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Comment by giuliomagnifico | Hacker News Reader

Very interesting! I'm a cyclist too, but I haven't read about the battery, how long it last? And the lenses have good quality/are fast to switch from clear to dark? (by the way the price tagof about 400€ is expensive to what looks like a bit more than "a toy")

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The battery is claimed to be 10 hours, but I didn't test it to that limit. The lenses were really good quality - at least as good as my Tifosi's. Very comfy and stayed in place, which is crucial for AR. They don't actually switch the lenses themselves from clear to dark, it's just the brightness of the text that increases, which is instant. But if you wanted to ride at night, you wouldn't be able to wear them.

I agree they're expensive, especially since they aren't self contained like a typical bike head unit is. I keep comparing them to the Form swimming goggles - which are also AR. I feel those are totally worth it. But the Engo's are just a bit too expensive for what you get.

Interesting, their site claims they're photochromic (like "transitions") lenses, they should adjust to the brightness around them. Have you tried them in a darker environment?

Oh, wow. If it does it’s SUPER subtle. I started a ride in full sunlight and then went in full tree cover forest on gravel. I never noticed the lenses change, only the brightness of the LED.

It was visible the whole time though, which was impassible. Like, I TRIED to shake these things off my head going over tree roots, lol

400E/$450 is enough to buy a really nice head unit, or a power meter, or clothing for more weather conditions, etc.

Just really doesn't seem that useful, and reminds me of all the "help cyclists navigate with LED displays" junk. I swear, it's like every industrial designer's right of passage to design some crap accessory to "help" cyclists!

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