As city cyclists, we know that your bike gear is part of your everyday life and that’s why we obsess over every detail of our bike lights. Not just the big picture stuff like low-battery indicators and ensuring they’re theft-proof. We’re talking every detail, down to the fulfilling feeling of pushing an “on” button that feels just right.
Well, we’re proud to announce that after weeks of testing (that doesn’t affect ship date), we’ve nailed the button push. It features the perfect amount of give and produces an overwhelmingly satisfying “click.”
But how can we be sure that the button click will feel just as gratifying on its 5000th click as it does on its first? We could rely on theoretical physics or the promises of our manufacturers, but that’s just not the Fortified way.
Nope, the only way to be sure it feels perfect after 5000 presses is to actually press it…5000 times.
Fortunately for Slava, one of our whiz engineers put on his MacGyver mullet and made a machine to do the job for us. Using an Arduino micro-controller, a servo motor, a C-clamp and lots of zip ties he hacked together this brilliant test jig. He even added a light sensor to be sure the light was turning on and off.
(Bonus feature: click here to see Will explaining how the jig works!)
Now we know that the 5000th button push feels just as good as the first : )
What other behind-the-scenes footage would you like to see? Leave us a comment and we’ll do our best to oblige!
December 4, 2014 at 7:16 pm
thanks for the update, nice one!
December 4, 2014 at 8:13 pm
Glad you liked it! Let us know if there’s any other behind the scenes footage you’d like to see and we’ll be happy to pass along whatever we can!
December 4, 2014 at 8:02 pm
The Bonus Feature video is private. Please make it public on Youtube.
December 4, 2014 at 8:12 pm
Thanks for the heads-up. It is now available to the masses!
December 4, 2014 at 9:19 pm
Two questions for you guys
1) waterproof??
2) What happened to your nice head-set mounted design?
December 8, 2014 at 2:48 pm
Hey Eric,
1. Without a doubt!
2. The head-set mounted design is on hold for now, but it’s being stored safely in our archives for a rainy day : )
December 5, 2014 at 1:28 am
Wonderful job guys! Can’t wait to get my hands on them!
December 5, 2014 at 9:45 pm
Thanks, Gabriel! We can’t wait, either : )
January 6, 2015 at 7:56 pm
How are everything? Will you provide us with a new update soon?
I hope things are progressing without too many problems!
January 11, 2015 at 7:58 pm
Hi Christoffer,
Thanks for checking in! Our next update is coming out very soon and will provide some additional goodies in the form of a firsthand look at the work we’re doing with our manufacturers to ensure these lights meet our standards.
Stay tuned!