worst thing the OnGuard locks have suffered is the Velcro poops out, the paint wears, and occasionally water freezes them shut in the winter.

Pattern Accumulations                                                                                            
Over time, I’ve also become aware how little many of us actually work. I have not called in sick once since the last time I drove to work, but over that time, I find that my log reveals I work only about 85% of week days. Vacations, holidays, and business trips accumulate the other 15% of days. The 15% “off days” were accumulated despite taking “half day” vacations in 2011 while continuing to bike commute.

Equipment Accumulations
Better than in the past, I understand the plethora of “lightly used” equipment that is available in places like eBay. Frankly, in my case, I’m looking for better combinations to support my trips. That means different bags, different clothing, different bike lubricants, and so on. Sometimes the new stuff works better and becomes part of the “daily drill.” Sometimes, new stuff winds up staying pretty new. Sometimes, the new stuff is an early purchase and will be put into service when the old stuff becomes unusable.

One of Three Panniers I Now Have Accumulated

 

Five Whys for Cateye

In a previous post, here, I noted a fix for a wiggly Cateye HL-EL530. That post was premature. As it turned out, sometimes a simple fix is not adequate.

Where I work, there's a level of affection for what is known as "Six Sigma," where people use what I (somewhat politically incorrectly) refer to as "an engineering approach" to solve tough problems. The name comes from the Motorola and then General Electric program whereby they wanted to ensure that light bulbs would fail less than three standard deviations from the mean. In English, that'd mean that if you bought a GE light bulb they hadn't bothered to test, it would light up for you 997000 times out of a million. Dilbert aside, I KNOW that six sigma works because I've used it to solve problems that have been around since before I got out of elementary school. I don't know that I care for all the "belt" mystical stuff, but there is substance beneath the BS, sure enough.

Anyway, part of "Six Sigma" is what is known as "THE FIVE WHYS." This is simply going down levels below the immediate problem you are having, to find out why that problem occurs and why THAT problem occurs and so on. It's sometimes hard to get below three whys, but even three is beyond what most people do. Even me.

THE FIRST WHY
My Cateye light wiggled - Why? It was loose in the bracket. Every Cateye bracket. That was the first why, and it was what prompted my post and the zip tie fix. Slap myself in the face! I'd forgotten to keep digging to deeper whys.

The SECOND WHY - Why was my Cateye light wiggling in every bracket? Because something had changed in the light. I didn't examine even down to the second why.

The THIRD WHY - Why did something change in the light? Because of the photo below.

Which brings up the FOURTH Why. Why did the front of the light bracket break? Because something acted to pull the light upwards at the front or push it down at the back. I'm not sure what that might be other than the on/off switch is at the top rear of the light. I've never smacked the thing intentionally, however. It's just gotten well used over the year I've had it. What's more, this pretty definitely looks a lot worse than it did even a couple of weeks ago. SOMETHING is chewing my light bracket up in the opposite direction of what might intuitively be expected.

We shall SEE what the Fifth Why reveals. Right now that light is at my LBS. Perhaps I will be a happy camper. Rain is in the forecast for Monday, so missing my light is not a big deal yet. Even should this drag until Tuesday, I have my cruddy Cateye 520 as a backup.

Batteries Are Not Simple Anymore

Poorly Designed Cateye Light Breaks if You Try to Use Rechargeable Batteries!

Many LED bicycle lights, such as the Cateye HL-EL520 pictured above, use "AA" size batteries. It is also the size that my Fujifilm camera takes. Over time, I've come to discover that AA batteries come in different sizes and power outputs. SOME will make your camera or bike light perform less well than others, and what's good for one may not be best for the other. As I discovered, SOME will physically break your bike light. Here's the rundown.

Alkaline Batteries - These are the garden variety battery that most devices are designed around. They work fine, but are not rechargeable and don't last long in my camera. It'd also be nice to not have to stock up on batteries for a bright headlight. That started me on a search for better. Highly relevant to this story is that Duracell AA Alkaline batteries, when fresh, are rated at 1.5 V and have about 2500 mAh capacity. As you can see from the Duracell service life graph, when voltage gets down much below 1.2 V, the batteries are on their last legs.

 

Alkaline Battery Next to NiMH Rechargeable

Duracell Voltage Drop Over Time - FROM Duracell Site

 

NiMH Batteries - The current standard for rechargeable AA lights are NiMH. These are pretty much a direct substitute for alkalines in many applications. HOWEVER, a AA NiMH does not have the same nominal voltage as an alkaline battery. They start at 1.2 V and drop from there. What this means is that if you have a camera that takes AA batteries, it won't take very many pictures or flashes before it poops out. There's ANOTHER problem with NiMH batteries. While it is difficult to see in the photo above, NiMH batteries are a little bigger than their alkaline cousins. In the case of my Cateye light, I put a set of NiMH batteries in and it broke. Yup, that light lasted all of two minutes. Using a micrometer, the NiMH batteries scope out at 0.565 inches compared to 0.550 inches for the alkalines. Luckily, my bike shop was still open and they exchanged it. The clerk broke it worse so he simply shook his head. Now I ONLY use alkaline batteries in that light. Their bigger light, the 530, CAN accept NiMH batteries and the LED stays pretty bright for many hours. Then I recharge.

 

NiZn Rechargeable is Superior for Camera Usage and Not Bad for Bike Lights

 

NiZn Batteries - NiZn are a fairly new type of rechargeable. While they don't fit into my Cateye much better than the NiMH, (they are about 0.558 inches diameter) they drop right into my camera. What's more, while the NiMH start out at 1.2 V, the NiZn start out at 1.7 V. What this means is that they last in my camera much better than either NiMH or disposable alkalines. They also work well in bike lights that can accept them. They're a bit "hotter" than an alkaline, but not by much.

 

Other Rechargeables - There are two other main types of rechargeable batteries that you might want to use in your bike light, and one that you DO NOT. The first of these are NiCd batteries. They were what people used before NiMH came along. They don't last as long, have toxic cadmium, and have memory effect problems. NiCds are on the way out. The second are rechargeable alkaline batteries. I don't have any experience with them, but looking at Wikipedia, they don't look like they'd work well as camera or as bike light batteries. One that you do NOT want to use is the lithium rechargeable battery. The problem with them is they put out 3.6 V. That'd fry your camera, and might also fry a bike light.

 

Last Words - In summary, I'm quite happy with my NiZn batteries in my Fujifilm camera. I use the NiMH batteries in my Cateye HL-EL530, where they make a snug, but acceptable fit and last quite well. I AVOID using anything but old-fashioned alkalines in the HL-EL520 since NiMH will break it and the NiZn are tight enough that I'm reluctant to try. One wonders why Cateye did not provide even a smidge of clearance on that light. As a back-up light, it works OK. Alkalines will last for years when you rarely use them. One more thing. Disposable lithium batteries are now available. According to Wikipedia, it looks like they will probably last about 50% longer than disposable alkalines, but are a LOT more expensive.

Cateye Commuter - Flawed Good Idea

Speedy Steve - Note the MXS! Either That or Cateye Lies

I've now had my Cateye Commuter for quite some time now and it's time to do a "once you've gotten used to it" report. Originally, I did a fairly extensive report on it here.

DISLIKED STUFF
Pretty much all the stuff I didn't like then, I STILL don't like. What's more, despite many added attempts and careful reading of the manual, I never WAS able to set the date on the computer. Fortunately, the date doesn't do anything useful and is very difficult to access in any event. I can access the total mileage, but it is about a ten minute exercise that involves removing the computer from the bike and fiddling while referencing the manual. Newly discovered is that the computer, in addition to its other foibles, occasionally picks up interference, possibly from traffic signal induction sensors of all things. As may be seen above, at the place I noticed the computer's transgression, it recorded a maximum speed of 62.5mph, which is quite a feat for a cyclist stopped at a traffic light. I suggest that if you have a bike with a wheel generator and are considering this unit, that you get it from a place you are sure will take it back if the generator causes peculiar computer behavior. One other feature I didn't comment on earlier is that, unlike many OTHER Cateye computers, this one doesn't wake up by itself when you start out again. You have to punch it a little and then, punch it again if you want to reset it.Finally, if you're wearing polarized sunglasses, the display can look a bit overdone unless you peer below the lenses.

LIKED STUFF
Other than its foibles and the nonexistent backlight, this computer has worked completely reliably. It is also amusing to see just how high I can get the temperature reading to go when riding over dark pavement in the sun. My record so far is 119F. Finally, the big numbers are nice, and easy to read. All in all, it is a nice computer and would really be a good deal if it cost about $25. Unfortunately, it is more than double that price, so I recommend you consider waiting until you can get something like the “Cateye Vectra Wireless” on sale - for about $25. It is what I run on the road bike and I got a second one (for $25) at the Hotter 'N Hell 100 last fall.


STUFF I NO LONGER CARE ABOUT
When I finished up my v2 commute, I never got around to resetting the commute distance. Since the new commute is only seven miles and the distance can only be set in full miles, it would give me as much as a 20% error in ETA. As it is, I know it takes me 35 minutes to ride to work if I'm not pushing hard and that it takes me an hour to return home, counting coffee dawdling time. So now, this computer usually runs so that I see the current speed and total distance since reset. Mostly, my total bike mileage is determined from my commute logs, since the computer makes it a PIA to get that number off it more than once or twice a year. Besides, none of my liberal friends were ever willing to buy carbon offsets off me anyway...

Buddy Back to Work

Well, I'm done riding the road bike to work for the year. During the HHH, it showed signs of the miles I've been putting on it. The computer battery pooped out, showing I only went 68.9 miles. It's past due to check the chain wear, and the rear derailleur pulleys picked up a horrible squeaking noise lately, which goes away whenever I move the shifter a bit. Anyway, it's time for a little TLC for the road bike. That means it's time for Buddy to start earning its keep again - I only rode the Tricross three times since June 8th - when the road bike had a flat.

I have made a few changes to Buddy for the shortening days. Mainly, I added a water bottle holder and a "be seen " blinky headlight in addition to the "see" headlight. Conveniently enough, all Cateye "Opticube" headlights use a common mount so I have the option of using two "see" lights as well. I also discovered that I could mount the Planet Bike Superflash on my seatstay if I left off the rubber "nonslip" piece. I'll use it in flash mode along with my Cateye TL-LD500-R primary rear light, which I'll run in steady mode. I like the Cateye better than the PB because it incorporates a full CPSC reflector (not as good as an SAE reflector - see details here or here), as well as the light. As a result, even if it should fail, I'll still have good visibility to any motorist coming from the rear with headlights on.

The first "almost Fall" ride on Buddy brought back just how comfy the Tricross is for fast, long distance commuting. The 28c Conti tires are a nice balance and, while it isn't quite as fast as the road bike, it FEELS smooth, fast, and solid. A nice combo on a commuter.

Record Breaker?

It was pretty warm this morning. I've gotten pretty well acclimated this summer, so it didn't bother me too much. After all, low 80's isn't anything to get stressed out about in North Texas. This afternoon, it seemed a little hotter than normal. In fact, it was warm enough that I took a shot of the Cateye indicated temperature of 120F. I take those Cateye numbers with a grain of salt, knowing that some sun on the computer and a dark road can get it up above 110F with no trouble. Still, 120F seemed worthy of lugging out the camera and recording things. In reality, it fluctuated between 119F and 120F. I picked the higher number for the photo.

Halfway home, I decided I'd forgo the usual detour and stop for coffee and simply get home via the shortest available route. No biggie. Hot coffee on a hot afternoon might be nice, but it is hardly mandatory. When I got home, I noticed that "Weather Underground" claimed a high of 109F along my route. THAT got my attention because the hottest temperature I've experienced in Texas so far since 2003 was 109F. The "official" DFW high temperature was 105F compared to a record of 107F set back in 1956. The "official" DFW low was 83F compared to a previous record of 82F in 1998.

We'll see if today was a record breaker. It certainly felt warm enough for me, though hardly intolerable. I'm thinking I might want to look into a clamp-on water bottle holder for my wife's bike to maximize bike choices in this sort of weather.

Still, the days are getting shorter, so we better enjoy this while we can. I think this is gonna be a hot summer. Maybe not 1980, but right up there. So far, in July, our high was 100F or higher every day except for Canada Day. That means we'll not tie the all-time record for monthly days at 100 or higher. That record stands at 31 - set in 1980. Luckily for me, I didn't even imagine going to Texas THAT year...

That Cateye Really Wants Me to Feel Like I'm Tough!

UPDATE - From the NWS

000
SXUS74 KFWD 090645
RERDFW


RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
0145 AM CDT SAT JUL 9 2011
...RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE SET AT DALLAS FORT WORTH...
A RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 83 DEGREES WAS SET AT DALLAS FORT WORTH FOR JULY 8 2011. THE OLD RECORD WAS 82 DEGREES SET IN BOTH 1998 AND 1996.

Speedy Day

Recently, I've been looking a lot closer at my Cateye cycling computer. It started mostly because I suspected it exaggerated the temperature on hot days. As would be natural, this happens more when the computer is in the sun, but appears to happen even in the shade. Still, I didn't buy it to tell me the precise temperature and barometric pressure. I got it when I was riding 20 miles to work and it gave me a pretty good arrival time estimate.

Yesterday, however, the computer decided that flattery was in order. You see, it told me I was riding at 62.5MPH. If true, that'd be an all time record for me on flat terrain. It was even better, because there was a bit of a side wind at the time.

There was only one LITTLE problem. At the time, I was stopped at a traffic light. I really wish I'd gotten a photo because it settled down by the next time I stopped. I guess this is the speed record that got away.

My alternate title for this post: "Fried Cateye Brains."

First Flight of the P7



Maserati, Seen in the Doctor Parking Next to the Entrance to Baylor Grapevine Medical Center on Monday. Doctor Visit 3 of 3 for the Day
Don't Those Doctors Understand? - "Alfa Romeo, es mas macho."



Veggies Need Not be Starchy!

I’ve used Cateye headlights a lot, but it is time to move on. I’ll keep them for occasional use in ways that their shortcomings do not cause problems. To replace them, I have acquired a “2W Planet Bike Blaze” and a P7-C. The P7 actually came on Monday, though I couldn't have used it, instead spending the day discovering how my medical adventures have affected local doctors, and allowing my local restaurant to prove that dinner side dishes need not be starchy. Anyway, this morning I used the P7 and it is a great light as long as one is prepared to live with its idiosyncrasies. While I haven't done too much fact checking, I've heard that the P7 uses the brightest available single LED to make its light. It certainly IS bright whether that claim is true or not.



Bike With Lights Turned Off

Apertome reported on the light and on a battery recall involving it here, and here. I must admit that the battery/light interface is certainly rather strange. Unlike any light I’ve ever seen, the on/off button is lit when the battery is hooked up – and stays lit. The situation is compounded by instructions that are worse than worthless.

The light itself, however, is brilliant, albeit with a fairly wide beam. No matter – it’s got so much light that it is brighter than any of my other lights, including the fatally flawed Cateye HL530 with fresh batteries. On the high setting, the maker claims 3 hours of light. On my new commute, that’d be about a recharge once a week. On the v2 commute, it’d be a recharge every other day. The light is also very solidly built and doesn’t depend on an unreinforced plastic mounting bracket the way the Cateyes do.



P7 in "High" Mode. Note that Street Color Sets the Brightness on Each of These Three Photos



In addition to the “high” mode, the P7 also has a “low” setting and a “flash” setting. I don’t think I’ll use the "flash," instead I'll ride with high when there's no oncoming traffic and drop it down a notch when all I need is to be seen.

So far, the P7 does what it needs to do – light up the way forward.

Should you consider a P7? Well, it definitely isn’t a light for everyone. For starters, it probably isn’t available in your local bike shop, or even on Amazon ("unavailable"). I got mine off eBay and Apertome got his online. For a second reason, as noted by Apertome, the batteries and battery/light interface is suspect. This might or might not get better in the future. It also throws a broader beam than is optimal for a headlight - I worry about blinding oncoming motorists, which is why I'll operate it as I would an automotive high/low beam combo. ON THE OTHER HAND, the light is half the price of any equivalent lighting power and gives you the lighting of a generator light without the weight, drag, cost, and complexity. Simply charge this puppy up – and GO. Perhaps, tomorrow, I'll find out how it does in the rain...

P7 in "Low" Mode is About the Same as the Planet Bike 2W Blaze on "High"

Summer Around the Corner

In the lower right-hand corner of my Cateye computer, it displays what the unit thinks the temperature is. At the time this shot was taken, the actual temperature was 95F. Either way, it is a warning that summer will be here before we know it! Since it is still May, it may be a long, HOT one...

Cateye Thought it Was Over 100F. I Think it Was Overeager

A New Meaning for "Burning Up the Night"

My P7 light has always been a bit suspect, though it really DOES burn through the darkness. Apertome reported that an almost identical "SSC" light was getting recalled. Well, today, I saw the recall notice. It may be found here. It's a joint press release from CPSC and Health Canada. Interestingly enough, the recall was quite specific, considering that basically the same product has been sold under many different names.

Also, interestingly, when I went out to look over my own box and instructions carefully, I didn't find ANY of the information contained in the recall, though my battery looks like a "Series I." I guess it didn't occur to CPSC that the light might be sold by other outfits than the one that initiated the voluntary recall. They ask if people have had OTHER problems with lights from the indicated supplier, but not if people have the same light from other suppliers. Our government at work...

Regardless, my light continues to work well and I've never noticed the batteries even getting hot, much less burning up the night. Considering that it seems to have been better designed than at least two different Cateye headlights, and it hasn't even broken ONCE (unlike Cateye) I think I'll continue to use it, since I have no idea where I'd send it back to.

P7 Light at Left. VW Jetta High Beams at Right.



P7 Light Looking All Innocent





P7 Light in the Morning



Blowing Air




Venus, the Symbol of Friday, or, in "French Canada-Speak," Vendredi. From Wikipedia

 Over the Holidays, I went and fixed all the family bikes. While bikes may have some of the same DNA as old English cars, they’re a lot easier to fix. Unlike old English cars, bikes have a greater propensity to lose air from their tires unexpectedly in a rapid fashion. This has caused a reassessment and an actual RESOLUTION to modify my bike commute routine for 2011. It is ironic that, only yesterday, I sorta sneered at the whole practice of New Years Resolution making.


Sleeping, From Wikipedia

My past commute routine has been to top off the air in my bike tires Sunday night or Monday morning. Typically, each tire will require about four strokes of the floor pump to reach full pressure. On occasion, something will go wrong, like the tire will be flat when I go to pump it or it will clearly have lost an abnormal amount of air. Of such events are part of why the “ABC Quick Check” is a recommended routine action. Well, last night, to get a jump on the New Year, I pumped up the tires on my commute bike a little early; Sunday night. As I put the pump head on the front tire valve, came a “psssss” sound that clearly indicated a problem. Since it was SUNDAY NIGHT and not MONDAY MORNING, there was no rush or panic. I simply took off Frankenbike’s recently repaired front tire and put it on Seth. No need to even disturb my spare tube. No fuss, no muss. Oddly, this caused me to double check the Planet Bike backup light and, sure enough, its batteries had died. Had I forgotten to recharge the P7 Light’s batteries, I could have been lightless (well, I would have been reduced to using a Cateye light, anyway). Since I overslept this morning, the temptation to drive would have loomed. Even with the v3 commute, it’s still quicker in raw time to drive than to ride, because I can dispense with having to listen to the weather report before departure.

This serendipitous failure caused me to resolve to revise my commute routine. Henceforth, I resolve to top off the air in my tires and recharge the P7 Light’s battery at the end of the week's commute (FRIDAY) rather than waiting until Monday morning. This routine change has the advantage that if “unroutine” occurs, I do not have to scurry around to fix it quickly for the Monday morning commute. I can even pick up a replacement item at the bike store if need be, which Sunday night checkout does not support.

PS: In retrospect, since Frankenbike is all fixed, I could have taken Frankenbike today, but that would have involved a bit of changing around of lights. Those tool-free brackets, despite what the manufacturers would like us to believe, are NOT trouble-free. It is also odd that, despite sleeping an extra 40 minutes, I actually arrived at work at the same time as usual without skipping things like the morning shower and shave...

Frankenbike, Innocently Resting, Showing Why Kickstands are Often Extraneous

Two Back Lights

Nowadays I run Buddy with two rear lights and a red reflector. I've purchased a better amber reflector, but haven't put it on yet. This morning, I was reminded of the second reason WHY I run with two rear lights (my MAIN reason is so that I show both a steady and a blinking light), and of why I often carry another in my cycling jacket.

Simply put, inexpensive rear lights are not the most reliable things put onto this earth. Over at BikeSkirt, here, they wrote an open letter to Planet Bike about unreliable lights. Yes, I commented. Among other things, I suggested that my Planet Bike Superflash was reliable. I stand corrected.

Over the last couple of weeks, the PB Superflash has developed an irritating and potentially dangerous habit of turning itself off. A while back, I bought another PB rear light (not a Superflash) that I now carry in my cycling jacket. This morning, I took the time to periodically stop to see what the persnickity PBSF was up to. Well, it went from "flash" mode, to "steady," and then to "off." Apparently, the mode/off switch has become very sensitive to fairly minor bumps. After I confirmed this behavior, it traded places with the other PB light and one of its batteries became a donor for my radio when ITS battery pooped out further into the ride.

I know that a number of readers of this blog use Superflash lights. Mine is no longer trustworthy. The Cateye at the TOP of the picture, on the other hand, is still working very well. In any event, it is fully reflective, so it has useful properties even if it should happen to die without me noticing it.

One last point on this. Nowadays, I have the PB light mounted on the rack stay. The light is obscured from my easy view by the trunk. The old configuration in the photo was much easier to check. Taillights are innocuous - they work better and longer (usually) than headlights, but you may not be able to easily tell IF they are working. At least if a headlight goes out you know it RIGHT AWAY.

PS: You might wonder what's the difficulty with sticking on an amber reflector? Like a lot of things, they require a certain amount of engineering to work on a bike safely and cleanly. I'll figure out how to put the reflector on as soon as I'm done re-engineering my Planet Bike fenders. Solutions have been found for both fenders. Completely tool free and no zip ties required.

Revolution

Since early in my v1 commute, I have logged my bike commutes using “Tryparkingit.com.” This is a site maintained by the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) and they use it to help their PR about how diligent we all are down here on making the air clean.

Well, hopefully, nobody’s looking at their numbers too closely. As it turns out, the usage of their log is pretty poor. While they don’t normally report details, they DID proudly trumpet them for the 2008 and 2009 “National Bike to Work Day.” The results, IMO, speak for themselves, and they might explain why they don't summarize any results for the 2010 Bike to Work Day.  

2008 "Bike to Work Day" PR



2009 "Bike to Work Day" PR


As you may see, in a metropolitan area of well over six million people, yours truly, all by himself, represented 5% of the total bicycle commute miles logged. However, since only about 1000 people use the site, this semi-official site only attracts about 0.015% of the metropolitan population to use it and I would be loathe to accept any conclusions reached from such data. It also explains why NCTCOG has not put a lot of effort into making the site really very easy to use. I’m sure that with a calculator, my devoted reader could make all sorts of ludicrous conclusions from the results. Since you really can't enter "bicycle" as your commute mode, but only "bicycle/blade skate," it is POSSIBLE that everyone other than me that logged their miles those days in question were unrepentant blade skating commuters.

So, why do I use “tryparkingit?” Well, my employer is a sponsor of the clean air efforts and it seems sensible to support those efforts. Since I keep a continuing log based on the site in Excel, it also represents a continuing commute history that is very easy to maintain and that I can use to reconstruct my spreadsheet if it goes "blooey." BTW, the same spreadsheet also maintained "the Honk Project" data while that was ongoing.

Commute Log, Based on Data Originating from "Tryparkingit" - The Spreadsheet Has Grown Well Beyond its Origins





Commie Monitor Refers to "Commute"
Rather than Lenin's Fellow Travellers



Still, 2011 is a NEW YEAR. It seems like a good time to look at other alternatives to record the daily commute. Revolution is in the air, so to speak. One of those alternatives used to be the DORBA “Commie Monitor” which is no longer generally available. Which also inspired the title of this post. I’ll try a sampling of other log sites. One I just signed up for is the Cateye-sponsored worldcommute.com log. Another that looks less friendly is bikecommutechallenge.com. I'm sure there are many others.