Light and Motion Vega?

Wayne Pein said:

Anybody see a Light and Motion Vega LED headlight in action and care
to comment on its usefullness for seeing and being seen? Is it's
mounting bracket sturdy? Anything else?

I'm interested too. I was reading Bikecurrent a few months ago, and someone
mentioned testing one soon. Perhaps they have by now.

Matt O.

Matt O'Toole said:

Wayne Pein said:

Anybody see a Light and Motion Vega LED headlight in action and care
to comment on its usefullness for seeing and being seen? Is it's
mounting bracket sturdy? Anything else?

I'm interested too. I was reading Bikecurrent a few months ago, and someone
mentioned testing one soon. Perhaps they have by now.

Matt O.

I have one and love it. Cars definitely see me--maybe even a bit too
much, as they frequently flick their brights. The illumination of the
road is a bit better than a 10W halogen, plenty for my nighttime
commute. The mounting bracket holds in place just fine. And I can't
tell you how nice it is to not have to carry a big, bulky extra
battery. And also that you don't have to choose between charging for
exactly 14 hours 22 minutes to avoid total battery meltdown OR spending
an extra $75 for a smart charger. Well thought out, easy to use
product. Burn time is 2hr on the brightest setting, so long-duration
night riders will want to run the dimmer settings except when the
brightest one is needed. Oh, and the back of the light starts flashing
to let you know when you have 15 min of burn time left. Worth every
penny.

Wheatstraw said:

I have one and love it. Cars definitely see me--maybe even a bit too
much, as they frequently flick their brights. The illumination of the
road is a bit better than a 10W halogen, plenty for my nighttime
commute. The mounting bracket holds in place just fine. And I can't
tell you how nice it is to not have to carry a big, bulky extra
battery. And also that you don't have to choose between charging for
exactly 14 hours 22 minutes to avoid total battery meltdown OR spending
an extra $75 for a smart charger. Well thought out, easy to use
product. Burn time is 2hr on the brightest setting, so long-duration
night riders will want to run the dimmer settings except when the
brightest one is needed. Oh, and the back of the light starts flashing
to let you know when you have 15 min of burn time left. Worth every
penny.

Thanks for that illuminating reply.

The light level/whiteness and durability of an LED, the ease of a self
contained handlebar unit, and the smart charging are features which
appeal to me.

Wayne

Wayne Pein said:

Wheatstraw said:

I have one and love it. Cars definitely see me--maybe even a bit too
much, as they frequently flick their brights. The illumination of
the road is a bit better than a 10W halogen, plenty for my nighttime
commute. The mounting bracket holds in place just fine. And I can't
tell you how nice it is to not have to carry a big, bulky extra
battery. And also that you don't have to choose between charging for
exactly 14 hours 22 minutes to avoid total battery meltdown OR
spending an extra $75 for a smart charger. Well thought out, easy
to use product. Burn time is 2hr on the brightest setting, so
long-duration night riders will want to run the dimmer settings
except when the brightest one is needed. Oh, and the back of the
light starts flashing to let you know when you have 15 min of burn
time left. Worth every penny.

Thanks for that illuminating reply.

The light level/whiteness and durability of an LED, the ease of a self
contained handlebar unit, and the smart charging are features which
appeal to me.

It looks good to me too, just expensive. But I don't mind that if it's exactly
the right thing -- truly powerful enough, and self-contained so I can easily
take it with me while my bike is parked.

Currently I'm using a Cateye Micro for riding around town, but it isn't bright
enough. I have to slow way down, and I still fear hitting potholes and other
stuff I can't see. I don't dare take better lights for fear they'll disappear,
and they're too much trouble to mount/dismount. With modern battery technology
there's no reason a really bright light can't be self-contained like a Micro.

One thing worth experimenting with is a modded Micro, with a more powerful bulb
and NiMH AAs. Cateye sold a 6W version with an external battery pack, but that
bulb really isn't suitable for 4 AAs.

Matt O.

Matt O'Toole said:

Wayne Pein wrote:

Quoted message said:

It looks good to me too, just expensive. But I don't mind that if it's exactly
the right thing -- truly powerful enough, and self-contained so I can easily
take it with me while my bike is parked.

Nashbar has it on sale for 149.99 and has a 20% off coupon SUMSAV
expiring 6/26.

But yea, it's still relatively expensive. Alternatively, you can think
of it as relatively cheap as compared to death, a face plant, a
destroyed bike, or a Light and Motion ARC Li-ion Ultra :-)

Wayne

Wayne Pein said:

Matt O'Toole said:

Wayne Pein wrote:

Quoted message said:

It looks good to me too, just expensive. But I don't mind that if
it's exactly the right thing -- truly powerful enough, and
self-contained so I can easily take it with me while my bike is
parked.

Nashbar has it on sale for 149.99 and has a 20% off coupon SUMSAV
expiring 6/26.

But yea, it's still relatively expensive. Alternatively, you can think
of it as relatively cheap as compared to death, a face plant, a
destroyed bike, or a Light and Motion ARC Li-ion Ultra :-)

All very good points! If you get one, let us know how it goes.

Matt O.

It seems way overpriced for what it is (a 3W Luxeon light with charger). I
bought a Nuwai ALX-352L 5W LED torch off eBay for $50 and grafted a Cateye
mounting bracket onto it. It has three power levels, giving runtime between
one hour and four hours. Runs off two 123A Lithium cells. Another $33 from
Thomas Distributing for a Delkin charger and two rechargeable 123A batteries
and I have a brigher light than the Vega for about half the price...

See http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews_index/reviews_index_luxeon.htm
for a good roundup of what's available in LED flashlights.

Nick

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

Quoted message said:

Anybody see a Light and Motion Vega LED headlight in action and care to
comment on its usefullness for seeing and being seen? Is it's mounting
bracket sturdy? Anything else?

Nick Payne said:

It seems way overpriced for what it is (a 3W Luxeon light with charger). I
bought a Nuwai ALX-352L 5W LED torch off eBay for $50 and grafted a Cateye
mounting bracket onto it. It has three power levels, giving runtime between
one hour and four hours. Runs off two 123A Lithium cells. Another $33 from
Thomas Distributing for a Delkin charger and two rechargeable 123A batteries
and I have a brigher light than the Vega for about half the price...

See http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews_index/reviews_index_luxeon.htm
for a good roundup of what's available in LED flashlights.

Nick

Nick,

That all seems very smart.

How did you graft the Cateye bracket onto it?

Do you think the hype about the wonderful reflector in the Vega is
marketing hype and that the Nuwai casts as good or better beam
(discounting the fact that it 2w more powerful)?

Wayne

Wheatstraw said:

Cars definitely see me--maybe even a bit too
much, as they frequently flick their brights. T

Blinding oncoming traffic doesn't sound like a plus to me.

Jasper

The Cateye bracket on the Micro is held on with one screw (it's the same
bracket as used on the Stadium 3 and their other headlights. I drilled and
tapped the Nuwai for that screw where the casing is machined flat.

Nick

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

Quoted message said:

How did you graft the Cateye bracket onto it?

Do you think the hype about the wonderful reflector in the Vega is
marketing hype and that the Nuwai casts as good or better beam
(discounting the fact that it 2w more powerful)?