Pedals, Glowspek, no bat. flashing LEDs

[oregon]

Does anyone own/use Glowspek flashing LED bicycle pedals? www.glowspek.com

They are made of resin so I am reluctant to try them. However, they do not use batteries to produce the red light so I am intrigued.

The Glowspek website has a video presentation but, unfortunately, only a limited explanation of how the pedal works.

Thank you kindly in advance for any info.

oregon, Bongo (made in Eugene, OR) tandem captain

 

[oregon]

 

[oregon]

I went ahead and bot a pair from Tualatin REI for $22 (they had 2 pairs remaining after my purchase). Still spending-off last year's dividend.

The advertising, which came with the product, claims "100's of alternating flashes from every rotation."

My hand-spinning of the pedal, satisfyingly, produced multiple bright red flashes. There is some resistance in the pedals, working the internal generator, but nothing that worries me. Not that heavy. Good impression so far. Next comes road-testing! Oh-boy! I wonder how they do in the wet?

I am able to flex the pedals with my hands. So, I don't see them surviving much of a beating during use.

There is a less expensive version for kids. The cashier, who lit-up when I showed her how they worked, figured that these would have great appeal with children.

I plan to install them in the stocker's cranks on the tandem for testing.

oregon

 

[VidPro]

good idea, interesting.
so it uses a generator on the rotation, not a "shake" generator right?

 

[greenLED]

I'm especially interested in their durability, and waterproofness.

 

[oregon]

good idea, interesting.
so it uses a generator on the rotation, not a "shake" generator right?

Pics coming of the generator exposed.

It is not sealed to weather. However, maybe it doesn't need to be water-tight. Anyway, the weak-link in a plan to make it water-tight is sealing around the spinning shaft. I could take it to the sink for testing but I want to see it firing as it is being ridden at night.

Explain the twelve shiny points evenly clustered around the shaft. Here is what I notice: Slowly turning the shaft produces a pulse in various combinations of different LEDs. The resistance of the generator is a series of tiny amounts of resistance followed by free-turning. Overcoming each tiny amount of resistance creates a descrete pusle of energy. Each pulse fires a different LED or group of LEDs.

This is cool.

oregon

 

[oregon]

 

[oregon]

 

[oregon]

 

[oregon]

I hope they work well as pedals. And, if they are good pedals plus keep flashing then they should make conversation pieces at the next Providence Bridge Pedal.

The City of Portland closes all of the bridges across the Willamette River in Portland for 30k or so cyclists to enjoy the open road w/o motorized vehicles for a day. What a hoot! There are give-a-ways of refreshments and gear at all the right places. Folks have a ball. Good fun for me.

oregon

 

[VidPro]

with a short burst flash like that, prolly a rotating magnet, and simple coils. the "on" time would be so minimal, that it would be really sparkley and a good safety feature, without sucking so much energy off the user, like a wheel generator.
it could be connected direct, minimal losses (toss out the middelman).
losses from a generator and a CURCUIT that flashes would be higher than the design of the generator to create pulses from the start.

the center shaft is METAL? its just the pegs that are polycarbowhatever?
sooo, say you destroyed the plastic of one, you would still have a "post" sticking out to be able to pedal?

low voltage isnt going to "short out" from normal water , assuming your not biking on Salt covered snow removal roads, or driving through the ocean

that leaves rust, and corrosion of the led legs and wires and stuff, the silicon looking stuff , or hot glue , could prevent corrosion. (i used silicon sealer in a situation of high corrosion, and the difference in corrosion was night and day)

 

[B@rt]

Here are some that remain lit for ~5 mins after stopping. :goodjob:
Pedalite
They do cost more though...

 

[yellow]

there is a difference between spining the pedal on the show mount and going by bike.
How much rpm will town biking be? About 2-3 per sec?
Is there a glow then?

 

[oregon]

the center shaft is METAL? its just the pegs that are polycarbowhatever?
sooo, say you destroyed the plastic of one, you would still have a "post" sticking out to be able to pedal?

The center shaft is steel. The principal material of the pedal is called resin by the manufacturer. AKA plastic. Removing the the plastic cap on the end opposite the threaded shaft reveals: spindle is supported by the usual small round metal ball bearings all within a metal tube and all this within the plastic tube which makes up the center of the pedal.

The bearing adjustment nut is located just within the round resin compression fit service cap. Removing the nut would allow removal of the shaft, service to the bearings, if the generator was not glued in place.

I loath the rain when cycling. The Bongo tandem is something I revere so it has only seen rain once: 12 hour staged trip to Shoshone Lake geyser basin, Yellowstone National Park, bike to a geyser then hike to the lake. Started raining at the lake. Brrrrrrr. Returned to the bike, chained to a tree, to find a large male buffalo smack on the trail between us and the bike which was 50 ft. away.

oregon

 

[oregon]

 

[AndyTiedye]

Added to Bike Light Thread Links

 

[VidPro]

guess that answers that question, one of them pictures with at least 4-500 words

 

[roverjohn]

Do they make an Aerolight compatable version?

 

[oregon]

Do they make an Aerolight compatable version?

Aerolight: balloon lighting or paragliding?

Not that I would know but I didn't think that either of the above two product lines used pedals, lit or otherwise.

How would you use this pedal technology?

oregon

 

[oregon]

Update: One pedal didn't work on the first ride, DOA. The other did. 50% success rate...My lovely wife liked them anyway, gotta love her.

oregon