Car design finally catches up.

Reading "What Car" today I was interested to see that the Audi R8 now
has the option of a fully LED based FRONT light - a snip at a £3600
upgrade.

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/30/a...led-headlamps/

LED lighting has sure come a long way. I had my first cycle one in
1994, a weedy yellow front single LED light. Then around 2000 came the
iconic Cateye EL300.

http://www.evanscycles.com/product_i...ront-light.jpg

Then in the world of off road MTB lighting came floodlight capable
lights such as this Lupine.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Lu...ht/5360038399/

Now cars can be fitted with them as well. A rare case of improving
cycling technology crossing over into motor vehicles.

--
Simon Mason

Tom Crispin wrote:

On Sat, 21 Mar 2009 21:29:03 +0000, wrote:

Not withstanding design & build quality etc, the price of that Lupine
Betty is f*cking ridiculous. £775 for a set of bike lights FFS.

I want a set.

i'd of loved a set when as a teen riding down though the lanes nr my
folks place, playing can i spot any fallen rocks etc, with the measly
little bike lights...

roger
--
www.rogermerriman.com

In ,
tweaked the Babbage-Engine to tell us:

Now cars can be fitted with them as well. A rare case of improving
cycling technology crossing over into motor vehicles.

Is the general improvement in LED technology driven by the bike lights
market? Inquiring minds wish to know.

(Note to self: send off Solidlights for upgrade)

--
Dave Larrington
http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk
Trees, once grown in large numbers, make perfect forests.

"Dave Larrington" writes:

In ,
tweaked the Babbage-Engine to tell us:

Now cars can be fitted with them as well. A rare case of improving
cycling technology crossing over into motor vehicles.

Is the general improvement in LED technology driven by the bike lights
market? Inquiring minds wish to know.

Dunno, but it's certainly a market where weight and size of lamps and
batteries (for given performance charateristics) matter more than most.

On Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:16:24 +0000, Paul Rudin
wrote:

"Dave Larrington" writes:

In ,
tweaked the Babbage-Engine to tell us:

Now cars can be fitted with them as well. A rare case of improving
cycling technology crossing over into motor vehicles.

Is the general improvement in LED technology driven by the bike lights
market? Inquiring minds wish to know.

Dunno, but it's certainly a market where weight and size of lamps and
batteries (for given performance charateristics) matter more than most.


I think you'll find the main driver is the expansion in extreme
shepherding.


That and viral advertising.
--
Tim

wrote:
Now cars can be fitted with them as well. A rare case of improving
cycling technology crossing over into motor vehicles.

IIRC the differential was invented for the humble
pedal tricycle, and adopted by "horseless carriages"
later.

BugBear

bugbear wrote:
wrote:
Now cars can be fitted with them as well. A rare case of improving
cycling technology crossing over into motor vehicles.

IIRC the differential was invented for the humble
pedal tricycle, and adopted by "horseless carriages"
later.


....and the pneumatic tyre (well, 're-invented' for pedal cycles, rather
than invented). Leaving 'invented for' aside, there are loads of things
that were adopted by pedal cycles before being applied to motor vehicles
.... like ball bearings ... or even ... the wheel.

--
Andrew

On Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:56:12 +0000, Phil W Lee
phil(at)lee-family(dot)me(dot)uk wrote:
snip



Like ball-bearings and pneumatic tyres you mean?



The first use of both of those items was nothing to do with cycles.

I look forward to your post which will prove otherwise.

However - since we are still waiting for your source of the following
"FACT" - no breath will be held:

"FACT that the Office of Nation Statistics gives the
number of pedestrain deaths from trips & slips for 2007 (over 3,000)
as being higher than the number killed in all incidents involving
vehicles.

If you state something - it is conventional to be able to back it up -
or at least acknowledge that you were wrong.


You do state some ****e.


--

There can be no doubt that a failure to wear a helmet may expose the cyclist to the risk of greater injury.

The wearing of helmets may afford protection in some circumstances and it must therefore follow that a cyclist of ordinary prudence should wear one.

Mr Justice Griffith Williams

Judith Smith wrote:
Phil W Lee wrote:
Like ball-bearings and pneumatic tyres you mean?
The first use of both of those items was nothing to do with cycles.

The first patent for ball bearings was awarded to Jules Suriray a
bicycle mechanic but bearings using this principal were found on ships
from nearly two thousand years ago.

From
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_bearings

The first patent was awarded to Jules Suriray, a Parisian bicycle
mechanic, on 3 August 1869. The bearings were then fitted to the winning
bicycle ridden by James Moore in the world's first bicycle road race,
Paris-Rouen, in November 1869.

The first ever pneumatic tyres were those by Robert William Thompson
and were used on Horse drawn carts but the first practical ones were
those by John Boyd Dunlop who used them first on his son's bicycle.

From
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire

The first practical pneumatic tire was made by the Scot, John Boyd
Dunlop, in 1887 for his son's bicycle, in an effort to prevent the
headaches his son had while riding on rough roads (Dunlop's patent was
later declared invalid because of prior art by fellow Scot Robert
William Thomson).

On Tue, 24 Mar 2009 06:00:07 GMT, soup wrote:

bearings using this principal were found on ships
from nearly two thousand years ago.



The first ever pneumatic tyres were those by Robert William Thompson
and were used on Horse drawn carts



Precisely - many thanks - I am surprised Anchor didn't check as
Wikipedia seems to be his main source of information,
--

In the UK in 2007
There were 30,959 pedestrians injured in traffice accidents
There were 16,415 cyclists injured in traffic accidents

I wonder what the relative numbers of pedestrians and cyclists
in the UK is?

It looks like cycling is much more dangerous than being a pedestrian.