Chris Nadovich's 2009 Transamerica Bike Tour.

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First Ride With The Dynohub

I am no longer emasculated by Gary's studly headlight.

I took a long ride yesterday. I photographed and geotagged a couple of the Walking Purchase markers. Over to the Milford baker for a chocolate croissant, down 29, over at New Hope, and up to Newtown to play Dominion with Dan and friends for a few hours. I left at around 5:30 and it was getting pretty dark when I passed Our Lady of Czestochowa shrine. I turned on my lights. Whoa! The E3 and Dynohub can definitely hold their own.

While I don't think my setup quite equals the thermonuclear light output of Gary's, I no longer have anything to be embarrassed about. A couple cars flashed their high beams at me. Many actually slowed down, not quite sure what to make of the glare.

An added bonus feature of the E3 is that it stays on, at least for a few minutes, when the bike stops for a left turn or a traffic light. I was worried that the loss of dynamo power would result in me becoming invisible when stopped, but those fears were unfounded. The clever Supernova engineers have some small storage element embedded in the light.

There is a weird quirk, mentioned by Peter White, that I also observed. At low speed -- say below 5 mph -- the E3 has a very pronounced flicker. The blinking goes away at faster speeds, and once nearly stopped. I don't think this is a big deal. It would only become annoying if I did a lot of granny gear climbing up steep hills in the dark.

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