Light combo
12-15-04, 01:09 AM
#1
Ubermensch
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Would this make a decent set of lights?
I am looking to not spend a lot of money and need a bright set of flashers to get a drivers attention since I am moving out to the suburbs soon. I currently use the 3 led planet bike light and plan to move that to the seatstay.
Is the EL200 better than the 110 or are they same, as it says the 200 is brighter than the 100(no mention of 110)?
Cateye EL110 Headlight (White)
Cateye EL200 Headlight
Same for the EL600 and the new 1000. Are the 2 comparable if you run just one set/row of lights on the 1000?
Cateye
TL-LD600 Tail Light
Cateye LD1000 10 LED Tail Light
As far as price goes it is 47$ for the expensive set vs 23$. Most of the places I will be riding are lightly lit. Think suburban with ambient light from offices buildings/parking lots/homes/stores. I do not need to light the road at all.
EDIT: I just saw the performancebike.com Flare set for 32$ and looks to be the best combination so far to me.
I am looking to not spend a lot of money and need a bright set of flashers to get a drivers attention since I am moving out to the suburbs soon. I currently use the 3 led planet bike light and plan to move that to the seatstay.
Is the EL200 better than the 110 or are they same, as it says the 200 is brighter than the 100(no mention of 110)?
Cateye EL110 Headlight (White)
Cateye EL200 Headlight
Same for the EL600 and the new 1000. Are the 2 comparable if you run just one set/row of lights on the 1000?
Cateye
TL-LD600 Tail Light
Cateye LD1000 10 LED Tail Light
As far as price goes it is 47$ for the expensive set vs 23$. Most of the places I will be riding are lightly lit. Think suburban with ambient light from offices buildings/parking lots/homes/stores. I do not need to light the road at all.
EDIT: I just saw the performancebike.com Flare set for 32$ and looks to be the best combination so far to me.
Last edited by blendingnoise; 12-15-04 at 01:53 AM.
12-15-04, 02:21 AM
#2
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I used to commute by bike, and in my experience you can never have too much light. Most inexpensive LED's won't cut it for a headlight, unless you're going really slow. If there are any hills where you live, you'll need more wattage than LED's can put out.
However, the LED tail lights work reasonably well (even the inexpensive ones).
I'd also recommend reflectors on your body and your bike. Pedal and crank arm reflectors are very effective - they create an alternatiing "flash" that drivers can identify as a bike.
However, the LED tail lights work reasonably well (even the inexpensive ones).
I'd also recommend reflectors on your body and your bike. Pedal and crank arm reflectors are very effective - they create an alternatiing "flash" that drivers can identify as a bike.
12-15-04, 02:54 AM
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I agree with SSP, cheap LED headlights do not cast a lot of light - yet. Depending on your mileage they may or may not be enough. Do a search on lights, there are many threads in Commuting, for example, discussing LED headlights vs. halogen vs. HID. There might be comments from people using those exact models you have in mind.
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12-15-04, 12:51 PM
#4
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I don't need a headlight as much as a flashing light. Once I have some more money saved I will be going for a proper helmet mounted headlight to use in addition to the flasher in front. Right now my bike has half of each rim covered in reflective tape in addition to seatstays and the main triangle of my frame.
12-17-04, 11:32 PM
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Those Cateye headlights are not bright by any means, they are more of a light that will let others see you but you can't see by them. If you have a $100 to spend on a lighting system, let me make a suggestion. First start of with a decent headlight; the one I bought is from CygoLite called the Metro, it has a dual beam light with one being a 6 watt flood and the other a 6.5 watt spot or combined for a total of 12.5 watts, it runs off of 6 D batteries (Walmart sells a 12 pack of Akalines for $9), the bats will burn for about 5 hours on low and 2.5 hours on high (usually a 12 pack of bats last me the winter season); this light will cost about $48 and maybe less if you do a web search.
The second thing you need to consider is a flasher for the front; the flasher will attract the attention of a driver more then just a steady light. Cateye makes one called the TL-LD260 and Nashbar has it on sale for $7 and it has a very long battery run time. Also Vista has one called the Nebula and the cost of that one is about $12 and is way brighter then the Cateye with about the same battery run time.
The third thing you need is a bright tail light; Cateye does make the brightest one on the market that LD1000 you mentioned and it will cost about $30 (again do a web search); this light is so bright it can be seen in daylight, plus has side lights. I have the LD600 (cost about $20) and at night this light is blindly bright but does not have the side lights...but it can be see from the side. The LD1000 will burn batteries at a far faster rate then the 600 but for safety the 1000 is probably the best choice.
The fourth (if you have drop bars), you can get those new handlebar end lights that insert into the ends of your bars to add more to your rear illumination, these range from $12 to $18 for the pair.
Then lastly a pair of (at least 1" wide) reflective leg bands, these cost about $8.
So your total lighting system would cost from $95 to $116! Not bad for bicycle illumination that got me comments on how well they (drivers) could see me.
The second thing you need to consider is a flasher for the front; the flasher will attract the attention of a driver more then just a steady light. Cateye makes one called the TL-LD260 and Nashbar has it on sale for $7 and it has a very long battery run time. Also Vista has one called the Nebula and the cost of that one is about $12 and is way brighter then the Cateye with about the same battery run time.
The third thing you need is a bright tail light; Cateye does make the brightest one on the market that LD1000 you mentioned and it will cost about $30 (again do a web search); this light is so bright it can be seen in daylight, plus has side lights. I have the LD600 (cost about $20) and at night this light is blindly bright but does not have the side lights...but it can be see from the side. The LD1000 will burn batteries at a far faster rate then the 600 but for safety the 1000 is probably the best choice.
The fourth (if you have drop bars), you can get those new handlebar end lights that insert into the ends of your bars to add more to your rear illumination, these range from $12 to $18 for the pair.
Then lastly a pair of (at least 1" wide) reflective leg bands, these cost about $8.
So your total lighting system would cost from $95 to $116! Not bad for bicycle illumination that got me comments on how well they (drivers) could see me.
