Just zis Guy said:If I were buying rechargeables now I would almost certainly go with Lumicycles. They seem to be
way out in front at the moment.
Well, I wouldn't. We have one set of Lumis in the household (mine) and one set of Fireballs
(Juliette's), and the Fireballs are just infinitely better thought through.
The cable attachment on the Fireball lights is a shrouded bayonet clip. On the Lumis it's just a
plug. Rattling down a rough piece of track in the dark the Lumi plugs tend to vibrate loose, so the
lights go out suddenly, which isn't at all clever a thirty miles an hour down a rough track in the
dark. Of course they do tend to go out one at a time, and a sensible person would have stopped when
the first one went...
The lamp enclusure on the Fireball is nicely shaped in anodised aluminium; that on the Lumi, just a
black aluminium can.
The nice cam-lever handlebar attachments are an optional extra on the Lumis, they're standard on the
Fireballs.
The Fireball bottle-cage battery pack enclosure is a very nicely made two-piece aluminium affair,
with a proper marine-type water-tight cable gland. The battery inside is modular and can be
unplugged.
The Lumi equivalent is an adapted cheap plastic water bottle. There's no gland, and while the cable
is a tight fit in its hole it is possible to envisage water ingress. The battery is assembled into
the bottle by some crafty process and can't easily be removed.
In summary the Fireball lights are a lot better manufactured; they look like a finished product,
whereas Lumicycles look like a prototype.
Apart from the plug issue there's nothing actually wrong with the Lumis, they work very well; and
the service you get from the company is very good indeed. But there's no doubt in my mind that the
Fireball lights are both better value for money and just better, so in my opinion Lumicycle need to
raise their game.
--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) jasmine.org.uk~simonOpen ↗
;; of 90+ years of protection, but a cure for cancer, only 14? -- user 'Tackhead', in /.
discussion of copyright law, 22/05/02
