To Shine or Not to Shine...

[Stephen]

UPDATE Nov 17, 2014: The On-Line Store is UP! Click the "Purchase" menu at the top of the window, or click the link below:
Purchase the Brightest Taillight Ever Made!

I'm sure many of you know the history of this project, and after almost 3 years of "market testing" the response to the lights has been overwhelmingly positive. However, the reality is that I cannot continue to produce the lights as a one-man-show. The time demands, doing this part-time, are just too intense for myself and the family. Consequently, I've enlisted some help with assembly from a trusted technician, and he and I are both currently assembling hardware from build #4 to be available soon on a new web-store (see below).

One new aspect of the plan is that I get out of the business of providing batteries, especially now that there are a good number of readily available (and high quality) off-the-shelf battery packs out there. You would purchase the light engine from DesignShine then either use one of your existing 7.4V batteries, or purchase a battery of your own specification from a third party, such as MagicShine, Gloworm, or Gemini. Of course, batteries from Dinotte and Lupine will also work, but require an additional adapter cable.

Unfortunately, the costs associated with building a piece of hardware like this in the US in low volume remains an expensive endeavor, and resale price of the taillight will be $229, before you add the cost of any necessary batteries and/or chargers. Depending on your specific needs, you can purchase batteries to give you the exact blend of weight and run time that you're looking for. As an example, you can get full flashing power for 14 hours starting around $30 with the MagicShine 4400mA, 7.4V pack. Of course, the sky's the limit with higher capacity packs.

So, if you've had your heart set on purchasing the best taillight that money can buy, now's your chance to influence the future by voting in the poll right above this post!

P.S. Due to popular demand, I went ahead and had 20 headlights cut and will also be making those available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The DS-1300 will sell for $249 and includes the daylight color filter.

[Steffen Adam]

Hallo,

ich würde gerne das DS-500 und einen dazugehörigen Akku kaufen.
Bitte geben Sie mir Informationen zur Kaufabwicklung!

Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Steffen Adam

[Stephen]

Hi Steffen,
I'm getting very close to opening the on-line store, but as it stands right now, I may need to continue doing all international orders through email communications. Trying to work out the details for how to handle the shipping costs through the web-store, but not having a lot of success at the moment. In any case, here's a sneak peak at the new store front....

[Roger Huston]

Stephen,

As a proud owner of both your #2 and #3 builds, I can say your lights are a bargain at almost any price. There are plenty of lights out there that cost much more. I would say you could go up to about $300 for the taillight and while some people may complain, it is still worth it.

- Roger

[Stephen]

Stephen,

As a proud owner of both your #2 and #3 builds, I can say your lights are a bargain at almost any price. There are plenty of lights out there that cost much more. I would say you could go up to about $300 for the taillight and while some people may complain, it is still worth it.

- Roger

Many thanks Roger! I really appreciate your feedback. I built these lights with the intention of using them on my own bikes, and wanted something that I would enjoy using above and beyond anything else without ever having to look for something better. As time and cost has allowed, I've been able to make some nice revisions along the way, and I think with Build #4, they've finally reached the level of refinement that I had always envisioned. I'm so grateful for you and all my earlier customers who took a chance on the concept and have allowed me to continue pursuing the goal of building these lights. I truly believe that they have the potential to make a life-saving difference out on the road, which has been the goal from day one.

I've been floating the idea of tagging the company name with a new slogan...
"Be seen... Ride safe!" which is what I want to do every time I get on the bike now days.

All the best,
Stephen

[Roger Huston]

"Be Seen... Ride Safe!" Truer words were never spoken. As someone who almost lost his life to someone who didn't see me... in the middle of the road ... in broad daylight. I now appreciate more then every the extra space and time allowance I get with these lights. After getting hit, it took $300k and 1 year of my life before I could ride again.

So I what's $50 or $100 more compared to that? In my mind nothing.

This is why I got your headlight too. Sure you can find others as bright, but not as flexible. I love all the different flash modes. The lightning one is great a night, and your emerg flash mode is not too frantic that it freaks people out.

Awesome stuff.

[Stephen]

Roger inspired me to try this. Kicking around the idea of having a T-shirt printed up...
Anybody interested? Too cheesy looking?
Take a look:

[shark_attack]

I am interested But what is with your new DS-500 build?

[Stephen]

I am interested But what is with your new DS-500 build?

Hey "Shark,"
I pretty much put my head down this weekend and got as many taillights finished as I could. Got 27 completely finished with another 10 in the works. Yours will be coming out of that group of 10... of course, I've still got to drill and tap a couple of holes for you, but I'll send you a couple of pictures first just to confirm the bracket placement. I should also have another 14 completed coming from my technician on Monday, and he'll be continuing to build the rest of the first batch of 100 after that. My goal is to have at least 50 in hand before opening the on-line store. Oh, and you won't need to do any improved water sealing on this one. I've increased the compression slightly on the lens o-rings, and I'm also using extra silicon grease, based on what we learned from your first one in the freezing temps.
Regards,
Stephen

[shark_attack]

Hi Stephen,

thanks for your prompt answer. Nice to read. If you have a "DESIGNSHINE" t-shirt you can send one of them with my new DS-500...

Regards,

Sharky