Commuting - The Light Stuff

I think this belongs in Commuting rather than Advocacy and Safety, because commuters are the ones most apt to need and use lighting systems.

Any creative and/or cost-effective ideas on the subject?

I refuse to pay over $100 for a new battery for my Nightsun lights. They're great, but enough is enough.

I'm currently limited to a single Vistalite (runs on 4 AA cells), which is adequate, I guess. I noticed last week that the Kansas City, Kansas police have a two-Vistalite setup on their bikes (lead storage battery powered).

I've looked at several do-it-yourself plans on the Internet but they're complicated and intimidating.

I bought a pretty nifty generator light last year that works off the tread, not the sidewall--but (1) I would have to lengthen the brake crossover cable for it to fit and (2) I decided it looks dorky.

Thinking about ordering cheap, old-fashioned sidewall generator lights that I found recently on the Web.

What are some of your good and bad experiences with lighting systems?

I manage pretty well with a dynamo bike headlamp wired to a lead-acid battery in a water bottle.
You can pick the bulb and battery to suite you requirements.
Lead acid is easy to manage and I find that 6v is sufficient. The key is having a good constant voltage charger, which you can leave on trickle charging.
The connectors are made with crimps not solder, and I use a plastic plug and socket rather than a switch. The same kind of socket crimped onto the charger makes removal and charging easy. Have a go and build one yourself, it really is very easy.

I have used a number of generators. The tread one you describe is probably a bottom bracket unit.
The secret of reliable sidewall generators is in their mounting. The clamp on units just twist out. I fix mine to a metal tab brazed onto the seat stay. It also helps to have a knurled sidewall to your tyre, and a rubber roller on the generator.
Modern generators are far more efficient than older models. The current top model is Lightspin. It has very low drag and can store a minute or 2 of power for stopping at junctions.

One bit of sidewall generator wisdom, mostly from "Touring Bikes" by Tony Oliver.
The pivot can be horizontal or vertical.
If it is vertical, you need to mount it so the roller is on the leading edge of the stay (ie to the rear of the seat stay). They come in LHS and RHS versions.
With horizontal pivots this matter less, so you can mount a LHS generator to the front of the RHS seat stay, but watch out for heel clearance.

You can also mount them on the front forks for front lighting only, but the mounting brackets tend to be a bit long and bendy.

I'm thinking of doing something similar to the solution on Aaron's Bicycling Pages.

http://aaronandleah.dutton.net/bicycling/experience/headlight.html

This plan uses a garden light screwed onto a PVC T-fitting. The top of the T gets cut and placed over the handlebar. Then, a pipe clamp secures it.

This might, however, be one of the ones you saw already.

Jonathan

The advantages of using a specially designed cycle headlamp (ie one from a generator system) are
1. They are cheap.
2. They are lightweight.
3. They include the mounting brackets for the top of the forks.
4. The spread of illumination is designed for riding, so you get a horizontal band of brightness, with a collection of hotspots around, for sideways visibility.
Look for one with German standards.

Thanks, Michael and Jonathan, for your helpful replies.

Yes, I did see the garden lighting scheme on the Web page you mentioned, JRamsey. If you do go ahead and build this, ride it over to the Broadway Cafe some day and show me, -- the espresso's on me.

I will.

You know, I used to live (practically) at the Broadway Café. I was living in the Ambassador, on Broadway, and I got in the habit of going there every night. I called it my "living room", since I was in an "efficiency".

Just don't get me started on Starbuck's.

Jonathan

Jon,

Is your LBS Midwest Cyclery? I used to go there all the time, since it was close, plus, my friend Bob Albright worked there.

I need to go back there sometime, as well. Right now, I have the Bike Rack a mile from my house, and I have both Wheeler's and Waldo Bike within a mile or so from my work.

Almost forgot, in Westport, there was also BikeSource on Pennsylvania.

Jonathan

This may be getting tedious for forum members who don't have the incalculable privilege of living in greater Kansas City, but then there are 8,000 other posts to choose from, so...

No, my bike shop is River Market Cyclery on 3rd Street, about two miles from where I live. I remember the BikeSource on Pennsylvania--gone for I think five or six years now.

As for that other coffee shop you mentioned, I will send a private message!