Originally Posted by
PlanoFuji
Doubtful, particularly when that cost is considered as part of the TOTAL cost for the bike... Many people routinely spend that and more, already, for battery lights.
Um...no. $25 is a lot less than $200, no matter how you cut it. Sure some people pay a lot more for their battery lights. At this point in the game, I can't see what they are getting for 10 times as much money.
Originally Posted by
PlanoFuji
Really, the batteries in my cars (and most didn't even get stored in garages) lasted three or more years in precisely that scenario. And yes I know the batteries have different chemistry. I expect my machines to be ready to ride whenever the urge strikes me. Running around fetching batteries (and making sure they are charged), just so that they are 'stored' in the 'proper' environment is codling (in my book) a device that is meant to be used outdoors...
If you know that the batteries have different chemistry, then you should understand how the batteries react to different conditions. One of the trade offs for that high energy density and low weight is increased delicacy. My bikes are ready to ride at as much of a moments notice as yours are. I get the battery off the charger (three of them, actually), plug them into the lights and ride. It takes longer to put my shoes on, especially in the winter when I have to wear shoe covers.
Originally Posted by
PlanoFuji
If I were talking about passive reflectors instead of active lights I would agree with you. However, I am talking about them being used in addition to active lighting. The dyno headlight and tail lights I selected were chosen in part because they incorporate reflectors as well as active lighting components. I also have reflectors on my front and rear wheels. And until I switched to my current GR-10 pedals, my pedals had reflectors as well.
I built the following bike up to be a general purpose means of transportation, day or night. I ride in a variety of conditions at night (and ride predominantly at night in the summer) and its basic set-up with reflectors has ensured that I have never had a problem with drivers seeing me.
Reflectors, by their nature, are passive devices. They don't work unless light hits them and the light has to hit them from a fairly narrow angle to reflect back to the source of the light. Laws of optics, angle of incidence/angle of reflection and all that. DOT approved reflectors (seemingly) bend those laws but the laws still apply. I would rather have an active light that overwelms the reflector than augments it.
Originally Posted by
PlanoFuji
Patently not true. During the day, they are the single best visibility tool a cyclist has, bar none. And at night they shine brighter than ANY bicycle light because car lights are much brighter (particularly high beams)...
Um, again...no. More laws of physics. Light intensity falls off with the square of the distance from the source. Light traveling from a source to hit a reflector has to return to the source so the intensity is reduced even further by the time it returns back to the source. And not all of the light is reflected back so that's a huge reduction of a tiny fraction of the light. Assuming a standard bicycle reflector of around 8 square inches (2"x4" reflector), that's 0.005 sq meters of reflecting surface. That's hardly enough reflecting surface to "shine brighter than ANY bicycle light".
Originally Posted by
PlanoFuji
BTW, Can you provide a link to those $24 headlights and $11 batteries? I am collecting a variety of lighting and plan on performing controlled tests of their actual light output and light patterns.
Google them like I did. You'll find all kinds of them.