Customer Reviews

Monkey Light Bike Light

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I got one for my front wheel and one for the back. The devices themselves are light as a feather; it's the batteries that add the weight. Hold three double-A batteries in your hand and you will get a feel for the weight you'll have on each wheel. You may feel the unbalance at times. It seems to cause a slight forward-backward shimmy when coasting at high speeds, but then it's probably only when the two sets of lights are lined up with each other. It is not enough of a shimmy to make me feel out of control of the bike, and I like the lights enough that I do not mind the shimmy. I am sure that the issue of balance will vary with each bike and rider.

One set of lights per wheel does not create the complete disk of light effect I had expected after looking at pictures on the website. At the speed I usually go in the city, I get a sweeping pattern that fills about only about one quarter of the wheel. The eye easily follows the lights as they rotate around & around.

The device has several buttons which allow you to customize the display - color, speed and pattern. However, it's impossible to see the effects when you are riding the bike yourself. If you can rig up a bike stand, or put the bike on the ground upside-down in the dark, that might work if you really want to test and see the different pattern choices. I only use my spoke lights when it's dark, of course, and when one is at the bike rack all bundled up in winter gear, it's hard to get down on the ground and see all those tiny buttons. So, I usually just push the "ON" button and let it go with the default.

I recommend installing the spoke lights so that the control buttons face the side of the bike you normally use to mount and dismount.

I just LOVE my Monkeys ! Bought 3 to try em out. I liked them and bought 2 more. Now my bike is lit up like Times Square. These are REALLY REALLY BRIGHT LED's. Do not get near em if you are prone to epilepsy. I am running 3 front 2 rear and they look very beautiful. Children cheer, adults stare and drunken young girls smile and flash me when I ride by. Cars and trucks come screeching to a halt and the people all stop and stare slack jawed. You get my drift. They are amazingly beautiful bright lights.
They mount well and solidly with zip ties and rubber padding that keeps them quiet and secure on your spokes. They take 3 AAA batteries each so they are a bit heavy but I have not noticed a lack in my sprint. Have not had them long enough to comment on battery life but it seems good so far. Also have not ridden them in the rain yet, they say they are water proof but I can neither confirm or deny that.
I do wish they were Wifi so you would not have to turn them on and adjust individually. [ NOTE to ME please buy out HS for wifi patent. It will be worth it because everyone of your customers will want to upgrade.] Also they are xpensive but SO worth it. If you are put off by the price I suggest you buy just one. You will buy more. Am in Japan and I had a Gaijin moment tonight and was riding on the right [wrong] side of the road and didn't even get hit. You can ride just plain stupid with these on at night and not get killed. [ NOT advising that mind you.] I sometimes forget to turn on my head and tail lights but that no longer matters. When I get home to my dark apartment I don't need to turn on the lights to see my way in. I sometimes catch people staring at my wheels even in the day trying to figure out what those things on my wheels are. ANYWAY I love these and RECOMMEND em.

TODO
Hokey spokes are so last years burn
[...]

I already have a LOT of front/rear lighting (by DiNotte) on my bike & helmet, but felt like this would be even more useful for right/left lighting. I ride home from work on a bike lane on a relatively quiet road, but it's at midnight, lots of blind curves, fog, rain, and entry/exit points for cars. Also, I'm just plain krazy for bike lights.

PROS:

- Lots of "thumbs up" and appreciative vocalizations from drivers/pedestrians/other bikes. It's a pretty cool light show with just one unit on each wheel.

- Battery life is pretty good. I'm recharging my Eneloop NiMH batteries (not included) about every 3 weeks. I use the MonkeyLectric 30 min at a time, 2-4 x week. Obviously, I'm not using this unit on the daylight portion of my commute (see "CONS")

- Very durable so far, lots of rain, a little snow/ice, plenty of mud/road grit. No problems in 8 months.

CONS:

- No help at all during the daytime, but it's not designed for that. Other lights (DiNotte) will help you be seen by motorists in daylight/overcast conditions, but not MonkeyLectric. And they tell you that up front, it's not a surprise. It's purely a night time light.

- I have a very heavy steel bike, carry a ton of work gear/lock, and I'm a fat American. Even with all that "damping", at very high (downhill) road speeds, I can feel a slight front/rear oscillation. It's not dangerous or destabilizing, just noticeable. I speculate that if I were a thin guy on a "crabon fibre" bike, it still wouldn't be destabilizing, just more noticeable. But that's ridiculous, right? What self-respecting, gram-conscious roadie would even consider putting this on his/her aero-spoked bike?

- It's a chunk of electronic equipment flying around & around through water, mud, potholes, etc. It's been working great for 8 months, however, it probably won't last forever. I'm sure it's made as durable as it can be, but the environment & conditions it goes through will eventually take a toll.

So, once you have a fantastic tail light (most critical in traffic), and an excellent front light (pretty darn important), then it's time to buy a couple of MonkeyLectrics!

I got two monkey lights and I didn't have any problems installing them on my rear wheel, it took time for me to install them because I used the anti-theft metal wire but I must say the lights are very bright (visibility and safety is number one) and I am very happy with it... the graphics even looks better in actual compared to the advertisement video. I did not feel the added weight but the wheel is slightly off-balance even after installing pair (two) in one wheel. Pedestrians just stop and stare at my wheel, cars even a police car followed me for a few minutes just to enjoy the digital light show, be advised that you will get a lot of head twisting and lots of attention from people, fellow cyclist and cars. It would be nice thou if it had a quick release mounting system so you can be at peace when parking your bike at high-crime areas..... I am planning to get two more for the front wheel I highly recommend the monkeylectric lights because they are awesome! BTW I used it on heavy rain... even washed my bike with a garden hose and yes it is water resistant! Nice! [...].

The videos you will find of this thing in action do not do it justice. They are straight-up dazzling. The designs morph and color change as you ride. VERY bright. With batteries it weighs ~165g and introduces a great deal of imbalance to a light wheel. I used lead split shot fishing weights clamped on the opposite side spokes for an effective counterbalance. Or you can just add another unit. I wish I could see myself when I ride with this thing!

I saw this at a Critical Mass in San Francisco a while back and instantly bought four.
They are super bright and really cool! Incredibly beautiful and a great way to be seen at night.
They are a bit hard to attach and need to be removed if you are in a place where you think someone might steal them, and this requires cutting the plastic.
They are hard to activate to work in harmony. Sometimes I would have different designs on one wheel from two lights.

I'm very happy with the two Monkey Lights I bought for my bike. So happy in fact, that on a few occasions, I went out for night rides just to show them off. Drunk pedestrians especially love them.

The patterns are visible at dusk, but at night they really shine. They're a great way to make yourself more visible to drivers, not only because they're bright, but because they're so unique that it catches people's attention. With the Monkey Lights on, drivers often slow down more when passing me, and opposing drivers waiting to turn across traffic tend to wait for me to clear the intersection instead of just gunning it, presumably because they're taking a brief moment to look at the shimmering light that shines onto my legs, bike frame, and road surface.

I always use mine in super bright mode, which supposedly drains the batteries faster. I ride an average of 40 minutes each weekday with the lights on, and I recharge the batteries (Duracell Pre-Charged NiMH) approximately once a week.

As explained in the product documentation, the weight of the batteries does offset the balance of the wheels. I have one unit on each wheel, and I can feel a slight shimmy around 20 mph (The manufacturer says they're safe up to 30mph, which is fine for me, as I rarely exceed 30 anyhow). I've tested them with both units on one wheel, and then I did not notice the shimmy, so I guess it's possible to balance the weight if you use two units per wheel and position them directly across from each other on the wheel. The visual effect also looks better with two per wheel.

It's true that you can not sync two units to show the same patterns and colors at the same time, but in my experience, that is not a problem. When using two on the same wheel, the patterns appeared to layer on top of each other, which made them look more detailed or more intricate. I intend to buy two more units so that I can have two on each wheel.

I bought one of these yesterday and was excited to try it out. While it is bright and flashy, it is not at all like the ads. It doesn't look anything like the one on their page. After reading the reviews, it makes me think these are insiders writing the reviews to try and stimulate business.
They are expensive and don't display as expected. I think their site is misleading.
Like one other reviewer stated "on their ad they show the 2000.00 dollar version".
Not the 65.00 dollar version. It only shows about a quarter of the wheel.
With that said, I don't think there is anything else out there like it. I haven't tried the Hokey Spoke unit. It's about half the cost. More expensive is not always better.
I will probably try and return it. I can't imagine paying 150.00 dollars for two of them just to make it look good. That's the cost of a new bike. I was hoping to use it for Burningman festival. However. unless your cruising at a pretty good clip it won't look good.

UPDATE::

After trying to return the product the bike shop dealer told me that he has not had any complaints about them. In fact, he stated that one of his employees has had good success with them. He suggested I try different settings.
Well, in the end I bought another one to see the difference.
There is a considerable difference. With two on the same wheel the units work really well.
I wish they would work at a slower speed. I had to ride fast to get the effects.
It is almost impossible to synch these two. I haven't been able to do it yet.

Yes, I spent too much money on them. But they do look cool.

I've had a Monkeylight on the front wheel for over a year now. I bike year-long, through the New England rain and winter slush, and it's held up. The batteries only need replacing about once a month, though I bike every night. This is with standard nickel-metal hydride AAA batteries. The three batteries constitute most of its weight, and I've never felt any effect on my ride. The lights are very bright with great colors, and visible even around dusk. I definitely feel safer at night, and am very happy with the purchase.

I live in San Jose and here in the Bay we have monthly Bike Party rides that occur every third friday night where thousands of bicyclists ride between 8-midnight over 20 miles of road.
These lights are THE BEST. I originally purchased them because I was riding ten miles home each night from work around 11 PM and visibility is key for safety. Not only do these lights make you nearly impossible to miss, but they turn heads! Programmable, relatively easy to install and TONS of fun. I started out with two but now I have got two on each wheel and they are my absolute favorite accessory. My dogs and I ride at night when the weather is good and even in the rain, they are incredibly durable.
I'll likely always have a set of these on my bike.
Monkeylectric has me HOOKED.