Kali Protectives, MAYA Helmet

The Kali Protectives, MAYA is a very well made helmet with some sweet features. Kali Protectives produces helmets from full face helmets for downhill, enduro and trail to bucket helmets for BMX riders. Kali Protectives makes other body pads for legs, arms and shorts with padding built in. 

The Kali MAYA helmet has a visor that can be adjust slightly up or down, with a tension device installed just behind it, so it can be position and won’t move. Riding into the rising or setting sun this is a must.

 The visor also includes an accessory mount for attaching POV cameras, lights, etc. The helmet will keep you well ventilated with its 12 vents. Inside the helmet are anti-microbial pads along with a bug liner to keep bees and other bugs out from hitting your head. The helmet is light, weighing in at 360 grams. The helmet once adjusted and fitted using the straps and back of the head sliding buckle feels good and does not wiggle around. 

Kali Protectives offers its customers who have purchased a Kali bicycle helmet a limited Lifetime Crash Replacement (LCR) Warranty. If you have damaged your Kali bicycle helmet in a crash, you may file a claim to have your helmet replaced by Kali. You must send your helmet to Kali for inspection prior to receiving a replacement helmet. You cover the shipping, they will cover your head! 

If you crash your replacement helmet, then Kali will offer a 25 percent discount off MSRP towards the purchase of a replacement helmet. Contact warranty@kaliprotectives.com for further details.

Find out more on the 

Lifetime Crash Replacement (LCR) Warranty

CycleBeam’s Graphene 700 Bike Light

This very rugged little handlebar light with external battery back is very bright and light weight.  The CREE XM-L2 LED bulb can be used in one of three modes. Yes, this light has only one LED, but a very powerful one. High, low and blinking. With the light running on high, the battery will last approximately five hours. While using the light on low power it could last up to 15 hours.  The durable light is built of an aluminum and is water resistant, however it should not be submerged in water. If the light should get wet, say by rain, you will be ok. The cord running from the light to the battery pack has a screw ring on it, once snapped with the connection, screw the water resistant cap to make the connection secure. With the light being made of aluminum, it dissipates heat very well. The battery back has a case with velcro straps, allowing it to be attached to the top bar of the bike. For mounting the light, it attaches to an aluminum clamp.  The kit comes with two hex key tools, one is used to attach the light to the clamp and the other is to tighten the clamp after attaching it to your handlebar. It comes with a few different size pieced of rubber stripping that seat under the clamp to make a tight grip on the handlebar. Both the power cable from the light and from the battery are pretty long. Of course the light can be plugged into the battery that comes with it but it also has a feature that allows you to, if needed, to used an external battery with a USB attachment to plug into it. 

The kit comes with some seals for the light as well as rubber strips to use when attaching it to the handlebars.  Once tightened on the handlebar, it is very sturdy and it can handle all the shaking and bumping around. Minor adjustments to where you want to the light pointed are not possible unless you loosen the bolt and reposition it with the hex key. Set the light up with the direction you want it pointed before heading off on a ride.
For night riding and being able to light up a trail or path, this light does very well.

The Vivo-Bike USB Rechargeable 300 Lumen Cree LED Bike Headlight

Vivo-Bike USB Rechargeable 300 Lumen Cree LED Bike Headlight 

 Looking inside the light at it's bulb

 Red light inside the on/off switch indicating it is charging

  Green light inside the on/off switch indicating it the battery is fully charged

 The "no-tools" required silicone strap 

 The USB charging port at the back end of the light 

The USB rechargeable 300 Lumen Cree LED bike headlight by Vivo-Bike.  This headlight weighs 50 grams and is water resistant.  It conveniently fits on handlebars ranging in diameter from 20mm to 40mm and easily can be attached and removed quickly without the use of any tools. The beam it emits, is more of a flat beam, unlike other lights that shine a round beam. The light comes with a micro USB cord, for charging the light. The USB cord is a little over eight inches in length. To charge it simple attache to a computer port or wall adapter.  A red lamp is present inside the on/off switch when it is charging. The lamp turns green when the light is fully charged. The light has a total of three modes. A high, a low and a flashing or strobe mode. It takes approximately three hours to fully charge the light. In return when using the light in high mode the battery is expected to last about three hours. When used in the low mode it will last approximately five hours and using in the strobe or flashing mode the battery can last up to 12 hours. The battery inside is a 800mAh Li-Polymer battery (Lithium battery). The light emitted by the bike light is very bright and will light a bike path/lane very well. The light measures two and a half inches long and one inch wide. The light is attached to the rubber strap, so when removing both the strap and light come off together. A simple silicone red tail light, which can be turned on to a blinking mode or just a constant on also comes with the headlight.  #VivoBike 

Xtreme Bright's Pro Series X55 premium LED Headlamp

First off, I wear this headlamp on it's headband stretched over my helmet and use as an additional light to light my path on my mountain bike.  

So, the Xtreme Bright's Pro Series X55 headlamp is very functional with three modes, 50 percent power, 100 percent power and flash or strobe mode. The very bright zoomable light is powered by 4AA batteries which are covered by a silicone rubber cover. The switch to control the power is on the battery cover. The elastic strap is fits comfortably on your head, or in my case over the outside of my helmet.  I foresee using this lamp while running in the early mornings or getting a run in when it's dark out at night. The light is able to directed up and down if you are looking to direct the beam straight down from you or out farther away to see what's in your path. I am impressed with the quality of light that lamp is able to produce only using 4AA's.  

Lupine Lighting Wilma 2400 Lumen Kit

With the daylight hours being decreased due to winter, lights are a needed item when out training.  I am super impressed with the Lupine Lighting Wilma 2400 Lumen kit I have been using.  First off, the light produced by this small unit is similar to a car's headlamp in the terms of brightness.  When the German engineers produced this gem, they put a lot of thought and care in the design and function of this light.  The light comes with a headband mount, which is perfect for running, walking or trail hiking.

View a quick video on the great features of this powerful light.

  It throws off a 26 degree pattern, which after a quick adjustment can be directed out farther or directly down right in front of you.  I have both the headband and bike helmet mount and switching the lamp between the two is a quick "no tool needed" process.  The rechargeable 8.4 Ah battery lasts a long time.  There is a nicely thought out gauge on the battery to let you know how much power is left.  The button on the top of the lamp itself is used to turn it off and on, hitting the button once cuts the power of the light back by half, while pressing and holding the button turns the lamp off.  The kit comes with a 12-volt car charger.  Once again, very well thought out.  I could see this coming in handy for a quick charge on the way to meet a fellow group of riders, or to charge during a long race when a household outlet will be hard to find.

Winter rides are perfect now, being visible to others on the road, as well as being able to see what's in front of me out on the trails or roads, either running or biking. When the sun does begin to rise earlier in the summer months, you can bet I will be out even earlier to avoid the heat and sun getting my rides in.

Giving Cyclocross a Spin

This past weekend I competed and found out what cyclocross is all about, or at least three laps of a course is like.  I took part in the second-class citizen race.  The race was myself and two other costumed riders.  The course was full of hairpin turns, trees, and a few hill climbs.  It was set up on a local working farm in town.   The hill on the course had both packed dirt and loose, which was easier to dismount and run the bike up.  Also the one direction you entered the hill on, it was both soft dirt on the way up and on the way down making it much easier once again just to run with the bike.  I attempted to ride my bike down on my second lap, but only was slowed up and lost some time.  With the race starting at 10pm, when most folks are tucked in bed, I was pumped and ready to test out the course. The weather was rainy the day before, as well as off and on the morning of the race. The course was pretty dry and some parts had some sandy areas.  My oldest brother came out to support me and wanted to see what it was all about too.  The organizers set up lighting around the route but  while riding in some parts of the course it got pretty dark.  I was really glad I packed my Lupine Wilma X Pro to light the way for me.  I opted to wear it mounted on my helmet so what ever way I looked the light revealed what was there.  A fun race and a kick-butt workout.
For those wondering about the 24 Hour race I was to be in, two of the four team members pulled out leaving us unable to continue.  I however have been looking into a 12 Hour race coming up in January 2013.