Keeping the new light ....

The IQ FLY SENSO PLUS is still on my XP and will stay there. I was so impressed with its performance on my first night ride that I"m keeping the little thing ! Light output is twice as much compared with the INOLED 20+ and you really have to see it to believe it, it's an amazing amount of light ! The IQ FLY has an auto on/off function, so there's no need for an extra sensor. The only disadvantage of the location of the IQ FLY is that the light switches on rather quickly. Since it's positioned rather close to the chopper bag fairing which is black, it turns on rather early, even before the sun starts to set. Placing it somewhere else would solve this problem, but this position seems to be the best to have maximum light output. I've ridden many hours in the dark lately and it is a joy with such a decent headlight ....

The new IQ FLY Senso Plus

Reflections ....

I just calculated that last month, I rode my XP a little over 800 miles ! Whew, that's quiet a lot ! Of course my cycle holiday week has a lot to do with that, but still ....
Two nights ago, I left home for a ride with the XP after dinner. Since the days are getting shorter, it starts to get dark around 08.00pm, depending on weather conditions. That's no problem, since I have a hub dynamo and a decent front light. So when it got dark, my front light switched on automically, as it's supposed to do. But after a couple of minutes, it turned off. Of course I stopped, checked the connections, but everything seemed to be okay. When I started riding again, the light turned on again for just a couple of seconds before it went off again. Normally, I always carry some kind of small LED head light, but I left it in my velomobile. Luckily for me, I was riding on the tow path near the canal, where there's no other traffic, but it's also very dark.

So yesterday, I tried to find out what was wrong. When I connected the INOLED headlight to a battery, it worked okay, so it's defenitely not the light. Then I connected the headlight directly to the hub dynamo and that also worked as it should. So it turned out that the Shimano's sensor switch is broken. That's a pitty, since they're not available anymore. The INOLED headlight has no automatic on/off function, so I have to find something else. I still have one sensor switch on my regular MB that I'm not riding anymore, so I'm gonna use that one to have my headlight turn on automatically. To keep me riding, I now installed a
LUMOTEC IQ FLY SENSO PLUS on my XP. It has double the amount of light compared to the INOLED and has an automatic on/off function.
To keep me safer in the dark, I attached some small BLACK SCOTCHLITE stickers on my rim. They look black during daytime, but are bright white in the dark when light shines on them. Pretty cool !

In the dark without light ....

and with light ....