CATEYE HL-EL320 AS A HEADLAMP

CATEYE HL-EL320 AS A HEADLAMP
part 2 of a short report
by Andre Jute

As previously reported, I bought the Cateye HL-EL320 because it is the
best flashing light in the world, and besides very economical with its
batteries. I use it as a daylight warning lamp alongside my BUMMSON
setup of dynohub driven lights used as running lights day and night.
As a flashing warning light the EL320 is rioutously successful, no
question about it.

The downside is that the EL320 has to be set up carefully so as to be
visible to driver drivers but not to blind or irritate them. Cateye's
new universal bracket is a pain in this regard because it has no
swivel adjustment, so you must find a place on your handlebars that
curves in a manner complementary to the horizontal direction you wish
the lamp to shine in.

That leaves the question of whether the EL320 is good enough to use as
a headlight with or without the BUMM lights driven by the dynohub. Can
the EL320 replace multiwatt big-battery driven lights? The answer is
yes and no, or that other standby, depends.

The Cateye HL-EL320 in my setup (that is, primarily as a daylight
flashing warning light) throws a cone of light about 25 feet wide at
ten feet from the bike, lighting up the hedges and trees and
lampposts, and reaching a little closer on the road. It reaches down
the road as far as you want to throw it but as I set it up it reaches
something over a 100 paces down the road, to see by.

Clearly it can be seen by drivers from much further away. A quarter-
mile on flash in daylight seems likely from the reactions of drivers,
so at night the steady light will probably be visible from half a mile
away. I might run some more tests later, if I can find a suitable
venue. A half-a-mile of total darkness on a road with reasonably
frequent traffic is not so easy to find in the civilization of West
Cork.

At night the EL320 also serves the purpose at stop streets and when
the bike is otherwise stationary of backing up the dim glimmer of the
standlight LED of the BUMM Lumotec on the bike as front light.

For all these purposes the Cateye HL-EL320 is a good light. But how
does it shape up as a headlight? Actually, rather well. I would have
no problem recommending it as a commuting light for those riding in
controlled circumstances (lit, well marked roads of good surface).

My night-time riding is in narrow lanes with crumbling edges and deep
ditches close up, or thorny hedges overhanging the road, and sometimes
low-sweeping branches just above rooftop-level to a big forwheel
drive, precisely where they can hit me in the face. The EL320 is good
enough to ride for short periods at my normal nighttime speed of
13-20kph on unfamiliar roads and say up to 30kph on familiar roads,
where one knows what to expect. It isn't good enough to make a habit
of speeding after dark.

Roadsigns, including ones higher than normal, are picked up well at
the 120 yard mark (the extent of the light throw as limited by the
downturned setup on my bike determined by the daylight flashing
function), so the light isn't unnaturally flat, as for instance in the
BUMM IQ lights.

There is cone of light starting right at the bike which is enough to
see the edges of the road by, a stronger oval starting about five feet
away, and a long hotspot starting 30 paces away. This hotspot isn't
wide enough to cover even a narrow lane and one soon learns to ignore
it and concentrate on what seen in the dimmer light beside it. The
hotspot earns its keep by highlighting hazards, picking out the number
plates of parked cars, a fox pausing to wait for me so it can entangle
itself in my spokes, and people in dark clothes out for their
postprandial walkies with their dogs.

So you can use the EL320 by itself even in demanding situations but it
is a little stressful. I wouldn't use it to go speeding downhill on
strange roads, and I wouldn't want to ride for hours with only the
EL320.

The truth is that I never planned to use the EL320 by itself. I have a
Polaris 9 LED light with a swivel fitting that I always intended to
use as a nearfield light. This is used to throw close and down the
verge on my side of the road, and neatly fills in the area between the
bike and the start of the EL320's secondary or middle cone, so that
the little bit of rough track I rode over was covered at no less than
daylight speed and no stress was felt. Just lighting up the verge well
gives me a lot more confidence, worth 5-10kph.

The BUMM Lumotec halogen on my bike has such a wretched output and
spread of light, it doesn't contribute anything to the combination of
Cateye HL-EL320 and the Polaris 9-LED light, so the combination is of
zero consequence.

Considering the 20 hours of use the Cateye gets out of four AA
batteries, it isn't onerous to carry four batteries for spare, in
which case one can do do without the expensive BUMM light and its
associated very expensive SON hub dynamo. I won't, of course, as I
like the idea of a failsafe bike, belt and braces, and don't care
about the weight. But others may not be as tolerant as I am.

SO ARE THE BIG BATTERY LIGHTS GONE, REPLACED BY THE CATEYE HL-EL320?
No. The EL320/Polaris 9-LED combo was bought as a backup in case the
battery of my MR11 or MR16 halogens clock out suddenlyin the middle of
the bush (those things consume battery power like an aircraft carrier
on interstellar overdrive). Cateye and Polaris will get me home but at
reduced speed, as BUMM and SON won't, at least not without bringing on
a stress-induced migraine.

For rides after dark by choice and at speed, on demanding unlit and
especially unmarked roads, there is still nothing to beat a set of hi-
watt halogens powered by a big multi-amp-hour battery.

CONCLUSION
The Cateye HD-TL1100 taillight and the HL-EL320 front light are
absolutely the best flashing lights you can buy; they're the only ones
generally available which are also generally agreed to be bright
enough to be visible when used as daylight running flashers. The EL320
is also an excellent small battery light, much, much brighter and more
useful than its miserly current consumption would seem to indicate.
It'll get you home safely -- in both relevant senses of seeing and
being seen -- in challenging circumstances after bigger lights wear
out their batteries, and it will do well as a common commuter lamp on
lit roads, but it it is some way from being a stressless only light on
demanding dark roads.

Copyright 2009 Andre Jute

"Andre Jute" wrote in message
...

Roadsigns, including ones higher than normal, are picked up well at
the 120 yard mark (the extent of the light throw as limited by the
downturned setup on my bike determined by the daylight flashing
function), so the light isn't unnaturally flat, as for instance in the
BUMM IQ lights.

B+M IQ lights pick up roadsigns in a similar fashion - the light isn't cut
off in the way you imagine. You should try fitting the one you claim to have
to your bike - it's a lot better than the lumotec you have, and also
brighter than an EL530, which itself is brighter than an EL320 - but that's
not surprising, since it's got rather more power to play with than those
battery lights.

For rides after dark by choice and at speed, on demanding unlit and
especially unmarked roads, there is still nothing to beat a set of hi-
watt halogens powered by a big multi-amp-hour battery.

Apart from a high power LED or HID lamp powered by a big battery. Halogen
bulbs are old news - too inefficient. Have a look at lupine betty, B+M big
bang, or trailtech MR16 30W HID if you want more light than you know what to
do with.

Though as I may have mentioned, I do a lot of riding at fair speed after
dark on twisty unlit, unmarked roads (no white lines at all), with just the
light from an IQ fly - and it's still rather impressive.

Andre Jute schreef:
CATEYE HL-EL320 AS A HEADLAMP
part 2 of a short report
by Andre Jute

As previously reported, I bought the Cateye HL-EL320 because it is the
best flashing light in the world, and besides very economical with its
batteries. I use it as a daylight warning lamp alongside my BUMMSON
setup of dynohub driven lights used as running lights day and night.
As a flashing warning light the EL320 is rioutously successful, no
question about it.

The downside is that the EL320 has to be set up carefully so as to be
visible to driver drivers but not to blind or irritate them. Cateye's
new universal bracket is a pain in this regard because it has no
swivel adjustment, so you must find a place on your handlebars that
curves in a manner complementary to the horizontal direction you wish
the lamp to shine in.

That leaves the question of whether the EL320 is good enough to use as
a headlight with or without the BUMM lights driven by the dynohub. Can
the EL320 replace multiwatt big-battery driven lights? The answer is
yes and no, or that other standby, depends.

The Cateye HL-EL320 in my setup (that is, primarily as a daylight
flashing warning light) throws a cone of light about 25 feet wide at
ten feet from the bike, lighting up the hedges and trees and
lampposts, and reaching a little closer on the road. It reaches down
the road as far as you want to throw it but as I set it up it reaches
something over a 100 paces down the road, to see by.

Clearly it can be seen by drivers from much further away. A quarter-
mile on flash in daylight seems likely from the reactions of drivers,
so at night the steady light will probably be visible from half a mile
away. I might run some more tests later, if I can find a suitable
venue. A half-a-mile of total darkness on a road with reasonably
frequent traffic is not so easy to find in the civilization of West
Cork.

At night the EL320 also serves the purpose at stop streets and when
the bike is otherwise stationary of backing up the dim glimmer of the
standlight LED of the BUMM Lumotec on the bike as front light.

For all these purposes the Cateye HL-EL320 is a good light. But how
does it shape up as a headlight? Actually, rather well. I would have
no problem recommending it as a commuting light for those riding in
controlled circumstances (lit, well marked roads of good surface).

My night-time riding is in narrow lanes with crumbling edges and deep
ditches close up, or thorny hedges overhanging the road, and sometimes
low-sweeping branches just above rooftop-level to a big forwheel
drive, precisely where they can hit me in the face. The EL320 is good
enough to ride for short periods at my normal nighttime speed of
13-20kph on unfamiliar roads and say up to 30kph on familiar roads,
where one knows what to expect. It isn't good enough to make a habit
of speeding after dark.

Roadsigns, including ones higher than normal, are picked up well at
the 120 yard mark (the extent of the light throw as limited by the
downturned setup on my bike determined by the daylight flashing
function), so the light isn't unnaturally flat, as for instance in the
BUMM IQ lights.

There is cone of light starting right at the bike which is enough to
see the edges of the road by, a stronger oval starting about five feet
away, and a long hotspot starting 30 paces away. This hotspot isn't
wide enough to cover even a narrow lane and one soon learns to ignore
it and concentrate on what seen in the dimmer light beside it. The
hotspot earns its keep by highlighting hazards, picking out the number
plates of parked cars, a fox pausing to wait for me so it can entangle
itself in my spokes, and people in dark clothes out for their
postprandial walkies with their dogs.

So you can use the EL320 by itself even in demanding situations but it
is a little stressful. I wouldn't use it to go speeding downhill on
strange roads, and I wouldn't want to ride for hours with only the
EL320.

The truth is that I never planned to use the EL320 by itself. I have a
Polaris 9 LED light with a swivel fitting that I always intended to
use as a nearfield light. This is used to throw close and down the
verge on my side of the road, and neatly fills in the area between the
bike and the start of the EL320's secondary or middle cone, so that
the little bit of rough track I rode over was covered at no less than
daylight speed and no stress was felt. Just lighting up the verge well
gives me a lot more confidence, worth 5-10kph.

The BUMM Lumotec halogen on my bike has such a wretched output and
spread of light, it doesn't contribute anything to the combination of
Cateye HL-EL320 and the Polaris 9-LED light, so the combination is of
zero consequence.

Considering the 20 hours of use the Cateye gets out of four AA
batteries, it isn't onerous to carry four batteries for spare, in
which case one can do do without the expensive BUMM light and its
associated very expensive SON hub dynamo. I won't, of course, as I
like the idea of a failsafe bike, belt and braces, and don't care
about the weight. But others may not be as tolerant as I am.

SO ARE THE BIG BATTERY LIGHTS GONE, REPLACED BY THE CATEYE HL-EL320?
No. The EL320/Polaris 9-LED combo was bought as a backup in case the
battery of my MR11 or MR16 halogens clock out suddenlyin the middle of
the bush (those things consume battery power like an aircraft carrier
on interstellar overdrive). Cateye and Polaris will get me home but at
reduced speed, as BUMM and SON won't, at least not without bringing on
a stress-induced migraine.

For rides after dark by choice and at speed, on demanding unlit and
especially unmarked roads, there is still nothing to beat a set of hi-
watt halogens powered by a big multi-amp-hour battery.

CONCLUSION
The Cateye HD-TL1100 taillight and the HL-EL320 front light are
absolutely the best flashing lights you can buy; they're the only ones
generally available which are also generally agreed to be bright
enough to be visible when used as daylight running flashers. The EL320
is also an excellent small battery light, much, much brighter and more
useful than its miserly current consumption would seem to indicate.
It'll get you home safely -- in both relevant senses of seeing and
being seen -- in challenging circumstances after bigger lights wear
out their batteries, and it will do well as a common commuter lamp on
lit roads, but it it is some way from being a stressless only light on
demanding dark roads.

Copyright 2009 Andre Jute


Boy Andre, bicycle lighting is complicated in Ireland...

Lou

Andre Jute schreef:
CATEYE HL-EL320 AS A HEADLAMP
part 2 of a short report
by Andre Jute

As previously reported, I bought the Cateye HL-EL320 because it is the
best flashing light in the world, and besides very economical with its
batteries. I use it as a daylight warning lamp alongside my BUMMSON
setup of dynohub driven lights used as running lights day and night.
As a flashing warning light the EL320 is rioutously successful, no
question about it.

The downside is that the EL320 has to be set up carefully so as to be
visible to driver drivers but not to blind or irritate them. Cateye's
new universal bracket is a pain in this regard because it has no
swivel adjustment, so you must find a place on your handlebars that
curves in a manner complementary to the horizontal direction you wish
the lamp to shine in.

That leaves the question of whether the EL320 is good enough to use as
a headlight with or without the BUMM lights driven by the dynohub. Can
the EL320 replace multiwatt big-battery driven lights? The answer is
yes and no, or that other standby, depends.

The Cateye HL-EL320 in my setup (that is, primarily as a daylight
flashing warning light) throws a cone of light about 25 feet wide at
ten feet from the bike, lighting up the hedges and trees and
lampposts, and reaching a little closer on the road. It reaches down
the road as far as you want to throw it but as I set it up it reaches
something over a 100 paces down the road, to see by.

Clearly it can be seen by drivers from much further away. A quarter-
mile on flash in daylight seems likely from the reactions of drivers,
so at night the steady light will probably be visible from half a mile
away. I might run some more tests later, if I can find a suitable
venue. A half-a-mile of total darkness on a road with reasonably
frequent traffic is not so easy to find in the civilization of West
Cork.

At night the EL320 also serves the purpose at stop streets and when
the bike is otherwise stationary of backing up the dim glimmer of the
standlight LED of the BUMM Lumotec on the bike as front light.

For all these purposes the Cateye HL-EL320 is a good light. But how
does it shape up as a headlight? Actually, rather well. I would have
no problem recommending it as a commuting light for those riding in
controlled circumstances (lit, well marked roads of good surface).

My night-time riding is in narrow lanes with crumbling edges and deep
ditches close up, or thorny hedges overhanging the road, and sometimes
low-sweeping branches just above rooftop-level to a big forwheel
drive, precisely where they can hit me in the face. The EL320 is good
enough to ride for short periods at my normal nighttime speed of
13-20kph on unfamiliar roads and say up to 30kph on familiar roads,
where one knows what to expect. It isn't good enough to make a habit
of speeding after dark.

Roadsigns, including ones higher than normal, are picked up well at
the 120 yard mark (the extent of the light throw as limited by the
downturned setup on my bike determined by the daylight flashing
function), so the light isn't unnaturally flat, as for instance in the
BUMM IQ lights.

There is cone of light starting right at the bike which is enough to
see the edges of the road by, a stronger oval starting about five feet
away, and a long hotspot starting 30 paces away. This hotspot isn't
wide enough to cover even a narrow lane and one soon learns to ignore
it and concentrate on what seen in the dimmer light beside it. The
hotspot earns its keep by highlighting hazards, picking out the number
plates of parked cars, a fox pausing to wait for me so it can entangle
itself in my spokes, and people in dark clothes out for their
postprandial walkies with their dogs.

So you can use the EL320 by itself even in demanding situations but it
is a little stressful. I wouldn't use it to go speeding downhill on
strange roads, and I wouldn't want to ride for hours with only the
EL320.

The truth is that I never planned to use the EL320 by itself. I have a
Polaris 9 LED light with a swivel fitting that I always intended to
use as a nearfield light. This is used to throw close and down the
verge on my side of the road, and neatly fills in the area between the
bike and the start of the EL320's secondary or middle cone, so that
the little bit of rough track I rode over was covered at no less than
daylight speed and no stress was felt. Just lighting up the verge well
gives me a lot more confidence, worth 5-10kph.

The BUMM Lumotec halogen on my bike has such a wretched output and
spread of light, it doesn't contribute anything to the combination of
Cateye HL-EL320 and the Polaris 9-LED light, so the combination is of
zero consequence.

Considering the 20 hours of use the Cateye gets out of four AA
batteries, it isn't onerous to carry four batteries for spare, in
which case one can do do without the expensive BUMM light and its
associated very expensive SON hub dynamo. I won't, of course, as I
like the idea of a failsafe bike, belt and braces, and don't care
about the weight. But others may not be as tolerant as I am.

SO ARE THE BIG BATTERY LIGHTS GONE, REPLACED BY THE CATEYE HL-EL320?
No. The EL320/Polaris 9-LED combo was bought as a backup in case the
battery of my MR11 or MR16 halogens clock out suddenlyin the middle of
the bush (those things consume battery power like an aircraft carrier
on interstellar overdrive). Cateye and Polaris will get me home but at
reduced speed, as BUMM and SON won't, at least not without bringing on
a stress-induced migraine.

For rides after dark by choice and at speed, on demanding unlit and
especially unmarked roads, there is still nothing to beat a set of hi-
watt halogens powered by a big multi-amp-hour battery.

CONCLUSION
The Cateye HD-TL1100 taillight and the HL-EL320 front light are
absolutely the best flashing lights you can buy; they're the only ones
generally available which are also generally agreed to be bright
enough to be visible when used as daylight running flashers. The EL320
is also an excellent small battery light, much, much brighter and more
useful than its miserly current consumption would seem to indicate.
It'll get you home safely -- in both relevant senses of seeing and
being seen -- in challenging circumstances after bigger lights wear
out their batteries, and it will do well as a common commuter lamp on
lit roads, but it it is some way from being a stressless only light on
demanding dark roads.

Lou Holtman wrote:
Boy Andre, bicycle lighting is complicated in Ireland...

Really. I bolted a dynamo on my bike when I built it. I
changed a bulb once about eight years ago. Sheesh.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Mar 18, 5:41*pm, Lou Holtman wrote:
Andre Jute schreef:



CATEYE HL-EL320 AS A HEADLAMP
part 2 of a short report
by Andre Jute

As previously reported, I bought the Cateye HL-EL320 because it is the
best flashing light in the world, and besides very economical with its
batteries. I use it as a daylight warning lamp alongside my BUMMSON
setup of dynohub driven lights used as running lights day and night.
As a flashing warning light the EL320 is rioutously successful, no
question about it.

The downside is that the EL320 has to be set up carefully so as to be
visible to driver drivers but not to blind or irritate them. Cateye's
new universal bracket is a pain in this regard because it has no
swivel adjustment, so you must find a place on your handlebars that
curves in a manner complementary to the horizontal direction you wish
the lamp to shine in.

That leaves the question of whether the EL320 is good enough to use as
a headlight with or without the BUMM lights driven by the dynohub. Can
the EL320 replace multiwatt big-battery driven lights? The answer is
yes and no, or that other standby, depends.

The Cateye HL-EL320 in my setup (that is, primarily as a daylight
flashing warning light) throws a cone of light about 25 feet wide at
ten feet from the bike, lighting up the hedges and trees and
lampposts, and reaching a little closer on the road. It reaches down
the road as far as you want to throw it but as I set it up it reaches
something over a 100 paces down the road, to see by.

Clearly it can be seen by drivers from much further away. A quarter-
mile on flash in daylight seems likely from the reactions of drivers,
so at night the steady light will probably be visible from half a mile
away. I might run some more tests later, if I can find a suitable
venue. A half-a-mile of total darkness on a road with reasonably
frequent traffic is not so easy to find in the civilization of West
Cork.

At night the EL320 also serves the purpose at stop streets and when
the bike is otherwise stationary of backing up the dim glimmer of the
standlight LED of the BUMM Lumotec on the bike as front light.

For all these purposes the Cateye HL-EL320 is a good light. But how
does it shape up as a headlight? Actually, rather well. I would have
no problem recommending it as a commuting light for those riding in
controlled circumstances (lit, well marked roads of good surface).

My night-time riding is in narrow lanes with crumbling edges and deep
ditches close up, or thorny hedges overhanging the road, and sometimes
low-sweeping branches just above rooftop-level to a big forwheel
drive, precisely where they can hit me in the face. The EL320 is good
enough to ride for short periods at my normal nighttime speed of
13-20kph on unfamiliar roads and say up to 30kph on familiar roads,
where one knows what to expect. It isn't good enough to make a habit
of speeding after dark.

Roadsigns, including ones higher than normal, are picked up well at
the 120 yard mark (the extent of the light throw as limited by the
downturned setup on my bike determined by the daylight flashing
function), so the light isn't unnaturally flat, as for instance in the
BUMM IQ lights.

There is cone of light starting right at the bike which is enough to
see the edges of the road by, a stronger oval starting about five feet
away, and a long hotspot starting 30 paces away. This hotspot isn't
wide enough to cover even a narrow lane and one soon learns to ignore
it and concentrate on what seen in the dimmer light beside it. The
hotspot earns its keep by highlighting hazards, picking out the number
plates of parked cars, a fox pausing to wait for me so it can entangle
itself in my spokes, and people in dark clothes out for their
postprandial walkies with their dogs.

So you can use the EL320 by itself even in demanding situations but it
is a little stressful. I wouldn't use it to go speeding downhill on
strange roads, and I wouldn't want to ride for hours with only the
EL320.

The truth is that I never planned to use the EL320 by itself. I have a
Polaris 9 LED light with a swivel fitting that I always intended to
use as a nearfield light. This is used to throw close and down the
verge on my side of the road, and neatly fills in the area between the
bike and the start of the EL320's secondary or middle cone, so that
the little bit of rough track I rode over was covered at no less than
daylight speed and no stress was felt. Just lighting up the verge well
gives me a lot more confidence, worth 5-10kph.

The BUMM Lumotec halogen on my bike has such a wretched output and
spread of light, it doesn't contribute anything to the combination of
Cateye HL-EL320 and the Polaris 9-LED light, so the combination is of
zero consequence.

Considering the 20 hours of use the Cateye gets out of four AA
batteries, it isn't onerous to carry four batteries for spare, in
which case one can do do without the expensive BUMM light and its
associated very expensive SON hub dynamo. I won't, of course, as I
like the idea of a failsafe bike, belt and braces, and don't care
about the weight. But others may not be as tolerant as I am.

SO ARE THE BIG BATTERY LIGHTS GONE, REPLACED BY THE CATEYE HL-EL320?
No. The EL320/Polaris 9-LED combo was bought as a backup in case the
battery of my MR11 or MR16 halogens clock out suddenlyin the middle of
the bush (those things consume battery power like an aircraft carrier
on interstellar overdrive). Cateye and Polaris will get me home but at
reduced speed, as BUMM and SON won't, at least not without bringing on
a stress-induced migraine.

For rides after dark by choice and at speed, on demanding unlit and
especially unmarked roads, there is still nothing to beat a set of hi-
watt halogens powered by a big multi-amp-hour battery.

CONCLUSION
The Cateye HD-TL1100 taillight and the HL-EL320 front light are
absolutely the best flashing lights you can buy; they're the only ones
generally available which are also generally agreed to be bright
enough to be visible when used as daylight running flashers. The EL320
is also an excellent small battery light, much, much brighter and more
useful than its miserly current consumption would seem to indicate.
It'll get you home safely -- in both relevant senses of seeing and
being seen -- in challenging circumstances after bigger lights wear
out their batteries, and it will do well as a common commuter lamp on
lit roads, but it it is some way from being a stressless only light on
demanding dark roads.

Copyright 2009 Andre Jute

Boy Andre, bicycle lighting is complicated in Ireland...

Lou

Not at all. Lighting in Ireland is real simple:

The Jute Rule: If you there isn't a flashing light front and rear on
your bike, your lights aren't good enough.

That's it. The rest is detail:

Current Corollary of the Jute Rule: The best flashing lights are,
front, Cateye HL-EL320 and, rear, Cateye TL-LD1100. The 320, as a
bonus, is also a decent enough steady light to work for commuters and
even for not-too-ambitious country riding.

Dynohub Corollary of the Jute Rule: It is nice to have daylight and
nighttime running lights that don't depend on batteries but they can
be a lot cheaper than the overpriced BUMMSONs.

Future Corollary of the Jute Rule: LED battery lights are improving so
fast in both light output and battery-economy, soon the question will
be whether it is not better to fit, say, two EL320 rather than a
dynohub and fixed lights.

Simple, really.

Andre Jute
Visit Jute on Thisthatandtheother
http://www.audio-talk.co.uk/fiultra/...20ARISING.html

On Mar 19, 1:52*am, AMuzi wrote:
Andre Jute schreef:
CATEYE HL-EL320 AS A HEADLAMP
part 2 of a short report
by Andre Jute

As previously reported, I bought the Cateye HL-EL320 because it is the
best flashing light in the world, and besides very economical with its
batteries. I use it as a daylight warning lamp alongside my BUMMSON
setup of dynohub driven lights used as running lights day and night.
As a flashing warning light the EL320 is rioutously successful, no
question about it.

The downside is that the EL320 has to be set up carefully so as to be
visible to driver drivers but not to blind or irritate them. Cateye's
new universal bracket is a pain in this regard because it has no
swivel adjustment, so you must find a place on your handlebars that
curves in a manner complementary to the horizontal direction you wish
the lamp to shine in.

That leaves the question of whether the EL320 is good enough to use as
a headlight with or without the BUMM lights driven by the dynohub. Can
the EL320 replace multiwatt big-battery driven lights? The answer is
yes and no, or that other standby, depends.

The Cateye HL-EL320 in my setup (that is, primarily as a daylight
flashing warning light) throws a cone of light about 25 feet wide at
ten feet from the bike, lighting up the hedges and trees and
lampposts, and reaching a little closer on the road. It reaches down
the road as far as you want to throw it but as I set it up it reaches
something over a 100 paces down the road, to see by.

Clearly it can be seen by drivers from much further away. A quarter-
mile on flash in daylight seems likely from the reactions of drivers,
so at night the steady light will probably be visible from half a mile
away. I might run some more tests later, if I can find a suitable
venue. A half-a-mile of total darkness on a road with reasonably
frequent traffic is not so easy to find in the civilization of West
Cork.

At night the EL320 also serves the purpose at stop streets and when
the bike is otherwise stationary of backing up the dim glimmer of the
standlight LED of the BUMM Lumotec on the bike as front light.

For all these purposes the Cateye HL-EL320 is a good light. But how
does it shape up as a headlight? Actually, rather well. I would have
no problem recommending it as a commuting light for those riding in
controlled circumstances (lit, well marked roads of good surface).

My night-time riding is in narrow lanes with crumbling edges and deep
ditches close up, or thorny hedges overhanging the road, and sometimes
low-sweeping branches just above rooftop-level to a big forwheel
drive, precisely where they can hit me in the face. The EL320 is good
enough to ride for short periods at my normal nighttime speed of
13-20kph on unfamiliar roads and say up to 30kph on familiar roads,
where one knows what to expect. It isn't good enough to make a habit
of speeding after dark.

Roadsigns, including ones higher than normal, are picked up well at
the 120 yard mark (the extent of the light throw as limited by the
downturned setup on my bike determined by the daylight flashing
function), so the light isn't unnaturally flat, as for instance in the
BUMM IQ lights.

There is cone of light starting right at the bike which is enough to
see the edges of the road by, a stronger oval starting about five feet
away, and a long hotspot starting 30 paces away. This hotspot isn't
wide enough to cover even a narrow lane and one soon learns to ignore
it and concentrate on what seen in the dimmer light beside it. The
hotspot earns its keep by highlighting hazards, picking out the number
plates of parked cars, a fox pausing to wait for me so it can entangle
itself in my spokes, and people in dark clothes out for their
postprandial walkies with their dogs.

So you can use the EL320 by itself even in demanding situations but it
is a little stressful. I wouldn't use it to go speeding downhill on
strange roads, and I wouldn't want to ride for hours with only the
EL320.

The truth is that I never planned to use the EL320 by itself. I have a
Polaris 9 LED light with a swivel fitting that I always intended to
use as a nearfield light. This is used to throw close and down the
verge on my side of the road, and neatly fills in the area between the
bike and the start of the EL320's secondary or middle cone, so that
the little bit of rough track I rode over was covered at no less than
daylight speed and no stress was felt. Just lighting up the verge well
gives me a lot more confidence, worth 5-10kph.

The BUMM Lumotec halogen on my bike has such a wretched output and
spread of light, it doesn't contribute anything to the combination of
Cateye HL-EL320 and the Polaris 9-LED light, so the combination is of
zero consequence.

Considering the 20 hours of use the Cateye gets out of four AA
batteries, it isn't onerous to carry four batteries for spare, in
which case one can do do without the expensive BUMM light and its
associated very expensive SON hub dynamo. I won't, of course, as I
like the idea of a failsafe bike, belt and braces, and don't care
about the weight. But others may not be as tolerant as I am.

SO ARE THE BIG BATTERY LIGHTS GONE, REPLACED BY THE CATEYE HL-EL320?
No. The EL320/Polaris 9-LED combo was bought as a backup in case the
battery of my MR11 or MR16 halogens clock out suddenlyin the middle of
the bush (those things consume battery power like an aircraft carrier
on interstellar overdrive). Cateye and Polaris will get me home but at
reduced speed, as BUMM and SON won't, at least not without bringing on
a stress-induced migraine.

For rides after dark by choice and at speed, on demanding unlit and
especially unmarked roads, there is still nothing to beat a set of hi-
watt halogens powered by a big multi-amp-hour battery.

CONCLUSION
The Cateye HD-TL1100 taillight and the HL-EL320 front light are
absolutely the best flashing lights you can buy; they're the only ones
generally available which are also generally agreed to be bright
enough to be visible when used as daylight running flashers. The EL320
is also an excellent small battery light, much, much brighter and more
useful than its miserly current consumption would seem to indicate.
It'll get you home safely -- in both relevant senses of seeing and
being seen -- in challenging circumstances after bigger lights wear
out their batteries, and it will do well as a common commuter lamp on
lit roads, but it it is some way from being a stressless only light on
demanding dark roads.
Lou Holtman wrote:
Boy Andre, bicycle lighting is complicated in Ireland...

Really. I bolted a dynamo on my bike when I built it. I
changed a bulb once about eight years ago. Sheesh.

Congratulations, Andrew. Now you're a fully-fledged bike mechanic and
can open a bike shop.

Andrew Muzi
* www.yellowjersey.org/
* Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Oh, I see you have. Congratulations again!

********

Boy Andre, bicycle lighting is complicated in Ireland...

Lou

Not at all. Lighting in Ireland is real simple:

The Jute Rule: If you there isn't a flashing light front and rear on
your bike, your lights aren't good enough.

That's it. The rest is detail:

Current Corollary of the Jute Rule: The best flashing lights are,
front, Cateye HL-EL320 and, rear, Cateye TL-LD1100. The 320, as a
bonus, is also a decent enough steady light to work for commuters and
even for not-too-ambitious country riding.

Dynohub Corollary of the Jute Rule: It is nice to have daylight and
nighttime running lights that don't depend on batteries but they can
be a lot cheaper than the overpriced BUMMSONs.

Future Corollary of the Jute Rule: LED battery lights are improving so
fast in both light output and battery-economy, soon the question will
be whether it is not better to fit, say, two EL320 rather than a
dynohub and fixed lights.

Simple, really.

Andre Jute
Visit Jute on Thisthatandtheother
http://www.audio-talk.co.uk/fiultra/...20ARISING.html

On Mar 18, 8:52*pm, AMuzi wrote:
Andre Jute schreef:
[yammersnip]
Lou Holtman wrote:
Boy Andre, bicycle lighting is complicated in Ireland...

Really. I bolted a dynamo on my bike when I built it. I
changed a bulb once about eight years ago. Sheesh.


I epoxied an LED light to my front rack two years ago. I believe that
makes me tremendously more serious about Lighting Solutions than your
simple dynamo. Maybe I should glass it so the front structure looks
futuristic and monocoquey. Boy oh boy would that Jute be jealous.

On Mar 19, 3:11*pm, landotter wrote:
On Mar 18, 8:52*pm, AMuzi wrote:

Andre Jute schreef:
[yammersnip]
Lou Holtman wrote:
Boy Andre, bicycle lighting is complicated in Ireland...

Really. I bolted a dynamo on my bike when I built it. I
changed a bulb once about eight years ago. Sheesh.

I epoxied an LED light to my front rack two years ago. I believe that
makes me tremendously more serious about Lighting Solutions than your
simple dynamo. Maybe I should glass it so the front structure looks
futuristic and monocoquey. Boy oh boy would that Jute be jealous.

Only if you make it in pink carbon fibre. -- Andre Jute