What headlight do I need?

Hi there,

I'm a regular bike commuter in Clearwater, FL and am looking for a good
headlight with which I can see (not just be seen). Currently, I'm using
a couple of skimpy LED lights.

I'm riding along mostly lit roads with medium to heavy car traffic.
There are stretches of road that are unlit. So, there is a lot of
ambient light available most of the way, but with dark stretches in
between street lights and lots of changes from bright to dark due to
cars passing me on the completely unlit stretches.

What I'm looking for is this:

- Need to be able to see obstacles (rocks, broken glass, roadkill, ...)
ahead of me for speeds of 20-22 mph.
- Can't justify to spend $300 or more for the high-powered HID and
Halogen lights.
- Want to avoid lighting systems with external batteries if at all
possible.
- Commute is 50-60 minutes one way.

I've narrowed my search down to the Vega from Light & Motion, but I'm
not sure if it's suitable for my needs. My question is, does this light
reach far enough ahead of me to leave me enough reaction time to avoid
obstacles on the shoulder? If it does, will I be able to see the
obstacle when it's just in front of me, or is the Vega's beam focused
that much that I will be blind to anything outside the light's focus?

I also thought about perhaps getting two Vegas, one to point close, one
farther away ahead.

Then I've come across the DiNotte Ultralight, which seems to be similar
to the Vega, though with a more spread beam, but I'm not sure if it's
effectively brighter than the Vega.

Also, one DiNotte is about as expensive as two Vegas.

So, can these LEDs light my path far enough ahead of me or can this
only be achieved with the high-powered lights?

Georg

Georg---

I can't speak highly enough about the DiNotte. It's super bright,
well designed, uses non-proprietary batteries, and has a very small
footprint. It's currently on sale at Performance and Nashbar for $200. If
you're a Team Performance member you get 10% back in points, so that's a
good deal. I have no experience with the Vega, but the DiNotte is a great
light. I live just north of you in Citrus County, so I understand the need
for a good light, since it gets dark at 5:30 or so later in the winter.

Mike

"Schorschi" wrote ..
What I'm looking for is this:
snip
- Need to be able to see obstacles (rocks, broken glass, roadkill, ...)
ahead of me for speeds of 20-22 mph.
- Can't justify to spend $300 or more for the high-powered HID and

Halogen lights.
- Want to avoid lighting systems with external batteries if at all
possible.
- Commute is 50-60 minutes one way.

snip

Have you considered a hub dynamo or a sidewall generator lighting system? A
good hub dynamo system would meet your performance requirements for about
$250 (Shimano DH-3N71, Busch & Muller Lumotec halogen light, new rim,
spokes, labor to build wheel). There are cheaper systems that offer more
drag, more weight, less light output and shorter generator life, as well as
much more expensive systems that offer less drag, less weight, longer system
life and slightly more light output. I've been using the system I just
described, it seems to meet your requirements while barely meeting your
price limit.

A generator driven off the front tire would cost less but would be hard on
the tire sidewall, would be prone to slipping on a wet tire, and would
create more drag when the generator is engaged, no drag when it is not
engaged.

Either way there are no batteries to worry about, just flip a switch whrn
you want light.


Check out these sites for more info: www.peterwhitecycles.com,
http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/ .

HTH,
--
mark

mark wrote:
"Schorschi" wrote ..

What I'm looking for is this:
snip
- Need to be able to see obstacles (rocks, broken glass, roadkill, ...)
ahead of me for speeds of 20-22 mph.
- Can't justify to spend $300 or more for the high-powered HID and


Halogen lights.
- Want to avoid lighting systems with external batteries if at all
possible.
- Commute is 50-60 minutes one way.


snip

Have you considered a hub dynamo or a sidewall generator lighting system?

That's what I was going to ask.

A
good hub dynamo system would meet your performance requirements for about
$250 (Shimano DH-3N71, Busch & Muller Lumotec halogen light, new rim,
spokes, labor to build wheel).

But you don't need to spend anywhere near that much.

There are cheaper systems that offer more
drag, more weight, less light output and shorter generator life, as well as
much more expensive systems that offer less drag, less weight, longer system
life and slightly more light output.

I'd rephrase that.

There are generator light sets available for prices anywhere from $15 to
$250. In general, the cheaper ones cause more drag and won't last as
long. The very cheapest won't be as bright, but that's generally
because they use vacuum, rather than halogen bulbs. Put in a $7 halogen
bulb and they can be quite bright.

Cheap generator sets may have less precise optics (that is, they may
waste some of the light output), but in most cases, the optics for _any_
generator set are much better than that of the high-priced rechargeable
sets. Almost all generators are close to 3 watts output, so the
quantity of light output doesn't vary all that much. And yes, 3 watts
is plenty if you have optics that put the lumens where needed, not up
into the air. If needed, some generators allow fitting two lamps, for
six watts output.

I use mostly "roller" generators, the kind that rotate parallel to the
wheel. My old Soubitez sets are decades old and still running
perfectly. (Well, my tires have worn down the roller's drive surface on
some of them. I'll have to do something about that someday, before I
wear all the way into the generator's magnets.)

The Schmidt hub generator is reputedly the best. Many users say there's
nothing better, but their price is high enough that I haven't tried one.
Shimano makes some hub units that get good reviews. Other makers
offer "bottle" units or "roller" units.

The main problem with generators is that they're hard to find in
America. They're simply out of fashion here. You can find some at
http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/lightingsystems.htm

http://www.yellowjersey.org/bike_gear.html

http://www.sjscycles.com/store/vIndex.htm?cat208.htm

and lots of detailed test info at
http://www.myra-simon.com/bike/dynotest.html



Either way there are no batteries to worry about, just flip a switch whrn
you want light.

Yep. I used to use rechargeables. I decided they're just not worth the
hassle. (Can you imagine doing that stuff for your car's headlights?)

- Frank Krygowski

25 Nov 2005 22:58:50 -0800, Schorschi wrote:

Hi there,

I'm a regular bike commuter in Clearwater, FL and am looking for a good
headlight with which I can see (not just be seen). Currently, I'm using
a couple of skimpy LED lights.

I'm riding along mostly lit roads with medium to heavy car traffic.
There are stretches of road that are unlit. So, there is a lot of
ambient light available most of the way, but with dark stretches in
between street lights and lots of changes from bright to dark due to
cars passing me on the completely unlit stretches.

What I'm looking for is this:

- Need to be able to see obstacles (rocks, broken glass, roadkill, ...)
ahead of me for speeds of 20-22 mph.
- Can't justify to spend $300 or more for the high-powered HID and
Halogen lights.
- Want to avoid lighting systems with external batteries if at all
possible.
- Commute is 50-60 minutes one way.

I've narrowed my search down to the Vega from Light & Motion, but I'm
not sure if it's suitable for my needs. My question is, does this light
reach far enough ahead of me to leave me enough reaction time to avoid
obstacles on the shoulder? If it does, will I be able to see the
obstacle when it's just in front of me, or is the Vega's beam focused
that much that I will be blind to anything outside the light's focus?

I also thought about perhaps getting two Vegas, one to point close, one
farther away ahead.

Then I've come across the DiNotte Ultralight, which seems to be similar
to the Vega, though with a more spread beam, but I'm not sure if it's
effectively brighter than the Vega.

Also, one DiNotte is about as expensive as two Vegas.

So, can these LEDs light my path far enough ahead of me or can this
only be achieved with the high-powered lights?

Georg



If you commute regularly in the dark, a dynahup is the logical investment,
I think. I carry an abundance of two battery lights beside the dynahub
light on my daily niteride.
I have not yet seen a LED light that gives a satisfying light to see by.
The test i read in magazines from time to time still reach that same
conlusion.
I need halogen lights for my old eyes and I can recommend CatEye HL500
(wide bright beam)and HL 500II (best brightness/weight ratio). I power
them with NiMh rechargeable batteries, and for that you need an
"intelligent" battery charger. I am sure other brands of halogen lamps
will do as well.
If you can't afford it all at once, I would recommend to buy one good
halogen lamp + two sets of top quality batteries + battery charger this
year. And a dynohub next year.
The LED's are perfect for rear light. It will make you safer - and make
you feel safer - to carry a good rear light. CatEye's TL-LD 1000 or
TL-LD600 are both very bright - but they are not cheap.

Ivar

Schorschi wrote:
Hi there,

I'm a regular bike commuter in Clearwater, FL and am looking for a good
headlight with which I can see (not just be seen). Currently, I'm using
a couple of skimpy LED lights.

snip

Georg

The 5W LEDs do not have a very long life, and are very expensive to
replace. I'd avoid the DiNotte on that basis.

The LED headlights are NOT suitable for the kinds of speeds you are
talking about.

If you insist on internal batteries, look at the following light:

"http://www.swps.com/streamlight-strion-rechargeable.html"

I use on on my folding bicycle, with a Two-Fish Cyclopblock
("http://www.nashbar.com/profile_moreimages.cfm?category=&subcategory=&sku= 3203&brand=").

It is amazingly bright for such a small light, and it can be changed
from spot to flood by twisting the head.

It's the only extremely bright, small flashlight with Li-Ion, versus
NiMH batteries. Upside is longer battery life in a smaller package, but
the downside is much more expensive spare batteries.

For a real bicycle light, unfortunately the higher power self-contained
lights have been dropped from the market. The best still available is
from Planet Bike, http://bicyclesource.us/site/itemdetails.cfm?ID=2674

You're really limiting yourself with the requirement that the batteries
be inside the light, though I understand the desirablilty of this.

You might want one LED light for the areas that are well-lit, and then
use the Streamlight Strion in the darker areas.

SMS wrote:

The 5W LEDs do not have a very long life, and are very expensive to
replace. I'd avoid the DiNotte on that basis.

The LED headlights are NOT suitable for the kinds of speeds you are
talking about.

If you insist on internal batteries, look at the following light:

"http://www.swps.com/streamlight-strion-rechargeable.html"

Sorry to follow-up on my own post, but the specs on the Strion are at:

"http://streamlight.com/strion_spec.htm"

"Schorschi" writes:
What I'm looking for is this: - Need to be able to see
obstacles (rocks, broken glass, roadkill, ...) ahead of me for
speeds of 20-22 mph. OK, did they talk to you in driver's ed
about driving the appropriate speed for conditions? When it's
dark, you need to slow down some because you can't see as well.
That's true in a car as well as on a bike. - Can't justify to
spend $300 or more for the high-powered HID and Halogen lights.
If you want to be going faster than 20 mph in the conditions you
cite, then you will need to look at these very seriously. Self
contained battery lights will likely not meet the need. - Want
to avoid lighting systems with external batteries if at all
possible. There are two options. One is a high powered
battery system with a 10W or better lamp. The other option is a
generator with a Lumotec or Lumotec Oval lamp with a 3W bulb.
While that sounds wimpy by comparison, IME the Lumotec lamps are
the equivalent of a 10W NightRider in terms of practical
visibility. I use a Schmidt hub generator as they are the most
efficient generator available, and I like to do long night rides.
I've narrowed my search down to the Vega from Light & Motion, but
I'm not sure if it's suitable for my needs. My question is, does
this light reach far enough ahead of me to leave me enough
reaction time to avoid obstacles on the shoulder? If it does,
will I be able to see the obstacle when it's just in front of me,
or is the Vega's beam focused that much that I will be blind to
anything outside the light's focus? That's the norm with LED
lights. They tend to be very tightly focused. That said, the
L&M VEga is highly regarded and seems like it would be your best
bet in a self-contained setup.

mark wrote:

Have you considered a hub dynamo or a sidewall generator lighting system? A
good hub dynamo system would meet your performance requirements for about
$250 (Shimano DH-3N71, Busch & Muller Lumotec halogen light, new rim,
spokes, labor to build wheel). There are cheaper systems that offer more
drag, more weight, less light output and shorter generator life, as well as
much more expensive systems that offer less drag, less weight, longer system
life and slightly more light output. I've been using the system I just
described, it seems to meet your requirements while barely meeting your
price limit.

He wanted to keep it around $150, not $300.

There is only one choice for self-contained, 60 minute run time, bright
enough for 20 mph, and under $150.

If he gives up "self-contained" he could put together a system for under
$75, that would provide better far illumination than any self-contained
light or dynamo powered light. I.e.:

Optronics QH-7CC pair $16
2 MR16 Lamps, 1 10W, 1 20W $10
43WH or 60WH SLA battery $11
"Smart" Charger $13
Wire, switch, mounting hardware $15

There is no way that the Lumotec 3W headlamp is sufficient for the
speeds that the original poster is contemplating in areas without any
other lighting. For a dynamo based system he's really looking at the
Dymotec 12 volt/6W dynamo. For lower speeds, the hub dynamo with the
Lumotec would be fine, other than the price, though in the scheme of
things, $200 is not all that much for something used every day.

On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 13:53:06 -0800, SMS
wrote:

[---]

There is no way that the Lumotec 3W headlamp is sufficient for the
speeds that the original poster is contemplating in areas without any
other lighting.

I have to agree - I have one, and although it is fine in the city, I
had to supplement it with external battery-driven halogen lamps for
riding safely at speed though woodland and forest.