[Listening to: Bright Lights - Richard Ashcroft - Human Conditions]
Back in February 2012, I backed my first (and so far, only) Kickstarter project, and pledged $199 to the
Magnic Light idea. As is says on the site, the first compact contactless bicycle dynamo. Maximal light with minimal
effort. No friction, no batteries, no cables. Light & Cool! What's not to like about that I thought? I'd be able to commute without ever having to worry if my batteries for my lights were charged.
Of course, within a month I'd crashed and broken my femur, and then my contract wasn't renewed. So no cycling for 6-months whilst I ewas on crutches, and then, no work, so no commuting...
However, last month a small package arrived with my complete Magnic Light system consisting of two front light and a back light, with the adapters requested for Cantilever brakes so I can fit them to my Cross bike.
So, commuting or not, I had to fit them to see whether they worked.
Set up, following the very clear instructions provided, was simple enough, but it did take time to adjust the lights to an optimum position. On the rear I had to fit some spacers in order to allow the light bracket to clear the brake pads, but it was a simple enough fix.
Having fiddled around for half an hour, a quick spin of the back wheel with my hand showed a very bright red light, and this was outdoors on a sunny day in Rome. A few days of riding around with them on my bike shows that they work perfectly. You can see whilst riding even in daylight that they are producing light, as the light housing gives off light from the top and side. The magnetic pull on the rims is noticeable, but not enough to worry about in my opinion.
So, congratulatons to Dirk Strothmann on having the idea, getting the required funding, taking the time to write the numerous (32+) update emails to keep all the backers happy over the course of the project, and for delivering what I can only describe as a great product. I'm sure it has a very bright future (pun intended of course).
For anyone interested in getting some, the website is
Magniclight.com
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