Night lights

A alt.mountain-biker posted this. I figured a bunch of you would be
interested:
---------------------------
Hello, alt.mountain-bike readers.

I have read about the superior Lupine Edison series of lights.

I have been working on an experimental bicycle aiming for a
battery-free night century ride. My current setup is Lightning
Thunderbolt recument and an EV Wilderness 600 W, 36 V brushed, gearless
front hub motor/generator with six Maxwell Technologies PC 2500 2700
farad ultracapacitors rated 2.5VDC and a Samlex sine wave inverter
rated 150 W.

I have a compact fluorescent light on a bit of track under the boom but
it's not wired yet.

I have researched GE's new Ceramic Metal Halide lights and find the PAR
30, 20W light just might be suitable for mountain biking or a night
century. There is a track lighting fixture available to take this 20W
bulb or a mini 20W bulb. All the CMH bulbs produce some of the best
lumens per watt, but the key to road use seems to be Center Beam Candle
Power, CBCP. This fixture is rated 17,000 plus CBCP. It's used for
spotlighting merchandise in upscale retail stores, and in homes as an
accent light.

The mini 20W fixture with integrated electronic ballast from Aromat
consumes 23 W and the inverter idles at 6W. A 25W inverter would idle
at only 2W. Bearing drag on the hub is around 3W at 8 mph.
Motor/generator efficiency is lower than I had thought; there are many
ways to test it, and all take physics lab work, which I don't have
access to, so I just coast down local hills and see how the charge on
the ultracapacitors comes out.

I am going for a ride now; it's almost dawn.

I think soon I will be ready for my night century.

Just thought I would drop by and ask if there are any riders in the DC
area who would like to try a night century. Maybe a metric century to
start.

Also, do any of you know CBCP ratings for any MTB lighting system?

Doug Goncz
Replikon Research
Seven Corners, VA 22044-0394
----------------------------------------
--
Phil Lee, Squid

Phil Lee, Squid wrote:
A alt.mountain-biker posted this. I figured a bunch of you would be
interested:
snip
lights? around these parts, the interesting night rides are illegal and
lights attract attention of police, rangers, etc. or so i'm told.
helmet mounting brackets for something like this would be much more
interesting for nocturnal rides:
http://www.nightvisionmall.com/page/NVM/PROD/BG/D-2MV

hypothetically speaking of course.

Phil Lee, Squid wrote:
A alt.mountain-biker posted this. I figured a bunch of you would be
interested:
---------------------------
Hello, alt.mountain-bike readers.

I have read about the superior Lupine Edison series of lights.

Sounds like a marketer...

I have been working on an experimental bicycle aiming for a
battery-free night century ride. My current setup is Lightning
Thunderbolt recument and an EV Wilderness 600 W, 36 V brushed, gearless
front hub motor/generator with six Maxwell Technologies PC 2500 2700
farad ultracapacitors rated 2.5VDC and a Samlex sine wave inverter
rated 150 W.

What's wrong with a generator for this application?? 600W???

I have a compact fluorescent light on a bit of track under the boom but
it's not wired yet.

I have researched GE's new Ceramic Metal Halide lights and find the PAR
30, 20W light just might be suitable for mountain biking or a night
century. There is a track lighting fixture available to take this 20W
bulb or a mini 20W bulb. All the CMH bulbs produce some of the best
lumens per watt, but the key to road use seems to be Center Beam Candle
Power, CBCP. This fixture is rated 17,000 plus CBCP. It's used for
spotlighting merchandise in upscale retail stores, and in homes as an
accent light.

The mini 20W fixture with integrated electronic ballast from Aromat
consumes 23 W and the inverter idles at 6W. A 25W inverter would idle
at only 2W. Bearing drag on the hub is around 3W at 8 mph.
Motor/generator efficiency is lower than I had thought; there are many
ways to test it, and all take physics lab work, which I don't have
access to, so I just coast down local hills and see how the charge on
the ultracapacitors comes out.

Sounds like the nuclear power plant on a trailer might be easier to pull.

I think the OP in am-b was trolling, but it's also possible that it's
just somebody with grandiose plans for swatting flies with a
piledriver. It appears that he's proposing to use about $1000 worth
of kit to inefficiently and heavily replace a much cheaper and lighter
system.

Such projects often result from an incomplete understanding of the
limitations of the proposed technology.

If it wasn't a troll, I hope he tries it. The process should be very
educational...for the experimenter.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Werehatrack wrote:
I think the OP in am-b was trolling, but it's also possible that it's
just somebody with grandiose plans for swatting flies with a
piledriver.

The latter, I'm sure. Search out his name (Doug Goncz) in the archives
of this group (r.b.tech). He's been working on this topic for many years.

--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu

Everyone confesses that exertion which brings out all the powers of body
and mind is the best thing for us; but most people do all they can to
get rid of it, and as a general rule nobody does much more than
circumstances drive them to do. -Harriet Beecher Stowe, abolitionist and
novelist (1811-1896)