Several of the bikes at NAHBS had these nice little LED lamps built into bar-ends, where the dome of the LED activated the switch (off, on, blinking...if I remember right). Some had built them into clamp- and bolt-on fixtures, others had then on the bars. I poked around to find who made them, becuase it's a subtle lighting solution that I can probably tolerate having on my go-fast (period (on topic)) bikes:
http://www.kinetics.org.uk/
You can get them from US suppliers once you know the search terms, but these pictures were better.
Cheers,
Scott Minneman San Francisco, CA
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Ken Wehrenberg Sent: Thursday, March 09, 2006 9:44 AM To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR] Bruce Gordon/design, functional art, marketing musings
List:
I, too, was shocked at the dearth of sales after what I observed as a multitude of hovering hobbyists at the NAHBS. I talked to Bruce on Friday at day's end-- time ran out, but I returned on Saturday morning and purchased what I consider an ingenious item-- a small CNC'd aero bullet-shaped LED light that mounts in the rear dropout. After the aluminum is painted to match LeJeune red, I think it will blend in in a functional art sort of way, too. Come to think of it, I may need another as well. Bruce had several other goodies such as Ti cantilever brakes that are beautifully made and still priced less than MAFACs going to Japan. His carbon fenders are functionally superior to Berthoud's carbons in every way. Lust after these items because he is not going to market them in the ways necessary for sales. (think early ads for Specialized body geometry stuff)
We all make choices in our personal economies. I pack my lunch aboard my commuter every day, and by so doing, can save enough to shop Whole Foods for boutique/better foods. Come on guys, if you've admired some of the ingenious, custom and quality stuff over the years, budget down some of the non-essentials and reward yourselves occasionally. Give a surprisingly wonderful gift to your wife. If your status in life doesn't accommodate an expensive frame, a custom stem or other component might find its niche in some scheme of yours.
Talk about the wonderful American craftsmen and artisan-designers! Word of mouth and show and tell will spread the word out from San Jose.
And a big thanks goes out to Phil Wood! I just built up a wheelset with polished alloy Matrix rims laced to a Phil 126mm hubset for my Eisentraut. Even happier about giving them the business now.
Ken Wehrenberg, Hermann, MO --supporting American ingenuity for years:
Hi-E Cosmopolitan serial #6/ Trek 900 series customized w/ S&S fittings
custom paint, pinstriping and chrome/ Albert Eisentraut "A"
frame/ Merlin's first MTB with S&S/ Seven Odonata/ Albert Bold Ti SPs and QR
skewers/ Moots SP/ Wes Williams Crested Butte Bicycles custom Ti stem/
American Classic hubs, QRs, BB, HSs, SPs, crank/ Chris King HSs/ Cook Bros
QR/ Hartley Alley's Touring Cyclist Shop bags.