Opinions of Cateye EL500 light please.

I'm wondering if anyone has used and formed an opinion of the EL 500
light?

It sounds like its really good, from reading the company description
but I hope that someone who has used one could give some feedback.

Thanks.

Lewis.

Lewis Campbell wrote:

I'm wondering if anyone has used and formed an opinion of the EL 500
light?

It sounds like its really good, from reading the company description
but I hope that someone who has used one could give some feedback.

Thanks.

Lewis.

The EL300 sounded good too. I've never read a company description
that said ``This light still sucks.''
--
Ron Hardin


On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

Lewis Campbell wrote:
I'm wondering if anyone has used and formed an opinion of the EL 500
light?

It sounds like its really good, from reading the company description
but I hope that someone who has used one could give some feedback.

Thanks.

Lewis.

The light works fine.

However, it is a little dim for fast riding in real darkness, or where
there are distracting lights cutting your easy seeing.

I use it for city street and city bike trail riding.

Wish it were 1500 candlepower, rather than just 400 candlepower.

NiMH batteries work just great in it, and I recharge them every 30 days.
The lamp intensity does decline like it says on the box.... typical LED
problem.

If you use non-recharged alkalines, you may be paying a lot for keeping
the light intensity up as high as you can get it.

Jim

I'm wondering if anyone has used and formed an opinion of the EL 500
light? BRBR

Just got one to replace my Niterider with a h2o battery. Seems bright and
useable for my 3 mile commute. Not as bright as the Niterider but adequate.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:

BRBR

Fish?

Just got one to replace my Niterider with a h2o battery....

What is a "h2o battery"?

--
Tom Sherman – Quad City Area

jbuch wrote:
If you use non-recharged alkalines, you may be paying a lot for keeping
the light intensity up as high as you can get it.

I was thinking of getting one of these as a "backup" light in
case I get caught out in the dark longer than my regular light
lasts. Given that, I would use Energizer Lithium AA's (they
are not rechargable). They have a 10 year shelf life (good for
something you use rarely), low internal resistance, are less
suceptible to the cold and run about 1.75 volts so I'm guessing
they'd make the light very slightly brighter. One warning
though: they also have a flat power curve. You'll probably get
about 5 seconds of dimming light just before they run out of
power.

tom- What is a "h2o battery"? BRBR

Ya know, one of those lights that has the battery that goes into the
waterbottle cage.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

tom- What is a "h2o battery"? BRBR

Ya know, one of those lights that has the battery that goes into the
waterbottle cage.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

(Lewis Campbell) wrote in message om...
I'm wondering if anyone has used and formed an opinion of the EL 500
light?

It sounds like its really good, from reading the company description
but I hope that someone who has used one could give some feedback.


I just got one to replace a Niterider Evolution for the 1st 2 hours of
a 300K brevet (1st two hours climbing). Total weight with batteries &
mount is 222g. Produces about half the light of the Evolution. It was
adequate for climbing; would not be for fast descents. Properly
attached, it doesn't rattle or change position, but can be swiveled
through a short horizontal arc for precise aiming. I taped over the
side "light-leak" ports - while intended to produce side-visibility,
they also ruin the rider's night vision.

I spent some time contemplating that a manufacturer would actually
spend R&D budget to create a reflector that causes the light to
project the company logo (cat head) on the pavement. I got pretty sick
of watching the cutesy cat head wander around on road. Is this common
to other Cateye lights?

I also used a slick little Black Diamond micro Ion headlamp (less than
25g with battery). Removed the elastic band & fastened to helmet with
velcro strap. Vertical swivel allows aiming at cue sheet/cyclometer or
further out. Puts out enough light to read street name signs.

Bill Davidson wrote in message news:DViTc.38391$Uh.7909@fed1read02...
jbuch wrote:
If you use non-recharged alkalines, you may be paying a lot for keeping
the light intensity up as high as you can get it.

I was thinking of getting one of these as a "backup" light in
case I get caught out in the dark longer than my regular light
lasts. Given that, I would use Energizer Lithium AA's (they
are not rechargable). They have a 10 year shelf life (good for
something you use rarely), low internal resistance, are less
suceptible to the cold and run about 1.75 volts so I'm guessing
they'd make the light very slightly brighter. One warning
though: they also have a flat power curve. You'll probably get
about 5 seconds of dimming light just before they run out of
power.
*******************************************

Thanks for your suggestion here.

I tried a search for the Lithium batteries and found * AA Energizer e2
Lithium Batteries 1.5V * in a couple of places, so I'm confused (as
well as electrically challenged) :-)

Could you give me a link to the 1.75V batteries, please.

Thanks.

Lewis.