This Space for Rent

It’s a good light, but the ergonomics are terrible

IQ Cyo

I bought this IQ Cyo from Longleaf Bicycles four or five months ago, and it’s been a pretty good (if somewhat expensive) addition to the mlcm except for one tiny detail. It puts out a lot of light, so I want to turn it off when I drag the mlcm inside (I’m doing some contract programming these days, so every morning I ride the bicycle downtown and walk it over to my cubicle, where it spends the day drying out before I walk it back outside and ride home) but the on-off switch is a rotary one that’s actually the back of the barrel.

And, because the bicycle is used outside, it picks up grit that gets into the switch mechanism. Which makes the mechanism very difficult to operate, particularly when I’ve got a pair of gloves on.

For US$110, I think they could have done a bit better with the power switch.

(Also note the dynohub; this is not the Shimano 3d71 I used to use on the mlcm. No, this is the older (and purchased used) 3n70 that was on the trek, and which is now being switched between bicycles as required. If I’d bought a SON I suspect I would not now be cooling my heels while the LBS pesters Shimano to actually provide replacement parts. But I would have spent another $250 more than what I paid for this wheel ($250 which I did not have; it cost me about $140 for the wheel, and I had to sell a bunch of bike and camera parts on ebay to get that money in the first place.))