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EUC Bodyguard for the Gotway Nikola!


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11 hours ago, The Fat Unicyclist said:

The outer layer of the Bodyguard is designed to be resilient. The prototype before this actually had more holes in it and I still wasn't able to tear it at all (and believe me, I tried). 

 If only I had an image of you attempting that. ;)

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5 hours ago, rolekl said:

Oh man, you could have posted this a few days earlier... It would have saved me a couple of hours and about 25 meters of duct tape :pooping:

20200209_162925.jpg

Now there are 1002 uses for duct tape. ;)

49514228817_d743874a39_b.jpg

 

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1 hour ago, Rehab1 said:

 If only I had an image of you attempting that. ;)

Just Photoshop my head onto the body of a young Arnold Schwarzenegger... No one will notice any difference!   :blink:

Perhaps this one (with an EUC Bodyguard being stretched between my hands)...

GettyImages-481406443-1200x1785.jpg

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On 2/9/2020 at 9:49 AM, The Fat Unicyclist said:

 So, what sort of feedback do we want...

  • Tell us what you think about the LED cut-outs - There are 100+ holes in the cover shown here. The challenge we have is finding the balance between showing off your LED and maintaining the integrity of what is a protective cover. We are thinking the cover would be a bit more robust if we were to reduce the number of holes a little - So would you all prefer a few less LED holes (possibly increasing the robustness) or leave it as it is (because you need to light up the world)?
     
  • This Bodyguard has had a zipper added to facilitate the use of the scorpion trolley handle, but this does add a bit to the cost of the Bodyguard. Would riders be interested in having the choice of "with zip" (and trolley handle access) or "without zip" (meaning you can't use the trolley with the cover fitted)? This is to see if anyone out there doesn't use their trolley and would be happy to save a few dollars.
     
  • And what about the colours... is there a preference for the solid black side, or the multi-colour version? Or would people prefer a reversed colour-scheme (like the 16X) either with a solid or multi-colour side?

I love it !

As for the requested feedback :

  • I could live with a few holes less for enhanced robustness, but visibility is crucial for me (lots of riding in the dark here), so the more, the merrier
  • I use public transportation, so with zipper please
  • Love the all-black, not so much in favor of the blue/black

 

Edited by Kristof Willen
double post
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Oh, one more thing now that I come to think about it. For lack of better rules, I try to adhere to most rules valid for cyclists. I guess I'll be pulled over at some point just for being different (or speeding...) so trying to be a good citizen might help. So I personally would like to have a bit of reflective material on the cover. A bit of white in the front, a bit of red in the back and something orange on the sides.

Perhaps an unusual request?!?

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5 hours ago, rolekl said:

Oh, one more thing now that I come to think about it. For lack of better rules, I try to adhere to most rules valid for cyclists. I guess I'll be pulled over at some point just for being different (or speeding...) so trying to be a good citizen might help. So I personally would like to have a bit of reflective material on the cover. A bit of white in the front, a bit of red in the back and something orange on the sides.

Perhaps an unusual request?!?

Not that unusual... And we have been looking for something suitable, but also generic - a number of countries have specific (and different) requirements.

Hopefully we will find something suitable...

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  • 9 months later...
3 hours ago, Ronin Ryder said:

It doesnt cover the brake light. 

I was a bit confused because their description says "Cut-outs for the charging port, headlight and side LED lights". It didn't mention a cut out for the brake light. Then I just came across this video which seems to show that it does cover the brake light. The brake light is the round red light on the back embossed with GW. Is your cover different to this one then?

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11 hours ago, mike_bike_kite said:

I was a bit confused because their description says "Cut-outs for the charging port, headlight and side LED lights". It didn't mention a cut out for the brake light. Then I just came across this video which seems to show that it does cover the brake light. The brake light is the round red light on the back embossed with GW. Is your cover different to this one then?

Hi @mike_bike_kite...

I know a couple of things about EUC Bodyguards, so please let me jump in here.

With regard to the trolley handle, as @Ronin Ryder mentions (and as you will have seen from my video) it is a simple matter to unzip the cover as you reach down for the handle to lift it up. One added bonus is that the Bodyguard secures the handle while riding, so (in the event of a fall) it doesn't fly outward and risk being damaged.

As for the other "cut-outs", you are quite correct - we cater to the head-light, USB & charging ports, power button and side LED. But not the rear light.

I specifically refer to this as a "rear light" rather than a "brake light" as (with all of the units that we checked) the light does not increase in brightness when braking. Combine that with the fact that it is masked to show a form of the GW logo and it offers very little in the way of lighting (IMO). During the design process we attempted to make it visible, but with the positioning required for the zipper, the two could not work together. So, as the tail light provided such little benefit, we chose to sacrifice it in favour of a usable trolley handle.

But... we appreciate that visibility is critical and have been using a bit of our down-time to develop a little something extra for the Nikola (and other models too). While we are still finalising the detail, it seems appropriate to mention it here. And of course we would love to hear your feedback on the idea...

Have you heard of the MOLLE System

TLDR - it's a modular pattern of webbing that allows you to attach stuff to your backpack, tactical vest, or EUC Bodyguard!

Anyway, we have been looking to provide small amounts of MOLLE at strategic places on EUC Bodyguard models that will allow you to attach something like this...

MOLLE Reflector

 This is the back if a Nikola Bodyguard, with a strip of MOLLE added across the back edge. Onto that MOLLE strip we have added our own MOLLE Reflector (which is almost 2" square). And because MOLLE is modular, it could also be used to attach a MOLLE light, MOLLE GoPro mount, or even a MOLLE grenade holder!   :blink1:

As mentioned above, this is (slowly) working through our development process. But we can speed that up if there is interest in this type of solution, so please give us feedback, suggestions, et cetera if you think it is a good idea - And even tell us if you think it is a bad idea, I won't be too upset.   ;)

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On 2/11/2020 at 12:42 AM, rolekl said:

Oh, one more thing now that I come to think about it. For lack of better rules, I try to adhere to most rules valid for cyclists. I guess I'll be pulled over at some point just for being different (or speeding...) so trying to be a good citizen might help. So I personally would like to have a bit of reflective material on the cover. A bit of white in the front, a bit of red in the back and something orange on the sides.

Perhaps an unusual request?!?

Just looking back at this thread... Our MOLLE Reflector solution may also apeal to riders like @rolekl... We can currently get suitable reflective material in red, orange and fluoro-green/yellow. I am trying to track down something in white as well...

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I was hoping you'd reply but wasn't expecting such a comprehensive reply! I ride almost exclusively on the roads and here in the UK (and I suspect most of Europe) you need to have a rear light. Obviously EUC's are illegal anyway but it's good to show you're at least trying. Having a rear light just gives us one less reason to be stopped by the police. I only considered EUCs with a proper rear light - I'll admit I'm a bit disappointed to discover that Gotway doesn't make it function like a brake light also! 

The MOLLE system looks interesting but I'm not sure what lights or reflectors I could get to fix to it. Please keep in mind that any crash is likely to destroy the light so cost is also a big factor (for me anyway). An alternative might be to have a rubber bar sewn into the fabric instead. Riders could then attach a standard LED bicycle light to the rubber bar? The bar would need to be about 3x2x0.5cm (I think).

Thanks for being proactive on this by the way. On your web site you only have pictures of your covers from the side - it would be nice if you had pictures from the front and back as well just to clear up questions like these. My Nik+ is arriving in a few weeks so I'll probably have to go with the current design.  Again, thanks for your response.

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