About headlights shining upward

My fiddle bow needed work, so this evening I set out in the dark to deliver it to my favorite repairman. (BTW, he's also a utility cyclist.)

This was a cross-suburbs trip to an address I rarely visit. It was a very pleasant night ride on a beautiful night. Because of the recent discussions (and the less familiar route) I paid attention to my IQ Cyo's upward illumination. Here's what I found:

The Cyo's upward light is, indeed, not enough for me to clearly read small street signs. However, it was enough for me to tell that one street was _not_ the correct one. I couldn't make out the letters well enough to read the name, but I made out enough letters to know I had to keep going to the next block. I suppose if a person were frequently looking for unfamiliar back streets at night, it might be worthwhile to carry a small flashlight.

But regarding the bugaboo of overhead tree branches dashing night cyclists to the ground: Of course, there were no such tree branches. However, when riding the one very useful shortcut bike-ped path into the center of our village, I could see the tree branches that were overhead and off to the side quite clearly, well before I got to them. If any _had_ been in a position to hit my head, they certainly would have been obvious. The claim that "You gotta use a Chinese flashlight to prevent head injury" really is nonsense.

About real life issues: The beam of this Cyo (several years old) is still beautiful, clearly showing me bumps and potholes, plus illuminating stop signs from a great distance. And several times drivers of oncoming cars nearly a block ahead waited for me to pass before making their left turns, despite having time to make their turns had they chosen to. They obviously saw me in plenty of time.

Again, those who haven't ridden with a good German-standard headlight beam really don't know what they're missing. Yes, they're a bit pricey. But if they were as popular as they deserve to be, the price would come way down.

- Frank Krygowski

On Wed, 25 Sep 2013 22:40:53 -0700 (PDT), Frank Krygowski
wrote:

My fiddle bow needed work, so this evening I set out in the dark to deliver it to my favorite repairman. (BTW, he's also a utility cyclist.)

This was a cross-suburbs trip to an address I rarely visit. It was a very pleasant night ride on a beautiful night. Because of the recent discussions (and the less familiar route) I paid attention to my IQ Cyo's upward illumination. Here's what I found:

The Cyo's upward light is, indeed, not enough for me to clearly read small street signs. However, it was enough for me to tell that one street was _not_ the correct one. I couldn't make out the letters well enough to read the name, but I made out enough letters to know I had to keep going to the next block. I suppose if a person were frequently looking for unfamiliar back streets at night, it might be worthwhile to carry a small flashlight.

But regarding the bugaboo of overhead tree branches dashing night cyclists to the ground: Of course, there were no such tree branches. However, when riding the one very useful shortcut bike-ped path into the center of our village, I could see the tree branches that were overhead and off to the side quite clearly, well before I got to them. If any _had_ been in a position to hit my head, they certainly would have been obvious. The claim that "You gotta use a Chinese flashlight to prevent head injury" really is nonsense.

About real life issues: The beam of this Cyo (several years old) is still beautiful, clearly showing me bumps and potholes, plus illuminating stop signs from a great distance. And several times drivers of oncoming cars nearly a block ahead waited for me to pass before making their left turns, despite having time to make their turns had they chosen to. They obviously saw me in plenty of time.

Again, those who haven't ridden with a good German-standard headlight beam really don't know what they're missing. Yes, they're a bit pricey. But if they were as popular as they deserve to be, the price would come way down.

- Frank Krygowski

Aw Frank, you've just never tried a proper flashlight. See
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiKzrnKR3Ts
--
Cheers,

John B.

hmmmm hummmmhmmm hummm hmmmm....bronk

well, there you go...include with WEST EPOXY 6500 a

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...34.ILlAWQD-d0I

On Thursday, September 26, 2013 7:40:23 AM UTC-4, datakoll wrote:
hmmmm hummmmhmmm hummm hmmmm....bronk



well, there you go...include with WEST EPOXY 6500 a



https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...34.ILlAWQD-d0I

oooooooooooooooo


here's a hinterland model


http://fibreflare.com/products/m-v-p-helmet-light-red

On Thursday, September 26, 2013 7:44:12 AM UTC-4, datakoll wrote:
On Thursday, September 26, 2013 7:40:23 AM UTC-4, datakoll wrote:

hmmmm hummmmhmmm hummm hmmmm....bronk







well, there you go...include with WEST EPOXY 6500 a







https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...34.ILlAWQD-d0I



oooooooooooooooo





here's a hinterland model





http://fibreflare.com/products/m-v-p-helmet-light-red






but illuminated streets sings fantastic..

the aged come down with the usual degradations and are loooooost...GPS is URDU..chaoso !

there are 2 Pine Ridge Roads and at least 3 Sanibel Roads...15 miles apart.

Add 95 degrees...

lighted signs...very spacey also.


http://www.ci.boca-raton.fl.us/EECBG...2/IMG_0767.JPG


divinity deleted morning rain for wandering columnars

On Thursday, September 26, 2013 12:40:53 AM UTC-5, Frank Krygowski wrote:
I paid attention to my IQ Cyo's upward illumination. Again, those who haven't ridden with a good German-standard headlight beam really don't know what they're missing. Yes, they're a bit pricey. - Frank Krygowski

55 dollars is not too expensive.
http://www.starbike.com/en/busch-and...umotec-iq-cyo/
That is after you remove 17% VAT and then multiply by about 1.35 for Dollar to Euro conversion. Shipped to the USA you pay in dollars about what they charge in Euros. You do need a generator front wheel. A good Shimano generator hub from Starbike is about 80 dollars. DH-3N80
http://www.starbike.com/en/shimano-dh-3n80-dynamo-hub/
Starbike offers wheel building service for about 25 dollars. Add in DT spokes for about 25 and a DT rim for 50 dollars. Total a bit less than 200 dollars. Maybe 200 or close with shipping to the USA. Total of 250 dollars with the Busch& Mueller IQ Cyo. Not too bad in my opinion. Yes more than a LED flashlight and the 10 dollar strap on velcro mount (can't remember its name even though I own two of them).

On Friday, September 27, 2013 12:16:06 AM UTC-4, Andy K wrote:

My headlight system consists of a Zefal light and two 9 led flashlights attached by 2 hose clamps.

I set the Zefal to blink and the other 2 to shine continuously.

Total cost of system is less than $25 dollars.

I tried similar solutions long ago, and have some friends who still use them. In my (or our) experience, they can be fine as "be seen" lights in cities. And in many city centers, street lighting is good enough that there's little worry about road hazards in the dark. But I've never seen such a system that actually lights the road surface well enough to let a rider avoid potholes, etc. in the dark, especially at my normal riding speeds.

What sort of riding environment do you have?

- Frank Krygowski

On 9/26/2013 9:16 PM, Andy K wrote:

My headlight system consists of a Zefal light and two 9 led flashlights attached by 2 hose clamps.

I set the Zefal to blink and the other 2 to shine continuously.

Total cost of system is less than $25 dollars.

I do see a lot of night cyclists with a low power flasher and a higher
power steady light. A high power light in flash mode at night doesn't
make sense, but the low power flasher may be a good idea.

The LED flashlights with a lot of LEDs tend to be fairly low power
lights because they use a lot of cheap, low intensity LEDs since they're
cheaper than a single high intensity LED and they don't require an
expensive thermal solution.

To get the "masses" equipped with sufficient intensity lighting, with a
proper beam, will require a solution in that $25 price range.

On 9/26/2013 8:29 PM, wrote:

55 dollars is not too expensive.
http://www.starbike.com/en/busch-and...umotec-iq-cyo/

The problem with those lights is that they're not really suitable for
use in the U.S.. They don't provide sufficient illumination for higher
speed riding, they don't have a proper beam shape that illuminates off
to the sides and slightly up, and they don't have a flash mode for
daytime use.

Once you've experienced riding with a light that provides a level of
illumination that's at least within an order of magnitude of a vehicle
headlight, that illuminates properly to the sides and a bit up (to read
street signs and to illuminate low hanging hazards), and that provides a
daytime flash mode, you'll not want to go back.

On Friday, September 27, 2013 11:55:36 AM UTC-5, sms wrote:
On 9/26/2013 8:29 PM, wrote: 55 dollars is not too expensive. http://www.starbike.com/en/busch-and...umotec-iq-cyo/ The problem with those lights is that they're not really suitable for use in the U.S.. They don't provide sufficient illumination for higher speed riding, they don't have a proper beam shape that illuminates off to the sides and slightly up, and they don't have a flash mode for daytime use.


Way back in 2006 I rode a 200, 300, 400, 600, 1200 kilometer brevets in the midwest USA. Mostly country road riding but some city riding too. In 2007 I rode two 200, two 300, two 400, two 600, 1000, and 1200 kilometer brevets in the midwest USA and France. Mostly country road riding but some city riding too. The 1200 France ride started and finished in the suburbs of Paris and turned around in Brest.

I used two halogen Schmidt lights during all these rides. I have since gone to two Bushc&Mueller LED IQ Cyo lights. Have ridden at night with the Cyo lights. Both of these combinaions of lights provide sufficient light in all directions to read signs and see the road far in front of me. There were some short cobblestone sections on the France ride. I can safely ride 15-25 mph in the dark in the country or city.