IQ-X vs Edelux II

On 4/8/2019 3:38 PM, John B. wrote:

snip

Given that high/low beam lights have been installed on Autos since
1915 - some hundred plus years ago - the design can no longer be
considered "rocket science". It seems illogical, at best, to believe
that they couldn't be installed on bicycles and one can only assume
that the failure to do so and the resultant complaints of "blinding
lights" on bicycles is simply a matter of sloth on the part of light
makers or ignorance on the part of politicians for not demanding
such minimal design specifications for legal bicycle lighting.

In fact, there have been numerous dual beam bicycle lights with two
different beam shapes though I have never seen a dual beam single lamp
like you have for vehicles.

In the U.S. I guess we should be thankful that we were not subjected to
the ill-advised (for cyclists) StVZO requirements for bicycle lighting.
Even in Germany you now see dynamo lights advertised "for off-road use
only," wink-wink.

On 4/8/2019 8:36 PM, John B. wrote:

snip

Easier than that one can buy a duel beam bicycle lights ranging from a
bit over $100 to almost any price you want to pay - the Supernova M99
Pure - Dual Beam Bike Light goes for 265 BP - about US$ 346 and Amazon
has the Nitecore BR35 1800 Lumen Dual Beam OLED Display Rechargeable
Bicycle Headlight with Remote Switch, Mount - Includes Lumen Tactical
Adapter for a mere $122.95.

Looks like a good design.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/NITECORE-BR35-bike-Dual-Distance-Beam-Rechargeable-bicycle-light-Battery/32988764820.html

Another one that has a good beam is this one:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/GACIRON-professional-Bicycle-Light-Power-Bank-Waterproof-USB-Rechargeable-Bike-Light-Side-Warning-Flashlight-1600-Lumen/32802747811.html

On 9/4/19 1:36 pm, John B. wrote:

Easier than that one can buy a duel beam bicycle lights ranging from a
bit over $100 to almost any price you want to pay - the Supernova M99
Pure - Dual Beam Bike Light goes for 265 BP - about US$ 346 and Amazon
has the Nitecore BR35 1800 Lumen Dual Beam OLED Display Rechargeable
Bicycle Headlight with Remote Switch, Mount - Includes Lumen Tactical
Adapter for a mere $122.95.


I looked at the M99. Seems to be for E bikes. Have you noticed any that
run from a dynamo?

--
JS

On Tue, 9 Apr 2019 14:41:31 +1000, James
wrote:

On 9/4/19 1:36 pm, John B. wrote:

Easier than that one can buy a duel beam bicycle lights ranging from a
bit over $100 to almost any price you want to pay - the Supernova M99
Pure - Dual Beam Bike Light goes for 265 BP - about US$ 346 and Amazon
has the Nitecore BR35 1800 Lumen Dual Beam OLED Display Rechargeable
Bicycle Headlight with Remote Switch, Mount - Includes Lumen Tactical
Adapter for a mere $122.95.


I looked at the M99. Seems to be for E bikes. Have you noticed any that
run from a dynamo?

No, I didn't read the advert that closely but on re-reading their
page I see it states " to offer low and high beam LED lights which
meet the new European regulations for fast E-Bikes".

Ah well, saved 265 quid :-)
--
cheers,

John B.

On Monday, April 8, 2019 at 11:36:39 PM UTC-4, John B. wrote:
On Mon, 8 Apr 2019 20:59:51 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote:

If someone wants to do it, it's easy. Choose an StVZO compliant
headlight. That's your low beam. Add a cheap high power headlamp with
kindergarten optics - there are dozens and dozens of choices. that's
your high beam.

If dynamo driven, you can wire them in series and both will illuminate.
To cut out the high beam, wire a switch across the high beam's
terminals, in parallel with the light. When the switch is closed, the
"high beam" lamp will be bypassed.

Easier than that one can buy a duel beam bicycle lights ranging from a
bit over $100 to almost any price you want to pay - the Supernova M99
Pure - Dual Beam Bike Light goes for 265 BP - about US$ 346 and Amazon
has the Nitecore BR35 1800 Lumen Dual Beam OLED Display Rechargeable
Bicycle Headlight with Remote Switch, Mount - Includes Lumen Tactical
Adapter for a mere $122.95.

Not quite. The Nitecore seems to have typical (i.e. crude) optics, with no
thought given to casting a well-designed beam on the road.

A proper low beam has graduated brightness on the road, "throw" just below the
horizon, and a cutoff. It's not just less lumens in the same crude round beam.
Check your car's headlights to see.

- Frank Krygowski

Andre Jute wrote:

I went into this thoroughly a few years ago, to the extent of reading the
debate which led to the enactment of the predecessor legislation which
was incorporated in the StVZO regulation. The model was a German housewife cycling home with her groceries at no more than 15kph (9mph).

Which decade, approximately? Do you remember if you found the debate in a
library or online?

On Tuesday, April 9, 2019 at 4:57:46 PM UTC+1, Sepp Ruf wrote:
Andre Jute wrote:

I went into this thoroughly a few years ago, to the extent of reading the
debate which led to the enactment of the predecessor legislation which
was incorporated in the StVZO regulation. The model was a German housewife cycling home with her groceries at no more than 15kph (9mph).

Which decade, approximately? Do you remember if you found the debate in a
library or online?

1960s, I think. The librarian who dealt on my behalf with the sources first obtained for me a photocopy of a newspaper report, and then, following through on the references in the newspaper, an extract from a Bundestag report which appeared to be some kind of an equivalent to the British Hansard.

AJ

On Tue, 9 Apr 2019 06:53:45 -0700 (PDT), Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On Monday, April 8, 2019 at 11:36:39 PM UTC-4, John B. wrote:
On Mon, 8 Apr 2019 20:59:51 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote:

If someone wants to do it, it's easy. Choose an StVZO compliant
headlight. That's your low beam. Add a cheap high power headlamp with
kindergarten optics - there are dozens and dozens of choices. that's
your high beam.

If dynamo driven, you can wire them in series and both will illuminate.
To cut out the high beam, wire a switch across the high beam's
terminals, in parallel with the light. When the switch is closed, the
"high beam" lamp will be bypassed.

Easier than that one can buy a duel beam bicycle lights ranging from a
bit over $100 to almost any price you want to pay - the Supernova M99
Pure - Dual Beam Bike Light goes for 265 BP - about US$ 346 and Amazon
has the Nitecore BR35 1800 Lumen Dual Beam OLED Display Rechargeable
Bicycle Headlight with Remote Switch, Mount - Includes Lumen Tactical
Adapter for a mere $122.95.

Not quite. The Nitecore seems to have typical (i.e. crude) optics, with no
thought given to casting a well-designed beam on the road.

A proper low beam has graduated brightness on the road, "throw" just below the
horizon, and a cutoff. It's not just less lumens in the same crude round beam.
Check your car's headlights to see.

- Frank Krygowski

Frankly I think that you go overboard with the demands for shaped
patterns, etc. After all you are riding a machine that on the level
goes, perhaps, 20 miles per hour, but more likely less. Given that a
top runner ca average 12 mph for several hours does one really need
all these special light patterns for a bicycle?
--
cheers,

John B.

On 4/9/2019 6:21 PM, John B. wrote:
On Tue, 9 Apr 2019 06:53:45 -0700 (PDT), Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On Monday, April 8, 2019 at 11:36:39 PM UTC-4, John B. wrote:
On Mon, 8 Apr 2019 20:59:51 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote:

If someone wants to do it, it's easy. Choose an StVZO compliant
headlight. That's your low beam. Add a cheap high power headlamp with
kindergarten optics - there are dozens and dozens of choices. that's
your high beam.

If dynamo driven, you can wire them in series and both will illuminate.
To cut out the high beam, wire a switch across the high beam's
terminals, in parallel with the light. When the switch is closed, the
"high beam" lamp will be bypassed.

Easier than that one can buy a duel beam bicycle lights ranging from a
bit over $100 to almost any price you want to pay - the Supernova M99
Pure - Dual Beam Bike Light goes for 265 BP - about US$ 346 and Amazon
has the Nitecore BR35 1800 Lumen Dual Beam OLED Display Rechargeable
Bicycle Headlight with Remote Switch, Mount - Includes Lumen Tactical
Adapter for a mere $122.95.

Not quite. The Nitecore seems to have typical (i.e. crude) optics, with no
thought given to casting a well-designed beam on the road.

A proper low beam has graduated brightness on the road, "throw" just below the
horizon, and a cutoff. It's not just less lumens in the same crude round beam.
Check your car's headlights to see.

- Frank Krygowski

Frankly I think that you go overboard with the demands for shaped
patterns, etc. After all you are riding a machine that on the level
goes, perhaps, 20 miles per hour, but more likely less. Given that a
top runner ca average 12 mph for several hours does one really need
all these special light patterns for a bicycle?

My preference for properly shaped beams goes way back into the halogen
bulb era. I always preferred dynamo or generator lights for their
"always ready" practicality, but before about 1980 I felt they were too
weak for serious riding. They didn't illuminate the road well enough,
even though I knew by testing that they were plenty conspicuous enough.

I moaned about this to a bike shop owner friend. He said "You need one
of these" and sold me my first StVZO headlight. And I found he was
right. Same wattage (2.4 Watts) but much, much better illumination.

About that time, my best cycling friend bought a fancy rechargeable
halogen light, 10 Watts with an external lead acid battery. He invited
me over to compare with my puny 2.4 Watts. But my light blew his away -
although his would have been better as (say) a relaxing reading lamp
with a soft spread. Later, on nighttime club rides, I had a similar
experience with other club members who were using two 5 Watt lights.
Theirs, too, put out more lumens. They just didn't light the road as well.

During that time I too experimented with other battery lights, including
a home built MR light like some here tout. Some were certainly brighter
than my dyno lights, but hot spots and poor distribution meant they were
not as good at lighting the road, and never worth the fuss and bother of
battery maintenance. (That's despite getting free 12V ni-cad battery
packs, ex-defibrillator I think, from a hospital technician friend.)

For maybe the past 7 or 8 (?) years, I've used B&M lights, mostly Cyo
model, powered by various 3W dynamos. These are, of course, far better
than the halogen lamps I used to use. I've led nighttime club rides
where riders used a variety of lights. I've gotten compliments on my
Cyos - as in "I'm going to ride next to Frank. I can really _see_ with
his light!"

You can certainly get by with something else. But most people never try
a bike headlight with a properly shaped beam. They don't know what
they're missing. (They use them on their cars, of course, but don't
realize that the optics are very important.)

--
- Frank Krygowski

On 4/8/2019 8:36 PM, John B. wrote:

snip

Easier than that one can buy a duel beam bicycle lights ranging from a
bit over $100 to almost any price you want to pay - the Supernova M99
Pure - Dual Beam Bike Light goes for 265 BP - about US$ 346 and Amazon
has the Nitecore BR35 1800 Lumen Dual Beam OLED Display Rechargeable
Bicycle Headlight with Remote Switch, Mount - Includes Lumen Tactical
Adapter for a mere $122.95.

Dual, not duel.

One key thing to look for in bicycle lights is the optics. Many bicycle
lights lack proper optics because they're designed to meet StVZO
standards rather than being designed to properly illuminate the road
sufficiently far ahead, as well as things like street signs. You
definitely want some side and upward spill but not so much that it
blinds oncoming cyclists. It looks like the Nitecore did a very good job
of using proper optics for each beam.