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Rock The Bike

If you ride more than 1 mile in a rain shower, your Down Low Glow is likely to dim.

What’s up bike people, I had a great ride home tonight from my friend Leila’s house. I had three tubes of Hot Pants Pink Down Low Glow on my Xtracycle and it was really laying down a beautiful cloud of light on the wet streets. The rain had just started when I turned on the lights. They turned on fast, and stayed superbright till I turned onto York St. a mile later.

That’s when I looked down and saw that the front tube in my dual-tube system was noticeably dimmer than the rear tube, and the single tube system I use on the rear of my xtracycle was about half-bright also. It wasn’t the first time I’d noticed the way rain affects the DLG, but it was the most precise I’ve been able to measure it, and I’m not the only one who’s noticed either.

Eugen from Denmark writes:

“Hej! My name is Eugen and I bought the down low glow a few mounths ago and I have a question. At the beginning both tubes worked fine but now the tube which is placed on the back of the bike doesn´t glow as strong as the big tube. I was wonderring that maybe it had something to do with the temperature or the humidity because the wether in Denmark is rainy. I took the lights off and now both tubes work fine but I was wondering if this problem appears again what I should do??”

So there you have it. I hate to disappoint the hardcore commuters out there, but facts are facts. Your Down Low Glow may not stay superbright after miles and miles of riding on a rainy night. In fact, it will probably fade to about half it’s regular brightness.”

Now that we’re aware of the problem, we’re working on finding a solution. I’ll keep you posted. If you’ve figured out tricks for using the DLG through sustained rain, let me know. Fortunately, the seals on the tubes are doing pretty well these days. We’re having far fewer returns due to condensation than last year, and our sales are higher. So the good news is that your DLG are less likely than ever before to have any lasting damage from the rain. But that doesn’t solve the problem of them not shining as brightly when wet.

One immediate tip I’d recommend to DLG owners is to keep your bike in a dry place whenever possible when you’re not on it. (Or bring the DLG inside with you if you know your bike will get rained on.)