User Feedback Thread

[Stephen]

A big thank you to all my build #1 customers!

If you have feedback, suggestions, personal experiences with the lights, images of your particular setup... this is a great place to share them!

Here's a link to some testimonials that I've collected over the last few months:
https://sites.google.com/site/designshinelighting/testimonials

[Stephen]

Since the forum is getting a bit more traffic these days, I though I might take the opportunity to highlight this thread again as a good place for build #2 folks to leave comments/review/suggestions after you've had a chance to evaluate the lights. Looking forward getting them in the mail soon!

[Stephen]

Here's a list of all of the forum discussions (English Language) that I'm aware of for these lights, there are several foreign sites that I haven't listed. The MTBR forum is by far the most detailed.

1. Mountain Bike Review (http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/designshine-wow-726601.html)
2. Velocipedesalon (http://www.velocipedesalon.com/forum/f2/really-really-really-bright-lights-24522.html)
3. Bentrideronline (http://bentrideronline.com/messageboard/showthread.php?t=82259&highlight=ds-500)
4. Roadbikereview #1 (http://forums.roadbikereview.com/beginners-corner/niterider-cygolite-257227.html)
5. Roadbikereview #2 (http://forums.roadbikereview.com/general-cycling-discussion/whats-best-tail-light-planet-these-days-266991-post3664286.html#poststop)
5. Bikeforums (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/739981-Have-we-finally-gone-too-far-%28video%29)
6. Garmin Forum (https://forums.garmin.com/showthread.php?t=23950&highlight=designshine)

[Roger Huston]

Can't wait to get my lights, I will post pictures and reviews on several of those forums above. I also have a local bike shop that is very interested too.

- Roger

[tonysvw]

Ok,

Received my new taillight as promise and I know that most of us follow the build up almost everyday without an idea of how much longer was going to take. Let me tell you it was well worth it. The light construction and detail is unbelievable, this is not a piece of plastic mass produce some where out there. Performance, awesome. I used it this last Sunday on a 170 mile ride and the battery hold up flawless. People where asking me all spurts of questions about the light because that was the brightest light out there(really) :p
Thanks again Stephen for a great taillight and hopefully later on I will get the headlight also.

[Stephen]

Ok,

Received my new taillight as promise and I know that most of us follow the build up almost everyday without an idea of how much longer was going to take. Let me tell you it was well worth it. The light construction and detail is unbelievable, this is not a piece of plastic mass produce some where out there. Performance, awesome. I used it this last Sunday on a 170 mile ride and the battery hold up flawless. People where asking me all spurts of questions about the light because that was the brightest light out there(really) :p
Thanks again Stephen for a great taillight and hopefully later on I will get the headlight also.

Thanks Tony! Glad you're enjoying it, and I hope it adds a real margin of safety to your road riding. Super nice pics. Thanks for sharing.
SP

[Roger Huston]

Tony,

Thanks for the pics. Great bike too. I guess with having that close to the back wheel you will be wiping it off more often to clean it, luckily it should be able to take that kind of abuse.

- Roger

[Stephen]

Tony,

Thanks for the pics. Great bike too. I guess with having that close to the back wheel you will be wiping it off more often to clean it, luckily it should be able to take that kind of abuse.

- Roger

I'd say for most dry riding, you'll just end up blowing it off. But if you're riding in the rain and find that it needs a cleaning afterwards, my recommendation would be to just run it lightly under a faucet and shake it off. Fortunately the alignment of the mount puts the light slightly offset from the wheel, so it won't be getting direct spray off the wheel. The polycarb lens cover is pretty tough, so you really don't have to worry about it. After you've gotten any big stuff off of the lenses by running under the water, then the best way to clean the lenses themselves is just to use a cotton Q-tip with a little bit of plastic-safe window cleaner (Sprayway foaming window cleaner or similar works great) and lightly clean away any dirt. From all my experience cleaning the lenses, they seem pretty tough as well.

[tonysvw]

Tony,

Thanks for the pics. Great bike too. I guess with having that close to the back wheel you will be wiping it off more often to clean it, luckily it should be able to take that kind of abuse.

- Roger

Roger
Believe it or not after all the miles the light wasn't dirty at all, i might move it later to the seat post with the H-31 Cateye bracket but for now it will stay on that place. Bike is nice and with the Flames coming from the back people might think that I am flying. :D

[tonysvw]

I'd say for most dry riding, you'll just end up blowing it off. But if you're riding in the rain and find that it needs a cleaning afterwards, my recommendation would be to just run it lightly under a faucet and shake it off. Fortunately the alignment of the mount puts the light slightly offset from the wheel, so it won't be getting direct spray off the wheel. The polycarb lens cover is pretty tough, so you really don't have to worry about it. After you've gotten any big stuff off of the lenses by running under the water, then the best way to clean the lenses themselves is just to use a cotton Q-tip with a little bit of plastic-safe window cleaner (Sprayway foaming window cleaner or similar works great) and lightly clean away any dirt. From all my experience cleaning the lenses, they seem pretty tough as well.

Having also a motorcycle I clean the windshield by putting a damp rag over it and after 15 or 20 minutes everything comes off pretty quick without scratching of the surface.

[Nikolai]

I ride on local roads near my home during the week to prep me for weekend "mountain biking". I only can ride during dark hours (early morning (5 ~ 6 AM) or evenings (8 ~ 9 PM)) because of work schedule and to avoid the masses of zombie-like Miami drivers. For a long time I have been using anemic "blinky" bike lights (as shown on this picture) to avoid a very bad situation with these zombie-like Miami drivers but I have never been satisfied with them.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4UOmBPinygc/T4SZyaGmBeI/AAAAAAAABQQ/Tkym6gbwLvo/s1024/ANEMIC%2520LED%2520FRONT%2520AND%2520REAR%2520BIKE %2520LIGHTS.jpg

One thing that bothered me the most is that these drivers were over passing me very close, so close that I can easily feel the heat coming out from their engines! It did not matter if they had a full lane to over pass, they just wanted to "show" off that they "owned" the road. Add this issue along with recent road bike fatalities (read here (JAN 2010) (http://www.themiamibikescene.com/2010/01/cyclist-killed-on-rickenbacker-causeway.html) and here (FEB 2012) (http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/21006714606014/loved-ones-remember-cyclist-killed-in-hit-and-run)) and you will understand how dangerous riding the roads in Miami could turn out to be. In my pursuit of finding a brighter rear self contained LED light I found the "DS-500" within mtbr.com forums. I was not sold at the idea of having an external battery but being an Electrical Engineer I knew that to get sustained high output light I needed to resort to an external power source. I made the blind jump and contacted Stephen whom amazed me with his knowledge of LED and battery technology along with his passion to bicycling. He poured details and superb attention to detail at each minute step that made me feel that I was setting these lights myself! I requested the front DS-1300 and rear DS-500 lights with a single 5200mAH 11.1v Li-Ion battery. The wait seemed to take an eternity since I did not venture out with my road bike until I received these superb lights.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TOfOimuzZWs/T4SZNPDTckI/AAAAAAAABPg/HHvmJDE08ac/s1024/DESIGN%2520SHINE%25201300%2520B.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-EK0vGC4rvXg/T4SZpW6fqoI/AAAAAAAABQA/-qIFo-sOC9c/s1024/DESIGN%2520SHINE%2520500%2520A.jpg

The wait was worth each day that I waited "patiently" for them. I was surprised at how small these lights were, no picture did justice on the size, they are tiny and do not weigh much. The first thing I did was to connect them to the pre-charged battery and turned them on but guess what? They did not, why? I did not read Stephen's very detailed instructions that mentioned something called "Super-lock", I almost lost it but it was my bad for being too excited. Read the complete manual and tried again, "My God, It's Full of Stars! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Book)" is what came out of my mouth! These lights ARE bright, not just ordinary bright but it burns your retina BRIGHT!

I set them up on my road bike as seen on these pictures, with the 5200mAH battery fitting inside nicely into an Ibera IB-TB4 Top Tube bag. The DS-1300 front light was setup on the Ibera IB-PB2 Cell phone case with bar clamp and the DS-500 rear light on the seat post. I used zip ties to secure the power lines to-from each light. After securing the lights, cables and battery I decided to test drive them the same night I received them. I used mode #4 - L3/L5 for both the DS-1300 and DS-500 lights. I know Stephen does not recommend to use that mode on the DS-500 but I am still in the testing phase on how the local Miami drivers react to the different modes. So far (full week of night rides at the same time each day (8 ~ 9 PM)) these are my results on a one was two lane road:

- DS-1300: Side car traffic IMMEDIATELY STOPS when they get a glimpse of the lights and do not proceed to move forward until I pass! 100% EFFECTIVE! Front lighting/throw is superb for my night riding, for me it was like I was driving in the dark with my front "blinky" lights all these years and somebody just brought out a mini-sun! There is no RF interference with my wireless Bike computer (Sigma Rox 9.0)! This is a BIG plus since I always track my progress with Temperature, Cadence, HRM, Altitude and speed. I was unable to do this with my previous "blinky" front lights.

- DS-500: Rear car traffic slows down and wait for me or over pass me by a FULL LANE! I never had this happen! 95 ~ 98% of the traffic provides me this clearance and only 5% or less will attempt to overpass me by half a lane (which is still great compared to how it was before). Almost all the drivers either pass me by at the speed limit or slow down to find out what is emitting such a light! Many are surprised that it is just a bicycle, even motorcyclist and patrol cars! I agree with Stephen, mode #4 - L3/L5 for the DS-500 is very bright for night use (I have tested it myself by sitting in my car behind my bike) so I am testing alternative modes to fend of that 5% zombie Miami drivers.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nCrNm62GKhs/T4SZuoZQ9EI/AAAAAAAABQI/r7fx-y96S_I/s1024/DESIGN%2520SHINE%2520LIGHTS%2520SETUP.jpg

I am very happy with these lights and my family feels better that I know have them to ride the streets at night. They are worth the cost to give me the privilege to ride safer at night on Miami roads. There is always room for improvement and these lights are almost perfect but having a bigger power button would make it easier to navigate and turn on/off the lights with gloves on.

P.S. - I really like the Cat-Eye clamps!

[Roger Huston]

Hello Nikolai,

Thank you very much for your post. I am in the same boat as you, I'm can't really ride until I get the lights as my family wants me to be safe.

Very cool setup. The cell phone case with the mini-bar is particularly interesting as it gives you the extra reach to move the light out of the way of the wires. *Damn Shimano, took them until the year after I got my bike to finally take after Campy and run the wires through handlebars* It is a very cool solution, it would be interesting to see what size of a cellphone you can put in there.

I really like your description of how the cars react to you, it would be interesting to see if you run the lights at the recommended night settings to see if the cars move over the same amount. I too am looking forward to that added respect on the roads. If you get a chance, go for a ride during the day and let us know if you get the same clearance by motorists. I will be riding mostly during the day, so I am anxious to hear how that works.

- Roger

[Nikolai]

Hello Nikolai,

Thank you very much for your post. I am in the same boat as you, I'm can't really ride until I get the lights as my family wants me to be safe.

Very cool setup. The cell phone case with the mini-bar is particularly interesting as it gives you the extra reach to move the light out of the way of the wires. *Damn Shimano, took them until the year after I got my bike to finally take after Campy and run the wires through handlebars* It is a very cool solution, it would be interesting to see what size of a cellphone you can put in there.

I really like your description of how the cars react to you, it would be interesting to see if you run the lights at the recommended night settings to see if the cars move over the same amount. I too am looking forward to that added respect on the roads. If you get a chance, go for a ride during the day and let us know if you get the same clearance by motorists. I will be riding mostly during the day, so I am anxious to hear how that works.

- Roger

Hello Roger,

Great to know that you found my quick review helpful. These lights do give my loved ones a peace of mind when I ride at night. I have a Samsung Galaxy II that fits snugly and securely into the Ibera IB-PB2 front pocket so a mobile phone that size or smaller can fit perfectly. They have a different mount system that fits on the stem if you are interested in that setup, here is picture:

http://www.ibera.info/tech/handheld/handheld-images/tech-stemclamp.jpg

I actually setup the DS-1300 on the mini-bar due to my initial concerns of RF interference with the Sigma ROX 9.0 wireless computer and brake cables getting in the way of the light pattern. Now I like the setup because the DS-1300 has a better air flow and none of the cables disturbs the light pattern.

I will be testing Stephen's recommended DS-500 night mode (#5 - L2/L3 Double Pulse) next week and will report back with my results. Will do the same with daylight rides during the weekend.

I now really enjoy riding at nights with these lights! They DO make a difference.

Respectfully,

Nikolai

[Stephen]

Wow! Thanks for the great review Nikolai! And especially for slogging through the minimum post requirement. I'll have to see about changing those forum settings. You're setup looks great on the bike. I hope you find the daytime use to be equally effective. You'll want to run one of the on/off level 5 flashing modes for sure, unless you have friends riding behind you, then L3 on/off might be a little more tolerable. Yeah, I can't even tell you how many hours I've researched a "larger" switch option but have completely struck out on every occasion due to the very shallow clearance requirement under the lid. If anybody finds a viable option... let me know!

Oh, and just for enquiring minds, the switching frequency for the boost controller is quite high at 1MHz, and the radiated switching noise levels do appear to be quite low from what I can tell with the unit on the test bench.

[Roger Huston]

Nikolai,

Thank you for the stem mount, that looks really cool. I wonder if the DS-1300 could be mounted on that thing? I think I like your option of having it further out in front, I will have to see when I get mine what I like. I use to have a niterider setup so I have always had my lights center mounted, I will have to get use to it off-center a bit. It is a symmetry thing, stuff like that bothers me.

My phone is a HTC Titan, a Windows Phone, so I would love to mount it on the stem and have it in GPS mode. Just need a case that can carry it and I can touch the screen as I ride.

- Roger

[Stephen]

Yes, those shifter cables can be a real pain. Even without an accessory bar like the one Nikolai used, the shadows aren't too bad since there are 6 different point sources of light (i.e. you don't get a hard defined shadow). If you take advantage of the offset mounting holes (http://www.designshinelighting.com/entry.php?21-Build-2-Progress-Mar-6-2012-Housings-are-IN!), in combination with a similar accessory mount, you can probably get right on the center line.
SP

[Nikolai]

04/17/2012 UPDATE

Funny thing, the other night I was biking on the local road and a super-cross "street" motorcycle road along me to ask what lights I was using! He was surprised that he was able to see me from a few miles away and how the high lumen output came out from such a small package! I was running the DS-500 on Mode 4 - L3/L5 Lightening Strike (not recommended to be used in the night by Stephen) and the front DS-1300 on the same mode.

Last night I used the recommended Mode 5 - L2/L3 Double Pulse (recommended for night use on the DS-500 (rear)) and received similar driver behavior as I did with Mode 4 - L3/L5 Lightening Strike but I need further field test to feel assured that this mode will deter Miami-zombie drivers.

Pending are daylight field tests with these lights. More to come soon!

P.S. - I am still trying to get used on setting different modes (standard and flash) between the DS-1300 and DS-500. These lights are great! It provides me with much needed night road riding respect and confidence.

____________


Stephen,

I am surprised that switch frequency does not interfere with my Sigma ROX v9.0 wireless computer; for me this is a BIG plus. I think it was one of the first questions I asked you when researching these lights. You probably could get a FCC certification for the DS-1300 and DS-500!



Roger,

I am using a Samsung Galaxy II and it fits snugly into the case I am using. There are others that allow full screen access if required (check out: http://www.ibera.info/products/handheld/handheld.htm). You may retrofit the clip on the DS-1300 to make it work with the Stem Clamp but it may sit too far back. Hope you get your lights soon so you can enjoy the pleasure of night riding as I am!

Here is video with some close ups for these cases:


http://youtu.be/CH02sF1_48U

[Stephen]

Very cool Nikolai! Enjoying reading your experiences!

Just as an extra point of clarification, it's always OK to use the "Lightening Strike" flash mode for the headlight, and pseudo-OK on the taillight as long as you're careful to do it with a relatively full battery before the low battery indication starts kicking in. That's where I get concerned because it will bump the light up to level 5 for about 3 seconds, periodically every 10 seconds, for the duration of the 20% and below battery level.

[Stephen]

Got permission to post this from a recent email exchange. Thought the forum readers might enjoy it like I did...

"Stephen,

I received the light package today. Wow! These things are a thing of beauty! One of my trike buddies said the lights are "elegant" -- and he kept touching them. I had to tell him to stop fondling my lights! Ha! You should be very proud of your product. The workmanship and quality of build and design are just awesome! Your hard work and attention to detail really paid off.

Now -- let's talk about the lights performance. Are you kidding me? These things are insane! I did a day ride and just finished up a night ride a few minutes ago. I know that I still must use my head for safety while riding. But I have to say, with these lights strapped on my Terra Trike, I feel like I have a big red "S" on my chest! These lights ROCK! Day or night -- I am now getting obvious attention from cars and pedestrians -- they just stare! I love it!

You had better plan on scaling up your production -- because I predict you will sell a bunch of these lights! These lights are worth every penny I paid for them. I'm heading down to my local bike shop on Monday -- I promised the owner to stop and show him the lights as soon as I received them.

Take care!
Ed"

[Nikolai]

That is a great feedback from Ed! Now, it didn't happen if pictures do not exists. Ed, show your trike! I always have a fondness with trikes and most likely purchase one in my later biking years.

[Nikolai]

04/23/2012 UPDATE

Still enjoying riding at night with these lights and having great success using the following setup:

DS-500 (Rear Light) on Mode 5 - L2/L3 Double Pulse

DS-1300 (Front Light) on Mode 4 - L3/L5 Lightening Strike

I finally reached below 50% capacity on my 5200 mAH battery from the "factory" original initial charge! One odd thing, per the Manual (dated 04/03/2012) I should have experienced the following when the Independent Status LED on the DS-1300 was SOLID RED:

"Flash pattern suspended momentarily with steady burn at the current high power level for 3 seconds, with a single pulse to the current low level after 1.5 seconds."

But I did not, the flash pattern continued the same without hiccup. Did I find an undocumented feature? Not sure but currently I am fully re-charging the 5200 mAH pack.;)

[Stephen]

04/23/2012 UPDATE

Still enjoying riding at night with these lights and having great success using the following setup:

DS-500 (Rear Light) on Mode 5 - L2/L3 Double Pulse

DS-1300 (Front Light) on Mode 4 - L3/L5 Lightening Strike

I finally reached below 50% capacity on my 5200 mAH battery from the "factory" original initial charge! One odd thing, per the Manual (dated 04/03/2012) I should have experienced the following when the Independent Status LED on the DS-1300 was SOLID RED:

"Flash pattern suspended momentarily with steady burn at the current high power level for 3 seconds, with a single pulse to the current low level after 1.5 seconds."

But I did not, the flash pattern continued the same without hiccup. Did I find an undocumented feature? Not sure but currently I am fully re-charging the 5200 mAH pack.;)

Hey Nikloai,
No, nothing unusual there. When I ship the the DS-1300, the way I have it configured, it will ONLY display the battery status via the case-mounted RED LED. To get the full story (and I'm still not sure I explained it very well), you need to check out this BLOG entry (http://www.designshinelighting.com/entry.php?40-Build-2-April-18-2012-Lights-shipping-amp-Another-head-banging-event).

The long story short is that if you want to enable the main LEDs to show you the battery status (for example, for a helmet mount application), then you have to go through the menu programming and:
1) Restore the "default" state of the firmware
2) Re-set the temperature trip limit to 60 deg C (up from the default of 50, which is what is used for the taillight).

Now the headlight will act just like the taillight with regard to flashing out the battery status with the main LEDs. The caveat is that after performing the factory reset function, the headlight will be in "multi-mode" (i.e. all 5 power levels available in steady mode). As soon as you switch it back to "three-mode" (the preferred headlight run-mode), then you'll lose the main LED status indication. No matter the particular mode or state of the firmware, however, the case-mounted LED on the headlight will always indicate battery status as documented.

This quirk is the result of a single line of code that was left out of menu #5 and the above procedure is really more of a "work-around," so that helmet users can at least have the option of seeing the battery status indicated by the appropriate flashing of the main LEDs.

Charge the battery whenever you like, no need to wait till it's discharged. I tried to set the 50% indication to be fairly accurate on a "timeline" basis for any given run mode. In other words, if the light would run in flash mode 1 for 10 hours, then when the status LED first turns on and stays solid, indicating 50% capacity remaining, you would expect roughly 5 hours of run time remaining. As soon as you change power levels, however, you essentially switch to a different "timeline" so a lot of the battery status usefulness will come as you get familiar with how the various power levels behave.

Also be aware that it is totally normal to feel a little warmth in the PCB inside (under the skin) of the battery pack as it's nearing the end of charge and even for a while after it's removed from the charger due to the self-balancing function of the PCB. This may diminish with time as the cells may become more precisely balanced.

[Stephen]

Here are some excerpts from a recent DS-500 customer regarding the setup on his classic Trek Y-Foil

"I mounted your taillight on my bike less than 5 minutes. It took the place of my Dinotte 140-R. The 5400 mah battery fits fine in the saddle bag and the short cord length is perfect. The matte black finish of your taillight makes it look so unobtrusive on my bike. But wait until I turn it on! Funny how the 140-R had made my prior Planet Bike Superflash seem like a toy, and now your taillight makes the Dinotte 140-R seem the same. I can’t thank you enough for all the time, effort, research, and thinking that it must have taken to get your product out to market. Your taillight is the new King of the Hill.

Congratulations on addressing a long-unmet need of daytime bicyclists for a taillight that absolutely, positively guarantees that they will be seen by motorists. I really like your eye-catching EMS-flashing sequence. God only knows how many lives you will have saved with your brilliant taillight. I’m anxious to go on my 77-mile training ride this Saturday to show off your terrific invention. I’ll send you some photos of your light mounted on my Trek Y-foil after I set it up Friday morning for a short test ride. I only hope the Hercules Police don’t pull me over for impersonating an ambulance!

I’m happy to hear that you have a couple of headlights left that aren’t spoken for yet. Please do reserve one for me. I can hardly wait for that one now to replace my MagicShine headlight. Christmas has come early this year!"
125113123124

[UPDATE - with headlight - May 3, 2012]
"Hi Stephen,

I received your headlight and battery yesterday and installed it to go on a 20 –mile test ride this afternoon after work during daylight. It looks and works like a champ! Not only did cars behind me give me a wide berth when passing, but cars a block ahead would stop before intersections to wait for me to pass. I think they were just curious to see what was that uber-bright yellow UFO that was slowly floating towards them. I saw a number of oncoming drivers in the opposite lane open their widows to get a better glimpse of the flashing yellow strobe on my bike and some even gave me a thumbs-up and a smile. I can only guess they were also bicyclists who were pleased to see a new safety accessory to add to their own bikes. I also passed a couple of bicyclists who then sped up to pass me because I think they wanted to get out from behind the bright taillight. Now I’ll have to train extra hard during this last month before the AIDS LifeCycle Ride on June 3-9 so that I can ride fast enough to not be in front of any one cyclist for too long. Your lights are giving me added incentive to train harder.

I’ll send you some photos of the lights’ installation on my Trek Y-foil. It looks so slick and aerodynamic that it looks like OEM parts for the bike. Thanks for doing a terrific job with these lights. I’ll tell everyone who asks that I got these from you and that I am absolutely thrilled about my purchase. Now, get ready for a slew of orders from a whole host of “early-adopters” who just have to have one of your amazing lights!"

120118119

[fperi]

Hello everyone, last week I received my DS-1300 (from the second build). I thought I'd give everyone my impressions from receipt to first ride. Opening the box, the packing was top notch, the light and batteries were individually bubble-wrapped and plenty of packing material kept the other accessories from moving around. Nice job.

As for the quality of the light, I can sum it up in one word: Professional. Construction is spot on, no corners cut. As Stephen has described in his journals, he has taken meticulous care to assemble the light and it shows. The machining is clean, no rough spots. No gaps at any interface. No misaligned seams. Perfect wire exit, the grommet is not crushed or compromised. It is very clear to me that Stephen cares about the work he does.

I will use the light primary for night time mountain bike rides so I bought both a helmet mount as well as handlebar mount. As you all know, Stephen uses Cate-eye mounts and accessories and let me tell you, they are strong and adaptable. The helmet mount attached easily and was adjustable enough to throw the light at the right angle down the trail.

So eager I was to check out the light that I went out for a night ride the same day the package arrived (thanks to fully charged batteries). I've been riding for decades and mountain biking for as long as the term existed. I've ridden at night in 24 hour events and fun rides. The trails typical for my area are tight, twisty singletrack with short steep climbs. I've been riding halogen lights for their reliability and simplicity. I never took the leap into HIDs. Stephen's light would be my first modern light, so it'll come as no surprise to you that when I first turned on the light, closed the garage door and rode onto the neighborhood street, I was utterly amazed at the quality or light! Stephen's design is perfect for my needs. A narrow, focused spot with a wide halo is exactly the pattern I need for the trails. In the past I've always ridden a wide beam on my bars with a narrow spot only helmet. On the trail this helps provide some depth of view and clarity while allowing me to see around the corners. Having only the light on my helmet means I have to adjust my field of view, but there is so much light, I didn't have to slow down at all for lack of view of the trail. It was as if I was riding during the day! The side spill is also a great feature as it allowed my peripheral vision to catch features on the side of the trail. I used level 4 for most of the trail and only used 5 for the heck of it. Level 4 was bright enough.

I can't say enough good things about this light and Stephen. The DS-1330 is a high quality, professionally designed and constructed light with excellent beam quality and light output. Stephen provides industry-leading customer service and personal attention to details. Thanks Stephen!

Frank

[Stephen]

Thanks very much for the review Frank! I'm really glad to hear that the side spill lighting is useful on the trail. I haven't had much of a chance to go off-road with the headlight, but just in my "neighborhood" testing, it seemed like it could be very helpful to have some awareness of your periphery to prevent that "riding in a tunnel" syndrome. Seemed like it might allow you to "relax" a little more and not have strain to pick out details off to the side.

[Stephen]

Here's another good review from email exchange, reprinted here with permission. Picture was obviously prior to mounting the headlight.

"Stephen,

You may cash the check I sent you. I have no intention of returning these lights; they’re worth every penny.

Your lights are very well designed and very well constructed, but it’s not the engineering that makes these lights so awesome. These lights are a new gold standard in conspicuity. With these lights, drivers can see me for over a mile in broad daylight, giving them plenty of time to account for me when they approach from behind or ahead. I’ve had over 100miles in on them now, and it’s clear that drivers give me a much wider berth than before when passing from behind, and are willing to wait much longer for me to pass before pulling out at intersections. Your tail-light has no equal in brightness. In fact, I prefer not to run it at its brightest setting when I’m group riding because it’s too bright to ride behind even in broad daylight. Because of the color, flash pattern and beam pattern, your headlight has no equal for conspicuity. While brighter headlights exist, none can match yours when it comes to being noticed, especially during the day, dawn, and dusk.

Thanks to your lights, I feel significantly safer on the road under all riding conditions.
John"
117

[Stephen]

Another good email exchange with a recent DS-500 owner:

"Stephen,
I got it, thank you very much. I can tell you already that there will be no trial here, the build quality and performance far exceeded my expectations. You aren’t getting it back. I took it for a spin last night after work using your recommended night time mode at the Rosebowl and I can tell that this is already making me a safer rider. As a city rider, and as you know, the biggest threat is people in cars who aren’t paying attention. After last night Cars will either not pass, or when they do move WAAAY over into either the opposing lane, or the second lane. At a point, when I was going through the modes, I for a second almost thought that it was too bright!

You have a winner here, and the fact that it’s made in the USA by an American just makes it that much better. I am not going to lie, i was a little apprehensive about shelling out that kind of money to a one man shop in Alabama for a product i had never seen first hand. But you, and it are the real deal. When my cheap 1000 lumen headlamp eventually fails, I will be giving you another call. Thank you for making such a needed and great product, also thank you for such great customer service.
Matt"

[Stephen]

Another good email exchange reprinted here from a DS-1300 customer.

"Hi Stephen,

I successfully got the package on Friday evening and already installed
the light on the bike. There was a shipping delay because of the
holidays and the weekend, otherwise I guess I might have received it
even before.

Tonight I'm going to test ride the light when doing the commute back
from work, so then I'll be able to tell you about my first
impressions.

P.S. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the light was much
smaller and lighter than I initially anticipated (even with the rulers
on the photos it seems bigger than it really is). That's cool! :)

Thank you again and I'll follow you up with my real road test results soon,

....

I was just able to do the first test drive of my new DesignShine light
during my return commute from work.
It became completely dark and we had a rain just before - exactly the
conditions I wanted to test the new light in (my biggest complaint
about all of my previous lights was lack of help when riding on wet
roads, especially on not too well lit city streets (the lights from
above worsen ability to see well in the dark) - I've hit a fair share
of potholes on my night commutes (about 50% of my total riding time).

My previous light was Sigma Pro LED which, at ~$180 is not that cheap
and is not considered exactly weak. I don't recall its lumen rate
(they officially rate it at 90 lux which is, obviously, not the same
measurement parameter). So far, it was barely sufficient when running
on its highest setting when riding on wet roads. I was greatly
relieved to find out that the DS light is significantly more bright
even at the level 3. Just for fun, I switched it to L5 (it was late
enough and I was going by almost deserted bike path so I didn't have
to blind anyone. Well, there were a couple of non-lighted oncoming
bikers riding out of the corner when I didn't have time to dim the
light. I remember them saying something in my direction but I didn't
recognize what exactly since I rode past them pretty fast. But to me
that was the obvious sign that this light does get noticed! ;) By the
way, after a 30-minute ride the casing was not even warm. Maybe the
fact that I was riding against a head wind was cooling it so much
better.

It's definitely nice to feel safe riding at 20-25 mph even on wet and
twisting paths. I could see the reflective signs from about half a
mile probably and I can even read the fine print on the information
boards now :)

Thus, it looks like it's one of those cool bike parts giving the most
value for the price. I've had various problems with all of my Sigma
lights in the past but I suspect I should no longer run into those
issues again and I'm looking forward to using this light for years to
come.

Thanks again and kudos for making a nice product at a really good price,

Serge"

[Stephen]

Some good DS-500 feedback from a customer in London.

"Hi Stephen

The light is great thanks.

In London I've had many people ask about the light on my 1 hour cycle into work in the morning. I definitely have the best back light in town!

I have passed your website onto about 5 people that have asked about the light while I've been out of the bike.

The first day I used it during daylight on EMS setting a London cab driver drove along side me and said "is that legal...it's dazzling!"

Enjoy the light. Glad I got the bigger battery as I cycle 2 hour return commute each day

How are you going with your next batch?

Cheers

Matt"

[Stephen]

Thanks very much to Nick for taking the time to put together the following review. I especially like the Google Map graphic.


"I was hoping to put more time on the lights this week, but, things didn't come together.

I _did_ get to try a couple things. First test, bright sunny day, about 6 PM, I placed the taillight on a high part of my deck in EMS mode, then I drove out to the next street to the east, did a uturn and drove back. I hadn't started looking for the light yet because I figured I wouldn't have line of sight, then I saw a bright red flash in my peripheral vision out the side window, I looked over and I could easily see the light. I didn't even have to look for it, it was obvious, to the point I wanted to get back home and turn it off!

Rough diagram of setup, green dot represents my deck railing, black line indicates direction tail light was aimed, red line indicates roughly where I first noticed the light out of the corner of my eye, yellow arrow is direction of vehicle travel. Unless blocked, light was plainly visible and eye catching the whole drive back, even when quite far off axis. On axis I have to believe it would be attention getting well over a mile while driving into the setting sun.
136
I put the lights on the bike tonight and did a super quick 2 mile loop. Headlight was more than good on level 3 even with the yellow filter on, I wouldn't run the filter at night normally, but I had it on anyway since I had been playing earlier. I would have liked a bit more side spill for making a tight u-turn, but I need to try that again without the filter, and perhaps with a different lens setup.

I suppose I have mixed feelings about the taillight at the moment. I was running it on mode 5, L2/L3 double pulse on the ride tonight, riding on a semi rural 45MPH two lane with about a 1/3 of a mile to go until a stop, when a car came up behind me and despite my efforts to be all the way to the shoulder and coast, would not pass. I eventually came to a stop short of the stop sign, and they slowly crept by. I'll have to ride more to see if that's unusual, but I thought it was interesting. They didn't make any comment or other reaction, but I suppose I'll take the lack of passing and/or getting yelled at in exchange for being noticed. I have the light running level at the moment, I'll try tweaking it downwards, maybe they'll move on :)

I'm going on a weekly daytime ride with a few friends tomorrow, one is considering starting a 40mi round trip commute a few times a week, a large part of which is on somewhat unsafe roads, plenty of shoulder, but 55-60MPH and a bit of curve most of the time. Turns out he was already considering better lighting for daytime visibility and called me for my opinion last Sunday. I didn't mention the Designshine setup yet, as he was looking at blinkies in the sub $30 range, but after talking a bit he wasn't opposed to spending considerably more for something that was actually powerful. I mentioned that I had tried the $80 light and motion vis180, thought it was insufficient for daytime use, and that I had returned it. At any rate, are you planning a build 4? I can't quite tell from the blog. I think he'd be really happy with the DS-500, just not sure what delivery time he'd be looking at. I plan on a little demo for him tomorrow.

Great lights! Thanks Stephen!"

[Stephen]

And now, a quote from Dave-

"I don't always run both lights at the same time, since the light show can be overwhelming for people behind me. Many people think I am an emergency vehicle with both lights flashing and some drivers get upset when they finally find out that I am really just a bicycle."

Dave gets the "overkill" award running TWO DS-500 on the same bike. I don't know why, but I get a silly grin on my face every time I read this quote. I've never tried two at once, but now I sure am, just for kicks.

Updated... here's a picture of the monster machine
191

[Stephen]

That is a great feedback from Ed! Now, it didn't happen if pictures do not exists. Ed, show your trike! I always have a fondness with trikes and most likely purchase one in my later biking years.

My bad for not posting these pictures here much earlier, but I had forgotten about your query in the forum. They're also over in the "photos" forum, but here they are again.

Ed's Terra Trike:
149150151152153154

[Stephen]

Had a nice email exchange recently with my New Zealand customer. He takes a lot of "from-the-road" videos and posts on YouTube, which I happened to checkout just recently. Truly terrifying... some of the close calls that he experiences on some very heavily trafficked roads. In any case, he had some kind words to say about the DS-500, in the midst of his congested road riding.

"The light is going great as you can see, I do give the light a plug at any opportunity. True, you can't do much about the idiots that want to come too close, but I seem to get 1 or 2 very good, patient passes in a 3 1/2 hour ride now, pre DS-500 I would get about 3 per year. The main reason I upgraded from a DiNotte 400R was to embarrass anyone (to the point that it was laughable) that claimed to the Police that they didn't see me. I was not expecting anything like this level of improvement from drivers as the 400R is very bright, but there is no denying the difference the light has made. -Ian"

[Popeye]

Hi Stephen
I just started reading the forums here on your lights. It's about a year now First Build light user:D I have to say they are really GREAT LIGHTS!!!!!!! I have been really happy with both rear DS-500 and front DS1300. No buyers remorse!!!!!!! The lights still work great and so does the charger and the two small batt.packs I picked. I feel very safe riding at any time I am out. Cars to wait a little longer for you to pass,or move over more to next lane when passing. I always get comments like great lights,or boy those are way too bright. I gave your site name every time I am asked where to get them. For sure one of my co-workers here in Orlando ordered the lights because he liked them when I showed all the settings. I have to say that when I went on a 30mile group ride with my LBS, after a few miles they told me I HAD TO TURN IT OFF!!!IT was really blinding them on the lowest mode. So on the following ride with the small included hex key you sent I aimed the light down toward the ground and happily rode and it was all over the road and very visable! Sorry I don't have any pics. to show off. I even get some Law Enforcement go back and forth and come out other streets and watch me pass and I smile at them.OH and they are brighter then the Law Enforcement Bicycle lights from NiteRider:D I know your lights are a success,I hope that you continue to make them as the folks that buy them really appreciate the Quality in your Product.KUDOS TO YOU!!

[Stephen]

Follow-up from purchase on 9/26/11 -
Hi Stephen: I just wanted to convey my appreciation for such a great product - the Design Shine headlight/taillights are phenomenal! I originally purchased them for my Trek FX+ hybrid bicycle that I used for a year to commute to work (12-15 mi. each way) but I fell in love with a 2011 Trek Madone 4.7 road bicycle and now use that for commuting as well as pleasure. I could send some photos of the set-up; it isn't too uber-dorkey but I'm sure the purists would scoff at it . . . until they try bicycling at 5am in the dark on a cold November morning!!!!

You make an incredible product and I'm extremely satisfied with my purchase! Please continue the great work!

Sincerely,
Paul

[inaba116]

I thought I would contribute to the forum and write a quick review of the DS-500 taillight.

I received the light last week and couldn't get the box open fast enough. My first impression was the light is smaller than I expected. I wasn't worried about the size but this was still a nice suprise. I had been following his blog/updates for the past year so I was aware of the level of detail/thought Stephen puts into the design of the lights and it becomes apparant after seeing one first hand.

Installation was very easy and everything came together perfectly. I had contemplated having Stephen shorten the cable length but I am glad I went with the standard cable length. Its really one loop around the seatstay for each cable and the excess is out of the way. No issues there and I have extra cable should I find the need to mount the light in a location further from the battery.

It took about 5 minutes to learn how to cycle through the modes but now I have a comfortable grasp on the operation of the light.

I used the light on my two rides this past weekend and really enjoyed the enhanced piece of mind while riding. I already got one compliment by a passing motorist. We caught each other at a light and he said the light has "awesome visibility". This was at about 9:30am on a sunny day riding towards the sun.

I could not be more pleased with this purchase and can easily justify the price given the added security I receive. I consider myself to be a very defensive rider and am very aware of my surroundings so I can act quickly should there be an incident. The one variable I cannot control too well is the traffic approaching from behind. Thanks to this light I can now feel safer knowing that I am much more visible on the road.

I also value a product based on the customer service behind it. I must say that the informative and thorough responses by Stephen were always appreciated. He seems like a great guy and i wish him all the success in this venture.

I have attached some pictures and will try to get a video of this baby in action.

Thanks Stephen for the amazing product!

Cheers,

Jonathan

185186187188189

[shark_attack]

The light is so powerfull... indescribable!

You see the highend quality of this amazing product. The instructions is very easy but very detailed,too. Myself i didnt need the construction, only read few minutes in the forum and i understand the handling^^ Before i used the magicshine mj 818 but its a other level of light...

http://www.abload.de/img/g1jrv5.jpg (http://www.abload.de/image.php?img=g1jrv5.jpg)

http://www.abload.de/img/48ro7r.jpg (http://www.abload.de/image.php?img=48ro7r.jpg)

http://www.abload.de/img/3usr54.jpg (http://www.abload.de/image.php?img=3usr54.jpg)

http://www.abload.de/img/2diob8.jpg (http://www.abload.de/image.php?img=2diob8.jpg)

Nice work Stephen!!! Greetings from Germany;-)

[Capt. Vancouver]

I received my lights quite a while ago...THANKS Stephen for a truly awesome lighting system, these lights are small but have a HUGE footprint both front and posterior. Every where I go at night, people constantly point at me, or just stay stationary and watch me ride by or initiate a conversation about my lights. Even my hardcore riding buddies, who at first were very skeptical about me paying $600 for all the lights and accessories, then when they actually see these lights in person, their jaws just drop to the ground. They always want me riding up front! KUDOS to you Stephen from "ONLY" one Designshine lighting system in ALL of Vancouver BC, Canada!!!

from a Very HaPpY camper...Patrick aka Capt. Vancouver

[Stephen]

Looks like Francis decided to give the lights some air time for his review this year. I don't think he'd had time to familiarize with the operation just yet, since he struggled a bit during the video. Initially he was treating the headlight like some other lights that cycle between low-med-high and ended up with it on medium for most of the camera shots... oh well. The actual operation is that once you're on medium, a click toggles back and forth between high and medium. I set it up in this mode because it's so convenient for "dimming" for oncoming traffic, if you happen to be riding with it on high. Press-and-hold takes it back to low.

For the taillight, he had trouble getting into flash mode because he didn't turn it off first. You always have to start with the light OFF, then you can turn it on into either steady mode or flash mode. Once you're into either of those modes, then you have the option of changing the power level and/or the flash patterns.

Anyway, here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE6HhRnwq5M&list=UU9izJVhNkCvp7gx49sgEUUg&index=5

[Stephen]

A nice year-end comment from a summer customer, re-printed here with permission from a recent email.

***********
Hello Stephen,

Merry Christmas, and best wishes to you for a very happy and prosperous New Year!

I want to thank you again for all of your help and genius-level design in creating the best bicycle headlight and taillight on the market. During the 540-mile AIDS LifeCycle Ride I completed in June 2012, it rained heavily on the 2nd day of the 7-day ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Many of my fellow 2,500 bicyclists commented that they kept riding because seeing your bright blinking taillight in the far distance gave them a reference ride towards that motivated them to keep going and eventually pass me. Many said they could see me from a mile away (I kept the light on the brightest setting). I also felt immeasurably safer riding in poor visibility knowing that motorists could see me.

Later in the ride when we were riding down a very long, narrow stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway near Los Angeles, your light saved the day again. We were constrained to riding single-file, and your light caused motorists from a quarter-mile behind me to slow down (they probably thought we had a police escort, and didn’t want to get into any trouble). This made it much safer for the bicyclists who often had to zip into the lane of traffic to pass slower riders (me included).

Many bicyclists asked me who made the incredible lights I was using and I was proud to give them your name and website.

So thanks again for the terrific job you’ve done in developing your lights. I wish you much success in the year ahead!

-Ben

[mtbRevolution]

Hi Stephen, Patrick has received his DS 500 and I am trying to set it up for him. All is well except...how to disable Superlock. Can you point us to where the instructions are.

Great light. Level 5, WOW WOW WOW. You owe me a pair of socks. Mine was blown away by the light.

Thanks.

Leonard

[Stephen]

Hi Stephen, Patrick has received his DS 500 and I am trying to set it up for him. All is well except...how to disable Superlock. Can you point us to where the instructions are.

Great light. Level 5, WOW WOW WOW. You owe me a pair of socks. Mine was blown away by the light.

Thanks.

Leonard

Thanks Leonard! Glad to hear that it's meeting expectations.
Very easy to switch between Superlock enabled or disabled.

I've linked a PDF file here (https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxkZXNpZ25zaGluZWxpZ2h0aW5n fGd4OjI1NWE0OTU1YmNhY2FlNGI) from the google-site that details the procedure, but even better, just check out this YouTube video, which will show you how. Note that the comments about the "firmware bug" no longer apply to build #2/3 lights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnLETdcZMQQ

[mtbRevolution]

Thanks Leonard! Glad to hear that it's meeting expectations.
Very easy to switch between Superlock enabled or disabled.

Thanks Stephen,

Expectation is beyond what even I imagined. This is why you have more WOWs than anyone else in this business.

Will pass the info along to Patrick. I have done some still and video shots of the DS500 and Xeccon Geinea side by side. Post them later.

Leonard

[Stephen]

Sounds good Leonard,
Will be interesting to see your pics.... I've always had a hard time making any kind of decent comparative shots with taillights. Seems like the camera always has a hard time capturing relative changes in intensity with the pure RED leds.

[mtbRevolution]

Sounds good Leonard,
Will be interesting to see your pics.... I've always had a hard time making any kind of decent comparative shots with taillights. Seems like the camera always has a hard time capturing relative changes in intensity with the pure RED leds.
Here are some shots of the DS500 side by side with the Geinea. I knew the Xeccon Geinea will slot between the Magicshine MJ-818 and your light.

216217218



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XxoJu9slG0

***This is a unique video... especially because of what you see from time zero to about 6 seconds where the camera's perspective is not directly straight back from the lights. It's the elliptical lens on one half of the DS-500 that's helping to maintaining this good intensity, off-angle and at a long distance. A single lens spot, and especially a wide angle lens can really suffer under these conditions (daytime, off-angle, at distance). Thanks again Leonard, and for letting me trample on your posting. Seemed like it would be a helpful note to have it directly below the video. -SP

[Stephen]

Hey There, Stephen!
Thanks again for creating a great product. Had to share this with you.

I was riding down Venice Blvd. toward the beach, here in Los Angeles. This was not only my first time out with the Design Shine tail light, but also my first time out on the mean streets since hand surgery two months earlier.
Just as I was wondering to myself if the Design Shine tail light is really as bright as it claimed, the guy in the white Nissan next to me yells over, "Hey! What kind of light is that? I thought you were a cop for a second it's so bright!"
Thanks for designing a great product. Nobody wants to hit a cop.

-Bob

**reprinted from email with permission** -SP

[Stephen]

Some good experience with the yellow filter for the DS-1300, reprinted here with permission from one of my CA customers.

*****

Stephen,

The yellow lens is amazing! My 15.5 mile commute to work isnt heavily travelled by cyclists during the week. I typically will see 2 or 3 other cyclists during the commute. The headlight alone is well noticed, but the yellow lens freezes oncoming left turners. And, on a several mile section of two lane suburban road, three oncoming cars actually pulled over and slowed or stopped until I passed!!!

There is no question that it is very good to be seen by approaching traffic from any direction. The cars are used to the .5 watt to 1 watt blinkies and they know that they are "just bikes" With the Designshine lights, the image is so large that they dont know what they are approaching and become more cautious!

Thank you!

-Jeff

"Better to be seen on the road than seen in the emergency room."

[shark_attack]

Hi,

my SIGMA STS 1009 says 3.000 km. 3000 km with my new DS-500 without problems. Stephen, you are a great designer! Respect :)

[Stephen]

Thanks B...
I hope you have many more safe miles and years of good service out of it! The only repairs I've had to make to date have been a couple of power switches un-bonding from the lid, and I had one customer in Russia with a really bizarre circuit failure after touching the housing and noticing that he discharged some static. Of course, the nice thing about these lights are that they are completely re-buildable with easily obtainable parts. I'm going to be sending him a new circuit board that he will install himself.

[shark_attack]

No prob, i am a satisfied customer. But sometimes i have the feeling your light is to dark.:D Yes, i am a light freak;)

Greetings from Germany

[Khai]

Hi all, I just took my new DS-500 taillight out for its maiden voyage.

I'm a bit of a lighting nerd and typically run an Ay-Up helmet mounted light at all times (flashing during the day to help me be seen, steady when dark so that I can see). My touring rig has a SON dynopowered Supernova E3 Triple that I never turn off. I've never been satisfied with my rear facing lighting, however, and have run a hodgepodge of different lights that "work", but don't really do the job justice. Certainly nothing that can compare with what I have pointed forward (though after seeing the DS-500, I'm tempted to see what a DS-1300 looks like up front!)

It was a bright, sunny, cloudless day - ideal test conditions. I set the light to steady 5 and rolled out. Within minutes of having left the house a car rolled up to me at a red light and wound down the window. I was ready for a verbal barrage as I was taking the lane, but instead the guy said to me: "That is the best bike light I've ever seen! I could see you from WAY back! It's fantastic!" He then went on to ask what it was, what I was running up front, etc. Throughout the duration of my ride (some 90min) I had two other drivers roll up to me at red lights to ask about the light, and had several others stick their arms out the window to give me a thumbs up. I even got one from the cops!

Stephen, thank you for making an incredible light that makes me feel much safer when I'm out on the roads. Having a light that instead of "making one more visible" but rather makes it impossible for anyone NOT to see me is a massive improvement over anything that's currently available at any price. The fact that it does so in a manner that's not offensive to other road users is so much the better. As I said to a friend of mine when discussing being blinded at night by high-powered flashing oncoming (forward facing, white) lights: "An oncoming driver that's blinded by your light is probably more likely to hit you than one that didn't see you at all". Five power levels and a variety of flash patterns makes it easy to tailor the output to the situation.

Thank you, once again - this little light is one fantastic piece of kit that I'll be running for a very long time.

[shark_attack]

Hi all,

my DS-500 (Build 3 - 2013) was tested in a Ulbricht sphere by LUPINE (german light company):

@ Level 5 the result shows 830 lumens.

Stephen, thank you for this amazing super tail light.

The CEO of LUPINE said the the tail light is a great.

Greetings from Germany

[Stephen]

Thank you, once again - this little light is one fantastic piece of kit that I'll be running for a very long time.

My pleasure Khai! Glad to hear that it's working well for you. I built these things to run forever, but if you ever do need any help, I'll be here.

[Stephen]

Hi all,

my DS-500 (Build 3 - 2013) was tested in a Ulbricht sphere by LUPINE (german light company):

@ Level 5 the result shows 830 lumens.

Stephen, thank you for this amazing super tail light.

The CEO of LUPINE said the the tail light is a great.

Greetings from Germany

Wow! Thanks for this good info Bjoern! I've always been conservative in my lumen estimates, and I'm glad to hear that the DS-500 is really delivering on some big numbers. I just hope Lupine didn't scurry off and copy the design while they had it in their hands :(

Post a picture of the new power connector if you get a chance. Would like to see how it turned out?
Thanks again.

[shark_attack]

Wow! Thanks for this good info Bjoern! I've always been conservative in my lumen estimates, and I'm glad to hear that the DS-500 is really delivering on some big numbers.


Here you can see the Ulbricht sphere by Lupine.

http://abload.de/img/ulbrichtkugellupineteq9y65.jpg (http://abload.de/image.php?img=ulbrichtkugellupineteq9y65.jpg)

It's true - 830 lumes!!! But its only one test, but you can say the DS-500 build 3 has min. 700-800 lumens. Thats great to know - for you and for all DESIGNSHINE customers.

[shark_attack]

I just hope Lupine didn't scurry off and copy the design while they had it in their hands.

Hey Stephen, don't worry! Lupine develops an own tail light. The tail light will appear on the market 2014. But the development is concluded. Wolf (the CEO of Lupine) bespoke that he uses only one 3W power LED. In Germany your light (DS-500) is to bright, because of road traffic act. And the german customers dont like a extra battery pack system. Its to much and to heavy. Wolf searches a smaller and other way. He only want a bright tail light - not a hell gate... Last but not least Lupines develops a special automatic mode with light sensors. Thats all what i know. Hope, you understand, that Lupine likes your tail light, but it makes no sense for the company to copy your tail light.


Post a picture of the new power connector if you get a chance. Would like to see how it turned out? Thanks again.

Here you can see the new power connector (Lupine system):


http://abload.de/img/img_3603i2xna.jpg (http://abload.de/image.php?img=img_3603i2xna.jpg)

http://abload.de/img/img_3604sizry.jpg (http://abload.de/image.php?img=img_3604sizry.jpg)

http://abload.de/img/img_3605t0lua.jpg (http://abload.de/image.php?img=img_3605t0lua.jpg)

http://abload.de/img/img_3606u5yk5.jpg (http://abload.de/image.php?img=img_3606u5yk5.jpg)

The Lupine system is better than the Magicshine system!!!

Enjoy! Greetings from Germany

[Stephen]

Posted with permission. Thanks Paul.

"Hi Stephen:

I had to work the last two days. I just came back in the house after mounting the light on the bike. It is raining in Greenville so I leaned the bicycle on the garage wall and turned the light on. Standing in the rain about 75 yards away the brightness is amazing. Wow is all I can say!!! That is one bright light. Anyone that can not see my bicycle now should not be driving.

I did not appreciate how small the actual light is on your website. It is half the size of my old light and a million times more powerful. I am impressed. It fits great on the seat post and the battery fit in my existing small saddle bag along with a spare tube and CO2 cartridges. Your documentation is very well written. You have done a lot work to get this light to market. I hope that you will be able to take it to the next level. The Allan wrench was a nice touch saving me a trip to the workroom to hunt down the correct wrench. I am very pleased with your workmanship, and follow thru.

All functions are useable as advertized. This light was well worth the wait. If you want feel free to post this note on your website.

Have a great day,

Paul"

[Tom]

I was one of the lucky first to purchase the DS tail light three years ago. I ride A LOT and this light has held up year in, year out, with absolutely no problems whatsoever. The attention to detail and build quality is amazing. And if you take the time to read some of the supporting documentation, you will see that the internal programing and theory is extremely well thought out.

My rides are primarily training for triathlon. I ride mostly during the day and mostly on pretty major roads with high speed limits. This light is bright enough to be noticed by drivers even on the sunniest day. Having this light is like buying insurance that you will not get hit by a car.

Is it expensive? Sure. Is it worth it? Absolutely. Consider the cost of being hit by a car, not to mention the pain and suffering, and the DS is a pittance to pay to avoid that.

The only "incident" I've ever had with my DS was one day on a two lane road with a 50 MPH speed limit. I was doing about 23 MPH and a pickup truck pulled up next to me, rolled down his passenger window, kept paralleling me, while yelling something at me. At first, I thought he hated bicyclists and was cursing me out or something but then I noticed he had a bike in the bed of his pickup. Finally, I figured out what he was saying: "What light is that? I want one!"

[Utku]

Hi, I am probably the farthest user of DS-500. I received my light one month ago and used it a few times. The only thing I will say about this light is "It is an unbelievable high quality light." The cars are passing far from me even on a two lane road. This light is as bright as the sun. Here is the link of my vid (DS-500 vs Sun) for Turkish cycling forum.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EblgjC4u4A&noredirect=1

[Stephen]

Hi, I am probably the farthest user of DS-500. I received my light one month ago and used it a few times. The only thing I will say about this light is "It is an unbelievable high quality light." The cars are passing far from me even on a two lane road. This light is as bright as the sun. Here is the link of my vid (DS-500 vs Sun) for Turkish cycling forum.

Thanks for the great video Utku! You've added a very cool perspective. DS-500 vs. the sun... I like it! Seriously though, this is exactly why a light like this exists, to buy you some protection when riding in those difficult lighting situations, such as riding into the sun.
Stay safe!

[Edwin]

I have been riding bicycles since the 60’s and now I’m in my 60’s. Not as fast, but I’ve ridden at least 5,000 miles this year with at least 2,000 miles with my DesignShine Lighting system. I’ve used about every type of light and find this system superior to all others. When I ride in the morning and evening using the bright tail light vehicles pass me with a wide safety space. With other lights, cars closely pass me as if I’m not visible and I've had several very close calls. I have the tail light with the head light combination mounted to my helmet. I ride 99.99% on the street, this combination allows vehicles to clearly see me and I have had no close calls with this combination. This system has many different light settings allowing me great flexibility. With the extra battery pack, I can ride for weeks without recharging. I would recommend this lighting system, over any other system, to my best friends, my sons, my grandchildren and anyone I care about. It’s that good. Thank you Stephen for developing such a clear, bright, long lasting and superior lighting system.

[Stephen]

New user video from a customer over at MTBR. Head-to-head comparison with the Dinotte Daytime. Both were being run at their respective highest power levels for comparison. Obviously you would never EVER want to do this under normal circumstances. Still very cool to watch.

He had the Dinotte on the helmet along with two RedZones (side firing).
DS-500 was on the seatpost in EMS flash mode.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRpxpCRV7tA

[Joy]

I want to give my thanks to Stephen for the light he built for our racing boat. He built the DS1300 to be mounted on the bow of our racing canoe, so we could paddle at night in a 120 mile race. It needed to be bright, waterproof and lightweight. The light was all of these...it greatly surpassed our expectations! We had certainly one of the brightest lights in the race, if not the brightest. Other paddles would follow behind us to use our light, because ours was simply brighter and showed a wider area than theirs. One comment we got was "That's a great light if you're trying to land a plane!"

Stephen not only built the light to the specs we needed, he designed a mounting bracket for us, for no extra charge. We could not have ask for more personal, professional and satisfactory service than we received!
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[D_Smith]

Steve,
Thank you for a brilliantly designed set of DS-1300 and DS-500 lights

My new yellow baby now allows me to safely cruise down an unlit bike-way at 60 kph (38 mph), instead of 40 kph (25 mph) with a Magicshine 808!!! AND it is still visible from 60 degrees to 90 degrees in Daylight and I think 150 degrees at night.

At night all three rear lights are very visible but the Designshine is definitely brighter at all angles.

The beauty of the Designshine is that in the flashing mode , the power can be reduced to 10% of the maximum, where the Dinotte can only flash at full power, which is OK during the day, but WAY TOO BRIGHT at night!

[D_Smith]

Steve,
Thank you for a brilliantly designed set of DS-1300 and DS-500 lights

[D_Smith]

Steve,
Thank you for a brilliantly designed set of DS-1300 and DS-500 lights.

I too am the proud father of a pair of Designshine lights in the Island Down Under!
My new yellow baby now allows me to safely cruise down an unlit bike-way at 60 kph (38 mph), instead of 40 kph (25 mph) with a Magicshine 808!!! AND it is still visible from 60 degrees to 90 degrees in Daylight and I think 150 degrees at night.
I am limited to 10 photos so I will reply 2 more times

Designshine DS1300 with a spot and a 45 degree lense

__Designshine 2015 Front DS1300 with day yellow filter.JPG

__Designshine 2015 Front Side.JPG

Designshine DS 500 with a spot and a 45 degree lense

__Designshine 2015 Tail DS 500 Side.JPG

__Designshine 2015 Tail DS500.JPG

__Designshine DS 1300 on a Terracycle mount.jpg

Designshine 1300 at night

__Designshine front at night.JPG

Magicshine with 45 deg yellow filter

[D_Smith]

Daylight photos of Designshine DS-1300 and magicshine 808 FRONT

[D_Smith]

photos of Designshine DS-500 and Dinotte Night time REAR

[D_Smith]

Night light photos of Designshine DS-1300 with and with out the daytime lime filter, with VERY LITTLE difference in lighting levels

[D_Smith]

10.2 V.A Battery Load DS-500 at 800 lumens
321

10.3 V.A battery load Magicshine 808 with clear 45*10 deg diffusion lense
322

10.3 V.A battery load Magicshine 808 with clear lense
323

10.3 V.A battery load Magicshine 808 with Yellow 45*10 deg diffusion lense
324

17.4 V.A battery load Designshine DS1300 L5 1400 Lumens lemon Filter
325

[Stephen]

Thanks for all the great pictures D!
It's always hard to convey with images what the eye is really perceiving, especially with the red taillight. Here's a cool video from another customer showing the off-angle capability of the taillight. This video comes close to showing how well the clear lens cover harnesses the "spill" light from the LED/Lens combination. At night the DS-500 is directly visible, even from the front sides of the bike. Do note that these are the user's own custom flash patterns. The light comes programmed with 6 default patterns, (some for day, some for night), but you can modify them all as desired.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDNxhD1QDbE

[shark_attack]

@ Stephen: Thank you for sharing my video! You are right. The lateral radiation is perfect. You are the best light designer of tail lights. Here I have a nice short video for you - a crazy DS-500 clip for disco feeling!

Hope you enjoy :) I love this track! Its Armin van Buuren with "fine without you"...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qduZnHZquck

Greetings from the rainy Germany!

[Derek_B]

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to post a few pictures from my recent 243 mile bike ride using both a DS-500 tail light, and a DS-1300 headlight. I have been riding with these lights for many months now and have done some rides on sketchy roads. I have noticed a dramatic change in how automobile, and truck drivers behave when passing me now that I am using the DesignShine lights. :) On my entire ride I didn't have even once close call. Out of the hundreds of vehicles that passed me everyone either moved over and gave me extra room, or they passed safely at a slower rate of speed. Check out the photo of the double trailer dump truck moving over while passing me. One car that was passing me even felt the need to slow down to my speed, and say "That light is insanely bright" and they said it in a tone of gratitude, and amazement.

This was my posted review of the DS-1300 as well:
I recently purchased two DS-1300 headlights after having phenomenal success with the DS-500 taillight. My morning commute is 16 miles on a road with a bike lane, but with many intersections. During the daytime I put both lights in the EMS (triple flash then off) mode, and because it is virtually impossible to sync the timing, they flash in an alternating left / right pattern which looks similar to an EMS vehicle, tow-truck, or snow plow truck, so it really makes drivers stop and take a second look. Many times, and with 100% success, drivers would approach an intersection fast and appear like they wanted to roll right on through, but as soon as they saw me coming, even from far away, they would stop and let me pass. Bottom line: These lights are cheap insurance!

[Derek_B]

I also wanted to post this picture showing how I had the DS-1300 mounted below my aero bars. It worked very well, and using a 7,800 maH battery pack I was able to keep the headlight on the entire ride with only one battery swap (Two 7,800 maH batteries gets you a long way). My riding time was almost 18 hours on those two batteries, and I didn't even use up the second battery before I ended the ride. My ride was from Seattle, WA to Coulee City, WA. I was riding during the day starting at 10am, and then through the night with no sleep and ended the ride in Coulee City about 1pm. There was a lot of rest time in there but I turned off the lights while resting.

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[Derek_B]

Here is a video showing how bright the DS-500 is in bright sunlight. It looks even brighter than in this video because the human eye can see a greater dynamic range than a camera/video camera. But at least you can see it is really the world brightest tail light for a bicycle.


https://youtu.be/Nd4gDyd9vjg

Here is other video/timlapse which was made from a sequence of frames taken over 24+ hours. These were shot at 1 frame every second.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5-2YJanE3M

[Stephen]

BRAVO!!! Probably the coolest long-distance ride summary video I've seen yet. Thanks for taking the time to put it together. The night scenes were really cool. The sound track perfectly complimented the high speed playback. I did notice at 1:36 that it appears like you've got a good bit of downward angle in the taillight? Did you do this for night time only? Otherwise, for daytime riding, I'd try to keep the light as parallel to the ground as possible.
Many more safe rides to you!

[Derek_B]

Thanks Stephen! I do have it pointed slightly down so that it's not totally blinding anyone at night. I'm not sure if the mode I was using was actually for at night. It's the mode that's on solid, but blips brighter every 2-3 seconds.
During the day I was using the super bright On/Off mode, and even with the light angled down a bit it's still more visible than any light out there. Also when I ride at night the tail light lights up the white line in a red glow which helps for cars see me even more (I think). But I'll try running it parallel too and see what kind of reactions I get.