Here is the bike I use to ride to and from work. My ride is about 13-15 kms depending on which way I go. The bike is a 27 speed hybrid with a few additions to make it comfortable and functional for riding at night. I have to climb over 150 metres in the last couple of kms leading to my house on the way home (quick start on the way to work!), so the extra gears make the going easier. It has seat post and fork suspension, aero bars, a pannier rack, wireless computer and plenty of lights. There are three red flashers at the back (one on the back of the seat pouch and one on each side), two yellow flashers angled out on the aero bars and two 10W VistaLite nightstick HOT lights powered by a pair of NiMH batteries that run beside the water bottle cage. I added some reflective tape to those batteries and a few spots around the rims.
My bike computer/heart rate monitor is interesting, with all kinds of information including altitude and temperature. I set it to read % of max heart rate. Here the heart rate and cadence are 0 because I am not wearing the HR transmitter and the pedals are not rotating. My house is at an altitude of about 210 metres and where I work is at about 20 metres. The speed and cadence are both wireless, with the speed transmitter on the front forks on the right side to detect front wheel movement and the cadence transmitter on the lower tube to pick up the movement of the left pedal.
I have added a light to my helmet so I can see the bike computer and gear markers in the dark. I added my own power supply consisting of 4 AAA batteries in a pack inside a bike tube that is strapped to the back webbing of the helmet with velcro. The cable runs down the side of the helmet and is held in place with velcro. The Black Diamond LED light is attached under the visor with velcro and its own strap that threads up through the helmet.
To connect the cable to the light, I used a wooden spacer in place of the battery and held the terminals in place with thumb tacks. I cut a hole in the side of the cover for the cable to pass through.
The front lights:
In the dark, I get a view of the computer something like this with my helmet light. This shot was 1/4 sec f3.5 in my garage where it was too dark to be able to read the computer display without a light. The light does a good job and the computer visibility in the dark is actually a bit better than the photo indicates.
The 'dash':
Another view, this time with my favourite model Molly:
Cheers from down under, John
)
. -Norm
