Originally Posted by DogBoy
I am now riding my bike to work again. I asked a little bit ago about lighting solutions, and now I'm more confused than I was then, so please bear with me. This is about commuting, but also deals with winter cycling, so I didn't know if I should put it here or in winter cycling. Anyway, I'm seeking advice on lighting systems and tires. My bike is a Bianchi SanRemo steel-frame road/touring bike.
Lights:
Right now I have a cheap LED headlight and one red blinky. It is not sufficient. My route (there is only one way to go btw so there is no alternate less traveled route) takes me over 1.5 miles of narrow 2-lane unlit road. The rest of my ride is city(more like town) streets. Twice a week I goto the Y which increases my total round-trip from 9.5 miles to 24 miles. This is also on city streets, but some of them are fairly busy. Winter temps here in Madison are generally between 0 and 32, so reduction to burn time is a concern. I figure in the morning there will be 20 min of burn, (5 miles to work). On non-Y days, the return will be in daylight. On Y days, the trip from work to the Y (6.5 miles) will be another 25 min of burn, with 60 min of burn coming home. So I need a light that will at least handle 1:30 hr burn time in the cold temps, since I can charge at work. I am thinking about the NR digital pro-12 but that is like $400 and I'm a little concerned about reduced battery effectiveness in the cold. Are there any other systems out there that will work well for what I'm trying to do? Also, can someone with a system like this post a pic (or direct me to a pic) of how its set-up on your ride? I'm having trouble visualizing how the battery gets connected to the lights etc.
I use a Cygolight night rover Xtra. It has a 6 hour run time on low and 2 hours on dual beam. It's dual beam and you have 3 different settings, Low beam, high beam or both at the same time. The battery is connected with a wire that leads to your water bottle cage were your battery is stored ( The battery is shaped like a water bottle) It's connected with the same type of connection as set of head phones would have. You just unplug and bring it in and plug in to your charger. Beware don't over charge.
I think the HID lights are over kill for just commuting.
A Link
http://www.cygolite.com/light/products/10RoverNiCad.htm
I have used this light for 3 winters and had no problems with battery life in sub-zero temps.(my commute is 13 miles both ways)
I hope this helps for part of your question.