Front Bicycle LED - Review

[[email protected]]

Many posts here say LED bicycle lights do not provide enough light to
see. Well they're wrong! I just got a Beamer 3 from Planet Bike for $20
(some places online sell them for $15) and this thing is such a great
value. First, it's steamlined and simple. Easy on and off. Only two
settings - steady light and blinking light. In the dark the steady
light puts a 6' in diameter spotlight 5-30' in front of you (depending
on how you tilt it) . They say 100 hours on 2 AA which is really good.
Forget the Halogens or anything more expensive. If you are doing casual
riding in the dark this is a fantastic light.

 

[[email protected]]

I have a 3 Beamer too. Works great

ED

 

[Peter Cole]

[email protected] wrote:
> Many posts here say LED bicycle lights do not provide enough light to
> see. Well they're wrong! I just got a Beamer 3 from Planet Bike for $20
> (some places online sell them for $15) and this thing is such a great
> value. First, it's steamlined and simple. Easy on and off. Only two
> settings - steady light and blinking light. In the dark the steady
> light puts a 6' in diameter spotlight 5-30' in front of you (depending
> on how you tilt it) . They say 100 hours on 2 AA which is really good.
> Forget the Halogens or anything more expensive. If you are doing casual
> riding in the dark this is a fantastic light.
>

The Planet Bike 1W Luxeon light has a spec of 30 hr on 4AA. Simple math
says that this light @100 hr & 2AA will be 1/6 as bright, all things
being equal. Given the relative performance of LEDs on the market today,
all things will probably be equal.

Many people have reported on the 1W light as being barely adequate as a
"seeing" (as opposed to "be seen") light, it's hard to believe a light
of 1/6 the output would be close to adequate.

 

[[email protected]]

Simple math applied to formulas does not often reach the right
solution. The Beamer 3 does put out a spotlight that illuminates the
road in front in dark areas.

Peter Cole wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
> > Many posts here say LED bicycle lights do not provide enough light to
> > see. Well they're wrong! I just got a Beamer 3 from Planet Bike for $20
> > (some places online sell them for $15) and this thing is such a great
> > value. First, it's steamlined and simple. Easy on and off. Only two
> > settings - steady light and blinking light. In the dark the steady
> > light puts a 6' in diameter spotlight 5-30' in front of you (depending
> > on how you tilt it) . They say 100 hours on 2 AA which is really good.
> > Forget the Halogens or anything more expensive. If you are doing casual
> > riding in the dark this is a fantastic light.
> >
>
> The Planet Bike 1W Luxeon light has a spec of 30 hr on 4AA. Simple math
> says that this light @100 hr & 2AA will be 1/6 as bright, all things
> being equal. Given the relative performance of LEDs on the market today,
> all things will probably be equal.
>
> Many people have reported on the 1W light as being barely adequate as a
> "seeing" (as opposed to "be seen") light, it's hard to believe a light
> of 1/6 the output would be close to adequate.

 

[Mike Kruger]

"Peter Cole" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> [email protected] wrote:
>> Many posts here say LED bicycle lights do not provide enough light to
>> see. Well they're wrong! I just got a Beamer 3 from Planet Bike for $20
>> (some places online sell them for $15) and this thing is such a great
>> value. First, it's steamlined and simple. Easy on and off. Only two
>> settings - steady light and blinking light. In the dark the steady
>> light puts a 6' in diameter spotlight 5-30' in front of you (depending
>> on how you tilt it) . They say 100 hours on 2 AA which is really good.
>> Forget the Halogens or anything more expensive. If you are doing casual
>> riding in the dark this is a fantastic light.
>>
>
> The Planet Bike 1W Luxeon light has a spec of 30 hr on 4AA. Simple math
> says that this light @100 hr & 2AA will be 1/6 as bright, all things being
> equal. Given the relative performance of LEDs on the market today, all
> things will probably be equal.
>
> Many people have reported on the 1W light as being barely adequate as a
> "seeing" (as opposed to "be seen") light, it's hard to believe a light of
> 1/6 the output would be close to adequate.

I suspect cenorthamerica is engaging in buzz marketing. When I read the
post, I hear advertising copy, not somebody describing their own experience.
I also think it's possible that ED, the 2nd poster who chimed in with
agreement, is the same person.

I might be wrong. This is just how it sounds to me.

In a way, I liked it better in the old days when [email protected] would post
"I found this great website! You have to see the great deals at the
dipshit.com website!!!". It was crude, but transparent enough to almost
count as honest.

 

[Bill Baka]

Mike Kruger wrote:
> "Peter Cole" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news[email protected]...
>
>>[email protected] wrote:
>>
>>>Many posts here say LED bicycle lights do not provide enough light to
>>>see. Well they're wrong! I just got a Beamer 3 from Planet Bike for $20
>>>(some places online sell them for $15) and this thing is such a great
>>>value. First, it's steamlined and simple. Easy on and off. Only two
>>>settings - steady light and blinking light. In the dark the steady
>>>light puts a 6' in diameter spotlight 5-30' in front of you (depending
>>>on how you tilt it) . They say 100 hours on 2 AA which is really good.
>>>Forget the Halogens or anything more expensive. If you are doing casual
>>>riding in the dark this is a fantastic light.
>>>
>>
>>The Planet Bike 1W Luxeon light has a spec of 30 hr on 4AA. Simple math
>>says that this light @100 hr & 2AA will be 1/6 as bright, all things being
>>equal. Given the relative performance of LEDs on the market today, all
>>things will probably be equal.
>>
>>Many people have reported on the 1W light as being barely adequate as a
>>"seeing" (as opposed to "be seen") light, it's hard to believe a light of
>>1/6 the output would be close to adequate.
>
>
> I suspect cenorthamerica is engaging in buzz marketing. When I read the
> post, I hear advertising copy, not somebody describing their own experience.
> I also think it's possible that ED, the 2nd poster who chimed in with
> agreement, is the same person.
>
> I might be wrong. This is just how it sounds to me.
>
> In a way, I liked it better in the old days when [email protected] would post
> "I found this great website! You have to see the great deals at the
> dipshit.com website!!!". It was crude, but transparent enough to almost
> count as honest.
>
>
Guys,
LEDs are due to take over unless the Chinese, who else, figures out how
to put an efficient and miniature electronic ballast for those high
pressure Sodium vapor lights and make really tiny and bright lights.
Tungsten filaments are old fashioned throwbacks to Thomas Edison and are
being engineered out, Halogen style or not. Reality is going to end this
whole argument in a few years either way.
My vote is still on LEDs since the high pressure lamps used on cars are
a high theft $2,000 to replace item. You won't see a kilobuck lamp on my
bike soon.
Bill Baka

 

[Peter Cole]

Mike Kruger wrote:
> "Peter Cole" <[email protected]> wrote in message

>>Many people have reported on the 1W light as being barely adequate as a
>>"seeing" (as opposed to "be seen") light, it's hard to believe a light of
>>1/6 the output would be close to adequate.
>
>
> I suspect cenorthamerica is engaging in buzz marketing. When I read the
> post, I hear advertising copy, not somebody describing their own experience.
> I also think it's possible that ED, the 2nd poster who chimed in with
> agreement, is the same person.
>
> I might be wrong. This is just how it sounds to me.

I don't know if this guy is a shill for Planet Bike, I think he may have
just tried his first LED light. I have nothing against them -- I have a
couple -- they're nice, but not exactly a religious experience.

 

[Bill Baka]

Peter Cole wrote:
> Mike Kruger wrote:
>
>> "Peter Cole" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
>
>>> Many people have reported on the 1W light as being barely adequate as
>>> a "seeing" (as opposed to "be seen") light, it's hard to believe a
>>> light of 1/6 the output would be close to adequate.
>>
>>
>>
>> I suspect cenorthamerica is engaging in buzz marketing. When I read
>> the post, I hear advertising copy, not somebody describing their own
>> experience. I also think it's possible that ED, the 2nd poster who
>> chimed in with agreement, is the same person.
>>
>> I might be wrong. This is just how it sounds to me.
>
>
> I don't know if this guy is a shill for Planet Bike, I think he may have
> just tried his first LED light. I have nothing against them -- I have a
> couple -- they're nice, but not exactly a religious experience.

Agreed.
My Cateye is more of a blue-ish white and gives a good beam for 12-15MPH
riding with good battery life but it isn't like it is the only light I
would ever buy. It just makes a handy auxiliary flashlight when I am
stopped somewhere or need one in the house and does have rechargeable
NiMH AA batteries.
No big deal.
Bill

 

[[email protected]]

They say a photo says a thousand words.
I don't see a photo on http://eddys.com/page.cfm?PageID=493
I like my Catye HL-300

[email protected] wrote:
> Many posts here say LED bicycle lights do not provide enough light to
> see. Well they're wrong! I just got a Beamer 3 from Planet Bike for $20
> (some places online sell them for $15) and this thing is such a great
> value. First, it's steamlined and simple. Easy on and off. Only two
> settings - steady light and blinking light. In the dark the steady
> light puts a 6' in diameter spotlight 5-30' in front of you (depending
> on how you tilt it) . They say 100 hours on 2 AA which is really good.
> Forget the Halogens or anything more expensive. If you are doing casual
> riding in the dark this is a fantastic light.

 

[Tom Keats]

In article <[email protected]>,
Peter Cole <[email protected]> writes:
> Mike Kruger wrote:
>> "Peter Cole" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
>>>Many people have reported on the 1W light as being barely adequate as a
>>>"seeing" (as opposed to "be seen") light, it's hard to believe a light of
>>>1/6 the output would be close to adequate.
>>
>>
>> I suspect cenorthamerica is engaging in buzz marketing. When I read the
>> post, I hear advertising copy, not somebody describing their own experience.
>> I also think it's possible that ED, the 2nd poster who chimed in with
>> agreement, is the same person.
>>
>> I might be wrong. This is just how it sounds to me.
>
> I don't know if this guy is a shill for Planet Bike, I think he may have
> just tried his first LED light. I have nothing against them -- I have a
> couple -- they're nice, but not exactly a religious experience.

AIUI Planet Bike is a pretty ethical business, and I doubt they'd
resort to underhanded marketing.

Anyway I have a Planet Bike Beamer-3 myself, fork-attached, which
I mostly use in blink mode as a "stand light" to supplement my
brake-bolt-attached generator Union headlight. With this arrangement
I can aim the Union headlight a little down to get better road
surface illumination, and aim the Beamer-3 a little up to
shine on street signs.

The Beamer-3 /is/ surprisingly bright (w/ fresh battery). With a
little fanagling I can superimpose its spot on the Union headlight's.
But if the Beamer-3 is aimed too far ahead, the beams from the
individual LEDs will separate into 3 separate spots.

I do like the Q/R on the Beamer-3. It's much like the Q/R on
a Cateye cycloputer display head.

When I get home after a night ride the Beamer-3 helps me find
the keyhole on the basement door.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

 

[[email protected]]

Mike,
You are wrong. I am not marketing. I am just sharing my good experience
with this inexpensive light. I am surprised that it lights so well
after reading all the other opinions on LED lights. This light is not
one that lights up the whole road. It just provides enough light so you
can see the road for potholes, tree branches, animals, etc.. Planet
Bike claims you get up to 100 hours on two AA batteries. I will find
out if this is true. If it is it's a great bargain.


Mike Kruger wrote:
> "Peter Cole" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news[email protected]...
> > [email protected] wrote:
> >> Many posts here say LED bicycle lights do not provide enough light to
> >> see. Well they're wrong! I just got a Beamer 3 from Planet Bike for $20
> >> (some places online sell them for $15) and this thing is such a great
> >> value. First, it's steamlined and simple. Easy on and off. Only two
> >> settings - steady light and blinking light. In the dark the steady
> >> light puts a 6' in diameter spotlight 5-30' in front of you (depending
> >> on how you tilt it) . They say 100 hours on 2 AA which is really good.
> >> Forget the Halogens or anything more expensive. If you are doing casual
> >> riding in the dark this is a fantastic light.
> >>
> >
> > The Planet Bike 1W Luxeon light has a spec of 30 hr on 4AA. Simple math
> > says that this light @100 hr & 2AA will be 1/6 as bright, all things being
> > equal. Given the relative performance of LEDs on the market today, all
> > things will probably be equal.
> >
> > Many people have reported on the 1W light as being barely adequate as a
> > "seeing" (as opposed to "be seen") light, it's hard to believe a light of
> > 1/6 the output would be close to adequate.
>
> I suspect cenorthamerica is engaging in buzz marketing. When I read the
> post, I hear advertising copy, not somebody describing their own experience.
> I also think it's possible that ED, the 2nd poster who chimed in with
> agreement, is the same person.
>
> I might be wrong. This is just how it sounds to me.
>
> In a way, I liked it better in the old days when [email protected] would post
> "I found this great website! You have to see the great deals at the
> dipshit.com website!!!". It was crude, but transparent enough to almost
> count as honest.

 

[Bill Baka]

[email protected] wrote:
> Mike,
> You are wrong. I am not marketing. I am just sharing my good experience
> with this inexpensive light. I am surprised that it lights so well
> after reading all the other opinions on LED lights. This light is not
> one that lights up the whole road. It just provides enough light so you
> can see the road for potholes, tree branches, animals, etc.. Planet
> Bike claims you get up to 100 hours on two AA batteries. I will find
> out if this is true. If it is it's a great bargain.
>
>
<big snip>
I have been researching super bright LEDs and electronic circuits to
drive them, even dim them, and they can be used to run the leds, up to 2
watts each up to full power and suck the batteries dead dry. No dimming
until the lights go out. No nobody makes electronic controlled LED
arrays for bikes but they are common in cars and in traffic lights these
days, but the electronics adds about $20 to the light assembly. I could
build a prototype but it would have a battery and electronics box
mounted somewhere on the frame. I can provide links for the doubters but
not at 3:45 A.M. my time.
Bill

 

[SMS]

Bill Baka wrote:

> I have been researching super bright LEDs and electronic circuits to
> drive them, even dim them, and they can be used to run the leds, up to 2
> watts each up to full power and suck the batteries dead dry. No dimming
> until the lights go out. No nobody makes electronic controlled LED
> arrays for bikes but they are common in cars and in traffic lights these
> days,

Yes, LEDs work fine for "being seen lights" as used in rear brake
lights, or for traffic lights.

Except for a couple of extremely expensive high wattage Luxeon based LED
lights, the low end LED bicycle lights are good for an auxiliary light,
or for slow riding on familiar streets. Even a 3W dynamo light is far
better than the LED light that the original poster is promoting.

The problem with a circuit to control them, is that even though an
efficiency of 90% is do-able, on a bicycle, a lot of people will find it
unacceptable to lose 10% of the battery power.

The PWM light bulb regulators are pretty ingenious with very high
efficiency. You should be able to adapt this pretty easily.

 

[Bill Baka]

SMS wrote:
> Bill Baka wrote:
>
>> I have been researching super bright LEDs and electronic circuits to
>> drive them, even dim them, and they can be used to run the leds, up to
>> 2 watts each up to full power and suck the batteries dead dry. No
>> dimming until the lights go out. No nobody makes electronic controlled
>> LED arrays for bikes but they are common in cars and in traffic lights
>> these days,
>
>
> Yes, LEDs work fine for "being seen lights" as used in rear brake
> lights, or for traffic lights.
>
> Except for a couple of extremely expensive high wattage Luxeon based LED
> lights, the low end LED bicycle lights are good for an auxiliary light,
> or for slow riding on familiar streets. Even a 3W dynamo light is far
> better than the LED light that the original poster is promoting.
>
> The problem with a circuit to control them, is that even though an
> efficiency of 90% is do-able, on a bicycle, a lot of people will find it
> unacceptable to lose 10% of the battery power.
>
> The PWM light bulb regulators are pretty ingenious with very high
> efficiency. You should be able to adapt this pretty easily.

As I stated before, I am an engineer and could easily build a circuit,
but it would most likely be big enough to need a small box to hold all
the parts. What I would not do is even begin to try to build a box to
control a Mercury vapor or Sodium vapor light. I have never seen one
below about 75 watts and the lumens they put out are insane. Could you
see a bike blinding all the cars with a half mile visibility?
It would sure turn the tables but I would need a serious Lithium battery
pack.
Bill

 

[[email protected]]

This isn'y my first LED and I'm not a shill for PlanetBike.