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1. trout - Member

   Keep on Tinkering got to have something to do when its raining

   Here is this years tinkering just testing different combinations of the new XMLs .

   I paced it out from the building 100 good strides

   Here are the lights from left to right

   1 / single XML 2S Laura Lflex 3 amps
   2 / double XML 2S Laura H6flex 3 amps
   3 / triple XML 2S Laura H6flex 3 amps
   4 / Triple xml 2S cute S H6flex 3 amps
   5 / Triple XML 2S Rocket 3 H6flex 3 Amps
   6 / double XML Laura + Double XPG Regina Hipflex 2.8 amps
   7 / single XML Deft Aspherical Lflex 2 amps

   

   Beamshots in the same order

   1
   
   2
   
   3
   
   4
   
   5
   
   6
   
   7
   

   Posted 1 year ago #
2. Tonolina - Member

   I've got one of the first LL lights and it is the brightest one I have. I commute to work so feel I am justified in buying a new light every year to keep me safe through the winter. I've also got various Magicshine lights because they are cheap, I was curious and the rear light is still the brightest I've seen.
   Also, over the years I have built up a collection of still working lights including L & M HID, Hope Vision 2 LED, Hope Vision 4 LED, L & M Seca 700, all of which are attached to different bikes. If you could list the lights you have upgraded on your site I would be tempted to upgrade come the autumn.
   You should keep tinkering as how else would STWs stay ahead in the light race.

   Posted 1 year ago #
3. Tiger6791 - Member

   Hi Trout, sent you a couple of emails about that Bastid I sent you, any joy?

   Don't retire

   Posted 1 year ago #
4. big_n_daft - Member

   My 2p's worth

   reselling far east imports would be a mistake

   your USP's should be around, british build and support, flexible design, latest technology etc You should be competing against the "premium" brands Lumi, Hope, L&M, USE etc

   someone commented above that you need to design a "bread and butter" range that creates the turnover and gets your light's out there. base on AA and AAA technology, lots of people have the batteries and chargers already

   you need to look at how your business cycle works for the year, stock may be expensive but next day delivery gets orders. Why not get a student to do this years base builds in the summer vacation?

   Arguably you need to look hard at the AA idea as well as sourcing your own batteries, one profit margin (yours) in a light set is better than 2

   why don't you ditch the fins and get "TROUT" cut into the sides? It's your brand, make sure it's very visible

   plenty of people will buy lightsets priced "right" (£120-150 all in seems to me a price point to aim at) that are quality pieces of kit, the Bastid's are disposable therefore you need to be within 2x-3x price at most

   additionally DIY kits could be relatively easy way of increasing turnover

   the comment about optics is right as well, R&D is your strength, use it

   also get your lights in early for the magazine tests

   there is "risk" in investing, but I would say it's limited, plenty of Bastid's won't restart next winter and their owners will need new lights and will want something that is more robust

   looking forward to a well priced, high quality lightset storming the market for this winter

   Posted 1 year ago #
5. Rockape - Member

   Hi Trout.
   I followed your thread about the diy Hammond build with great interest. Seeing what a great job everybody was doing was encouraging but also very daunting for a complete novice. So I think more diy kits with well thought out instructions and most the things you need included in the kit to complete the build. Also rear lights with a good clamp would be a plus because I don't know about anybody else but I've lost a number on many a good trail. I think it's great to think you can buy things built by a man from his shed to such high standards. Keep it up please kits and lights like yours are what we all need to chase those winter blues away.

   Posted 1 year ago #
6. smudge - Member

   Nice constructive ideas Big and i'm sure Troutie will listen to them, its such a leap from doing it as a hobby as he is doing and stepping up a level seeing and compete with the big boys and imports (that are a fraction of the cost but with no real support and cheap internals)

   What you do get with Troutie is basically next years light available this year. Custom led implants into old lights and loads of first hand knowledge of design of leds and optics with beam shots as shown above. An old light with the latest leds implanted inside, who else does that?

   WHO else, offers this level of service light wise. A few even jump on his light threads not even started by him trying to promote their own lights.

   So I say Troutie you would leave one hell of a gap in the UK market should you decide to quit, besides I wont let you !

   Posted 1 year ago #
7. big_n_daft - Member

   its such a leap from doing it as a hobby

   yes, which is why careful thought about his "startup" model is needed

   my (obviously uneducated) view is that production isn't his strength, R&D is. So use someone else's time to do the repetitve work (whilst making sure quality is maintained) freeing him up to "run" the business. A suitably keen competent (and unfortunately for them , cheap) student would love a weekend job building up units based on Tout's designs. Build the stock up now for winter 11/12 and launch a decent viral marketting campaign (already there arguably)

   I think it will be worth going for it if he can get his price point's right, get a decent pre winter stock level, and make it all add up (no point losing money obviously), get some half decent packaging (recycled cardbooard box printed appropriately, cheap to you eco friendly to the customer!) and convince the magazines that you are the next Lumicycle. As far as I can tell he has sold everything he's made which is a great starting point.

   I would also go and talk to the local business startup organisations (business link?), plenty of businesses are started on the back of grants from these sources. They can also help with getting the business plan sorted so you can understand the risks.

   I personally think you have a viable business proposition but I'm just an idiot on an internet forum, go and get some advice from people who know how to get you off the ground.

   Posted 1 year ago #
8. big_n_daft - Member

   .... and a DIY kit for the old HID models (Lumi, Trailtech, Hope) would be a good option as well, easy money for just packing up the right bits once you've sussed the swap out.

   Posted 1 year ago #
9. malakoffee - Member

   Troutie,

   Why don't you just carry on doing what you do now ??
   You give us ideas, entertainment, products and services - on your own terms - and we love it. Your depth and spread of knowledge is highly regarded.

   I suspect that you find that all quite rewarding, but probably not in money terms.
   As soon as profit becomes a major aim, the whole perspective changes.
   e.g. Risk, obligations, defending your knowledge and interests . . . .

   Having said that it would be a pity if there is no way to realise a money benefit from your valuable knowledge, . . . having accidentally/incidentally built your own brand.

   You probably know all this and the answer will find itself.

   Reading the above, I can see that there are a huge range of suggestions and there does not appear to be a screamingly obvious answer.

   Posted 1 year ago #
10. chyperie - Member

    Troutie

    Hope you haven't retired, I'm desperate to give you some of my hard earned money for a Trout Mini, I've sent an order and and an email but not heard from you yet, hopefully you're just on holiday

    Posted 1 year ago #
11. trout - Member

    Yep I am in the lakes with very limited inet
    have been recieving emails but cant seem to send them out
    I will get back to you this weekend when I get home .

    Posted 1 year ago #
12. chyperie - Member

    Yep I am in the lakes with very limited inet
    have been recieving emails but cant seem to send them out
    I will get back to you this weekend when I get home .

    Cheers Troutie, look forward to hearing from you

    Posted 1 year ago #
13. jazid - Member

    Troutie,
    What about replacment headunit with controller for lights like the crc, on one or bastid lights
    That all suffer (reported) reliability issues. This way people search for spares on the web
    Would come across you simple replacements. You could also ask them to send in the old head units so you could strip off the power connector to use in another replacment.
    It seems a shame that when the headunits die that the li-ion batteries are useless.
    This is just a sideline thought as the market is clearly smaller than the buying new or diy kit market.

    I'm a happy dinotte headlight user along with my vision2.
    Lights made and supported in the UK is a big plus for me (at the time dinotte was distributed by crc, but no longer)
    People that race don't suddenly want a bastid light to go dead on them halfway eound mayhem, so the reliability of your products
    is important which something else you offer.

    I haven't got around to building the 2ck kits as the monster threads are a
    Mission in themselves to work out the instructions for, so if you do sell kits stick the pdf of build instructions with photos online.

    Keep it up, as I'd now only ever consider hope and trout for future purchases.

    Posted 1 year ago #

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