Front light bulbs - LED vs. halogen vs. krypton vs. xenon...

[Anthony Jones]

Günther Schwarz wrote:
> Anthony Jones wrote:
>> [Cateye HL-EL500G]

Unfortunately we were talking about the EL500, not the EL500G. I'd
previously mentioned in this thread that the EL500G was regulated, but also
that I'd never seen them for sale here.

The Cateye website claims a runtime of 8-10 hours for the EL500G, but 30
hours for the EL500:

http://www.cateye.com/de/product_detail/155
http://www.cateye.com/sites/cateye/upload/product_charts/battery_headlights_chart.html

The longer runtime figures for the British EL500 would suggest that it is
*not* regulated.

Anthony

 

[=?ISO-8859-1?Q?G=FCnther?= Schwarz]

Anthony Jones wrote:

> Günther Schwarz wrote:
>> Anthony Jones wrote:
>>> [Cateye HL-EL500G]
>
> Unfortunately we were talking about the EL500, not the EL500G.

It might be of interest to complement Andreas' figures with a voltage
vs. current curve of the international version.

> I'd
> previously mentioned in this thread that the EL500G was regulated, but
> also that I'd never seen them for sale here.

I assume that you are in Britain, so you might profit from the common
market. It works quite well the other way: from time to time a will get
a hard to find part from the UK.

> The Cateye website claims a runtime of 8-10 hours for the EL500G, but
> 30 hours for the EL500:
>
> http://www.cateye.com/de/product_detail/155
>
http://www.cateye.com/sites/cateye/upload/product_charts/battery_headlights_chart.html
>
> The longer runtime figures for the British EL500 would suggest that it
> is *not* regulated.

Yes indeed. The 30 hours are also kind of a misinformation as long as
they do not specify what they consider as sufficient brightness of the
light.

Günther

 

[Zak Ventis]

In message <[email protected]>,
Anthony Jones <[email protected]> writes
>Günther Schwarz wrote:
>> Anthony Jones wrote:
>>> [Cateye HL-EL500G]
I've just bought an EL530 and will keep a runtime record with the
provided batteries. Amazingly bright compared to my 1W Smart but am
disappointed with the beam pattern which very pencil-like.
--
Chris

 

[bcc97]

Would it be feasible to buy an MR11/MR16 halogen setup and then to
replace the bulbs with LED MR11/MR16 to get increased running times
with reasonable brightness? I assume that the single LED MR bulbs
would be more suitable than the cluster ones (and I haven't seen any
single LED MR11s anywhere as yet).

Otherwise, I'm also considering the EL530 for commuting -- roads both
lit and unlit, and off-road lit and unlit (but on a good surface).

 

[Pete Biggs]

bcc97 wrote:
> Would it be feasible to buy an MR11/MR16 halogen setup and then to
> replace the bulbs with LED MR11/MR16 to get increased running times
> with reasonable brightness?

As well as the brightness, you should check whether the beam angle, pattern
and colour will be reasonable.

I bet the beam is rubbish compared to a 5W halogen MR11's.

~PB

 

[Anthony Jones]

bcc97 wrote:
> Would it be feasible to buy an MR11/MR16 halogen setup and then to
> replace the bulbs with LED MR11/MR16

Probably, although I believe the LED versions are sometimes slightly
different shape, so they may not always fit.

> to get increased running times
> with reasonable brightness?

You will sacrifice brightness for increased run times, and with the reduced
brightness I suspect you'll struggle to find a 'bulb' with a tight enough
beam to be much use for seeing on unlit roads. Personally, I wouldn't
bother.

> I assume that the single LED MR bulbs
> would be more suitable than the cluster ones (and I haven't seen any
> single LED MR11s anywhere as yet).

I don't think it's really possible to make that generalisation.

> Otherwise, I'm also considering the EL530 for commuting -- roads both
> lit and unlit, and off-road lit and unlit (but on a good surface).

I think any 1W LED is going to be marginal for off-road use, but this
obviously depends on the surface and speeds involved. If you want cheap and
useful off-road, halogen lights may be your best bet.

As for on road, I think you can do better than an EL530 at the price (see my
other posts here for details).

Anthony