Hokey Spokes are transparent computerized “blades” that attach to your bicycle spokes and spin as you ride to create an impressive array of design images and text. With a name like “Hokey Spokes” you might expect these little electronic “blades” to be nothing more than a children’s today. However, you’d be surprised to learn just how impressive these little lights really are.

For the past month I’ve been testing a set of three Rainbow Hokey Spokes in my home town of Park City, Utah and have garnished some impressive results. Based on the past month of riding with my Hokey Spokes in tow, I present to you my “likes” and “dislikes” for the Hokey Spoke product:

What I Like About Hokey Spokes

Eye-Catching And Unique

Right off the bat, it’s easy to see that the Hokey Spokes products are unique. On my very first ride around my neighborhood with the lights mounted on my front wheel, I got a number of comments and strange looks from people passing by. Few people have ever seen a bicycle light up the way that it does with the Hokey Spokes in use, and that alone, I believe, will have a few individuals rushing out to get these unique LED blades.

The Patterns Are Beautiful

Another great thing about Hokey Spokes is that the designs are pre-programmed into the device. While there are other/similar products on the marketplace that allow you to create customized designs, Hokey Spokes are beautiful and easy to use – without you having to do a thing.

Programming The Custom Text Is Easy

For those who do want to further customize their ride, Hokey Spokes give you the option of programming in your own custom text message. The directions for text customization come right on the back of the packaging and are incredibly easy to follow. You can program in any text you want as long as it is 16 characters of less and you are happy with the text displaying in all capital letters (and no, you can’t choose the font of your choice).

What I Dislike About Hokey Spokes

Price

Sadly, Hokey Spokes are expensive. Really expensive! While it is recommended that you use at least 3 blades on each wheel in order to get the designs to display properly at low speeds, the blades are sold individually and cost between $29.95 and $39.95 USD depending on what color blade you select (Blue, White, and Rainbow colored blades cost the most, while green, yellow, red and orange cost the least). Nevertheless, some quick addition shows that even if you were to purchase the very cheapest of blades, you’d be looking at approximately $89.95 per wheel (or $179.70 in order to outfit a standard two-wheel bicycle). At that price, I’m afraid few people will jump on this particular product.

Lots Of Batteries

In addition to the cost of the product itself, you also have to consider the cost of batteries. Each blade requires 3 AA batteries and lasts for approximately 48 hours when the batteries are fully charged. That means for the a full set of 6 Hokey Spokes, you need to purchase an additional 18 batteries, which tacks on a likely $15 – $20. (Batteries are not included with the product)

Difficult To Install And Remove

While overall very easy to install, Hokey Spokes are a bit of a pain to take on and off the bike. You do need a screw driver in order to install or remove the product and this does take some time and practice. Unlike many front and rear bike lights that snap on or off with the flick of a button, Hokey Spokes take a bit more work.

The Tiny Rattle

On my first ride around the block with the Hokey Spokes in place, I noticed a small rattling noise coming from the blades and feared that the product might wiggle itself off the spokes and go flying out into the street and be destroyed. However, I quickly thereafter realized that this rattle was cased by the batteries inside the blades and not by some lose connection between the blades and the spokes of my wheel.

As Richard from Hokey Spokes informed me via email, “The sound of the rattling may be the batteries. We had to design the dimensions of the battery cavity to allow for variances in AA batteries around the world or else some of them (slightly over sized) might stick inside. If you are bothered by this you may do one of two things: 1) You can take a strip of Scotch tape and run in along one side of three AA batteries and slide them in together as one longer battery. This will quell the rattling. Or, 2) you can untwist the brass piece on the blue battery cap, put a metal washer on the stem and reassemble. This will have the effect of putting more pressure on the batteries and tighten their assembly in the battery chamber. Both of these comments are mentioned on our “Frequently Asked Questions” of our website.”.

You Can Only Use Them At Night

Finally, I have to mention the fact that Hokey Spokes can really only be used at night. During the day the lights just simply don’t show up. And because I usually do very little night riding (and because I suspect other bike riders try to avoid riding in the dark if they can), I believe some cyclists will find it difficult to find a time to actually use these products.

Summary

Despite the list of dislikes mentioned above, I believe that Hokey Spokes are a fun, unique and reliable product. If the price of the products were cut in half, so that you could outfit at least one wheel for about $40 – $45 USD, I think that would result in a huge increase in sales. In the meantime however, I find the price to be a bit restrictive.

My Rating: If I had to rate Hokey Spokes on a scale of 1 to 10 (without considering the price), with 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I’d give it a 7. There is nothing actually wrong with the product other than the fact that you can only use it during the night – a time of day most cyclists try to avoid if they can.

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The biggest advantage of a touring bike with 26″ wheels vs. 700c wheels is that 26 inch wheels are easier to repair and find replacement parts for no matter where you are in the world. 700c wheels can typically only be found in North America, Europe, and other large cities around the world.

Additionally, 26″ wheels are typically wider than 700c wheels and therefore handle off-road conditions much better than a traditional touring bike. For this reason, 26 inch wheeled touring bikes are often the choice of bicycle travelers who are cycling around the world and through a diverse range of road conditions.

You can get more information about each of these bicycles on their corresponding company websites. The touring bikes shown below have been listed in alphabetical order according to their manufacturer. Some of these bicycles can be ordered with either 700c or 26″ wheels.

Bilenky

Hedgehog – www.bilenky.com

Midlands – www.bilenky.com

Nor’Easter – www.bilenky.com

Tourlite 26″ – www.bilenky.com

Bruce Gordon

BLT-X – www.bgcycles.com

Co-Motion

Pangea – www.co-motion.com

Koga-Miyata

WorldTraveller – www.koga.com

Kross

Navigo – www.kross.pl

Novara

Safari – www.rei.com

Riese & Müller

Intercontinental Extreme – www.en.r-m.de

Surley

Long Haul Trucker – www.surlybikes.com

Thorn Raven

Nomad S&S – www.thorncycles.co.uk

Sherpa – www.thorncycles.co.uk

Sterling – www.thorncycles.co.uk

Tour – www.thorncycles.co.uk

Sport Tour – www.thorncycles.co.uk

Tout Terrain

Panamericana – www.tout-terrain.de

Silkroad – www.tout-terrain.de

VSF Fahhrad Manufaktur

T-400 Rohloff 14-Gang – www.fahrradmanufaktur.de

T-400 SLX 27-Gang – www.fahrradmanufaktur.de

T-400 Deore 24-Gang – www.fahrradmanufaktur.de

T-400 Nexus 8-Gang – www.fahrradmanufaktur.de

Have I missed any? I’m sure I have!

If you know of a 26 inch wheeled bicycle made specifically for touring that you think should be on this list, please leave a comment below with the name of the company, the bike model, and a link to the appropriate website. The bike should be a complete bicycle with wheels, components, and front and rear braze-ons for the placement of racks and panniers.

Other Models To Consider:

I’m not sure if these bikes should be added to this list or not. Can you help me decide?

• Does the Giant Journey X have 26″ wheels?
• I left the Gunnar Rock Tour off the list because I couldn’t tell if there were eyelets for a front rack. Do you know if you can mount a rack to the front of this bike?
• These two Brodie bikes (Drifter & Cohort) appear to have front eyelets, but I can’t tell if they have eyelets for a rear rack. What do you think?
• Does RodCycle have any 26″ touring bikes? It looks like they might.
• The Salsa Fargo is a 29″ Touring Bike, not 26″. Maybe this is another list I should create – touring bicycles with 29″ wheels?

Other Posts

• Pack Too Much Stuff? Mail It Home!
• Koga-Miyata 26 Inch WorldTraveller Touring Bike
• Bicycle Touring Pro Is Two Years Old
• The Bicycle Touring Pro – Live On Your Computer Screen
• Warm Showers And Free Accomodations For Traveling Cyclists

The Bicycle Traveler’s Blueprint

Bicycle touring is easy… once you’ve done it a couple times. But if you’re just starting out it can be a bit overwhelming. The good new is that when you know what to pack, how to plan out your route, and what to expect once you hit the road, you stand a much greater chance of completing your tour with ease.

“The Bicycle Traveler’s Blueprint” is a 142-page guide to traveling the world on your bicycle. This down to earth, easy to understand, and motivational book walks you through everything you need to know in order to conduct your first bicycle touring adventure. It contains all the secret bicycle touring tips I wish I had known when I did my first bike tour in 2001.

Click here for more information on “The Bicycle Traveler’s Blueprint.”

The Ultimate Guide To Free Lodging

Finding a place to sleep each night is one of the most difficult parts of bicycle travel. You do have some options however! You can camp, stay with family or friends, or pay exorbitant fees to stay in hotels along the way.

“The Ultimate Guide To Free Lodging” is a course that takes you by the hand and walks you step-by-step through the process of asking for and receiving FREE hotels, bed & breakfasts and campgrounds for your bicycle touring adventures.

I developed this course after using the techniques described inside it to obtain 27 free hotel rooms for a 30 day bike tour down the Mississippi River in the year 2004. I got thousands of dollars worth of free accommodations on that trip… and it cost me practically nothing!

“The Ultimate Guide To Free Lodging” contains a guidebook, MP3 audio interview walking you through the free lodging process, and a folder filled with sample letters/emails that you can use to obtain free lodging for your own bicycle travels.

Click here for more information on “The Ultimate Guide To Free Lodging.”

The MP3 Interview Club

I’ve conducted a number of great interviews over the years with some of the leaders in the bicycle touring world. You can listen to these interviews here on BicycleTouringPro.com for free… but if you want to downloads those interviews and listen to them later, add them to you favorite MP3 device or listen to them while driving in your car, you may want to consider joining “The MP3 Interview Club.”

With “The MP3 Interview Club” you get access to every single interview I’ve ever conducted at BicycleTouringPro.com… plus (and this is a big plus) you will be able to download the MP3 audio file of every interview I ever conduct in the future.

This means that you not only get all the incredible interviews I’ve already recorded as part of this site, but you will also be able to download the MP3 audio file for every single interview I conduct in the future. And trust me… I’ve got a lot more interviews in store!

Click here for more information on “The Bicycle Touring Pro MP3 Interview Club.”

iPod photo by Re-ality

Related Posts

• Down The Road With Tim And Cindie Travis: An Audio Interview
• Interview With The Hungry Cyclist: Pedalling The Americas In Search Of The Perfect Meal
• The Ultimate Guide To Free Hotels And Campgrounds For Bicycle Travelers
• Interview With The Authors Of “Ultralite Bicycle Camping”
• An Interview With Ted Schredd – Author Of “The Cycling Adventures Of Coconut Head”

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Pannier packing is an art. There are a million different ways to do it and no one was is correct, but there are a few commonly-held practices that, if you are aware of them, will help you out tremendously once you jump in the saddle and hit the streets.

I was recently asked write a guest post for the Adventure Cycling Association blog and thought it would be good opportunity to share my simple and down-to-earth pannier packing secrets. Click here to read the article and discover my “7 Secrets To Successfully Packing Your Panniers.”

One of the tips I give in the article is to leave some extra space inside your panniers before you leave home so that you can pick up additional items, if the need be, as you go along. However, the most important part of this tip was edited out (Maybe because Adventure Cycling disagrees with me on this particular point? Or maybe because the article simply needed to be shorter?)

Whatever the case, the part that was cut out stated that you should attempt to have at least half of a pannier empty when you leave home at the start of your tour. I personally shoot for having an entire pannier free if possible.

My point here is that if you leave home and you are already stuffed to the gills, you are simply carrying too much stuff. Having some free space (the more free space – the better), will really come in handy once you hit the road.

To read the full article and get some additional hints on how to pack your panniers for your next bicycle touring adventure, head on over to the Adventure Cycling blog and read my guest post titled, “7 Secrets To Successfully Packing Your Panniers.“

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• How To Pack Your Panniers
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