indygreg

I came into some money (fantasy football winnings) and decided to get a solid light setup for my bike - for dark rides (a weekly group night ride during the winter and come spring several pre-dawn rides).

I wanted to do things right from the start, so I ended up spending a good deal of money. $530.

After much research I chose Dinotte lights. More on that: I saw a L&M HID light in use in the real world and I agree 100% that this is the best light out there (or at least close, there is that one exotic brand that is supposed to be better). However, I decided that HID was not for me. First I have read several things that say that HID is very loud as far as EMF .. . and I use a garmin GPS and HR monitor. If something messed those up, it would be a show stopper. Secondly the combination of price, run time, and single light sealed the deal for me.

So I read much on LED and Halogen. I quickly picked LED as the technology of my choice. I like the white light. I read more here and other places and decided that a two light system is the way to go (bar and helmet).

I started out leaning towards the Cateye triple shot for bar and double shot for helmet. Let me say now that I think this is a killer system that can be had for under $400 shipped. Possible downsides of this setup is larger unit size (2 and 3 bulbs wide) and some reports of harder mounting and unmounting. I cannot verify this.

I also looked at about every option that existed. DEKIndy helped a ton - thanks Dwight.

Dwight sent me to Dinotte, where I had looked but it did not blow me away. He pointed out the tail light, which was sort of a big factor for me in the end. it is not like any tail light you have seen. It is like a full power LED headlight that is red. A bright car tail light is the most accurate way to describe it. Look at the pics on the website.
The other thing that did not impress me at first view was the mounting system. Essentially it is a rubber o-ring. I figured the light would be facing down after a good bump. The more I read, the less this appeared to be the case. in fact, many reviews cited the mounting as one of the best parts.

The pre-sale customer support was amazing and won me over. They were emailling on xmas eve and offering to tweak packages, etc.

So . . . what did I get for $530? Essentially everything. A 5W for the bars. A 3W for the helmet. A Li-ion battery for the 5W. A 1/2 sized Li-ion battery for the 3W. Another 1/2 size Li-ion battery for the tail light. Two smart chargers. All mounting (plus extras) gear, wires (plus extras), battery pouches (plus extras) and O-rings (plus extras).

I got them today and batteries are on the chargers per the instructions. I will light them up tomorrow and update this thread.

First impressions - I cannot believe how small and light this stuff is. These lights are tiny and very solid. The mounting is great. I think I will leave these on my bike unless I am on a very long ride or a race.

Here are some pics. I might have to update if the pics do not show.

slvoid

What is that square thing on your stem?

indygreg

a connection for a stem based small gear pack . . . had it on my MTB and have not decided if I want it here. It is good for my blackberry . . .

patentcad

You are absolutely right about the RF interference from the L&M HID light - I had to go with a wired bike computer when my wireless signal wouldn't work (I moved the HID light around, anywhere within 15" or so was a problem, it simply wouldn't work). So yes, if you're a Garmin Edge user, that would be a deal breaker. But that's not an issue for me. You are also correct that that L&M HID Is about the best light out there (that I've seen). Adequate for pitch black country roads and 30mph+ descents. The Halogen L&M (which I started with and passed down to the Mrs. for her pre-dawn 2 mile dog walking sessions, she loves it) wasn't as good. The HID throws a beam much farther up the road - that's key when you're going down a hill in the dark @ 35mph. Loving it. I feel safe on the road in that pre-dawn hour between 6-7AM this time of year. I'm using the L&M 2-3x weekly. Another HID advantage is the 3 hr. run time on high beam (vs. two hour for the halogen). And the 'smart charger' just blows away that stupid 'trickle charger' that the halogen came with. 14 hours to recharge a battery with the trickle charger. That's a problem if you realize @ 11PM you want to use your bike light @ 5AM - and you forgot to charge up your battery. The smart charger recharges your battery in only 2 hours. Big difference, much more useable. And that whole package with the Nimh battery (total weight of system 1.5 lbs) was only $359. Perfect for my needs.

I'd be quite interested to hear back about your own real world performance with your LED set up. Hope it's as effective for you as the L&M has been for me.

Cyclist0383

Would it be possible to get some distance shots of the taillight in use, perhaps even during the day? Thanks.

indygreg

Many pics will be coming - including the tail during the day. I plan on using it during the day when I ride, so I want to see how well this works.

dekindy

Ah, I taught you well grasshopper. Really, I just wanted to see the lights in person so I could make a decision! Ha! Ha!

I can't wait to see these in action so I can determine if this is best for me. I don't know how you can go wrong with these lights as a system and if I was starting from scratch today I would not hesitate regarding the lights or spending the money, although I might go with the AA option instead of Li-ion.

My hesitation is I don't know what the best option is for supplementing my L&M Vega. I bought it originally to be used alone, now I want a backup and a flood and could also be pressed into action as my main if the Vega fails, to supplement the Vega which is essentially a handlebar only beam.

I am going over to indygreg's house tonight and I will add my comments on the lights as well.

dekindy

BTW, I think indygreg and I set a world record for the number of e-mails discussing lighting options.

indygreg

Oh . . . DEKIndy with the elusive self quote. Awesome. Reminds me of a consulting firm I used to work at here in Indy - we had a tri fold promotional piece on Information Security Assessments (a service we offered) that had a side bar with a quote. The quote was one of our employees. When you looked at it you would have thought it was a quote from some industry leader.

Yep - the email threads we had between us about lights is a bit much. We both like to research a lot before we buy . . . but I think he is more frugal than I. I am a spender. Which is why I might have to employ his services in the future (I think he is a financial planner).

DScott

I've got the Dinottes and ended up putting the 3w spot and the 5w flood on the bars. It is much more convenient than the helmet mount and seems to light up the road better. The AA batteries go on the stem.

I definitely agree with the high marks for service, too. Very responsive, and they added a bunch of little extras (o-rings, straps, etc). that make mounting more flexible. The only regret I have is not waiting for the 10w light!

https://acidinmylegs.blogspot.com/200...will-ride.html


Pics, we need pics!

indygreg

I am going to try a lot of different things with them to find out what I like best - including doing what you did. I think I will like the bar/helmet setup better to have a light that moves with me, but at this point it is just a guess. I might not like it at all, in whcih case I will do what you did. If I go that route I have a Y-connector to put both on the big battery. Then I would have two samller ones for the tail, which might be nice as I will probably use it all the time.

More pics this evening.

llama31

Looks and sounds like a good choice. I'm interested in hearing about your experience with the Dinottes. I just about a Cygolite Dual Cross 300, which I like a lot, but now I need something for my helmet and the dinotte seems like a good candidate given how small and light they are.

Have fun.

rmac

This thread seems to indicate that there is no problem with interference between the Garmin Edge and HID lights.

https://forums.motionbased.com/smf/in...p?topic=4477.0

Has anyone had any problems?

indygreg

My research found some stuff that said it did, some that it did not. There seemed to be much more saying it will interfere with wireless than said it will not. The issue seems to be the cadence and HR (which are short distance wireless connections) and not the GPS readings or signal. The thread you linked (thanks for that) says it does not, but I found much more that did.

Could I have tried it myself? Yep. It just sort of stuck in my mind and I decided to rule it out. As i said - HID ROCKS beyond belief - but there are many other reasons I wanted LED (run time, price and I wanted multiple lights)

rmac

I don't especially want to spend $350 to try it out too. I'll send Garmin an email. Maybe they have done some research on HIDs.

indygreg

I was able to get out some tonight. I am very pleased with this setup - plenty of light and the two lights are great, one turns with me and one stays forward.

The rear is amazing IMHO. Here are some pics. Some used flash (and they are in focus) and some not. This is next to my 2000 Honda Accord with lights on (brakes not on)

patentcad

One potential issue with LED lights I've noted from comparative photos of light patterns on the Internet is that the HID lights appear to provide much better light. But it's hard to tell from photos, and some cyclists here seem very pleased with LED setups. I didn't find the HID wireless gizmo issue that big of an issue. Even if it interfered with my HR monitor, I wouldn't be too concerned about that data in the dark anyway.

dekindy

I guarantee you that indygreg is going to be seen with this setup.

I went over to his house this evening. Since it was my first time there, it was dark, and he lives in a large subdivision, naturally I was having difficulty finding his street. I talked to him on his cell phone but he did not tell me he was coming out to find me.

I was very surprised when what looked like a freight train came towards me. I could not figure out what it was because I was not expecting a bicycle. Of course when I got up close it was obviously indygreg on his bike. For some reason, the 3W on his helmet made him look like he was about 10 feet tall.

The taillight is equally impressive, even when angled down like it is in the pictures indygreg posted. We adjusted the O-ring some and were able to get it fairly level. As is true with any tailight, when it was leveled it looked twice as bright.

I picked up his helmet with the 3W light and battery both attached to it. It seemed to add very little weight.

For the size, weight, visibility, and illumination of the road I think all road riders would be pleased with Dinotte 5W flood, 3W beam, and tailight combination. I am going to order a 5W flood for myself. I am leaning towards the AA version with extra battery packs.

ViperZ

I don't notice any problems with my HID interfering with my Cat Eye Double Wireless. The Heart Rate monitor I don't know as I have not ridden with the 2 together yet. As was said, when it's dark, I really don't pay attention to the readouts.


Good to read about your system.

Mach42

My L&M Vega puts out enough interference to mess up my Sigma HRM. I wonder whether the fancy new digitally encoded HRMs would help.

Cyclist0383

How difficult was it to make the taillight level? Would it be easy take it on and off and still have the taillight level each time? (I commute). Lastly, how is the taillight in the daytime? Thanks.

indygreg

It is somewhat difficult to get perfectly level, but in my testing I do not think it really makes that much of a difference. DEK thought so, but the more I looked at it, it made little to no difference. At first DEK thought it was not as bright as he was expecting . . . he drove about 0.2 miles behind me, but I was in the middle of the road and he was close. He put his brights on for a while too. I think that will make anything less bright. To me, I am more impressed the tail than anything. It is stunning.

This is all if you mount it with its mounting system. You could rig it a hundred different ways if you want it to.
These lights are not perfect round alum tubes. They have a small cut out in the bottom with rubber - this is to go on a bar of some sort (handlebar, seat post, etc). So - the sound will be at a 90 degee angle of the bar. Does this make sense? So when you mount to seat tube or seat post it will point some downward - 90* off the angle of the seat tube angle (so a more upright bike would have it closer to level). That all said, if I took a littel bit of tire tube (a 3 inch part of a tube) and shimmed it in there, it made it more level.
Mounting is great - if you just stuck in on like I did (not trying any rigging) this is a 15 second mount and unmount. If you did this every day, it would wear out o-rings. They give you extras and I am sure you could buy them in bulk for less than pennies. Do not get me wrong, I do not think you would go through them fast - maybe a few a year if you did a lot of on and off.

I was unable to take day pics yesterday as I had to work later than I wanted.
I will do some today.

I might do a group ride today and I will get their feedback. I am guessing that someone will tell me to turn it down or off. Anywhere near behind me is blinding. This will be my #1 concern - if it will be too much for other riders with me day or night. It has low, medium, high and flash (flash is high).

dekindy

indygreg - You probably thought I turned my brights on but what I actually did was turn my headlights off so that the daytime running lights were shining and then turned my regular beams back on. Don't get me wrong, the tail light is impressive and definitely worth the investment for safety. I still think it it brighter if you can get it level, but we were looking at it in indygreg's garage with the lights on when we were tweaking it. With it aimed down, there is certainly not the drastic loss of brightness like you get with a lower powered tail light. If you are riding in a group you may want to have it angled down to keep from blinding other riders.

I have two Blackburn Mars 2.0 and everyone remarks how visible I am. It is a heart shaped tail light with 6 LED's. One is adequate but I think you always want to have two when riding on unlit country roads. I am going to stick with this for now. I think the one mounted on my seat bag is okay, but I have already had one seat post bracket break on me in the cold. The Dinotte has a superior mounting system than the plastic brackets that come with normal tail lights.

I just ordered the 5W flood to put on my handlebars. Probably mounted underneath my computer as displayed in one of the pictures on the website. If I do this and put my Vega on the opposite side in flash mode, it makes for a good combination. The Vega will go 24 hours in flash mode and can switch to regular beam in case the Dinotte fails. Between the Vega and spare battery case for the Dinotte, I should be covered!

I did not discover the Dinotte until after I purchased my Vega. I still probably did not have enough experience or winter/nighttime riding history to be justify spending more for a multiple light system. Now that I know for certain I will be riding a lot at night, I would not hesitate to purchase the Dinotte system and headlight. I think you can get the AA version of all 3 lights for about $100 less than indygreg paid. I personally lean towards the AA version because these lights will go long periods of time without being used or charged and AA battery technology is changing constantly. indygreg is going to be using them early in the morning almost year round and for evening rides in the winter, so li-ion is a good choice for him.

indygreg

I would tell you what others thought of my tail light from my group ride today, but everyone on the group ride today was in the fast group. I brought up the rear big time.

Anyhow, I am modifying my under seat pack now with a dremmel tool to mount the light on top of it, just under and behind my seat. It will melt everyone's eyes.

My main issue with the lower mount is that I can feel it sometimes on my thigh.

DamianM

Can you post some pics of how you mount the battery packs ? I'm leaning towards the L&M Vega for the fact that it's self contained, but the Dinotte stuff is sexy.