New lights Cateye HL-EL400

"andrew" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm thinking of getting a coouple of these they look ideal for commuting,
small, light, bright & easily removable.

Any suggestions / experience of them?

I notice that Chain reaction have them for £24.99 which seems a decent
price. Anyone seen them cheaper?

Tried Ebay? I've bought over 30 items, not dissapointed yet.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=27948&item=7101059557&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=77592&item=7101736815&rd=1&ssPageName=WD2V

Quoted message said:

--
Andrew

"Look laddie, if you're in the penalty area and aren't quite sure what to
do
with the ball, just stick it in the net and we'll discuss all your options
afterwards."

andrew said:

I'm thinking of getting a coouple of these they look ideal for commuting,
small, light, bright & easily removable.

Any suggestions / experience of them?

I notice that Chain reaction have them for £24.99 which seems a decent
price. Anyone seen them cheaper?

I paid US$39.99 + sales tax for mine from an LBS; they can be purchased
more cheaply on-line.

It's a useful light if your objective is to be seen. If you hope to
illuminate the road, however, then the '400 does not really pass muster.
Thee is a '500 available in Japan, which has just reached US shores. I
posted to see whether anyone had any experience of this unit, but no ne
had. I'll probably buy one and play with it at some point over the next
couple of weeks.

In message <[email hidden]>, andrew
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

I'm thinking of getting a coouple of these they look ideal for commuting,
small, light, bright & easily removable.

Commuting where? do you need to see or be seen.

Quoted message said:

Any suggestions / experience of them?

No, but an EL200 which is probably similar in output

<http://www.cateye.com/en/products/viewProduct.php?modelId=20&catId=7&sub
CatId=2>

In terms of being seen they are ok, but no where near as good as my 3w
dynamo powered lamp. In terms of being useful for seeing by - pretty
useless really. I use mine as a secondary/standlight/emergency backup -
I wouldn't want to use it as my sole lighting on regular basis.

My thoughts on the EL400. I don't like built in mounting straps/clips -
more time consuming to fit, and sooner or later they stop working
properly, I try to avoid AAA batteries where I can - don't last as long,
comparatively more expensive than AA. It has some nice features/gimmicks
- depending on your POV - but it would not make a good commuting lamp
IMO.

Personally I don't think on the whole LEDS are quite there yet for front
lamps (leastways for what you buy of the shelf), good enough for
ocasional/backup use but for regular use such as commuting a
incandescent are still the way to go. Either rechargeable systems or
dynamo powered.

The only LED worth considering really would be the EL-500 9or maybe the
older EL300) , which the Cateye website claims puts out 1000 candlepower
(they give 90 for the EL400) and to have passed BS and German lighting
standards

About GBP 40 from cycleexpress
--
Chris French, Leeds

In message <[email hidden]>, Glm
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Thee is a '500 available in Japan, which has just reached US shores.

And UK as well now.

<http://www.cyclexpress.co.uk/products/HLEL_500_1409.asp>

--
Chris French, Leeds

In article said:

In message <[email hidden]>, Glm
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Thee is a '500 available in Japan, which has just reached US shores.

And UK as well now.
<http://www.cyclexpress.co.uk/products/HLEL_500_1409.asp>

Local bike shop had one, and it didn't seem any brighter than the El-300
next to it, in fact not even as bright in the centre of the beam.

Waving it around in daylight in the shop isn't really a fair test though.