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08-03-2004, 05:48 PM
| #41 (permalink) |
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| Re: Headlamp recommendations for night riding So, is anyone using the HID setups like a Niterider "Flamethrower"([Only registered and activated users can see links. ] 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?...or do these even accomplish that...? Ok now....who sells the setup with the car headlight and a water bottle battery? Sounds like that would work!  Russ "Russ" <nospamrs@comcast.net> wrote in message news:md6dnQjQS7O4LJDcRVn-vA@comcast.com... > Hi Everyone, > > I'd like to get some input from others on the topic of headlamp setups. > There are a lot of choices and lights get very expensive. > > Background > - My bike is a Specialized Elite > - I ride locally in neighborhoods and on trails > - I want to not just be seen at night, I really want to *see* > - I'd like at least 2-4 hours at full brightness. Also, selectable light > levels. > > My question is the "sweetspot" between cost and light performance? > > Thanks > Russ > > |
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08-03-2004, 09:00 PM
| #42 (permalink) |
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| Re: Headlamp recommendations for night riding Russ <nospamrs@comcast.net> wrote: > Ok now....who sells the setup with the car headlight and a water bottle > battery? Sounds like that would work! A number of years ago, I mounted a moped headlamp (21W @ 6V, IIRC) with a SLA battery on my commute bike. It lit up the pitch-black frontage road that I rode every night quite nicely. But both the SLA battery and the metal bracket for the headlamp were rather heavy. -- Darin McGrew, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] Web Design Group, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] "There are three kinds of people: those who can count and those who can't." |
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08-03-2004, 09:00 PM
| #43 (permalink) |
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Posts: n/a
| Re: Headlamp recommendations for night riding Russ <nospamrs@comcast.net> wrote: > Ok now....who sells the setup with the car headlight and a water bottle > battery? Sounds like that would work! A number of years ago, I mounted a moped headlamp (21W @ 6V, IIRC) with a SLA battery on my commute bike. It lit up the pitch-black frontage road that I rode every night quite nicely. But both the SLA battery and the metal bracket for the headlamp were rather heavy. -- Darin McGrew, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] Web Design Group, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] "There are three kinds of people: those who can count and those who can't." |
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08-03-2004, 09:00 PM
| #44 (permalink) |
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Posts: n/a
| Re: Headlamp recommendations for night riding Russ <nospamrs@comcast.net> wrote: > Ok now....who sells the setup with the car headlight and a water bottle > battery? Sounds like that would work! A number of years ago, I mounted a moped headlamp (21W @ 6V, IIRC) with a SLA battery on my commute bike. It lit up the pitch-black frontage road that I rode every night quite nicely. But both the SLA battery and the metal bracket for the headlamp were rather heavy. -- Darin McGrew, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] Web Design Group, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] "There are three kinds of people: those who can count and those who can't." |
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08-03-2004, 09:00 PM
| #45 (permalink) |
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Posts: n/a
| Re: Headlamp recommendations for night riding Russ <nospamrs@comcast.net> wrote: > Ok now....who sells the setup with the car headlight and a water bottle > battery? Sounds like that would work! A number of years ago, I mounted a moped headlamp (21W @ 6V, IIRC) with a SLA battery on my commute bike. It lit up the pitch-black frontage road that I rode every night quite nicely. But both the SLA battery and the metal bracket for the headlamp were rather heavy. -- Darin McGrew, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] Web Design Group, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] "There are three kinds of people: those who can count and those who can't." |
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08-03-2004, 09:00 PM
| #46 (permalink) |
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Posts: n/a
| Re: Headlamp recommendations for night riding Russ <nospamrs@comcast.net> wrote: > Ok now....who sells the setup with the car headlight and a water bottle > battery? Sounds like that would work! A number of years ago, I mounted a moped headlamp (21W @ 6V, IIRC) with a SLA battery on my commute bike. It lit up the pitch-black frontage road that I rode every night quite nicely. But both the SLA battery and the metal bracket for the headlamp were rather heavy. -- Darin McGrew, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] Web Design Group, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] "There are three kinds of people: those who can count and those who can't." |
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08-04-2004, 07:18 AM
| #47 (permalink) |
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Posts: n/a
| Re: Headlamp recommendations for night riding Russ wrote: > So, is anyone using the HID setups like a Niterider > "Flamethrower"([Only registered and activated users can see links. ] > > 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] |
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08-04-2004, 07:18 AM
| #48 (permalink) |
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Posts: n/a
| Re: Headlamp recommendations for night riding Russ wrote: > So, is anyone using the HID setups like a Niterider > "Flamethrower"([Only registered and activated users can see links. ] > > 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] |
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08-04-2004, 07:18 AM
| #49 (permalink) |
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Posts: n/a
| Re: Headlamp recommendations for night riding Russ wrote: > So, is anyone using the HID setups like a Niterider > "Flamethrower"([Only registered and activated users can see links. ] > > 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] |
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08-04-2004, 07:18 AM
| #50 (permalink) |
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Posts: n/a
| Re: Headlamp recommendations for night riding Russ wrote: > So, is anyone using the HID setups like a Niterider > "Flamethrower"([Only registered and activated users can see links. ] > > 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] |
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