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Planet Bike Alias vs L&M Solo

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Planet Bike Alias vs L&M Solo

Old 08-21-06, 12:14 PM
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Planet Bike Alias vs L&M Solo

Looking at buying one of these two lights and potentially both.

The first is the PLanet Bike Alias 15watt for $75
https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=

The other is the Light & Motion Solo 13 watt for $100
https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=

I am interested in others opinions on these two lights especially if anyone has had the chance to compare the two of them. Riding in rain is not a big issue for me as I live in Phoenix AZ and since we don't get much rain I don't ride in it.

Thanks
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Old 08-21-06, 12:26 PM
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I ride with a Solo. It's a pretty solid light, very dependable. I have had no problems in the rain.

The light pattern is decent enough, I can see OK in a heavily forested area. It's not like daytime, but good enough since I know the trail.

The thing that annoys me is I have more than one bike, and it is a bit of a pain to move that frame-mounted battery and snake the light cable every time I switch bikes. I'm looking for something more portable for this "dark season."
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Old 08-21-06, 08:37 PM
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Even though the solo doesn't have that sweet l&m custom aluminium reflector, I'd go for it. Plus the exposed bulb is kinda shakey on the alias.
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Old 08-22-06, 12:36 PM
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I run a solo logic mv. It's top notch gear, for what it is, but it's overpriced.
As a rule I don't care much for Planet Bike's quality.

All that said, if the PB light takes an easily obtainable replacement lamp,and given that it comes with the intellicharger, it's probably a better deal, even if it only lasts half as long as the L&M, before breaking irreparably.
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Old 08-22-06, 12:49 PM
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I have the Alias 10w, and it's fine. Looking to upgrade to the 15w bulb, the one drawback is that it's not bright enough...
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Old 08-23-06, 01:38 PM
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Well I decided to go with the Planet Bike light. The cheap part of me won out as I got it for $75 and then had a 15% off Nasbar coupon. They actually changed the 50% off to only 40% off this morning but I got them to still sell it to me at the 50% off price over the phone. Once I get it I will post a review of how bright it is since there aren't much for reviews of that light on here.
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Old 09-19-06, 08:03 PM
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Originally Posted by dragonflybikes
Well I decided to go with the Planet Bike light. The cheap part of me won out as I got it for $75 and then had a 15% off Nasbar coupon. They actually changed the 50% off to only 40% off this morning but I got them to still sell it to me at the 50% off price over the phone. Once I get it I will post a review of how bright it is since there aren't much for reviews of that light on here.
How do you like your light?
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Old 09-20-06, 07:31 AM
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My solo died on me last week. One year and 10 days old.

Battery is toast. L&M sells the batteries for $80. Ridiculous!!

My LBS is trying to get it warranted... We'll see, I don't have high hopes as they only offer a 90-day batt warranty.

Despite the battery issue, it was a good light when it was working. Like I said above, it doesn't light up the night like day (or like some of the HIDs I see)... But it's good enough.
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Old 09-20-06, 05:18 PM
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My solo died on me last week. One year and 10 days old.
Any chance you ran it quite dead? NiMH batteries can sometimes have a cell reverse polarity when this happens, which makes them abruptly dead. Just an idea what may have happened.
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Old 09-20-06, 05:50 PM
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No chance... I had fully charged it the last day it worked, and it worked great. I ran it about 45 minutes or so. Popped it on the charger before I hit the sack. The next morning, when I got to the head of the path I ride, I pushed the "on" button. Nothing. Nada.

So unless my charger somehow decided to become a DIScharger, that wouldn't be the reason.

Good idea, tho.

My LBS thinks its the connection on the top of the battery. Unfortunately, it's not servicable.
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Old 09-20-06, 07:40 PM
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would it be a switch or bulb problem?

How did you like the Solo when it worked?
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Old 09-21-06, 05:47 AM
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Nope, the light head works great with other batteries

I liked it. It's "just enough" light to make commuting possible on a dark forest MUP. Not light-up-the-night like their HIDs, but it's also 1/4 the cost. The Solo is totally weatherproof, from what I could tell. The connections seal well, and I had no problems riding in driving rain. The mount system is nice; quick to mount/dismount, and the light head pops off with no tools (if you like to flip your bike upside down to work on it like I do, this is great).

It's the least amount of light I'd want on my commute, which takes me through some forested areas with no light. I would prefer a little more light, but as I said, the Solo is "just enough."
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