How Bright is that Light??
10-31-05 | 05:33 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 290
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How Bright is that Light??
Interesting link I saw on another forum. Click the light to see how bright it is.
https://eddys.com/site/page.cfm?PageID=493
https://eddys.com/site/page.cfm?PageID=493
10-31-05 | 09:42 PM
#3
Member
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 28
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From: burlington, ontario, canada
Bikes: specialized hardrock
awesome link. thanks. i bought a cheap light at canadian tire ($20 CAD) and i couldnt see the road. now i know that i'll have to spend at least $200 if i want to ride trails.
10-31-05 | 10:13 PM
#4
2-Cyl, 1/2 HP @ 90 RPM
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 15,762
Likes: 5
From: NYC
Bikes: 04' Specialized Hardrock Sport, 03' Giant OCR2 (SOLD!), 04' Litespeed Firenze, 04' Giant OCR Touring, 07' Specialized Langster Comp
If you look at the Light & Motion and Niterider HID lights, each have identical electronics and HID bulbs, the only difference is the reflector, it makes a LOT of difference.
11-01-05 | 05:32 AM
#5
On my TARDIScycle!
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 3,925
Likes: 3
From: Eastside Seattlite Termite Mound
Bikes: Trek 520, Trek Navigator 300, Peugeot Versailles PE10DE
11-01-05 | 08:51 AM
#7
Excellent link!
I commute through a lot of unlit trails and dark sections of rural and neighborhood bike routes. I ride with a Flamethrower and a Vega as my back up. I use the Flamethrower set to illuminate the distance and Vega set to illuminate just in front of me, or to blink depending upon the portion of my commute.
At 15 feet illuminating a horizontal surface, it might look like the Flamethrower throws a huge bright spot. On the surface of the road, the beam spreads out to give you a nice view of what's ahead. I figured out pretty quickly that the farther ahead that I can see, the faster I can go. That focused beam, more than anything else, has allowed me to safely ride a lot faster in the dark.
I have had several people tell me that they thought that I was a motorcycle on my approach. The cagers definitely give me a wide berth when I have my light and flasher going.
I commute through a lot of unlit trails and dark sections of rural and neighborhood bike routes. I ride with a Flamethrower and a Vega as my back up. I use the Flamethrower set to illuminate the distance and Vega set to illuminate just in front of me, or to blink depending upon the portion of my commute.
At 15 feet illuminating a horizontal surface, it might look like the Flamethrower throws a huge bright spot. On the surface of the road, the beam spreads out to give you a nice view of what's ahead. I figured out pretty quickly that the farther ahead that I can see, the faster I can go. That focused beam, more than anything else, has allowed me to safely ride a lot faster in the dark.
I have had several people tell me that they thought that I was a motorcycle on my approach. The cagers definitely give me a wide berth when I have my light and flasher going.
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11-01-05 | 09:42 AM
#8
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 849
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From: Dutchess County, NY
Bikes: Fuji S-12s, Trek Navigator 200, Dahon Vitesse D7, Raleigh Sprite Touring ('70's)
Lighting is not my area of expertise, but I thought I would throw in my two cents on the subject. We all know that incandenscent lighting is inefficient. The power going in produces way too much heat for the amount of light. A good automotive high beam headlamp produces about 1700 lumens from 65 watts, or about 26 L / w, along with a lot of heat. NIR bulbs (Dodge Viper) harness that heat to produce more light, giving something around 2300 L, or about 35 L / w. HID headlamps are better yet, producing more light and less heat, but require a high voltage transformer and other packaging/weight/fragility/cost issues.
There is a lot to be said for the efficiency of LED lighting, but I don't think we are anywhere near the ultimate in construction, packaging or volume cost yet. I receive tons of advertisements from the trade rags claiming all sorts of specially doped 3-5 materials (indium gallium arsenide, etc.) that are capable of full spectrum light up to 60 lumens per watt!! Price for this little wonder? Still high at about $4 in quantity. But they offer incredibly compact form factors making them perfect for really wild designed automotive (and bicycle) headlamp use when clustered.
Lots of good stuff coming down the road....
There is a lot to be said for the efficiency of LED lighting, but I don't think we are anywhere near the ultimate in construction, packaging or volume cost yet. I receive tons of advertisements from the trade rags claiming all sorts of specially doped 3-5 materials (indium gallium arsenide, etc.) that are capable of full spectrum light up to 60 lumens per watt!! Price for this little wonder? Still high at about $4 in quantity. But they offer incredibly compact form factors making them perfect for really wild designed automotive (and bicycle) headlamp use when clustered.
Lots of good stuff coming down the road....
11-01-05 | 10:07 AM
#9
Chairman of the Bored
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 5,825
Likes: 2
From: St. Petersburg, FL
Bikes: 2004 Raleigh Talus, 2001 Motobecane Vent Noir (Custom build for heavy riders)
I like the light frrom the light&motion HID....I just dislike how fugly they look....oh well, can't have it all I guess.
...do those use the water bottle battery, or a jersey-pocket style?
...do those use the water bottle battery, or a jersey-pocket style?
