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Decent bicycle light cost



 
 
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  #51  
Old March 11th 17, 01:06 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
John B.[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 5,697
Default Decent bicycle light cost

On Fri, 10 Mar 2017 10:39:43 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 3/10/2017 1:11 AM, John B. wrote:
On Thu, 9 Mar 2017 22:26:20 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 3/9/2017 9:09 PM, sms wrote:
On 3/9/2017 3:04 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 3/9/2017 4:05 PM, sms wrote:
On 3/9/2017 12:16 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Thursday, March 9, 2017 at 10:56:40 AM UTC-5, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 3/8/2017 8:45 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:


I can tell after one short nightime ride whether the light meets my
needs. It's nothing like buying a bicycle. Besides, many shops do
let you take a bicycle out for a decent length test ride.

I wonder: If a guy buys a Campy carbon fiber crankset, installs it,
tests it, and says "Heck, I still can't beat my buddy up that big
hill,"
does he qualify for a refund? ;-)


--
- Frank Krygowski

Now you're simply trolling by comparing lights to bicycles. Like I
said before and you should know; it's very easy to tell if a light
will light the road or trail the way you need it to. I took the bike
outside the store onto a dark street and withing one block I KNEW the
light was NOT suitable for my needs. What's so hard to understand
about that? What's so hard to understand that someone does NOT want to
spend hundreds of dollars experimenting with hub dynamose before
finding something that meets THEIR needs not yours? Besides, I can
tell within a few blocks if a different bicycle will be faster than
the one I'm riding.

There are extensive evaluations of lights available, plus you can get an
idea of suitability based on technical specifications. You can also ask
fellow cyclists. In my area probably you want to ride the Caltrain bike
car on the Baby Bullet at night and get off at one of the stations and
see a wide variety of lights. Or hang out on Palo Alto's Bicycle
Boulevard at night, by a stop sign or traffic light, and get an idea of
the differences between lights, and ask the owners about them.

The reality is that it's pretty easy to narrow down light choices before
you go into a store. Choose integrated or separate battery. Eliminate
any sub-800 lumen lights. Look at beam patterns online and eliminate any
models that don't provide sufficient spill. Eliminate all StVZO models.
Ensure that there is flashing DRL functionality. Check the quality of
the handlebar mount. Check the runtime. Determine the level of
waterproofness level you need.

I know that Jay rants on and on about how poor his dynamo light purchase
worked out, but it's because he had already become accustomed to battery
powered lights which were of course much more powerful. Most people that
tout the suitability of dynamo lights have not experienced the level of
illumination and safety that are provided by a good battery light.

Of course, you've now said that you and your family do use dynamo
powered lights.

We use both. We use dynamo lights when appropriate, and battery powered
lights when appropriate.

Why do you assume that dynamo users do differently?

You said "Most people that tout the suitability of dynamo lights have
not experienced the level of illumination and safety that are provided
by a good battery light." That's your snarky way of saying "Dynamo users
don't know any better."

I've got a box containing probably 10 different battery lights -
all-in-one, separate battery pack, headlamp, halogen, LED - and I've
given other battery lights to other people. I'm positive some of them
meet your definition of "good," and I can use them any time I care to.
But I, like many others, find that modern dynamo lights don't need any
supplement.


Unfortunately bicyclists are all equipped with rather anemic lights so
all the arguing and bragging about "MY LIGHT" is very much a matter of
the old sand box argument about who's toys are better.

For those who are truly serious about having decent battery powered
lighting See:
http://argoasecurity.com/index.php?r...product_id=176

Not a miserable little light with power measured in hundreds or
thousands this is a truly superior lamp with 12-Million Candlepower.


Darn. Now nothing less bright can qualify as "safe enough." At least,
according to some.


You are absolutely correct.

I find it strange that I've been able to ride a bicycle since I was
about 12 years old without a light. I can only assume that it is the
St. Christopher medal that has kept me safe all these years.

I assume that our resident markateers (rhymes with Mouseketeer) don't
sell such things or they would likely be telling us of the safety
merits of "this genuine stainless steel medal".

--
Cheers,

John B.

Ads
  #52  
Old March 11th 17, 01:26 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Sir Ridesalot
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Posts: 5,270
Default Decent bicycle light cost

On Friday, March 10, 2017 at 5:35:40 PM UTC-5, Barry Beams wrote:
Snipped

The Oculus runs great in hybrid mode. With both the battery installed, and a generator to 5VDC adapter plugged into the charging adapter, the light stays lit almost endless at the medium setting, which is already brighter to the eye than most of the pothole spotter single LED lights out there.
Candlepower doesn't have a direct translation to Lumens.
"Lumens" is a measure of how much light a lamp produces in all directions.. "Candlepower" is the intensity of light at the center of a spotlight beam when measured in one direction. Thus, strictly speaking, you cannot directly convert lumens to candlepower.
Candlepower more directly translates to Lux at a 90 degree angle of incidence, meaning straight on. So it can't say what a light's overall brightness is, only the maximum. Thus Candlepower is a useless measurement to determine a light's usable visibility, only how much of your peripheral vision it will take away.


I'll aske again. Will you refund a customer's money if the Oculus does NOT meet their needs? Yes or no.

Cheers
  #53  
Old March 11th 17, 02:23 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
SMS
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 9,477
Default Decent bicycle light cost

On 3/10/2017 2:35 PM, Barry Beams wrote:

The Oculus runs great in hybrid mode. With both the battery installed, and a generator to 5VDC adapter plugged into the charging adapter, the light stays lit almost endless at the medium setting, which is already brighter to the eye than most of the pothole spotter single LED lights out there.
Candlepower doesn't have a direct translation to Lumens.
"Lumens" is a measure of how much light a lamp produces in all directions. "Candlepower" is the intensity of light at the center of a spotlight beam when measured in one direction. Thus, strictly speaking, you cannot directly convert lumens to candlepower.
Candlepower more directly translates to Lux at a 90 degree angle of incidence, meaning straight on. So it can't say what a light's overall brightness is, only the maximum. Thus Candlepower is a useless measurement to determine a light's usable visibility, only how much of your peripheral vision it will take away.


Have you thought about offering a module for this and marketing the
light to dynamo users. It's a bargain light compared to the cost of a
good dynamo light.

See
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AC-DC-to-DC-Buck-Converter-Step-Down-Module-LM2596-Power-Supply-Output-DC1-5-27V-/321657019357
for an example.

You could design a much smaller unit with a MB16S-TP surface mount
Schottky bridge rectifier and smaller capacitors and no adjustable
voltage potentiometer. The parts cost would be only a few bucks and it
could sell for maybe $25.

There's a seller in China selling a tire dynamo, an AC-DC USB adapter,
and a smart phone holder for $20! http://www.ebay.com/itm/122344796900


  #54  
Old March 11th 17, 04:01 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Joy Beeson
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Posts: 1,638
Default Decent bicycle light cost

On Fri, 10 Mar 2017 08:40:55 +0700, John B.
wrote:

Or simply ride in the day light, which of course, as James mentioned,
involves the dangers of UV damage but does give one a warm feeling...
although warm and soggy at times.


Weather Underground says that I'll get no warm feelings from riding
tomorrow. It'll get warmer on Sunday, though: almost up to freezing.

Maybe I should have put *all* the duck mulch on my potato hills. And
another shovel of dirt.

But there is zero chance of soggy by daylight, and only one percent
before dawn.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/
  #55  
Old March 11th 17, 06:39 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
John B.[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 5,697
Default Decent bicycle light cost

On Fri, 10 Mar 2017 23:01:46 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:

On Fri, 10 Mar 2017 08:40:55 +0700, John B.
wrote:

Or simply ride in the day light, which of course, as James mentioned,
involves the dangers of UV damage but does give one a warm feeling...
although warm and soggy at times.


Weather Underground says that I'll get no warm feelings from riding
tomorrow. It'll get warmer on Sunday, though: almost up to freezing.

Maybe I should have put *all* the duck mulch on my potato hills. And
another shovel of dirt.

But there is zero chance of soggy by daylight, and only one percent
before dawn.


In freezing weather the dangers of "soggy" is much reduced :-)

But why mulch "potato hills"? Don't you dig the potatoes when they are
large enough to eat and plant them in the spring?
--
Cheers,

John B.

  #56  
Old March 12th 17, 04:17 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Joy Beeson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,638
Default Decent bicycle light cost

On Sat, 11 Mar 2017 12:39:33 +0700, John B.
wrote:

Don't you dig the potatoes when they are
large enough to eat and plant them in the spring?


This *is* the spring. I planted them a couple of weeks ago. One is
supposed to plant on St. Patrick's Day, but it's possible to store
potatoes in the garden all winter -- I often find volunteers that have
overwintered with no help from me.

I had three potatoes with sprouts on them, and thought that they
wouldn't keep until planting time, so I'm storing them where they are
supposed to grow.

This is the first year that I've had the opportunity to plant at the
proper time -- in upstate New York, I couldn't even *find* my garden
in mid-March -- and the proprietor at Open Air Garden Center told me
that onion sets and seed potatoes won't be available until mid-April.
Pout. But I can set the multipliers (winter-hardy shallots) out. I've
also already planted some multipliers that I feared wouldn't keep
lying on a concrete floor. (I'd intended to eat them.) I have two
half-pint baskets of multipliers stored in a cupboard, in layers of
crumpled paper. (No cellar here. One spring the water table was
inside our heating ducts for a few days.)

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

  #57  
Old March 12th 17, 05:46 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
John B.[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 5,697
Default Decent bicycle light cost

On Sat, 11 Mar 2017 23:17:13 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:

On Sat, 11 Mar 2017 12:39:33 +0700, John B.
wrote:

Don't you dig the potatoes when they are
large enough to eat and plant them in the spring?


This *is* the spring. I planted them a couple of weeks ago. One is
supposed to plant on St. Patrick's Day, but it's possible to store
potatoes in the garden all winter -- I often find volunteers that have
overwintered with no help from me.


The Old Farmer's Almanac says "after the last spring frost" :-)

I had three potatoes with sprouts on them, and thought that they
wouldn't keep until planting time, so I'm storing them where they are
supposed to grow.


It was a long time ago but I seem to remember that we just used the
remaining potatoes in the barrel for seed. Again faint memory but I
think that keeping potatoes was a matter of a cool, dark, place. We
had a cellar so that is where the potato barrel lived. I also seem to
remember that the cabinet under the kitchen sink was all right for
short term storage.

I also seem to remember that one never washed potatoes until you were
ready to cook them.


This is the first year that I've had the opportunity to plant at the
proper time -- in upstate New York, I couldn't even *find* my garden
in mid-March -- and the proprietor at Open Air Garden Center told me
that onion sets and seed potatoes won't be available until mid-April.
Pout. But I can set the multipliers (winter-hardy shallots) out. I've
also already planted some multipliers that I feared wouldn't keep
lying on a concrete floor. (I'd intended to eat them.) I have two
half-pint baskets of multipliers stored in a cupboard, in layers of
crumpled paper. (No cellar here. One spring the water table was
inside our heating ducts for a few days.)

--
Cheers,

John B.

  #58  
Old March 12th 17, 10:41 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,345
Default Decent bicycle light cost

On Saturday, March 11, 2017 at 8:17:28 PM UTC-8, Joy Beeson wrote:
On Sat, 11 Mar 2017 12:39:33 +0700, John B.
wrote:

Don't you dig the potatoes when they are
large enough to eat and plant them in the spring?


This *is* the spring. I planted them a couple of weeks ago. One is
supposed to plant on St. Patrick's Day, but it's possible to store
potatoes in the garden all winter -- I often find volunteers that have
overwintered with no help from me.

I had three potatoes with sprouts on them, and thought that they
wouldn't keep until planting time, so I'm storing them where they are
supposed to grow.

This is the first year that I've had the opportunity to plant at the
proper time -- in upstate New York, I couldn't even *find* my garden
in mid-March -- and the proprietor at Open Air Garden Center told me
that onion sets and seed potatoes won't be available until mid-April.
Pout. But I can set the multipliers (winter-hardy shallots) out. I've
also already planted some multipliers that I feared wouldn't keep
lying on a concrete floor. (I'd intended to eat them.) I have two
half-pint baskets of multipliers stored in a cupboard, in layers of
crumpled paper. (No cellar here. One spring the water table was
inside our heating ducts for a few days.)


I was told that Basil is a perennial but I have never gotten one to return in the spring. Apparently I got incorrect information. And while Rosemary is a perennial you must have to cut them back heavily since mine is the same of a small tree.

I don't have enough room for anything but an orange and a lemon tree so my vegetables come from the supermarket or sometimes from the farmer's market's. Though it looks to me like the farmer's market is trying to sell the rejects from the supermarkets.
 




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