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12-11-08, 09:11 PM
Hello Everyone,
I wasn't sure whether to post this here, or in the winter riding or commuting section. I thought I'd try here first.
I've been having issues with my Planet bike Alias headlight's NiMh battery bonking after just a few miles in the 10F weather we've been having. It only gives me full strength for about a mile, and then I have to drop it down to blink mode. And it completely shut down on my for the first time ever one night last week, I think it was about 5F that evening.
I notice the heat the battery produces from discharge when I'm done riding in warmer weather. The battery will be very warm when I take it off the bike. Soooo.........
I'm thinking of making a battery cozy. I'm hoping the heat from discharge will be enough to prolong the runtime. I only need (want) a half hour to hour (in bad weather) of full strength to get me the 8.5 miles to home. My commute goes through some gravely country roads, with the possibility of deer or coyote or skunk stepping out in front of me, so I want light.
So i'm looking for opinions as to whether anyone thinks this will work or is it a waste of my time. Has anyone tried a battery cozy of some sort? Are there any materials that would work well? I was thinking neoprene outside, and polartec inside. I had a pair of neoprene gloves for about an hour. I took them back to the store. My hands got cold in the 1 mile to class, and it was only 25F, so i'm not confident that neoprene by itself would work, but as an extra, outer layer, it would be okay in my opinion. Plus the elasticity of the neoprene might help it stay on the bike nicely,.....if I sew on some hook-n-loop stuff.
Opinions?
I wasn't sure whether to post this here, or in the winter riding or commuting section. I thought I'd try here first.
I've been having issues with my Planet bike Alias headlight's NiMh battery bonking after just a few miles in the 10F weather we've been having. It only gives me full strength for about a mile, and then I have to drop it down to blink mode. And it completely shut down on my for the first time ever one night last week, I think it was about 5F that evening.
I notice the heat the battery produces from discharge when I'm done riding in warmer weather. The battery will be very warm when I take it off the bike. Soooo.........
I'm thinking of making a battery cozy. I'm hoping the heat from discharge will be enough to prolong the runtime. I only need (want) a half hour to hour (in bad weather) of full strength to get me the 8.5 miles to home. My commute goes through some gravely country roads, with the possibility of deer or coyote or skunk stepping out in front of me, so I want light.
So i'm looking for opinions as to whether anyone thinks this will work or is it a waste of my time. Has anyone tried a battery cozy of some sort? Are there any materials that would work well? I was thinking neoprene outside, and polartec inside. I had a pair of neoprene gloves for about an hour. I took them back to the store. My hands got cold in the 1 mile to class, and it was only 25F, so i'm not confident that neoprene by itself would work, but as an extra, outer layer, it would be okay in my opinion. Plus the elasticity of the neoprene might help it stay on the bike nicely,.....if I sew on some hook-n-loop stuff.
Opinions?