Cycling Forums - View Single Post - Headlamp recommendations for night riding

08-04-2004, 08:18 AM

Russ wrote:

> So, is anyone using the HID setups like a Niterider
> "Flamethrower"(http://www.niterider.com/BIKEPRODUCT...Thrower.html)?
>
> Are these really *that* much better than lights half their cost? Man, these
> are expensive. Is this the only way to really light up the road in front of
> you?

My impression is that super-expensive HID lights are used almost
exclusively by well-heeled mountain bike riders. Going fast on dark
wooded & rocky trails apparently needs lots of light.

But those are definitely not the only way to "really light up the road."
The first principle is, put the light where you need it.

a) The main beam of your headlight should be focused by the optics so it
hits the road, with none of it spraying into the trees.

b) The beam should be shaped to fit the lane you're riding in, with
perhaps a certain percentage of extra width to handle turns.

> Ok now....who sells the setup with the car headlight and a water bottle
> battery? Sounds like that would work!

Funny you should mention that! Car headlights and motorcycle headlights
are focused the way I described. (Check it out by pointing your motor
vehicle at a blank wall and turning on the headlights.)

Bike headlights should be designed that way too. Anything else wastes
light, requiring more lumens (or watts) to make up for the waste, and
requiring a bigger, heavier, more expensive power source.

But since bikes are nowhere near as fast as cars and motorcycles, they
don't need as much wattage as a car, so no need to carry a ten pound
battery!

I'm a generator fan, as mentioned. But for the "rechargeable" fans,
I've long wondered why nobody markets a rechargeable headlight set based
on the 3.5" diameter Union headlight. It's got a nice rectangular beam,
wider (therefore slightly dimmer) than the typical generator headlight.
But with a 6 watt bulb, it would probably light the road much better
than most MR-11 headlights.

--
--------------------+
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

08-04-2004, 08:18 AM	#48 (permalink)
Frank Krygowski Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Headlamp recommendations for night riding Russ wrote: > So, is anyone using the HID setups like a Niterider > "Flamethrower"(http://www.niterider.com/BIKEPRODUCT...Thrower.html)? > > Are these really that much better than lights half their cost? Man, these > are expensive. Is this the only way to really light up the road in front of > you? My impression is that super-expensive HID lights are used almost exclusively by well-heeled mountain bike riders. Going fast on dark wooded & rocky trails apparently needs lots of light. But those are definitely not the only way to "really light up the road." The first principle is, put the light where you need it. a) The main beam of your headlight should be focused by the optics so it hits the road, with none of it spraying into the trees. b) The beam should be shaped to fit the lane you're riding in, with perhaps a certain percentage of extra width to handle turns. > Ok now....who sells the setup with the car headlight and a water bottle > battery? Sounds like that would work! Funny you should mention that! Car headlights and motorcycle headlights are focused the way I described. (Check it out by pointing your motor vehicle at a blank wall and turning on the headlights.) Bike headlights should be designed that way too. Anything else wastes light, requiring more lumens (or watts) to make up for the waste, and requiring a bigger, heavier, more expensive power source. But since bikes are nowhere near as fast as cars and motorcycles, they don't need as much wattage as a car, so no need to carry a ten pound battery! I'm a generator fan, as mentioned. But for the "rechargeable" fans, I've long wondered why nobody markets a rechargeable headlight set based on the 3.5" diameter Union headlight. It's got a nice rectangular beam, wider (therefore slightly dimmer) than the typical generator headlight. But with a 6 watt bulb, it would probably light the road much better than most MR-11 headlights. -- --------------------+ Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com, replace with cc.ysu dot edu]