Rob rocks. He totally hooked me up on a 5w and a tailight combo. Should arrive monday.

-D

Question from a noob
 

I was wondering if anyone might have any input on comparing something like the TrailTech HID to the DiNotte 5W or L&M Vega. They can be had for nearly the same price and was just wondering how they compare. This won't be for commuting, persay, just night road riding (only time I have to train). I really hope to keep it under $200, which is why I was considering the above. Welcome to any input outside of them, though. Thanks!

They both list Lumens (how bright they are) on the web sites.

Don't forget to consider your run time for the light. Add in some extra time for a flat tire or cold weather when you buy a light. This is all listed on the web sites too.

Without actually seeing them that's about the best you can do. The weight and some other things are on the web sites.

I don't have an exact, but here is a review of at least 2 of the 3 lights you were asking about.

Between the Dinotte and L&M I think the Dinotte wins. Between the Dinotte and a HID I would be the HID wins, when talking about brightness.

I chose the Dinotte 5W AA model for a number of reasons. The biggest was its compact size and ease of mounting. I have one bike that I use for everything. So I like to be able to remove items like lights when I don't need them. I can mount the light in under 30 seconds, and remove them faster. Plus when removed there is nothing left. No quick mount like the vega etc.

I also liked the use of rechargable AA's. The runtime isn't as great. But rechargable AA's are cheap and I already own a bunch and several chargers. So I can keep a set charged at work for the ride home and a set at home for the ride there. It is also easy to carry a second set of batteries in a holder for rides at night over 3 hours.

Also, with regard to the review linked above. I actually have the Dinotte 5W and the Niterider 12W halogen helmet light. In conjunction they are great for night training rides.

Keep in mind as well that the Dinotte is currently on sale at their site for $169. I emailed Rob at Dinotte about the fact that Nashbar was $10 cheaper on sale and he came back with an offer I couldn't refuse. I bought them that night on the spot from Rob. Great guy, at least via email.

-D

I'm looking for advice on a bright tail light. My LBS carries the Serfas TL-2000, but I've found nothing written on it around here. I like the 9-LEDs and the reflector in there, and it would seem to me that using red LEDs is smarter than regular LEDs with a red lense, a la the Cateye TL1000 (at least I think that's what's going on with the Cateye).

Anybody have thoughts on this Serfas TL-2000 before I pick one up?

I seriously doubt the TL-LD1000 uses a red lens and white LEDs. Just because the LED's plastic is clear doesn't mean it can't be red. Reason I say this is because red LEDs are far, far more efficient at generating red light than any filtered white LED can be. Sorry I can't comment on the Serfas TL-2000.

Take a gander at this rear light; probably the brightest rear bike light on the market: http://www.powerflare.com/

What have you compared it to?

I just went through a total lighting system upgrade. I reluctantly replaced my Lupine HID headlight with the new Wilma head unit. I loved the HID headlight but I was using it with a 24w bulb and it went through those bulbs fairly quickly (about 1 every 6 mos.) and the cost was getting to me. But I loved the light it threw off. The Wilma is actually brighter but a bit different as you would expect from a transition to LEDs. I love this light too. If I had it to do all over again (and I'm thinking back twelve years and a variety of headlights) I would have bought this headlight to begin with, and I would have really skipped Niterider all together.

The new tail light is a Dinotte, I was reluctant to get this tail light because I think that the mounting system is not a good solution for a tail light (unless your seat post goes straight up rather than slanted and providing you don't use a rear rack bag) but the suggestion that one of the other BF members came up with (use a 3/4" conduit pipe hanger) made it work (Dinotte should give them out with the light). I now have drivers completely avoiding me by passing with a margin of around 4'.

I just can't think of a better headlight/ tail light combination that the new Lupine Wilma and the Dinotte (with a conduit pipe hanger).

You must mean the 24W (25w) halogen light. Not the HID. Big difference.

The Lupine HID is 16w and is brighter than the wilma. You need to send it to the distributor to replace a bulb and they last a longer than that.

You are correct, I meant halogen (must have had HID on the brain), it is the passubio and I used a 25w bulb rather than the 16w. After four bulbs the conclusion was that the battery on those systems (not the one I have in particular) couldn't handle the higher wattage bulbs. Which accounts for the shorter lifespan.

But the wilma 4 is brighter if somewhat diffused by compairson. If you want a lumen compairson the passubio (with a 24w bulb) was putting out around 500 lumens and the wilma puts out around 830.

By the way, I still don't believe you exist. Everyone knows that there is no such thing as TooManyBikes.

:beer: :roflmao: :roflmao:

Hey everyone,

I've searched and searched and can't seem to find the answer to this question. It relates to charging the lead acid batteries found on many of the not so new lights. Can anyone help me?

I'm getting a Cygolite Night Rover with a sealed Lead Acid battery (gel cell). Fully charged, it might last somewhere around 2 hours. I see all this stuff about how easy it is to kill your battery by totally running it down, by overcharging it, etc. If I use it for one hour every day, how often am I supposed to charge it? And for how long? Overnight, every 2 nights?

I'd really appreciate your help!

The instruction will tell you how long to charge it. Usually if the battery has been exhuasted you will need to charge it overnight for about 8 to 12 hours depending on the battery. Thus if you know that it last for 2 hours and it takes 8 hours to charge and you use it for only an hour then you will need to charge it for 4 hours. This can be done cheaply and automatically with a simple $8 lamp timer.

This is a lead acid battery, I wouldn't discharge it completly, but read your instructions or e-mail Cygolite and ask them all these questions to make sure you get the right info.

I haven't read this whole thread, so please berate me if this has been exhausted already.

I'm looking for an inexpensive headlight and (preferably blinking) tailight to wire to the
24 volt battery on my electric bike. This is a 7 amp hour NiCad pack.

I figure the draw for the lights would be pretty small relative to the draw of the motor, and I'd prefer
not to need to fiddle with separate AAA batteries for the lights, like I do now.

If I just got a cheap "driving light" as are sold for adding on to cars (obviously designed for 12v system)
and tail light, maybe designed for a trailer (would be 12v system and non blinking), would these burn
out instantly or burst into flames? Is there a better way to do this?

cygolite
 

I've got a Cygolite Night Rover with NiCad battery. The run time between charging depends on whether you use the bright beam, low beam, or both. On low, it will easily last more than 3 hours, perhaps 4. With both lights on, perhaps 2+ hours.

With NiCad batteries, I think it is best to run down the batteries as low as possible before recharging. I generally charge mine overnight. I think it has some sort of regulating device so the battery won't overcharge, but you don't want to leave it hooked up charging indefinitely. If you are using your light for one hour every day, you should be able to go at least 2 days between charges -- longer if you use the low beam only. Check at the Cygolite website for more details.

Is anyone using the Princeton Tec Switchback 2? I've searched for reviews and can't really find any, but they look like a good light.

Thinking...
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIn3OWG6YK0

This is my Trailtech 13W HID light I got from Batteryspace.com
(I should say that some have had not so good experiences
with them, my experience has been fine) compared to a
Viewpoint Gen3 (1W Luxeon) versus two Cateye
EL300 led lights.

I searched online for a discount coupon for ordering thru Batteryspace
got the light, mounts, battery and smart charger for $197 (which includes shipping) total outlay using that coupon (I forget where I found it).

Very happy with it - stupid bright! Can't compare to the Dinotte but I
can say the Vega is a dim firefly compared to the Trailtech Eclipse 13W.

Batteryspace says the 10W HID is 550 lumen and the 13W is about
30% brighter (in the 710-720 lumen range or so). All I know is I
finally have a light I can see by. Cars definetely see me.

Runtime is purported to be in the 4 hour range, I've not done a ride
as long as that at night so all I can say is I've done multiple night
rides and not needed to recharge so far.

Trailtech makes a 30W HID that is supposedly 1850 lumen, this light
is almost too bright as it is. Check it out.

The "wired" lightman strobes simply have a wired switch. Has nothing to do with power supply.

For those of you who used the Optronics lights, did you use the wiring that comes with it? My lights came today and looking at it I'm a little confused. I'm planning to get this battery and get the male end of the trailtech as a separate connection and wiring that to the lights. Would that work? I was planning on using the crimping connectors instead of soldering but I'm not sure if I need that with the connectors that are on the wiring now.

http://www.batteryspace.com/index.as...OD&ProdID=2205

I didn't use the wires that came with the light, though they would have worked fine. Instead, I bumped the wiring up a notch from 18GA/105C to 16Ga/125C automotive wiring. I felt more comfortable with the larger gauge wire and more abrasion resistant insulation ('cause the OCP side of my brain told me to, that's why).

The Trailtech connector should work fine. Otherwise, you can get bullet terminals at RadioShack, Ace Hardware or any automotive store.

In terms of solder vs. crimping, I prefer soldered connections covered by heat-shrink tubing because they are less likely to fail in the field due to vibration, salt, dirt and general daily use. If you have the proper crimping tool, then crimping would work. I usually crimp, solder, then cover with heat-shrink tubing.

I used a little of the wiring included with the optronic lights, but most of the wiring I used was not.

I used soldering, heat shrink tubing, followed by liquid electrical tape on most of the connections, and then wrapped the wires together with black electrical tape.

However, I did use crimping connections close to the lights. This was so I could easily take the lighting system on and off the bike. I used liquid electrical tape on each of the crimped connections too.

I didn't use connections included with the lights, substituting my own instead. One thing you should know, the optronic's wires are not copper and are very "slippery". I had a helluva time attaching solder or crimping connections onto them.

Had an idea this afternoon while scheming up homemade headlights. Haven't tried it yet, just an idea.

Anyway, there at the auto parts place, they sell trailer lights, self-contained little lights for tail lights. Then over in the Bulb department, they sell a replacement bulb for taillights that has a dozen or so LED's instead of a filament bulb. I don't know what the power draw is, but that might be one way to get a fairly bright taillight withough much current. (The LED's are wide-angle, so you wouldn't want to try them for a headlight.)

Why do most of the links from first post that rate a lot of different lights not have hardly any cygolite models?

I didn't see this thread before....forgot there was a light subforum now, but I just ordered a cygolight li-ion (basically same as cygolite dualcross 300, but with li-ion battery).

Looking to spend about $150 (give or take) for a light. I need to be able *to see*, not just *be seen*, because the suburb I live in doesn't have any streetlights. I'm riding roads and paved MUP, with a 30 minute one-way commute. As a result, runtime isn't crucial. Neither's weight, since my commuter bike is a total pig. I currently have a Cateye 530, which isn't nearly enough.

From what I've read so far, it *seems* as if the halogens absolutely kill the LED lights in that price range, and even those up to $100 more expensive. For instance, on http://eddys.com/page.cfm?PageID=493 the L&M Solo (halogen) blows the more expensive L&M Vega (LED) out of the water. On the other hand, people rave about LED lights like the Dinotte, Fenix, etc. So I'm a bit confused.

Is there a downside to halogens I'm missing? Or are halogens just the best performer for my price range?

Thanks for any advice.

Yes....there is a downside compared to LED. Mainly time.....huge disparity in running time vs. power source and also longevity of bulb(s). Also, some people prefer the bluish white tint of the LED to the more yellowish hue of the halogen (though the xenon halogens less so).

The technology is also newer with the LED's.....they are coming down in price as they age. There are also some newer versions of higher intensity LED's that are arguably better/brighter (and more like HID) than the halogens dollar for dollar (like the newer Cygolite Dual Cross or TridenX).

Finally, I can buy (and did) a 80 lumen luxeon K2 headlamp for around $20. For the same price you couldn't even touch the brightness with a halogen. I have a xenon halogen Princeton tec that costs three times that much a couple of years ago.....and the K2 is close to twice as bright and casts much further down the road.

Thanks, I'm getting closer. ;) I'm not very concerned with running time so much - as long as I get a solid hour between charges over the lifetime of the battery, I'm golden. However, bulb life is a different matter. How long can I expect the bulbs to last in a halogen? I have the Cateye LED light which I'll keep using for a bar light, but I'd still rather not be left in the dark frequently. And as the replacements look to be $20 each, I suppose that could start eating into the cost savings.

I'm sure it varies, but how much ride time can be expected for, say, a 7.2V 13W lamp like the L&M Solo (which I'm considering)?

Sorry for the barrage of questions folks, but the light manufacturers are short on details and make direct comparisons very difficult.

i have an older version of this lightset by BLT. i'm looking to replace the battery charger as it can't even hold a charge now for 5 minutes. what are my options?

http://www.blt-lights.com/manuals/blt_spectrum.pdf

Hey Mr. Underbridge
I use a CatEye Single Shot + that is a rechargeable ... puts out plenty of light for me...I travel a bit on my commute through some dark bike path and find the overall light to be really good. I think I am getting at least 3 hours between charges...I charge it up about once every two weeks.
http://www.cateye.com/en/product_detail/462

There is smaller version of this light but I have not used it.

I'm looking for some feedback on the Princeton Tec lights. I was interested in their Switchback 1 or 2...

Anyone own one... know how they perform? What's the battery life like in real word use?