|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#21
|
|||
|
|||
Help Me Choose A Headlight
On May 2, 9:56 am, " wrote:
That said, I can definately see the attraction of a hub powered light. Have you checked the resistance of the B&M when turned on by hand to get an idea how much drag there is? It's good to hear some people don't notice it when riding. Also, what's the weight penalty for a setup like this? All the facts are here are at the B&M site: http://www.bumm.de/index-e.html Also Sheldon Brown and Peter White have information. Google for their sites. This is a good exercise for a spreadsheet. The difference in price for the bottle vs. hub system is large, the system use is minimal (what % of your riding is in the dark?) and the light generation is comparable. For me the bottle made sense. I got the regular bottle not the S6 or S12 (and I still cannot feel the drag.) The side benefit is it makes the bike look a bit klutzier and therefore less attractive at the bike rack g. The Dymotec with the LED is a 100,000 hour light and it has circuitry to keep lite when you stop. Your light options are the same whether you go bottle or hub... |
Ads |
#22
|
|||
|
|||
Help Me Choose A Headlight
Clive George wrote:
"SMS" wrote in message ... While it's true that a 2.4-3 watt dynamo powered lamp isn't going to provide sufficient illumination in most situations Oh, you were doing so well until you said that... If you'd only put suitable caveats around your statements, such as SMS thinks the 2.4-3W lamps are insufficient, but there are an awful lot of people out there who find them perfectly adequate. I'm just about to go for a ride using mine on unlit rural roads. I'll probably get to about 40mph... I have a semi-regular ride back from a pal's which takes me about 10 miles through unlit countryside, which can be pitch dark at these latitudes for a good chunk of the year. It's downhill most of the way, and there's no shortage of interesting bends. I do it with a 2.4W dynamo powered lamp to show me the way, so either I have amazing powers of ESP or Scharf is, once again and as usual, wildly overstating his case (my wife needs the amazing powers of ESP too, as she manages the same ride with a similar SON and Lumotec Oval). Granted I do take it slower than the same route in full daylight, but considering we both own high powered rechargeable sets and can't be bothered to supplement our dynohubs with them for that trip there's a fairly good indication it really /does/ provide sufficient illumination. And that's not "most situations". It's darker and faster than "most situations". Pete. -- Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/ |
#23
|
|||
|
|||
Help Me Choose A Headlight
On Wed, 02 May 2007 16:45:27 -0400, Peter Clinch
wrote: Clive George wrote: "SMS" wrote in message ... While it's true that a 2.4-3 watt dynamo powered lamp isn't going to provide sufficient illumination in most situations Oh, you were doing so well until you said that... If you'd only put suitable caveats around your statements, such as SMS thinks the 2.4-3W lamps are insufficient, but there are an awful lot of people out there who find them perfectly adequate. I'm just about to go for a ride using mine on unlit rural roads. I'll probably get to about 40mph... I have a semi-regular ride back from a pal's which takes me about 10 miles through unlit countryside, which can be pitch dark at these latitudes for a good chunk of the year. It's downhill most of the way, and there's no shortage of interesting bends. I do it with a 2.4W dynamo powered lamp to show me the way, so either I have amazing powers of ESP or Scharf is, once again and as usual, wildly overstating his case (my wife needs the amazing powers of ESP too, as she manages the same ride with a similar SON and Lumotec Oval). Granted I do take it slower than the same route in full daylight, but considering we both own high powered rechargeable sets and can't be bothered to supplement our dynohubs with them for that trip there's a fairly good indication it really /does/ provide sufficient illumination. And that's not "most situations". It's darker and faster than "most situations". Pete. They can really provide that much light? My Niterider classic dual beam with 12W halogen isn't nearly enough for me, if I use the 12W setting. I've gone HID because of that. -- Bob in CT |
#24
|
|||
|
|||
Help Me Choose A Headlight
On May 2, 4:50 pm, "Bob in CT" wrote:
They [generators] can really provide that much light? My Niterider classic dual beam with 12W halogen isn't nearly enough for me, if I use the 12W setting. I've gone HID because of that. There's no doubt that a generator light doesn't throw out as many lumens as your Niterider, so in that sense, they don't provide as much light. But there's a lot more to it than raw lumen count. As mentioned many times, there's the issue of optics, and optics make a huge difference. Blasting light everywhere (or even blasting light out of a typical MR-11 "spot" lamp) just wastes lots of energy - and lumens. The other issue mentioned by some is that too bright of a light can sometimes make things worse. I think this is again dependent on optics - but a super-bright spot on the road can conceivably close down your irises, leaving you with worse vision overall. I recall people telling about riding with a generator light, and having rechargeable light fans following along behind. Putting the right amount of light right where it's needed seems to work best. In any case, I too am a guy who used a rechargeable setups for several years, one being a commercial set, the other being a homebuilt. I finally just left them at home. For me, the transition happened this way: l'd take the rechargeable along on the daytime ride to work, and on the nighttime return, I'd only turn it on if I thought my generator light needed some help. After riding seven miles in the dark and turning on the rechargeable for only 100 yards or so, I decided to just leave it off and see how it went. And it went fine. I still have both rechargeable sets. They never get used at all, except as "loaners" for friends. Oh - sometimes one gets used to look for Great Horned Owls hooting in the backyard. I do find it better for that application than a generator light. ;-) - Frank Krygowski |
#25
|
|||
|
|||
Help Me Choose A Headlight
SMS wrote:
For example, the TrailTech MR11 size HID is rated at 500 lumens and draws 13 watts, and costs $115. I can buy a set of two MR16 housings, 10 watt lamps (spot and flood), and can over voltage by 10% and be at over 500 lumens, for a lot less money. If I use only one at a time, the power consumption is actually a bit less than the HID. Following up on my own post, I notice that TrailTech sells a complete single lamp 13W/500 lumens HID system, including bar clamp that will fit 7/8" through 1.25" bars, a helmet mount, 13.2V/3.7AH NiMH battery (49WH), and charger, for $200. This battery should run the light for more than three hours. See page 47 of "http://trailtech.net/media/catalog/TT-CAT-07_lowres.pdf" |
#26
|
|||
|
|||
Help Me Choose A Headlight
In article ,
"Bob in CT" wrote: On Wed, 02 May 2007 16:45:27 -0400, Peter Clinch wrote: Clive George wrote: "SMS" wrote in message ... While it's true that a 2.4-3 watt dynamo powered lamp isn't going to provide sufficient illumination in most situations Oh, you were doing so well until you said that... If you'd only put suitable caveats around your statements, such as SMS thinks the 2.4-3W lamps are insufficient, but there are an awful lot of people out there who find them perfectly adequate. I'm just about to go for a ride using mine on unlit rural roads. I'll probably get to about 40mph... I have a semi-regular ride back from a pal's which takes me about 10 miles through unlit countryside, which can be pitch dark at these latitudes for a good chunk of the year. It's downhill most of the way, and there's no shortage of interesting bends. I do it with a 2.4W dynamo powered lamp to show me the way, so either I have amazing powers of ESP or Scharf is, once again and as usual, wildly overstating his case (my wife needs the amazing powers of ESP too, as she manages the same ride with a similar SON and Lumotec Oval). Granted I do take it slower than the same route in full daylight, but considering we both own high powered rechargeable sets and can't be bothered to supplement our dynohubs with them for that trip there's a fairly good indication it really /does/ provide sufficient illumination. And that's not "most situations". It's darker and faster than "most situations". They can really provide that much light? My Niterider classic dual beam with 12W halogen isn't nearly enough for me, if I use the 12W setting. I've gone HID because of that. There've been many discussions about this in this newsgroup over the years, most of which degenerate into a shouting match. What I can say from experience is that a good 3W dynamo system (in my case, a Lumotec Oval Plus lamp and a Schmidt SON hub on one bike and a Lumotec standard lamp with a Sanyo BB dynamo on the other) works fine. It gets a bit washed out on urban streets with lots of headlights and street lights, but is adequate. I have ridden dusk 'til dawn with these lights quite a few times on dark rural roads including fast descents. They work fine, I see well, and am perfectly comfortable with them. I think overbright lights impair dark adaptation of the eye by making nearby objects and the road immediately in front of the bike too bright. Since you can't see effectively, you think you need to upgrade to a brighter lights. Eventually you'll end up mounting a kleig light and towing a gasoline powered generator. Most high powered lights have inappropriate optics (they are often adapted from other uses, not designed from the ground up as a bike light) and most are not designed to be intelligently mounted on the bike. The light source needs to be low- fork crown height or lower- to maximize its usefulness. Most battery powered lights are designed to mount above the handlebar or- even much worse- on your head. There may also be differences in night vision that affect your preference in lights. I seem to see well at night compared to many people, although I have never had my night vision tested. |
#27
|
|||
|
|||
Help Me Choose A Headlight
SMS wrote:
Bill wrote: The Tungsten is more prone to breaking from the vibration in a bike than in a car, and that is more than in a house light. Filaments burn out in a supernova, LEDs may dim over years, and HIDs may dim just a bit after a bunch of years. Three different types of light. Personally, I'd rather over-voltage a quartz-halogen lamp to achieve the illumination level of HID, and carry a spare bulb for when it burns out in that supernova. That works only if you have a sanitary, well clean, cloth to change the bulb. The Quartz will shatter from the skin oils if you touch it. For example, the TrailTech MR11 size HID is rated at 500 lumens and draws 13 watts, and costs $115. I can buy a set of two MR16 housings, 10 watt lamps (spot and flood), and can over voltage by 10% and be at over 500 lumens, for a lot less money. If I use only one at a time, the power consumption is actually a bit less than the HID. All this assumes that I actually need that much illumination. Personally I think that a lot of people are going way overboard on lighting. While it's true that a 2.4-3 watt dynamo powered lamp isn't going to provide sufficient illumination in most situations, there are fine quartz-halogen or xenon rechargaeable systems available for well under $100 that provide more than adequate illumination. Since I don't blast through unknown territory at 25 MPH at night my main use is for cars to see me. My LED Cateye gives me enough light for maybe 15 MPH safely. Faster and I might find a pothole the hard way. This may sound a bit strange but my night vision is good enough that I can ride trails by a full moon alone. That's a beneficial side effect of working indoors with computers most of the time and wearing 10% pass polarized UV blocker goggles in the day time. Your needs may vary. Bill Baka |
#28
|
|||
|
|||
Help Me Choose A Headlight
|
#29
|
|||
|
|||
Help Me Choose A Headlight
Bob in CT wrote:
They can really provide that much light? WHere "that much" means "quite sufficient" for road use if you're not trying to maximise speed, yes, at least in my case. I'd want high power rechargeables for off-road where you've got immediate route-finding issues on the sub-meter scale, definitrely, but given a good quality lamp (something like the D-Lumotec Oval is not just a cheap bulb wired un in a box) the dynamo is enough for the road. You can always go the twin lamp in series option as hub generators like SONs are constant current devices, and these setups seem quite popular on very long randoneuring runs, but I just don't feel the need. One gotcha, do remember a small LED flashlight just in case you get a puncture that needs fixing! My Niterider classic dual beam with 12W halogen isn't nearly enough for me, if I use the 12W setting. I've gone HID because of that. I agree with other comments viz optics and over-bright, but in any case "enough for you" and "enough for me" /could/ be different things. The important thing is to note it is personal to some degree and shouldn't be made a general case like some people try to do. Pete. -- Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/ |
#30
|
|||
|
|||
Help Me Choose A Headlight
SMS wrote:
SMS wrote: For example, the TrailTech MR11 size HID is rated at 500 lumens and draws 13 watts, and costs $115. I can buy a set of two MR16 housings, 10 watt lamps (spot and flood), and can over voltage by 10% and be at over 500 lumens, for a lot less money. If I use only one at a time, the power consumption is actually a bit less than the HID. Following up on my own post, I notice that TrailTech sells a complete single lamp 13W/500 lumens HID system, including bar clamp that will fit 7/8" through 1.25" bars, a helmet mount, 13.2V/3.7AH NiMH battery (49WH), and charger, for $200. This battery should run the light for more than three hours. See page 47 of "http://trailtech.net/media/catalog/TT-CAT-07_lowres.pdf" I've been using a 13 watt trailtech for about a year and a half now and it hasn't missed a beat. Very good value for money. I use a 11.1 volt 3.5 amp.hour lithium battery and get a minimum of three hours use out of it. I wouldn't hesitate to get another one. Friday |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Help Me Choose A Headlight | Prisoner at War | General | 70 | May 7th 07 07:43 PM |
Help Me Choose A Headlight | Prisoner at War | Techniques | 86 | May 7th 07 07:43 PM |
Help Me Choose A Headlight | Prisoner at War | Recumbent Biking | 62 | May 7th 07 07:43 PM |
what would you choose? | lowkey | General | 18 | October 2nd 05 06:23 AM |
help me choose | Mart | Mountain Biking | 6 | February 2nd 04 11:17 AM |