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Old 04-23-10, 12:48 PM
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tatfiend 
Gear Hub fan
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Reno, NV
Posts: 2,829

Bikes: Civia Hyland Rohloff, Swobo Dixon, Colnago, Univega

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Dinotte 400R Taillight Review

I went ape and did it, got the Dinotte 400R taillight and got it installed on my Civia Hyland Rohloff last night. Dinotte had it on sale when I ordered so not quite as outrageously priced as usual. The Civia also has a Supernova dynamo taillight installed. I am a belt and suspenders type sometimes ;-)

Tried it in the garage last night and the output is INTENSE. It makes the output of the PB Superflash look like an anemic glowworm in comparison when tested side by side.

Six modes are available, three non blinking light intensities and 3 blinking modes. The one I like is 4 bright flashes in about a second, a short pause and then repeat. Between flashes the light is on at low intensity. For group rides the steady low output setting is suggested or your riding partners will hate you and make you be tail end charlie!

Body size is about the same as the PB Superflash but machined Aluminum. Weight of the light head is a bit greater than the Superflash with batteries installed.

I made up a mounting plate to mount it to the Civia rack. The light head has three threaded holes in the back for mounting. Two are used by the factory mounting brackets. If doing this you have to be careful that the screws are not too long. The factory screws that mount it on the normal included tube clamp mounts only go in about 3mm and they will bottom out and possibly damage things if they go in more than 4mm by my measurement. No mention of this in the instructions or seen on the Dinotte web site. The mounting holes are standard 4mm Metric.

Advantages:

VERY Bright.
Clamps included for tubes from 12mm to 31.8mm tubing diameters.
Numerous modes available.
Workmanship appears to be excellent.

Disadvantages:

Not quick release. To remove a screwdriver is needed.
Uses a separate battery pack like a high power headlight.
Rack mounting using the rack taillight mount is a DIY project.
Instructions could be better.
EXPENSIVE!
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Gear Hubs Owned: Rohloff disc brake, SRAM iM9 disc brake, SRAM P5 freewheel, Sachs Torpedo 3 speed freewheel, NuVinci CVT, Shimano Alfine SG S-501, Sturmey Archer S5-2 Alloy. Other: 83 Colnago Super Record, Univega Via De Oro

Visit and join the Yahoo Geared Hub Bikes group for support and links.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Geared_hub_bikes/
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