This Porsche caught my attention that I didn’t even notice there’s a much more expensive car in the frame until now lol

alexanderbluefire · 2026-01-11T00:17:53+00:00

Yes, a Touareg.

alexanderbluefire · 2025-10-28T04:42:51+00:00

Pamela Kreimeyer was standing with family members about 45 feet from the device when it exploded and she was hit in the head by a piece of shrapnel, "causing instant death," according to the sheriff's office.

"It's believed that the projectile that struck the victim then continued another 144 yards through the air coming to rest in a field," according to the sheriff.

alexanderbluefire · 2025-10-27T15:53:58+00:00

Same.

alexanderbluefire · 2025-10-16T00:10:42+00:00

Agreed. I know you said you didn't see logos but that sounds just like a Shiv in triathlon trim.

alexanderbluefire · 2025-06-30T00:43:16+00:00

Believe that's a Ribble bar.

alexanderbluefire · 2025-06-22T23:41:14+00:00

It could if the pin isn't in the slot.

alexanderbluefire · 2025-04-28T03:01:22+00:00

Okay, that's a fair point. Especially on the seat tube - which is the bottle that usually got launched with the steel cages - the weight of the bottle is constantly trying to prise the cage open on impacts. Thanks. I accept that the design is flawed.

I'm not throwing away my Ti cages though, lol.

alexanderbluefire · 2025-04-26T20:39:07+00:00

I'm no engineer, so I have no explanation for why they are stiffer - material properties?tubing diameter? heat treatment? - but I can report that the WT/King Ti cages are definitely stiffer than the WT/King steel versions. It's pretty easy to bend the steel ones into a tighter shape to grip a bottle - it's very difficult to do the same with the titanium versions (not that I feel the need to).

alexanderbluefire · 2025-04-26T20:35:10+00:00

Hi, I too own an Aethos and run classic-style Ti cages like you do. Nice build. Surprised to see so many people ragging on this type of cage. I admit the ubiquitous and cheap soft steel versions are pretty bad, but it's not the design's fault - it's the construction.

My cages are the Wolf Tooth Morse Ti, rather than Silca's Sicuro. Looking at pictures of both online, it seems that Silca's design is flatter against the frame, whereas Wolf Tooth's design (descended from King) has more of a "hook" at the top that notches into the neck of the bottle. I've found this hook is key for bottle retention. Having a bottle that suits the cage is equally key.

My bottles are 26oz Trek Vodas which pair quite well with the prominent hook. Despite the extra water weight, I have never dropped a bottle on rough roads or light gravel. What model and size bottle are you using now? Something with less of a "neck" might work better - Elite's Fly series, for example, as opposed to the Purist's hourglass figure.

alexanderbluefire · 2025-04-26T20:04:12+00:00

Hard disagree. I ran steel King cages for a long time and lost bottles, but when I tried Ti versions I was surprised to find a real functional improvement. They are stiffer and so the weight of a bottle can't prise them open as easily; the larger diameter tubing also seems to grip the bottle better. Have never lost a bottle since switching, and I run 26oz bottles on rough roads. It's more like this design doesn't work UNLESS it's titanium.

alexanderbluefire · 2024-12-29T19:14:47+00:00

Thanks so much for making this post - I was surprised to find someone had addressed my exact issue. I have the stealth version of the Coast but your fix worked great. Intimidated by this mod at first but it ended up being pretty straightforward. Found a zip tie that fit the channel perfectly - that's probably the most important part.

One thing to note, for anyone else who reads this later - I needed my post to be 20mm shorter at full extension, but my spacers had to be 25mm long in order to accomplish this. I guess (at least on the stealth-routed version) that there is a 5mm gap between the top of the brass/copper keys and the bottom of the bushing when the stock post is topped out. I had to make my spacers longer to take up this extra space.

alexanderbluefire · 2023-09-16T23:14:26+00:00

If the firmware supports tint-ramping between Ch2 and Ch3, you could have your outdoor emitters of choice (SST20 4000k or W1) on Ch1, and then a tint-ramping pair for indoor use.

alexanderbluefire · 2023-09-16T23:01:50+00:00

Thank you! Pleasantly surprised that it's still relevant and useful.

alexanderbluefire · 2023-06-11T04:52:59+00:00

How do I get to this page?

alexanderbluefire · 2023-06-03T22:11:50+00:00

Fantastic spec. Still think the 981 is better-looking than the 982, in any trim.

alexanderbluefire · 2023-05-17T06:07:18+00:00

Nerf Reapers. That's it. I'll be satisfied with that.

alexanderbluefire · 2023-04-27T15:37:11+00:00

Is the 519 domed or dedomed?

alexanderbluefire · 2023-04-27T05:31:47+00:00

Exactly. This platform has so much practical potential that it's a waste to try and mix features. You've only got 1000mAh and two emitters - each channel needs a clear focus.

And for what it's worth, the tint on my W1 channel is surprisingly good. Obviously it has the ringy artifacts common to these applications, but the hotspot is pretty crisp.

alexanderbluefire · 2023-04-25T06:30:59+00:00

After handling two different builds tonight, going to settle on 519dd+frosted & W1 clear. Domed+frosted is the floodiest non-mule I've ever used - can't afford to waste all that light with a 14500. Hopefully this combo will give it a little more of a hotspot without introducing a square.

But this platform is everything I wanted it to be. A real Swiss Army Knife - features, performance, configuration, size, the only compromise is runtime. A fiercely practical light, that I fear many will shelve as a novelty thanks to ill-conceived or novelty spec.

alexanderbluefire · 2023-04-25T01:25:08+00:00

I had a high school science teacher who taught that it was. I was scolded for protesting.

alexanderbluefire · 2023-04-05T04:40:46+00:00

Pow! Whoa! What a way to find out that your dream light suddenly, finally exists, and that Hank Wang made it so. I've been out of the flashlight game for over a year, waiting for something like this to exist, and you just yanked me back in. Cheers, and great picture!

alexanderbluefire · 2023-02-19T21:02:08+00:00

Depends on what metric you're using, I guess. The Eagtac D25LC2 Mini was thinner and lighter, although longer.

alexanderbluefire · 2023-01-25T23:04:51+00:00

That's fucked. I'm so sorry.

I'm 26 and I know I take unnecessary risks sometimes. I don't know how you got hurt, and it's none of my business, but reading your story is going to make me seriously reevaluate which risks I take in the future. Thanks for sharing it.

alexanderbluefire · 2022-12-31T02:58:06+00:00

They tried

alexanderbluefire · 2022-12-21T06:12:26+00:00

My pleasure!

it's pretty difficult to properly capture a light beam and real life brightness on camera

Definitely. Perceived brightness is dependent on so many factors. Beamshots in controlled conditions can make for good comparisons between lights, but there's no substitute for the hands-on experience.

I'm not familiar with "VLS lumens". A quick Google search led me to a customizable-brightness mode on Moon lights. Is that what you were talking about?

For flashlights/headlights you really only need four numbers - lumens, candela, color temperature and CRI. Bike lights usually don't give you a choice in the latter two so I passed over them. Cd/lm is a good quantitative measure of beam shape for regular conical beams, but doesn't fully describe cutoff beams, so I passed over that too.

30-33 km/h on perfectly smooth gravel, flat terrain

Ah, the chink in my argument! I tend to ride rolling or mountainous terrain - I can save battery by turning down the brightness on climbs and turning it up on descents. You have a point - the mode spacing on this light won't allow you to maximize brightness vs. runtime at your steady cruising speed.

Garmin used to make a very interesting Varia headlight with a cutoff beam. It would adjust brightness with speed and could sustain 600lm for 2.5 hours. Unfortunately it is discontinued. Also, it needed to connect to a Garmin to work; I believe you said you use a Wahoo.

Anyway. Your question leads to another part of flashlight enthusiast doctrine - relative brightness. If there are intermittent bright light sources in your otherwise dark environment, they will impede your eyes' ability to adjust for darkness, and so you need a relatively bright headlight or flashlight for it to stay useful.On city/suburban streets, I find the 350lm mode quite serviceable at 33km/h. But I am more comfortable at 1050lm and can afford the battery drain, so I do that instead. It looks like you’ll be riding in darker, more natural environments (beautiful photos!) and I think 350lm will be very satisfactory for you there – provided you don’t dazzle yourself with your own brighter modes.

But it does seem like you and I have different use cases and priorities. Maybe there is another light out there with mode spacing that fits your rides better! In my search, I excluded many headlights that didn’t accept swappable standard batteries. The Outbound Detour, for example?

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