Is it bad that I'm considering this for my bike, one that I ride to college classes every day on? It'll look sweet when I have early/late classes in the winter time.

ThunderThighs wrote:Heck no. I think they're pretty darn cool myself. I wish I had someone I could buy them for.

Not bad! Just the rear is $20.95 + shipping on Amazon.

HERE

Would I be correct in assuming that the wheel lights are only visible from one side of your bike?

They're obviously poor-man's versions of the Monkey lights and Hokey Spokes which is fine -- but if they're only visible from one side, I think that's just a little too much "poor man's" for me.

Another option would be this -- not nearly as fancy, but at least it's visible from both sides and a good deal cheaper.

Of course, it also comes with some EL wire, which is nice, but that's not hard to find cheap either.

I've never been hit by a car, so I don't know how much that hurts.

But I have been hit by one of those tractors they use to push airplanes around at the airport and that hurt a lot.

I'm in for three - these look amazingly crappy. ;) I have a pair of monkeylectrics and they're definitely nicer than these. The EL wire is actually almost enough to make this worth it alone, though - at around $1/foot plus a driver. (I've generally paid $1.20/foot, and my drivers are $6-8 for short-length ones)

The flasher looks like it might be fun, the EL is usable for whatever (although it's just blue) and I'm hoping I can tear the writer apart and put a different board in it (say, RGB LEDs instead of just amber)

So, yeah, it's pretty crappy, but still looks to be worth it. ;)

these serve absolutely no practical purpose, unless you consider looking freaking awesome and alerting other to your location a purpose... :P

Good for lighting up your bike for Burning Man

They should make a version that lets you program it through usb, so you can put all the cuss words and stick figure pr0n that you want on it.

Are these indeed only visible from one side of the wheel?

ejbilynsky wrote:Are these indeed only visible from one side of the wheel?

Yes, unfortunately.
http://www.meonbikefx.com/support/ second video down.

ThunderThighs wrote:Heck no. I think they're pretty darn cool myself. I wish I had someone I could buy them for.

Feel free to say you had me, and then you could buy them for me

ijustride wrote:Yes, unfortunately.
http://www.meonbikefx.com/support/ second video down.

Thank you! Is there anything double sided? I'm guessing Monkey Lights?

ejbilynsky wrote:Are these indeed only visible from one side of the wheel?

ijustride wrote:Yes, unfortunately.
http://www.meonbikefx.com/support/ second video down.

you could buy more that one set, or have the front and rear facing different directions I would think...

dougmc2 wrote:Would I be correct in assuming that the wheel lights are only visible from one side of your bike?

An unboxing video indicate the wheel writer is one sided. I suspect the gyro flasher is as well, but can't find any info with a quick search.

Fine for me, I want one-sided lights for the front wheels on my trike, so I don't blind myself. ;)

ejbilynsky wrote:Thank you! Is there anything double sided? I'm guessing Monkey Lights?

Monkeylectrics are. If you want to do it yourself, SpokePOV are, but they're monocoloured. There are a couple other brands that make these but I don't know if they are.

bookofjoshua wrote:you could buy more that one set, or have the front and rear facing different directions I would think...

Buy, 2 sets, put them 180 degrees apart, one facing one way, while the other would be facing the opposite side. You would need to install 2 magnets, one for each side. But they probably wouldn't exactly be in sync on each side, but someone looking at it from one side, wouldn't see the other side.
This is only my speculation from looking at the video. I don't own one of these yet. (Eagerly awaiting my 3 to get to my door).

jennytoo wrote:I'm in for three - these look amazingly crappy. ;) I have a pair of monkeylectrics and they're definitely nicer than these. The EL wire is actually almost enough to make this worth it alone, though - at around $1/foot plus a driver. (I've generally paid $1.20/foot, and my drivers are $6-8 for short-length ones)

The flasher looks like it might be fun, the EL is usable for whatever (although it's just blue) and I'm hoping I can tear the writer apart and put a different board in it (say, RGB LEDs instead of just amber)

So, yeah, it's pretty crappy, but still looks to be worth it. ;)

Not to be crass in asking, but are yours the $2K version? I'm having serious gadget lust over that.

psaux wrote:Not to be crass in asking, but are yours the $2K version? I'm having serious gadget lust over that.

No, the $75 versions (Actually, the precursor - m133s) They are crazy bright, too. I always had them on the dim mode, and if I was biking on a dark trail, they lit both sides of me up. They're not replacement for head/taillights, but they do make you a ton more visible. Awesome lights, I just wish they were customizable.

Is there a Speed Limit on these? I'm thinking Motorbike use!

jennytoo wrote:I'm in for three - these look amazingly crappy. ;) I have a pair of monkeylectrics and they're definitely nicer than these. The EL wire is actually almost enough to make this worth it alone, though - at around $1/foot plus a driver. (I've generally paid $1.20/foot, and my drivers are $6-8 for short-length ones)

The flasher looks like it might be fun, the EL is usable for whatever (although it's just blue) and I'm hoping I can tear the writer apart and put a different board in it (say, RGB LEDs instead of just amber)

So, yeah, it's pretty crappy, but still looks to be worth it. ;)

Which MonkeyLectrics do you have, jennytoo? I really like the pro model, but they restrict them to commercial sales only... :-(

I'm interested if there's a speed limit too, can I zip tie these to my car wheels? And more importantly, can woot stop me from trying?

pkrzyz wrote:Buy, 2 sets, put them 180 degrees apart, one facing one way, while the other would be facing the opposite side.

May not work for the text, being single sided the other side will be spinning the other way. If they don't let you reverse the text pattern, you're out of luck..

I want these for my motorcycle. Will they work?

jennytoo wrote:I'm in for three - these look amazingly crappy. ;) I have a pair of monkeylectrics and they're definitely nicer than these. The EL wire is actually almost enough to make this worth it alone, though - at around $1/foot plus a driver. (I've generally paid $1.20/foot, and my drivers are $6-8 for short-length ones)

The flasher looks like it might be fun, the EL is usable for whatever (although it's just blue) and I'm hoping I can tear the writer apart and put a different board in it (say, RGB LEDs instead of just amber)

So, yeah, it's pretty crappy, but still looks to be worth it. ;)

I don't know where your buying your EL wire. But if you dont mind the older kind. you can get a ~7' run with a driver and shipping for about 5$ on ebay

CuzzinMerl wrote:I've never been hit by a car, so I don't know how much that hurts.

But I have been hit by one of those tractors they use to push airplanes around at the airport and that hurt a lot.

Heh! I almost got run over by a taxiing plane when I worked at Atlantic Aviation. They used part of the parking lot as an area to turn planes around. I was freezing and buried in my jacket as I was walking into work. I looked up just in time to get out of the way of a Gulfstream headed right for me that I didn't even know was there until it was 20' away. I didn't do that again.

I'm actually trying to figure out if I can somehow use these for doing light painting photography. I know I can use the EL wire, but the rest I'm not sure about. Do you need them to spin to work, or could I mount these on just about anything so I can use a slow shutter to light paint with 'em if I'm the one making them move?

mariomario42 wrote:Is it bad that I'm considering this for my bike, one that I ride to college classes every day on? It'll look sweet when I have early/late classes in the winter time.

I also want this for my bike.

ejbilynsky wrote:Thank you! Is there anything double sided? I'm guessing Monkey Lights?

Yea Monkey Lights are double-sided.

I think the only thing stopping me from buying these is the fact that they aren't double-sided. I could get 2 and put them on opposite sides of one wheel.

When it says "lasts 15-20 hours", does it mean on one set of batteries, or you have to throw it away after that long?

Off My Gangplank!, the write-up is freaking awesome. Is it wrong that I actually thought, "This will surely make my kids love me more than they love my Ex-Beast-From-The-Deep?" ;)

This looks totally dangerous.

My son has the single version of this on his bike. It works pretty well, but as others have mentioned, it's one sided. You can do 2-sided on the fronts, but the gears might get in the way on the rears. The lights are synched via a magnet pickup, so the picture won't rotate.

jsh139 wrote:Off My Gangplank!, the write-up is freaking awesome. ;)

Agreed! I am planning to send it to my brother, but will have to make an edit and stick an "E" on 'breath'.

"Must be an awful strain having to breath in oxygen"


[MOD: Whoopsie. I wonder how many pairs of eyes missed that. I know mine did on preview of the sale. Reported. Thanks!]

Some reviews online say that you need to put 2 or 3 of these on the same tire, spaced out, to get the full effect. Otherwise it doesn't look near like what the advertisement pictures do. Watch the Youtube video and see that a single one doesn't spin fast enough to make it look like a real picture unless you have teeny tiny tires that spin crazy fast.

So if I were buying this as a holiday gift for three kids-
do I buy one triple pack OR
three boxes?

In other words, does the triple pack contain enough of the necessities to trick out three bikes?

pkrzyz wrote:Buy, 2 sets, put them 180 degrees apart, one facing one way, while the other would be facing the opposite side. You would need to install 2 magnets, one for each side. But they probably wouldn't exactly be in sync on each side, but someone looking at it from one side, wouldn't see the other side.
This is only my speculation from looking at the video. I don't own one of these yet. (Eagerly awaiting my 3 to get to my door).

I'm guessing that these things use the magnet to determine when they've made a full loop, and also as a level line. In which case, the one you put on the right side of the bike will sync its image to be upside down.

Do we still get 2 for 1 on Tuesdays?

How easily could these get stolen?

mariomario42 wrote:Is it bad that I'm considering this for my bike, one that I ride to college classes every day on? It'll look sweet when I have early/late classes in the winter time.

Heck no - I'm over 50 and work at college. I'm thinking of getting a set for my recumbent trike.