I tried this on the Total Geekiness forum but there isn't much action over there. I'm hoping that a fellow commuter can help me out. I've been running a halogen light setup for two years now and my 7.2 AH sla battery died. I'm thinking about going to NIMH batteries to reduce weight. I spotted two setups that are interesting:

https://www.batteryspace.com/nimhbatt...x?SSAID=314743 and

https://www.batteryspace.com/waterbot...x?SSAID=314743 .

Has anyone used either of these? Will I have a problem with NIMH batteries in the cold? My bike sits in an outdoor rack and I ride even when it's freezing out. My cut-off point is generally about zero. Then it's too cold. I could pull the battery pack and bring it inside with me if the temperature is a problem. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks,

Walt

Hi,

Those battery packs cost $70 and $85.

My question would be - for that kind of money you could afford to buy an LED light with a battery included for about the same cost and seriously reduce your weight or dramatically increase your runtime. I'm sure someone will mention the MagicShine, but how bright is your Halogen setup? Is there something that really ties to your halogen setup?

Hi PaulRivers,
I'm running a 20 watt MR16 system. Same system on two different bikes. Share one battery. The gameplan was to replace the battery and then later, as a summer project, to build a new light, running twin leds. But I'm open to suggestions. A couple more weeks and I won't need a morning light anyway.

Walt

I've got a BatterySpace 14.4v NiMH bottle battery and charger. I used it with a HID light head down to about -20*F and it worked OK. It probably had seriously reduced runtime, but at those temps I was taking it inside to charge and charging it daily so I never came close to its runtime.

I don't use the thing anymore, if you want to buy it for a seriously reduced amount, PM me. If you're interested I'll have to check and see if the battery is still good.

In general I agree with Paul though; for the money you'd pay for those batteries and chargers, you could just trash the whole setup and buy a Magicshine. It's not a super durable system, but it's hackable and if you are willing to hack on the system you already have, you can make the magicshine last as long as you like. The only serious problem I have had with mine is the connectors are a little fragile, so I just bought 1m extension cables from DealExtreme for $3 each and replace connectors as necessary (so far only one has needed replacement).

Or just get a P7 flashlight, it's brighter than a 20w overvoltaged halogen, in my experience.

Here's the MagicShine:
https://www.geomangear.com/index.php?...1vdep209pssr36

It's not really 900 lumens, if I remember right it's like between 400-500. And the battery isn't waterproof, people who ride in the rain have added waterproofing (by sealing the holes in the battery casing or putting it in a bag). It's also $85 (probably before shipping).

If you want something more durable, a Dinotte 200L takes AA batteries and puts out 200 lumens for around $100. Easy to move from bike to bike, but obviously it's about half the light output. A very solid build.

Dinotte makes some other lights, but if people want the "ultimate but affordable" light, I've really liked my Light and Motion Seca. I bought the 700 (only had it for 2 weeks), and frankly I almost always just run it at half power, so I'd suggest the Seca 400. But - we're talking seriously more money. The Seca 400 is $400 (retail). I'm just trying to be complete by mentioning it - of non-dynamo lights, it has the best beam pattern (a beam that fairly evenly lights the road surface), the best light color (it's more normal looking light than the usual blue you get with LED's), and it doesn't waste a ton of light throwing it up into the trees. But...we're talking about way, way more expensive there.

The MagicShine is a very, very popular suggestion here on bikeforums because of it's price to light output ratio, even adjusted for marketing hype. I'm not familiar with how much light a 20 watt halogen puts out, but I'll take ItsJustMe's word for it that it isn't a lot. From the sounds of it, a Dinotte 200L would also put out more light than you currently have, with better build quality (though be prepared to use rubber bands to keep the AA batteries in their holder). But I've ridden mine in rain, in the winter, etc and it shows no wear. And of course, if you had money to spend I really like the Light and Motion Seca's.

I would recommend lithium-ion, which will lighten your load even more, and work better in the cold. They're a lot more reasonably priced than they used to be.

I had a homebrew system but got tired of connector and wire strain problems--truly the details that matter for a lighting system. Bought a DealExtreme P7-D flashlight. It takes one lithium 18650 battery, runtime about an hour on high (which is pretty crazy bright--just a smidge brighter than the 12v 20W halogen MR-16 it replaced powered by a 12V NiMH pack). I carry a spare battery just in case, but for breakdowns or something I can dim the light. When I lock up the whole setup comes off the bike. No wire routing0 no flaky connectors, only one place to mount something.

Yeah, I originally got the Magicshine because the 45 minute to 1 hour runtime on high for the P7 flashlights turned me off - not really quite enough for my commute. However, as it turns out, 1/2 power mode on a P7 flashlight is more light than I used to get out of a 20 watt halogen on a 12v SLA, and is plenty, and at that rate I can get close to to hours on high, or easily cover my 48 minute winter commute even with the battery degraded by the cold.

+1 On the P7 flashlight. I have a commute that varies between 40 and 55 minutes and I've never had it run out of juice on one lithium ion battery. (Tho it is abusive to the batteries.)

They're outrageously cheap. Mine cost $35, even when you add in chargers, mounts and extra batteries (I've gone thru a few of those) I haven't reached $100.