Keiron Kinninmont wrote:
Hi,

Currently using a rather bog-standard cateye front light for commuting. It
requires two C/R14/Baby size cells. I'm currently usinf NiMh 2300mAh cells.
Despite the claims of global warming, the rather bitter cold here is having
a noticable effect on the performance of the cells (maybe up to 1/3
reduction). i hear that Cadmium cells suffer less from this effect (despite
their other shortfalls), does anybody know how true this is in a/this
practical sense?

Secondly, i suspect that the longer/faster i ride the colder the light
becomes (fact, i've experimented and the effect is noticable) thus effecting
the battery further and i presume this is to do with a) increased time in
the cold (obviously) and b)wind chill effect. Before i go to the bother of
creating some neoprene light sleeve to increase insulation does anyone know
if this is likely to have the slightest effect?

Any other ideas appreciated

Thanks


My solution was to lose the battery powered headlight in favor of a hub
generator setup. Completely unaffected by the cold, better light output
than the bog standard cateye, and no screwing around with replacing
batteries, charging batteries, etc. I did continue to run a Cateye
TL-1000 battery powered taillight, mostly because it simplified
switching the light system between my winter commuter (ancient
suspensionless MTB w/ studded tires) and my summer commuter (rather nice
tourer). Two lithium AA (FR6? L91?) batteries power the taillight for
quite a few commutes in colder temps than you describe, although a pair
of NiMH rechargeables will get me to and from work (1 hr 15 min round
trip) with no trouble. Post a query about commuting lights on
uk.rec.cycles and you'll find an awful lot of people living on your
sceptered isle who feel the way I do about hub generators.

mark