Front light bulbs - LED vs. halogen vs. krypton vs. xenon...

I'm trying to determine the relative suitability of LED, Xenon,
halogen and krypton bulbs for use in cycle headlights for use on unlit
roads. I hear people say that LEDs are the most efficient, but I also
hear people say that it's difficult to focus them into a long enough
beam for use on dark roads. I hear people say that Halogen lamps are
more suitable because they give longer beams, but are not as
efficient. I hear people say that krypton bulbs are better, and I hear
people say that xenon bulbs are better still. Anyone agree?

What I want, personally, is a front light that is *inexpensive* and
will give a long and sufficiently wide, bright beam for 2-3 hours on 2
or 4 rechargeable NimH 'AA' batteries - and isn't likely to blow its
bulbs. Is that feasable? Which of the above bulb types is most likely
to be in such a lamp?

Thanks...

Jim D

Jim D wrote:
What I want, personally, is a front light that is *inexpensive* and
will give a long and sufficiently wide, bright beam for 2-3 hours on 2
or 4 rechargeable NimH 'AA' batteries - and isn't likely to blow its
bulbs. Is that feasable? Which of the above bulb types is most likely
to be in such a lamp?

Hmm, not quite inexpensive at 40 quid, but the Cateye EL530 is getting
some very good words.

-Alex

Alex wrote:
Jim D wrote:
What I want, personally, is a front light that is *inexpensive* and
will give a long and sufficiently wide, bright beam for 2-3 hours on 2
or 4 rechargeable NimH 'AA' batteries - and isn't likely to blow its
bulbs. Is that feasable? Which of the above bulb types is most likely
to be in such a lamp?

Hmm, not quite inexpensive at 40 quid, but the Cateye EL530 is getting
some very good words.

-Alex

I have two now, scorchingly bright. Oh, you can get them from the US
on eBay for around £25-£27 delivered, try geargurl and zbikenut.

Jim D wrote:
I'm trying to determine the relative suitability of LED, Xenon,
halogen and krypton bulbs for use in cycle headlights for use on unlit
roads. I hear people say that LEDs are the most efficient,

Yes, but not by much at the moment (the technology is improving rapidly
though).

but I also
hear people say that it's difficult to focus them into a long enough
beam for use on dark roads.

This might have been true for a cluster of 5mm LEDs, but it's doesn't apply
to the high-power (i.e. = 1W) LEDs that are now available.

I hear people say that Halogen lamps are
more suitable because they give longer beams, but are not as
efficient. I hear people say that krypton bulbs are better, and I hear
people say that xenon bulbs are better still. Anyone agree?

Not really. I think you'll find different manufacturers using various terms
to claim that their bulbs are better than others, I wouldn't take much
notice.

What I want, personally, is a front light that is *inexpensive* and
will give a long and sufficiently wide, bright beam for 2-3 hours on 2
or 4 rechargeable NimH 'AA' batteries - and isn't likely to blow its
bulbs. Is that feasable? Which of the above bulb types is most likely
to be in such a lamp?

If you're worried about blowing bulbs, just go with LEDs. These are now
available for both battery and dynamo powered systems, but if you really
want inexpensive you're pretty much limited to battery powered. There have
been lots of discussions about lights recently (it's that time of year),
you can use Google Groups to search the archives. I'll just say I like my
Trelock LS-600, and were I not able to get another one of those I'd go for
a B&M Ixon, but YMMV depending on what your priorities are.

Anthony

Jim D wrote:
I'm trying to determine the relative suitability of LED, Xenon,
halogen and krypton bulbs for use in cycle headlights for use on unlit
roads. I hear people say that LEDs are the most efficient, but I also
hear people say that it's difficult to focus them into a long enough
beam for use on dark roads. I hear people say that Halogen lamps are
more suitable because they give longer beams, but are not as
efficient. I hear people say that krypton bulbs are better, and I hear
people say that xenon bulbs are better still. Anyone agree?

What I want, personally, is a front light that is *inexpensive* and
will give a long and sufficiently wide, bright beam for 2-3 hours on 2
or 4 rechargeable NimH 'AA' batteries - and isn't likely to blow its
bulbs. Is that feasable? Which of the above bulb types is most likely
to be in such a lamp?

That's nowhere near enough battery power to run a halogen or any filament
bulb sufficiently bright for so long. You'll have to either spend a lot of
money on a new-generation LED light or change your mind about the battery
size (if not getting a dynamo) and use halogen lamps. Why not use a
separate battery strapped under your top tube or in a bottle cage?

~PB

On Wed, 01 Nov 2006 13:28:14 +0000, Anthony Jones
wrote:

If you're worried about blowing bulbs, just go with LEDs. These are now
available for both battery and dynamo powered systems, but if you really
want inexpensive you're pretty much limited to battery powered. There have
been lots of discussions about lights recently (it's that time of year),
you can use Google Groups to search the archives. I'll just say I like my
Trelock LS-600, and were I not able to get another one of those I'd go for
a B&M Ixon, but YMMV depending on what your priorities are.

Thanks for the informative reply. Yes, there's a lot to be said for a
(LED) bulb that won't blow at an inconvenient moment.

Jim D

Jim D wrote:
On Wed, 01 Nov 2006 13:28:14 +0000, Anthony Jones
wrote:

If you're worried about blowing bulbs, just go with LEDs. These are
now available for both battery and dynamo powered systems, but if
you really want inexpensive you're pretty much limited to battery
powered. There have been lots of discussions about lights recently
(it's that time of year), you can use Google Groups to search the
archives. I'll just say I like my Trelock LS-600, and were I not
able to get another one of those I'd go for a B&M Ixon, but YMMV
depending on what your priorities are.

Thanks for the informative reply. Yes, there's a lot to be said for a
(LED) bulb that won't blow at an inconvenient moment.

Bulb blowing is no big deal if the bulb is easy to change* and you have a
backup LED light. Don't let this factor put you off halogens. MR11 halogen
bulbs, for example, even when over-volted, actually last ages anyway.

* eg. with Lumicycle lamps, the front ring unscrews and the bulb plugs into
the holder. All done in a few seconds without removing the light from the
bike.

~PB

Jim D said the following on 01/11/2006 15:08:

Thanks for the informative reply. Yes, there's a lot to be said for a
(LED) bulb that won't blow at an inconvenient moment.

Does this mean you have a problem with blowing bulbs, or just that you
would rather avoid the risk?

FWIW, I bought my current lighting set-up nearly 10 years ago, and
bought a spare halogen bulb at the same time. I haven't used the spare
yet! The bike is used for daily commuting, and that means lights in
both directions very shortly. Mostly been driven off a bottle dynamo,
but changed to a dynohub a couple of years ago.

However, I bought a cheap LED set from Halfords at the weekend to make
my MTB legal (more or less), and I was stunned at the LED brightness.
If Withington Cycles don't hurry up and deliver my B&M light to replace
the one I broke (bulb still OK though!!), the order will be cancelled
and I'll get an LED front light instead.

The Halfords one, if anyone is interested, is on wiggle as "Smart
Polaris II Super White 5 LED Front Light" at £20.

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

Paul Boyd wrote:

FWIW, I bought my current lighting set-up nearly 10 years ago, and
bought a spare halogen bulb at the same time. I haven't used the
spare yet! The bike is used for daily commuting, and that means
lights in both directions very shortly. Mostly been driven off a
bottle dynamo, but changed to a dynohub a couple of years ago.

However, I bought a cheap LED set from Halfords at the weekend to make
my MTB legal (more or less), and I was stunned at the LED brightness.
If Withington Cycles don't hurry up and deliver my B&M light to
replace the one I broke (bulb still OK though!!), the order will be
cancelled and I'll get an LED front light instead.

The Halfords one, if anyone is interested, is on wiggle as "Smart
Polaris II Super White 5 LED Front Light" at £20.

That Polaris light is great for being seen by and as an emergency backup to
see by, but not good enough for routine use for more than a few minutes on
unlit roads, IMO. That is if you like to /comfortably/ see where you're
going and to see well ahead.

I'm guessing you'd agree, Paul, but I just wanted to clarify.

~PB

Pete Biggs said the following on 01/11/2006 15:40:

That Polaris light is great for being seen by and as an emergency backup to
see by, but not good enough for routine use for more than a few minutes on
unlit roads, IMO. That is if you like to /comfortably/ see where you're
going and to see well ahead.

I dunno - it's pretty bright. I haven't used it for unlit roads though,
or unlit off-roads for that matter, but that wasn't the intention.
There is only one bit of my commute (where I also use this light as a
backup to my halogen light) that doesn't have streetlights and is a bit
dark, but there's so much light pollution that it isn't really an issue.
These lights were really bought to take with me on my MTB in case I
get caught out so that I was at least showing willing! If I'd planned
to cycle off-road at night (which is actually great fun, but my local
woods is probably full of doggers and druggies at night!) I would
probably get something like the EL530.

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/