Bicycle lights

[Reid]

A Muzi wrote:

[snip]

> Greens wrote:
>> Yes, I have. The cateye only comes with one mount though and it's on
>> my girlfriend's bike. (she doesn't do much night riding). If I had
>> another mount, I'd pop her headlight off and put it on my bike at a
>> lower angle so I'd have a sharper view of the road. Maybe they'd be
>> willing to send me another mount at an outrageous price.
>
> A common request. Any competent LBS will have replacement/second bike
> light mounts for various years/brands/models of lights. Cheap $3 to $8
> mostly. "Second Bike" kits for Cateye computers are similarly available.

One of the things I like about Cateye is that they have lots of their
little parts available online.

http://www.cateye.com/store/

I'm not crazy about the shipping cost, but my orders have arrived fast.

 

[SMS]

Greens wrote:

> I know there are halogen bulbs for bikes with huge, rechargeable batteries.
> They're lots more expensive, about $200 as opposed to my cateye which is
> only $35 or so.

Actually you can construct a bright halogen headlight system for well
under $50, and even the commercial ones are not $200. the battery size
depends on a) how much you want to spend (Sealed Lead Acid versus NiMH
versus Lithium Ion versus Lithium Polymer) and b) how long you need
between charges.

> Are those halogens bright enough that when a car comes by I
> won't totally get blinded by the contrast in light intensity like I do with
> the cateye.

Depends on the circumstances. The HID lamps on some luxury vehicles will
still blind you. Bicycle lights of 15-25 watts should be sufficient for
most riders.

> It would be nice if these light manufacturers mentioned little details like
> the blinding effect when your lamp isn't as bright as auto lights. All they
> do is talk about how bright their lights are. In the case of this cateye, I
> don't believe it would pass reasonable regulations if there were any.

Most of these lights are for "being seen" or are for relatively low
speed travel. I don't think the manufacturer represents them as anything
that they're not, but then again they aren't out there telling potential
purchasers to buy something brighter.

If you want to make an inexpensive, bright system, buy an Intermatic
LV505 25 watt Halogen POLY-STAR Lamp or LV504 14 watt Halogen POLY-STAR
Lamp, a 12 volt SLA battery from All Electronics
("http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category/160400/Gel_Cell_(Sealed_Lead_Acid).html"),
and a charger
("http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/BC-212/965/12VDC_500MA_2-STAGE_CHARGER_FOR_LEAD-ACID_BATTERIES_.html").
Use an inline switch
("http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/PB-21/700325/SPST_PUSHBUTTON,_PUSH_ON_PUSH_OFF_.html"),
a fuseholder
("http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/FHP-25/250/WEATHERPROOF_ATC_BLADE-FUSE_HOLDER_.html"),
and a fuse
("http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/FSA-5/245500/5_AMP_BLADE_FUSE_.html").

You'll also need some wire, and a plastic front reflector bracket.

 

[datakoll]

On Aug 27, 8:10 pm, SMS <[email protected]> wrote:
> Greens wrote:
> > I know there are halogen bulbs for bikes with huge, rechargeable batteries.
> > They're lots more expensive, about $200 as opposed to my cateye which is
> > only $35 or so.
>
> Actually you can construct a bright halogen headlight system for well
> under $50, and even the commercial ones are not $200. the battery size
> depends on a) how much you want to spend (Sealed Lead Acid versus NiMH
> versus Lithium Ion versus Lithium Polymer) and b) how long you need
> between charges.
>
> > Are those halogens bright enough that when a car comes by I
> > won't totally get blinded by the contrast in light intensity like I do with
> > the cateye.
>
> Depends on the circumstances. The HID lamps on some luxury vehicles will
> still blind you. Bicycle lights of 15-25 watts should be sufficient for
> most riders.
>
> > It would be nice if these light manufacturers mentioned little details like
> > the blinding effect when your lamp isn't as bright as auto lights. All they
> > do is talk about how bright their lights are. In the case of this cateye, I
> > don't believe it would pass reasonable regulations if there were any.
>
> Most of these lights are for "being seen" or are for relatively low
> speed travel. I don't think the manufacturer represents them as anything
> that they're not, but then again they aren't out there telling potential
> purchasers to buy something brighter.
>
> If you want to make an inexpensive, bright system, buy an Intermatic
> LV505 25 watt Halogen POLY-STAR Lamp or LV504 14 watt Halogen POLY-STAR
> Lamp, a 12 volt SLA battery from All Electronics
> ("http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category/160400/Gel_Cell_(Seale..."),
> and a charger
> ("http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/BC-212/965/12VDC_500MA_2-S...").
> Use an inline switch
> ("http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/PB-21/700325/SPST_PUSHBUTT..."),
> a fuseholder
> ("http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/FHP-25/250/WEATHERPROOF_AT..."),
> and a fuse
> ("http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/FSA-5/245500/5_AMP_BLADE_F...").
>
> You'll also need some wire, and a plastic front reflector bracket.

and here is the answer? an array of lights, one or two bottom forks,
two bars one helmet (with baseball cap or extended visor off course)
star trek!