Commuting - Choosing the right front light

Background: daylight savings is about to end where I live (Melbourne, Australia), which means that I will be commuting in the dark. Previously, a "blinkey" was sufficient for my commute, as I was on well-lit roads (i.e. I needed a light to be seen, but not to see). Now, 90% of my commute is along a bike path, which is a BEAUTIFUL way to commute :), but it means lots of areas with no overhead light. So now I need a light to see the path in front of me.

Question 1: How much lighting power do I need if there is no overhead light?

There seems to be different types of lights, such as: quite powerful "blinkeys" (apparently), halogen, and HID (whatever that stands for). All have varying wattages.

Question 2: Which batteries should I use?

Of the different battery types, I'm told that at the very least I should get a rechargable which is either: lead-acid, NiCAD and NiMH. Apparently lead-acid are heaviest and cheapest. I can't work out whether they are memory resistant (memory resistance is, I am told, important). With NiCADs, some people say they are not memory resistant, while others say that that's untrue, and that memory problems only arise if they are discharged to exactly the same level each time. NiMH, it seems, are the best (and most expensive).

Confusion: I've always found "blinkeys" cheap, light-weight, reliable, and easy to attach/detach. So, I'm a bit scared of the full-on recharable lighting systems.

If anyone has thoughts/advice on appropriate lighting (i.e. not necessarily the brightest or most expensive system) for my new commute, I would be most grateful.

Thanks, Andrew

1. For nights commutes on roads with little or no lighting, I find at least 10w Halogen to be OK. I've started using a light with a "high beam" of 12w and find it noticeably better. This is based on my average speed of roughly 13MPH in these areas.

2. I've used both NiCAD and NiMH and not found memory to be a serious issue with either. Lead acid did not work well for me in sub zero weather.

Your mileage may vary!

Paul

I use a hub generator with a front Lumotek halogen lheadlight and rear B&M LED taillight. These units have a capacitor that keeps them lit for several minutes when stopped. The Lumotek has a very focussed 2.4 watt beam that I find suitable even for unlit roads/paths.

My top three priorities are 1) convenience, 2) convenience, and 3) convenience.

Paul

Check out the appropriately named Total Geekiness (http://64.191.20.129/showthread.php?t=42629) -thread. You will find a lot of info on various battery types and DIY light systems.

Wattage alone should not be decisive factor, although it is obviously important. I had a 5w halogen (Sigma Mirage) that had a very good beam pattern and colour. It seemed like a lot of light compared to some 10w systems out there. And if you feel uneasy about rechargeables, search the Forums for dynamos. Seriously, there are good hub dynamos and bottle dynamos around. The good ones are not cheap but they are efficient and reliable.

--J

a guy i rode w/ last weekend had this really cool light on his bike. it was a pretty powerful headlight, powered by him, basically. had a little gizmo which, when you dropped a lever, engaged itself to the rear wheel and power came from the wheel into some sort of small electrical generator in this gizmo and that's what powered the light. obviously, it slows you down a little b/c of the friction, but no bateries to worry about and you are free to disengage the gizmo during daylight hours and cruise. i don't know if they still maek these things, but if anyone else can give you more info youmight be able to find it on ebay.

what's that sigma mirrage cost?

Look into the Cygo Rover NiCad 6hour; go here for details: http://www.cygolite.com/light/products/10RoverNiCad.htm

The cost is around $68! not bad for 16watts of light and a run time of 6 hours on low (6watts) which is all I use when commuting on lit city streets.

the sigma sport mirage has a much shorter charge time. that cygo takes 15 hours! the sigma only takes 6. and i think it costs like $50

Merton, the price sounds approximately right. I think here they cost 50 euros. I seem to remember my Mirage's rated charge time was 4 hours or so. Mirage is not very strongly built, lots of plastic and all kinds of weird rubberband attachment systems (I kid thee not). But it works, and it will take the abuse of daily commuting quite well. I would not use it off road, though. Also, if you add and use the optional 20w Mirage X high beam, your burn time goes way down (45 minutes, if I remember correctly).

--J

I use the Mirage (6w) and MirageX (20w) with the lead acid battery for commuting. I only rarely switch the 20w on. The 6w beam is adequate for riding without street lights, but I wouldn't want to go trail riding with it. The 6w's pattern is excellent, which mostly makes up for the lower power. But I generally switch on the 20w when I go through a pitch black portion of the bike bath. The 20w cuts run time way, way down (45 minutes is a good estimate). With only the 6w turned on, 15 mph feels fast in pitch black conditions (you can do the metric conversion).

The battery recharges in 5-7 hours. The directions are written in gibberish, so I am only guessing. I have not had any battery problems, but I have only been using it for about six months.

I am thinking about upgrading to a Niterider digital headset when it starts to get dark this fall (I'll see how my finances look then). I would replace the Mirage with a be-seen white blinkie. The Digital Headset looks good on paper. Can anyone give me any first-hand experiences?

Wow. Thanks for all the informative responses above. Can I therefore assume from these comments that, if I am riding where there is no street lighting, it would not be a good idea to get either:
something like this Cateye Five LED OptiCube Headlight (http://www.cateye.com/detail.php?products_id=91) (and buy some rechargable batteries for it); or
even something like this old style halogen (http://www.cateye.com/detail.php?products_id=63) light (and buy some rechargable batteries for it).

Thanks again, Andrew

Andrew,
The Cateye Opticube is precisely what I was going to reccomend. Small bar mounted halogens are going to phased out, due to the efficency of these lights. Two of these on your bars and you should be fine. With 200 hour run time on a set of batteries you cannot go wrong here.

Hunter, do you mean the *inefficiency* of the halogen lights? I can't imagine that lights would be phased out because they're efficient.

you're not saying two opticubes would be just as good as one mirage are you?

i wonder if the ellipsoid would be any good?

The Cateye EL300 is the brightest self-contained battery light on the market...BUT and here's the big but, they are really more of a to be seen light not a light to see with. You should get a light that is a step up from there so it will cast enough light onto the street to be useful.

so the ellipsoid is ouot. mirrage it is.

To me, one thing most people seem to forget when shopping for lights is the charging method. Batteries charged with a unit that times the charge, as opposed to detecting the amount of charge needed are the best way to ruin even a good battery. If you go the re-chargeable route, check on the different chargers available, and find the one that detects the level of charge rather than the model which just charges for a specified amount of time whether it's needed or not!

yup. damn i hate that. i mean. man! some people use a charge timer from the hardware stor. but that doesn't say how much it is charged. i've been reading. i think the cygo is better.

this may be even better. http://www.bikelights.com/Products/Road.htm
but man! the cost!

Don't forget to look at some of the 1 watt LED's, they're amazingly bright. I think hunter meant that incandescent lamps would be phased out eventually due to the efficiency of LED's.

Andrew, depending on how fast you're going, the wattage varies.
Where it's pitch black, if you're going to be cruising at 6-8, just going out for a stroll kinda ride, an LED powered by 4AA's should be enough. A 5-6 watt lamp should be good to about 8-10mph. If it's relatively straight and the lamp's got a nice focused beam, you can estimate using 1mph=1watt, assuming it's a halogen with a good beam pattern.

Memory isn't a problem, it's making sure the thing's not over charged. Usually if it gets hot, it's a problem, slightly warm and it's ok. Avoid putting in more than 1.5x capacity in there. That is if it takes 10 hours to charge for a 2hr battery life and you use it for 1hr, technically it should only take 5 hours to charge, but if you give it 10 hr, it shouldn't harm the battery. Nimh's are lighter than nicad's. Lead-acid are real heavy and don't work well when cold.

HID's are High Intensity Discharge lamps. Instead of having a regular bulb, it's kind of like a camera light flashing so fast you can't see it. Rather than having a heated filament produce light, it uses a high voltage electrical arc (lightning bolt) passing through 2 leads in a gas inside the bulb to produce light. The efficiency is 3-4x better than halogens. 10 watts of HID would get you 30-40 watts of light, not to mention the light is bright white rather than yellowish. The only thing is that it can't be rapidly turned on or off and rapid cycling of it (on 10 minutes, off 5, on 10) can reduce the life of the bulb. Also, HID's take about a minute to warm up and reach full brightness. Cars use HID as the main running lights that are kept on and a halogen high beam that can be used instantly.

Thanks slvoid. I found your post extremely useful. Based on your comments, I've decided to go with halogen(s), as it sounds like my speeds (average: 12-13mph; max: 25-26mph) are above those for which LEDs are useful.

I've narrowed it down to the following:

Sigma Mirage X (http://www.bicycletires.com/tek9.asp?pg=products&specific=jndpcoorc)
NiteFLUX VisionSTICK 5.5 or 10 (http://www.niteflux.com/custompage.aspx?custompage=gProdSpecs) (which looks like an Australian version of the VistaLite nightstick Code 5 (http://www.vistalite.com/vistalite_03/03code5.html)), but with a NiMH battery instead of NiCAD)


Mirage benefits

Price (it retails here for about US$95)
Lights (1 x 5w and 1 x 20w; plus Juha said earlier: "I had a 5w halogen (Sigma Mirage) that had a very good beam pattern and colour. It seemed like a lot of light compared to some 10w systems out there")


Mirage negatives

Weight (lead acid seems substantially heavier than NiMH)

Note: cold weather is not an issue for me (assuming cold means sub-zero degrees celcius)

VisionSTICK benefits

Battery (light weight NiMH)
Price (US$125 for 5w; US$150 for 10w - it's cheaper here than equivalent products from the likes of VistaLite and Cyglo)


VisionSTICK negatives

Light (only one light)
Price (more expensive than Mirage)
Unknown entity (i.e. I don't know about other people's experiences with the VisionSTICK)


Decisions, decisions... ;)

what kinda charger does the vistalite use?

Regardless of the light, I think any light below $200 will have a dumb wall charger. Just unplug it in the morning before you leave (which is a given anyway since you have to take the light with you). I'd go with a nimh battery, they're usually not that much more expensive anyway.

Try performance bike or supergo or REI:
http://www.rei.com/online/store/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=40000008000&langId=-1&storeId=8000&categoryId=4500819
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/subcategory.cfm?Cat_ID=14&Sub_ID=4320
http://www.supergo.com/itemlist.cfm?lsubcat_id=1519&lcat_id=7608

The have the Vistalight code 5 for $40 and code 15 for $70.
Also take a look at the light & motion 13W commuter ($80) and niterider trailrat II ($90)
Cygolite Metro's a 6.2W spot + 6.2W flood for $70 or their Night Explorer Nicad 10W+15W for $110.
The niterider system's good because you can buy an amazingly bright (like the ones on the backs of trucks) rear LED for $60 that hooks up to the same battery.
The dual's are good cause you can keep it on the low beam while crusing then turn on the high beam when you're bashing away. Plus if one bulb goes out, you have another to rely on. Regardless, carry a blinker too front and rear, just in case the battery goes out.

Also remember that these lights last 2-4 hours. If you use it for 2 hours a night, charging it over night would usually top it off. But if you drain the battery dead, a) turn off the light when it's dimming to prevent it from damaging the battery by sucking it dry and b) it'll take up to 16-18 hours to fully recharge it.

andrewdavis, if you choose to go with VisionSTICK, you should check out the bulb they're using. I was not very impressed with my newish Vistalite 5+5w system, but as they use standard MR11 bulbs it was fairly easy to switch one bulb to 10w. Finding 6V MR11 bulbs locally took a bit of effort, and the price is quite high IMO (4 euros), but I like the result.

--J

If I were buying a light now, I would have bought something better than the Mirage/MirageX I have. Probably a 10-15 watt single light with a better battery. I'll repeat what I said above. I'm thinking of getting a Niterider Digital Headset this fall. Does anyone have any experience with it?

this looks good http://www.performancebike.com/shop/Profile.cfm?SKU=17693

and this http://www.performancebike.com/shop/Profile.cfm?SKU=14105

i like the second the best.the both look to have good charger.but the second one has a brighter light.

but in the end i think i may go for either the light and motion commuter or the planet bike insight 15w. i can't decide. the reason i chose those is quality. i read review after review where the light and motion commuter is very water tight. so i may go with it. i advise either the light and motion commuter or the planet bike insight 15w.

If I were buying a light now, I would have bought something better than the Mirage/MirageX I have. Probably a 10-15 watt single light with a better battery. I'll repeat what I said above. I'm thinking of getting a Niterider Digital Headset this fall. Does anyone have any experience with it?

All I can tell you is that the Digital Headtrip comes with the charger that is better than the Headtrip so it will be easier on the battery. For my money the Digital Evolution is a good light, and has both mounting options (helmet or bar). The Digital Evolution also has a remote switch that hangs from the unit so you can switch intensity levels, on and off from the remote switch. Just stay away from the over-night or 9 hour chargers, the sets that include them are cheaper for a reason and you need to discharge the battery completey before charging to avoid frying the battery.

What is a better light...NiteFLUX 10, Cateye 10 or Vistalight 15?

I plan to start riding at night or early morning, all on good roads but want
good lighting levels as I will be travelling up to 40km/h and I am looking at

• NiteFLUX VisionSTICK 10 Aus$189.00 (Dean Woods)
• VistaLite Nightstick Code 15 Aus$198.00 (Phantom)
• Cat Eye ABS 10 Headlight Aus$189.00 (Phantom)

Any other recommendations are welcome.

--
Regards,
FaHeL
__o
_`\<,
...(*)/(*)
**************** :D


Regardless of the light, I think any light below $200 will have a dumb wall charger. Just unplug it in the morning before you leave (which is a given anyway since you have to take the light with you). I'd go with a nimh battery, they're usually not that much more expensive anyway.

Try performance bike or supergo or REI:
http://www.rei.com/online/store/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=40000008000&langId=-1&storeId=8000&categoryId=4500819
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/subcategory.cfm?Cat_ID=14&Sub_ID=4320
http://www.supergo.com/itemlist.cfm?lsubcat_id=1519&lcat_id=7608

The have the Vistalight code 5 for $40 and code 15 for $70.
Also take a look at the light & motion 13W commuter ($80) and niterider trailrat II ($90)
Cygolite Metro's a 6.2W spot + 6.2W flood for $70 or their Night Explorer Nicad 10W+15W for $110.
The niterider system's good because you can buy an amazingly bright (like the ones on the backs of trucks) rear LED for $60 that hooks up to the same battery.
The dual's are good cause you can keep it on the low beam while crusing then turn on the high beam when you're bashing away. Plus if one bulb goes out, you have another to rely on. Regardless, carry a blinker too front and rear, just in case the battery goes out.

Also remember that these lights last 2-4 hours. If you use it for 2 hours a night, charging it over night would usually top it off. But if you drain the battery dead, a) turn off the light when it's dimming to prevent it from damaging the battery by sucking it dry and b) it'll take up to 16-18 hours to fully recharge it.

All I can tell you is that the Digital Headtrip comes with the charger that is better than the Headtrip so it will be easier on the battery. For my money the Digital Evolution is a good light, and has both mounting options (helmet or bar). The Digital Evolution also has a remote switch that hangs from the unit so you can switch intensity levels, on and off from the remote switch. Just stay away from the over-night or 9 hour chargers, the sets that include them are cheaper for a reason and you need to discharge the battery completey before charging to avoid frying the battery.

I’ve used a NiteRider Digital Pro for just over 3 years. The light it makes, the charger and the features it has are great. With that said the connectors, battery life (not run time) and switches suck. I sent 2 back, both because when I removed the remote thumb switch it came apart, rendering the light useless on one of them because the tip of the switch was stuck in the connector shorting out the light. One of them failed the very 1st time I tried. This winter, when I realized my 12 month old battery was starting to have reduced runtimes (2nd battery in a row) I decided to build my own (see Total Geekiness thread below). I still use the NiteRider on my road commuter, but use my homemade setup on my night/foul weather machine.

Thanks for your prompt reply.

Regards,
Joe.



I’ve used a NiteRider Digital Pro for just over 3 years. The light it makes, the charger and the features it has are great. With that said the connectors, battery life (not run time) and switches suck. I sent 2 back, both because when I removed the remote thumb switch it came apart, rendering the light useless on one of them because the tip of the switch was stuck in the connector shorting out the light. One of them failed the very 1st time I tried. This winter, when I realized my 12 month old battery was starting to have reduced runtimes (2nd battery in a row) I decided to build my own (see Total Geekiness thread below). I still use the NiteRider on my road commuter, but use my homemade setup on my night/foul weather machine.

Joe, in a dark night, at 40kph, you probably will NOT be happy with the VistaLite. I upgraded my 5+5w Nightstick to 10+5w (changed the bulb). I'm OK with it, but I don't ride up to 40kph in total darkness. The few downhills in my commute have enough ambient lighting so there's no need for me to be completely self-sufficient light-wise at top speeds.

Unless there are other significant improvements in Code 15 it will not give you enough light IMO. At those speeds you should really look into HIDs or ordinary halogens with more wattage and good beam pattern.

--J

danm typoes

Seriously, they all look like they're the same equivalent product to me. As long as it's got a nimh battery and 10-15W, within that range, it should be the same. I'm not sure about the beam pattern but I can't imagine there should be such a huge difference between them. Check www.mtbreview.com for some reviews.

Check out some 15+ Watt lights, rei.com has some nice ones with nicad batteries, they're slightly heavy but they'll do the job.


What is a better light...NiteFLUX 10, Cateye 10 or Vistalight 15?

I plan to start riding at night or early morning, all on good roads but want
good lighting levels as I will be travelling up to 40km/h and I am looking at

• NiteFLUX VisionSTICK 10 Aus$189.00 (Dean Woods)
• VistaLite Nightstick Code 15 Aus$198.00 (Phantom)
• Cat Eye ABS 10 Headlight Aus$189.00 (Phantom)

Any other recommendations are welcome.

--
Regards,
FaHeL
__o
_`\<,
...(*)/(*)
**************** :D

Hi,
I bought a Cateye EL-300 because it was so damn bright in the store. But it wasn't so good on the road, so I bought another. With 2, the light was tolerable, I could throw the beams several feet away further and you might say you could live with it. I didn't feel it was enough. I next got a Code 10 which threw as much light as about 6 of the EL-300s. But the batteries don't seem to last. I am currently considering my options, as it were.