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TECH NEWS: ON TEST: BLACKBURN FLEA
Road Bike Action
October 21, 2009
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STORY
Last year Blackburn introduced the Flea line of lights. The Flea lights (they are available in front and rear models) are rechargeable and serve as an option for riders looking for added light without the bulk and weight of conventional light systems. New for 2010, Blackburn updated the Flea line to be available with both USB and solar charging systems.
TECH
The Front Flea is a micro size Lithium Ion rechargeable headlight that uses four super-bright White Nichia™ LED’s. The flea has 40 lumen output and now features a charging system that uses a standard USB port or solar charger. The solar charger consists of a 3" x 3" set of solar panels that allows the user to charge the light during the day in preparation for their nightly commute. The flea has three operating modes; normal, overdrive, and flash with a run time of three hours steady, or five hours flashing. The Front Flea is available in six colors including blue, white, green, pink, red and black.
RBA SAYS
The Flea works well when rides require getting home at dusk or starting just before sunrise. Due to the small size and limited power output, the Blackburn Flea is what we refer to as a "be seen, not to see" light, which means the Flea is perfect for low light situations and added safety in traffic, but it is not designed for serious night riding. For its intended purpose the Flea works well and provides more light than expected, especially in the overdrive setting. Another feature that we liked was the simple hook/loop strap mounting system that made it easy to mount and remove the light. The only drawback to the system is that one has to remove the strap completely from the Flea in order for it to sit properly in the charger. There were more than a few times that we spend considerable time searching for the mounting strap at the end of a work day! Not Surprisingly, it was the Flea's solar charger that garnered the most attention. The Flea's USB Solar charger is a great idea and is effective. After an initial charging using the standard USB charger, we used the solar charger almost exclusively, without the light ever running out of power. The solar panels do require longer to charge the Flea, but this was never an issue as most of our ride times with the Flea were under an hour and didn't necessarily require a full charge
The Flea is full of big ideas wrapped in a little package. Light output is good, it is easy to mount, plus the USB and solar charger are great for commuters and translates to fewer batteries in the landfills.
PRICE: $39.99
INFO: www.blackburndesign.com
BONUS POINTS: Size, light output and solar charger. |
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