Tag Archives: magicshine genie

HaveFunBiking.com has you covered with our gift guide for the very best holiday ideas. These items have been picked by our staff for the rider on your list. 

The HaveFunBiking Holiday Gift Guide for the riders on your list

by John Brown, HaveFunBiking.com

Thanksgiving is over and the panic of holiday gift buying is in full effect. Don’t get too concerned, HaveFunBiking.com has you covered with our picks for the very best holiday gift guide ideas.

A gift guide for lovers of bikes

A bike waiting for you under the tree will be a thrill at any age. Over my 25 years in the cycling industry, I have found that the excitement of a new bike only increases as you get older. Here are a few of our very favorite bikes.

Marin B-17

Marin has packed a ton of value into these bicycles. Their aluminum frame is comprised of highly manipulated tubing and buttery smooth sealed bearing pivots. All together, it’s hard to find a better value.  As a 120mm travel trail bike, it is at home on almost any trail. The 27.5” x 3” tires offer unparalleled confidence even when the trails get rough. With models starting at $2100 that sport fully tunable suspension, a 1×11 speed drivetrain and hydraulic Shimano disc brakes, there’s very little competition.

gift guide

Tern GSD

“Set Stuff Done” is right! The Tern GSD leaves almost nothing to be desired from a utility bike. It can be easily stored upright and out of the way when not in use, loaded to the gills with cargo, or equipped to carry a passenger. In fact, thanks to the Bosch motor and ability to run two batteries, the possibilities for this bike are nearly endless. Hop over to the Tern site and see what there is to offer.

Gift guide

Focus Bold2

Simply put, this is the best looking E-bike I have seen. It uses a smart component selection that compliments the Shimano XT Motor, making the Bold 2 a dream machine. Ample power will lift you up the hills and the bikes great geometry, Rockshox suspension, and hydraulic disc brakes will allow you to attack the descents with confidence. Buzz over to Focus and read up on this spectacular machine.

Gift guide

Gift guide Accesories

Lupine SL-A7

For the Commuter on your list there is no better or safer gift than the Lupine SL-A7. It’s amazing light output and surgically accurate beam pattern are unparalleled in realm of cycling lights. For more info, take a look at our Out of the box article.

Gift guide

Magicshine Genie in Our Gift Guide

Helmets typically do one thing and one thing only – keep your head safe. MagicShine has infused their expertise in lighting into the helmet to create the very best in safety and visibility. The Genie helmet has a surprisingly bright  350 lumen headlamp, a rear blinker, and remote controlled blinkers. Click here for more info.

Ass Savers fender

I received one of these fenders as a giveaway and never actually though anything about it. That is until one day when I was getting ready to leave for work on my cross bike and it began to rain. Without time to install a complete fender set, I grabbed the “giveaway”, and clipped it to my saddle. While I never thought much about the Ass Saver, the designers sure did. This fender that weighs almost nothing, can be installed in seconds, and packed away easily was an absolute epiphany. As advertised it kept my rear dry and never moved from its place. Buy one for all your friends, there that good.

Manitou suspension

Quietly and persistently, Manitou has been making a name for themselves as a sturdy, efficient, tune-able and high-quality suspension brand. Many don’t consider adjusting their suspension an important feature, and that is because most suspension is not very tune-able. This is not the case with Manitou. In fact they offer more range of tuning adjustment than most brands as well as aftermarket kits to make your suspension fit your needs perfectly. They do this while maintaining one of the most precise steering chassis around.

Lintaman shoes

A lifelong cycling and industry veteran, Chris Lintaman, started the shoe company bearing his name in his new home of Taichung Taiwan. I remember him starting out the brand as a guy with a bag of shoes at Eurobike. Fast forward to today where you can see his shoes under professional cyclists around the world. The reason so many professional riders buy  Lintaman shoes is because they are wildly adjustable for fit, and massively efficient. If you are looking for the most comfortable shoes in the world, look no further than Lintaman.

Sealskinz Socks and gloves

Minnesota winters are tough to say the least. Happily, this winter has been made easier for me by Sealskinz. Starting with there waterproof socks, saving my toes in the fall, and moving into the Halo gloves remarkable warmth into the Icy low teens, Sealskinz has kept me warm time and time again. Check out a few of our reviews for more info, or click to their site to see the whole line.

Vittoria Bomboloni tires

Over the last 25 years, I’ve repeatedly been impressed with Vittoria tires. That same feeling carries into my most recent test of the Vittoria Bomboloni 27+ tires. For your mountain biking gift getter, these tires are awesome!

Tailwind Nutrition

Anyone on your holiday list that rides needs electrolyte replacement at some point. The supplement I would recommend above all else is Tailwind Nutrition. The light flavor and lack of an aftertaste are reason enough to use Tailwind. Now when you couple those reasons with the fact that Tailwind will never leave your belly sour like so many other sports drinks, the choice is easy.

Athlos clothing

What do you get the rider who has everything? Something custom! Athlos is new to the custom clothing game, and are making some serious waves. Custom used to mean you needed to buy huge quantities, and settle for low quality. With Athlos, you can buy one jersey and the quality is on par with the best cycling brands who charge three times the cost. Additionally, Athlos has a team of designers waiting to convert your thoughts and concepts into a real-world design.

Rocky mounts Carlito lock

For students, commuters, or rides who just love to have their bicycles well secured, RockMounts locks are a great gift. Over the past few years, RockyMounts invested heavily into their lock designs and came up with some really cool product. I love their Carlito lock most of all because it is light, tough, and easy to use.

Darn Tough socks

Why not stuff stocking with stockings? Darn tough is a sock company out of Vermont with a lifetime sock warranty. Yes, you read that correctly. Forget an everlasting gobstopper, you can buy someone socks that will last forever! When I met with the sales group at Darn Tough, and pressed them about their warranty, they couldn’t have been any clearer – Lifetime Waranty! “what if I have a air of 15 year old socks?” I asked, “Lifetime warranty” they replied. “What if I wear only one pair of socks through a six month Appalachian Trail hike” I asked, “Lifetime Warrant” they replied. After a few months of wearing the Darn Tough Socks, I must say they are super comfortable, and as tough as the namesake.

AutoRack Tail light

We all need to get our bike from point A to point B. What nobody thinks about is the inherent danger in traveling with your bike on the back of your car. Bikes can obscure the tail lights from other drivers and make it difficult to see when you are stopping. Enter AutoRack to the rescue. This light setup weighs almost nothing and mounts to the last bike on your rack by way of a few straps. This gift is perfect for any rider!

The Auto Rack is a tail light extension system that offers motorist behind a clear view of the operators intentions.

As thoughts turn to visibility on my daily commute. Here is some info and a few tips on staying visible while riding at night.

Visibility and you, staying safe while riding your bike at night

by John Brown, HaveFunBiking.com

With Thanksgiving long gone, we are firmly in the grip of winter. With colder days and darker nights, my thoughts turn to visibility on my daily commute. Here is some info and a few tips on staying visible while riding at night.

Types of Visibility

The main forms of clarity we focus on are passive and active. Things like reflectors and bright colors are forms of passive visibility, while lights and blinkers are great examples of an active visual form.

Passive visibility

Many rides start in the light and only devolve into darkness as the ride stretches on. Provided that your ride is under street lamps or some form of light, passive clarity will get you home safely. The lowly reflector is the most common form of passive visibility. Luckily, reflectors are required by the CPSC to be installed on all bicycles sold in the united states. Reflectors come in two colors, white (front and wheels) and Red (rear). Additionally, many apparel companies install reflective materials onto their products and work like the reflector on your bike, taking any light thrown at you and returning it back to the source. Where passive reflectivity falls short, is when there is no light source to activate the visibility.

Visibility

The simple reflector offers great visibility when seen by motorists.

visibility

High visibility clothing can help you stand out also.

Active visibility

When the area is devoid of a light source you need to create that light to keep yourself safe. For cyclists, Lights and blinkers are the most common visibility product. Where the light and the blinker differ is that blinkers are designed to be seen while lights allow a rider to both see and be seen.

Great lights are usually rechargeable and use an LED bulb. For riders who spend a lot of time off-road or on unlit paths, these lights are a necessity. While most mount onto the bars or helmet, there are a few companies who integrate lights into the bike or helmet.

visibility

You won’t get better lighting than the Magicshine Genie helmet with remote.

Blinkers are usually battery operated and use an LED to flash intermittently. These blinkers can easily be mounted to your bicycle and in some instances, are incorporated into helmets, gloves, shoes, saddles and handlebars.

visibility

Good rear blinkers like the Lupine Rotlicht are key.

What to use

Overall, think ahead before your next ride and pack to insure you can see and others can see you. Mount a pair of blinkers to the bike (one front and one back) so when you get stuck in low light conditions, you can simply switch the blinkers on. If your route is going to be unlit for any portion, a front light makes things safer. Additionally, be sure to wear highly visible clothing in combination with any other gadget.