Originally Posted by
Geordi Laforge
I am seeking a little guidance with my headlight setup. I was considering the usual planetbike or cateye headlight, but I have been digging through this forum and see you all are really onto something -- but I am a bit lost to all the different options.
I am looking to purchase 2 flashlights, rechargeable batteries, mounts, and a charger -- they will be used on my bicycle and my girlfriend's bike. Ideally, I'd like to keep the cost to less than $100.
I ride in a dense urban environment where there are always streetlights and ambient lighting and it's never dark, but I often ride at night and would like to "be seen" by motorists as well as see the road ahead of me (many crater-like potholes and broken glass). I currently have a cateye el520 which simply is not adequate.
I figure I do not need the brightest light due to the streetlights and I would like to balance power vs. run-time. I typically ride about 2 hours per night and probably wont always remember to bring battery back-ups.
Anyone have a recommendation for such a setup?
So far, I am considering:
http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/t...CREE-Q5/Detail
http://www.batteryjunction.com/4parc390reli.html
http://www.batteryjunction.com/twofish-cycloblocks.html
How is the run-time with this? How decent of a light is the RC-N3? Any suggestions as what else I should look at?
thanks!
Although I live in a small town of 15K, my needs are similar to yours. I am a utility cyclist and wanted to extend my time of riding to 24hours/day. I wanted to do it safely and this is what I use. Your suggested setup may be fine, I just know mine works well for me. You cannot fail to see me day or night.
I bought the set up offered by n4zou in this thread, post 2:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=493600
I purchased three mounts for various bikes I have. The screw used to tighten the light to the mount is small and not easy to tighten. I would now consider the Two Fish mount.
I also would purchase four of the batteries rather than two. I am pleased with run time, but they take a long time to charge.
Be aware of the mode issue. I have a 3 mode and therefore need only to cycle through two modes to get to the strobe I use night and day. I run with lights during the daytime just like automobiles do.
I use this Vetta tail light and it can be seen in the daytime as well:
http://www.vetta.com/product_show.asp?ptype=whole&id=60
This light is on sale for $25.00 and I have seen them for around $70.00 on-line.
I also use a Vetta helmet light:
http://www.vetta.com/product_show.asp?ptype=whole&id=64
Along with the helmet light, for side visability I use two spoke lit's on each wheel, two green up front and two blue in the back:
http://www.niteize.com/productdetail...product_id=163
I call this setup my second generation of lights because I have an assortment of blinkies and bicycle headlights that no longer meet my standards.
I am very comfortable riding at night. In my conditions I believe there is greater danger to me of being hit by an unlit bike rider than an auto. Cars are almost afraid to approach me. Mind you, I travel on my cities residential streets and bike trails, not busy arterial connectors.
As I move to the third generation, I will add this red light currently under discussion here:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...=519548&page=4
You probably have to go back to page 3 or 4 to catch up on what people are discussing. It is a, "Ultrafire WF-501B Philips Luxeon K2 Red LED Flashlight" found here:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.20333
It uses the same batteries as my flashlight above.
Good luck.