New DLG Owners Manual
We put a lot of thought into the new manual, so that you wouldn’t have to. The pen and ink drawings include only the information you need to quickly and securely install the Down Low Glow on your bike. If you would like a copy of the Owner’s Manual, please email us and we can email it back to you. We will also try to get it up on this sight for download soon.
Illustrator Nathan Welch first met the Rock the Bike crew while visiting the bay in 2006. Now rolling with the DLG in D.C., he teaches drawing, and loves to ride his bike and his Vespa.
GSR Technology -Gimme Some Room!
GSR (Gimme Some Room) Technology. Funny name, but it really works. GSR technology refers to the erie bands of light jetting out to the sides of your bicycle, extending well into a full lane of traffic even under street lights. This helps you show drivers visually what part of the road is yours, and what part of the road is theirs. No other safety light communicates a boundary like the Down Low Glow.
We can obviously make no guarantees as to the behavior of drivers, but it’s been our experience that they really respond favorably to the Down Low Glow. They simply give more room, more often, when passing from the rear. The effect is tremendous when the DLG is paired with a rear blinky. Basically, the light from the blinky hits the driver from far away, maybe a quarter mile, with its focused, directional LEDs. If you’ve got a decent blinky, then by this point the driver is probably already aware that there’s a bike ahead. Then, as soon as they get within a few hundred feet of your bike, an unusual stripe of bright colored light appears. It catches their attention. And it’s at this point that most drivers, in our experience, slow down and yield more space.
Check out these testimonials on the subject:
“Let’s talk about the GSR Technology…I was not crowded once by a vehicle on Market St. yesterday. Not once! Now it could be a very strange coincidence . But not likely, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that on Market during commute time in my lifetime. I am very happy and can’t wait to go ride some more at night.” — Josh from San Francisco.
“At night on dark country roads, cars give me a wider berth than they do in daylight –they can see me, but they don’t know what I am, so they play it very safe. Plus, my first night out, a neighbor’s kid followed me into my yard at the end of the ride because he just had to know where I got them. ”
— Ian from Upstate NY.
“I never imagined cars on narrow Tokyo roads would give me so much room.”
— Byron from Tokyo
GSR Technology goes hand in hand with the amazing side visibility the Down Low Glow provides. Side Visibility is what helps you be seen sooner in rare, close-quarters emergency situations, typically happening at or near intersections, when an extra quarter-second of a driver’s attention really counts. GSR Technology is what covers you in non-emergency situations. These are the situations where, if you normally use blinkies, you probably would have been plenty safe without the Down Low Glow. But just because these situations don’t threaten your life doesn’t mean they can’t be improved. Ask yourself, if there were a bike light that based on anecdotal evidence alone, is likely to increase the average distance cars give me at night, wouldn’t I want to at least try it? Getting passed from the rear by a car is probably, statistically speaking, your number one fear. That is, the majority of bike riders fear getting hit from behind the most of out all road situations. So why not make that experience a little less nervewracking. The Down Low Glow appears, from our experience and that of the customers quoted in our testimonials, to grab the attention of drivers in a new way, a way that leads them to yield more of the lane, and hopefully the complete lane, to you.
These moments, these non-life-threatening moments, including getting passed from the rear, probably happen dozens of times to you in a single night ride. As so, you’d probably notice even a modest improvement in your coolness, calmness, and collectedness as these moments occur. And GSR Technology will make a big difference in you feeling that way. Enjoy the relaxed ride you’ll get from GSR Technology, one of the unique benefits of the Down Low Glow.
Down Low Glow power management enhancements yield 25% longer battery life Dual Tube systems
If you’re like many Rock the Bike readers and community members, you crave the Side Visibility the Down Low Glow provides, but you already have a handful of devices you need to remember to charge up regularly — your cell phone, digital camera, and MP3 player, to name a few. The longer these devices last between charges, the more the benefits of using them outweigh the hassle of having to remember to recharge them. And with 25% longer battery life, the Down Low Glow just took a big step in the right direction.
By working closely with our suppliers of rechargeable batteries and CFL lamps, we’ve increased the capacity of our batteries without increasing their size or weight, and reduced the power consumption of our light tubes without decreasing their brightness.
Here are the numbers from recent testing with a fully charged, standard DLG battery.
Optimize the Moment of Recognition
The Moment of Recognition (MOR) is the moment when two bicyclists, heading the opposite direction, have a clear view of each other and either wave, nod, ring a bell, recognize each other as friends, or simply pass each other. MOR often takes place at a 45 degree angle. This is also the angle when your Down Low Glow lights are at their brightest, which means that people passing you will see you and your bike in its most eye-catching state. It’s a little thing but it makes daily life as a cyclist more fun. People who know you are more likely to shout your name and pass you with a smile. People who don’t know you will appreciate that you’re out there making a positive statement about bikes.
Bring the Beat, Bring the Light. Rock the Bike.
Justin Ancheta
Website Link: www.justinancheta.com
Hailing from San Francisco, California, Justin Ancheta’s ’eclectic style of reggae flavored indie-rock, funk and jazz has created a buzz throughout Northern California. With a sound that appeals to fans of all ages, he has opened for the Wailer’s, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Charles Neville, and Ricky Skaggs, to just name some.
Justin Ancheta’s style combines such diverse influences as Thom York from Radiohead, Michael Franti and Spearhead, and Nick Drake. Ancheta’s music is not afraid to stretch a toe, and even a thigh, over the boundaries. The songs are down-to-earth and moving: the type of songs you catch yourself singing long after the concert is over.
Ancheta has crafted some of his current fan favorites such as “Lost Fate”, and “Appreciation” from past albums ‘chamber’ and ‘Make My Day’. His first solo LP in 2007 helped bring Justin Ancheta’s signature sound to the masses.
Ancheta has fronted the acclaimed band of Northern California, “Sinclair” and later “Pills & Jackets.” He has toured heavily around the West Coast. He has been nominated three times for the Sacramento Area Music Award after becoming the darling of Sacramento’s premier nightclub scene at Harlow’s and Marilyn’s. He also won the Sacramento State University Battle of the Bands.
The band has sold over 12,000 copies since moving to San Francisco and just released their first international acoustic debut album ‘Evolution” in early 2009.
Above: Justin and Cello Joe performing in Girona on the 2010 Pleasant Revolution Tour
Ancheta has been featured at numerous Rock The Bike events as well as the San Francisco BMF Live-On-Bike stage. He is an adamant touring bike musician who as joined Shake Your Peace for a Utah Music Bike Tour as well as The Pleasant Revolution European Music Bike Tour through France & Spain. He has helped customize two bikes, the Blue Whale, and El Arbol, and is currently working on his Yuba Mundo 500 customization for touring to schools and events nationwide for education and music sharing. For Booking such an event, please contact: justinancheta7@gmail.com
Check out the next Rock The Bike event when Justin Ancheta is there and you will see him in action, along with the possibility of a cameo with Fossil Fool, Shake Your Peace, or one of the many other bands Ancheta puts his skills into.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q24sR5eqn9g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yugngHAZPXI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wnEKKl8ycY
Your Rock The Bike
Bike Culture Music:
One photo and two videos from now, you’ll understand how Side Visibility and the Down Low Glow protect you on night rides
Above, Rock The Bike’s piece on the benefits of Side Visibility.
Above, a YouTube video by Livewombat, an enthusiastic customer, shows how bright the DLG is when viewed from the side.
Front and rear safety lights (blinkies) protect you well in many riding situations. But blinkies are weakest when viewed from the side. Unfortunately, side visibility is the most common cause of nighttime bicycle-car collisions. Every time you approach a turn or an intersection, your side visibility is key to drivers seeing you.
Bike commuting, early morning training, and sunset rides should be inspiring, relaxing, fun and invigorating. And they can be, when you take the right safety measures. To feel relaxed and confident at those intersections, you need to know that drivers from all angles, especially the sides, can see you as early as possible.
That’s when the Down Low Glow really protects you. Due to its unique tubular design, high output mini-fluorescent lamps, and integrated chrome reflector, it’s even brighter from the sides than it is from the front. It hits the angles like no other light. And cyclists like you regularly email us to say how much safer they feel. Here’s just one sample email:
“I’ve become familiar with white-knuckling it down Culver Road [in Rochester, New York] at night as I pass the busy expressway intersections, then two lanes become one, then construction zones and parked cars are added to the mix. Tonight, I felt worry-free. It’s as if someone was laying out a green carpet for me as I traveled down the road.” — Adam Durand, [full review.] [more testimonials]
Most cyclists don’t realize how important side visibility is to their safety at night. It turns out that the majority of nighttime bicycle car collisions, nearly 70%, are related to side visibility. And the Down Low Glow is a better source of side visibility than any other bike light on the market, making it a smart choice for your visibility. Pair it with front and rear blinkies for the ultimate safety package. You can wait safely for your spot in traffic, then make your turn without rushing, confident that drivers will see you from all directions.
Side visibility demonstration of the Down Low Glow bike lights
Above, a 3D model of an intersection shows different angles from which cars need to see you. See more examples, including some from the New York Times.
“My wife got a chance to use it on her way home from work and she absolutely loves it. She felt like she finally got some respect on the road, even having one car come to a complete stop when it saw her.
It seems to have inspired her back on her bike again, especially for night riding!!!” — Si from Alabama.
That’s serious safety.
Now that you’ve read about how the DLG prevents many nighttime collisions, you’ll want to see how it helps you speak up for your space on the road to drivers approaching from the rear.
Six Great Down Low Glow colors to choose from
No problem matching the DLG to your bike. We have six awesome, superbright DLG colors to choose from. But don’t just pick the one that’s closest in hue to your two wheeled thing. Each color has its own mood, its own feeling. They’ll all keep you safe, but each color sends out a different energy.
We’ll try to run down the colors to help you choose.
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Ice Blue: Our most popular color. Very cool, confident, kind of playful. Stealthy. A bit intimidating. |
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Envy Green: Think space aliens landing in UFOs in 1950’s B Movies. The mothership has landed. Some say this is our brightest DLG color, and it certainly pops out against the asphalt jungle. As the name implies, it inspires envy on night rides. |
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Plush Red: Intimate, suave, bold. Think crushed velvet ropes. Plush definitely helps you work it on a bike date. Also extremely eye catching. |
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Fossilized Amber: A rosy tinge and a lot of orange go into our Fossilized Amber. If you’re into sunsets and sunrises, you’ll love this color. Not only is it beautiful, it’s also street legal. Some states have laws prohibiting certain colors on the side of a vehicle, but amber is always allowed. In practical, daily use, police officers do not bother Down Low Glow customers, because they respect bicyclists who take safety seriously. But if you’re the type of cyclist who likes to stick to the letter of the law, you’ll appreciate our Fossilized Amber. And from a safety standpoint, it’s even a hair brighter than our plush red because of its light colored filter.
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Hot Pants Pink: A superbright color for the pink fanatics out there. Work it girl! |
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Royale Purple: Some people are purple people. And for them, everything must be purple, including their bike lights. Note, this color is a subtle step down in brightness from other DLG colors, because purple is a darker hue than blue and green. So if safety is your primary goal, consider picking another color, or compliment your DLG system with some blinkies. |
Rock The Bike Clothing
Represent.
If not otherwise noted, these shirts are printed in San Francisco on American Apparel organic cotton blanks.
Every Xtracycle customer gets a quick and dirty body position analysis
When you start carrying heavy loads on your bicycle, things like seat height, seat angle, and handlebar height make more of an impact on your comfort, enjoyment, and power.
After 12 years building up bikes, reading guidebooks, and comparing notes with professional bicycle fit experts like Curtis Cramblett, we’ve got the basics down. We are not physical therapists or bike coaches, but you probably don’t need a professional fitting right off the bat. What you need is to get your bike to a safe, comfortable position, and then try it out for a while and listen to what your body tells you.
In about 5-10 minutes of fitting, we can get a customer 80% of the way to an ideal fit, and prevent most serious problems like knee pain.
This service is available for free as part of our standard installation, and is only available to our customers in the Bay Area.
Carry your kids on the Xtracycle’s sturdy Snap Deck
The woman in the photo had never ridden an Xtracycle SUB before. She tried it first unloaded, then with her two kids. She reported that the ride was stable and fun, not much different from a ‘regular’ bike.
In this video, you can see her taking a turn into the parking lot at the end of her test ride:
The Biker Bar uses regular bikes, requiring no customization
Previous designs of pedal power systems have relied upon special bikes customized with individual generators. The Biker Bar allows you to use ordinary bikes, which takes it to the next level. Everyday people not only power the concert, they save the concert, by supplying the last, critical piece of gear, their own bicycle. And the power, rather than being coupled electrically, is now coupled mechanically by the bar itself, making the Biker Bar an extremely intuitive system to understand. This makes the Biker Bar the most grassroots way to power your event’s stage.
You don’t have to wait until the general public arrives to get the Biker Bar set up with bikes. Organizers, volunteers, and staff can supply the bikes also.
Fewer wires means fewer headaches
When pedal power is coupled mechanically in the bar itself, there are fewer wires to tape down, trip over, and trouble shoot. It’s also a more intuitive and cool way to join pedalers’ efforts.
In practical use of bicycle music systems, we’ve found that the majority of system failures are due to wiring and strain relief issues, not actual component failures.
Biker Bar doubles as a cargo trailer rated for hundreds of pounds of gear
If you’re interested in offering a Pedal Powered Stage in your community, the ability to haul it there without a Pickup truck is a major plus. The Biker Bar can carry the speakers and gear you’ll need to get to and from gigs.
The wooden top platform stiffens the overall spine of the trailer, making it more predictable to ride with heavy loads.
One size really does fit most riders
The Mundo’s long wheelbase and low top tube allow riders of all sizes to enjoy the ride. Most mountain bikes can’t accomodate a wide range of riders, because they tip backwards on hills when a tall rider extends the seatpost. However, the Mundo’s long wheelbase allows tall riders to set the seat height where they like it. When you ride this bike hard, even on steep hills, you can’t pull the front wheel off the pavement, because the rider’s weight is distributed between the wheels. This also makes the Mundo a safer bike, as your front wheel, the steering wheel, always has enough weight on it to make safe turns.
Smaller riders, down to 5 feet, will appreciate the low standover height on the Mundo’s frame.
Carry adult passengers in style and safety
If you’re like a lot of Rock the Bike readers, you’ve been building up a base of stength in your legs over the course of 5, 10, or even 20+ years. Sure, you may not measure your electrolytes or enter the local Sunday morning races, but you’re certainly an athlete, and you can’t be blaimed for wanting to show off now and then. We all do.
So what to do with your legs of steel? You could get a nice light bike and go fast, or you can get a heavy duty utility or sport utility bike and dazzle your friends as you ferry them around town. Carrying passengers is one of the beautiful win / win activities. You get the appreciation of your passenger and admiration of onlookers. Your passenger gets a ride from the train station or to the picnic. And you get a little workout as you spin up hills or cruise the flats.
Passenger-carrying is fun and social — you can talk as you cruise — and definitely sends out the bike vibe. It’s also one of those activities that looks harder than it is. It’s not unreasonable for a strong cyclist to carry a passenger 5-10 miles. The speeds will be noticeably slower on hills, but not on the flats.
Mundo’s wheelbase and overall length are a hair shorter than Xtracycle sub
Heading to Berkeley with Ben last week, I observed that he was able to squeeze into the BART elevator without picking up his front wheel. This can only mean that the Mundo is shorter overall than my Xtracycle. I’m not sure customers will notice the difference on the road, but for the occasional tight elevator, it’s a nice bonus.
Mundo rear rack: Ready for customization
The Mundo’s rear rack was designed to make it easy for you to customize to your needs. The surfaces and tubes are mostly orthogonal (i.e. parallel), making mods easy.
Spend less time in the workshop and more time riding.
The picture above is a simple modification that attaches large Rubbermaid waterproof bins to the Mundo using sturdy hooks. The parts need to attach the bins to the rack cost approximately $12, and included:
– Stainless steel, nuts, washers, and bolts.
– Hooks.
Tools used:
– Drill
– Screwdriver.
Parallel lines and right angles may seem like a small thing, but when you have only an here and there to spare on customizing your utility bike, you’ll appreciate the simplicity of an easy to customize rack.
Carry heavy and large boxes with ease
If you find yourself driving short distances to deliver your most recent EBAY sales to the post office, you’ll love the flexibility provided by the Mundo. Its heavy duty rear rack carries plenty of weight, and the large surfaces make it easy to tie loads down. Large boxes can either rest on the top rack, or on the lower load-carrying racks. With a cam strap, you’ll be able to cinch these loads to the frame.
Many people wonder whether carrying heavy loads on a bike is tiring. The answer isn’t a simple yes or no. It depends on the terrain, distance, and on the complexity of strapping loads down. Another important factor is the ability to immobilize your load. If your loads wiggle and shift while you ride, those movements can make your journey more tiring. As you gain experience with a product like the Mundo or the Xtracycle, you’ll be able to reduce your loading times and better immobilize your loads.
Mundo accepts standard child seats
Carrying kids on a bike safely doesn’t have to mean enclosing them in a trailer. Some child trailers are built like rally cars, creating a safety cage around your child. But a bike towing a trailer is also much longer than a normal bike, which means that you and your child are more exposed when crossing streets, turning in an intersection, etc.
Why not keep your child closer to you, on a long-wheelbase bicycle that’s built to carry heavy loads to begin with?
Standard childseats can be attached to the Mundo platform. The Bobike maxi, maxi+, junior work, the Hamax line too. The childseat attaches on the seat-tube like on any regular bike. Note that it’s necessary to help the plastic spread a bit around the carrier. No longer blot required. If you already have a childseat great, if not I would recommend to select the bike once you have the seat.