Garrity Crank Flashlight: use on bike?

[Ablang]

It is currently on sale this week at Big 5 and sells on Amazon for ~
$10. It gets great reviews (currently 4.5 of 5 stars, 57 reviewers).

I was wondering if this could be modified for use on a bike at night?
Is the light strong enough for that?

 

[Doug McLaren]

In article <48717336-521d-4a0d-a023-3b9ab31c3c46@l42g2000hsc.googlegroups.com>,
Ablang <[email protected]> wrote:

| It is currently on sale this week at Big 5 and sells on Amazon for ~
| $10. It gets great reviews (currently 4.5 of 5 stars, 57 reviewers).
|
| I was wondering if this could be modified for use on a bike at night?
| Is the light strong enough for that?

Depends on what you mean by `strong enough for that'.

It would probably meet the legal requirement for a headlight that can
be seen at 500 or whatever feet. Would it help you see? A little,
perhaps, but I've never found these things to be very bright, even
when fully cranked. And then they only last a few minutes.

You aren't going to try and have the crank powered by the bicycle, are
you? It would be doable, but a whole lot of trouble -- lot more than
it's worth.

Get a LED light and power it with rechargable batteries. Though
alkalines aren't so bad -- they'll often power the smaller headlights
for 20 or so hours, and a taillight for over a hundred.

If you're on a tight budget, get something like these --

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.7671
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.10363
http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.905

The quality is generally low, but adequate. Your bike shop sells
better ones, but they probably want $20+ dollars for them. Avoid
anything that's not LED unless it's really expensive (over $100) and
comes with a big rechargable battery pack.

I'd also be reluctant to use any standard flashlight (like with 2 AA
batteries end to end, plus light) on a bike. You can buy adapters
that will mount them to your handlebars, and that works, but if
something goes wrong and it falls off, they might just fall into your
front tire and get stuck between spokes and fork, making your bike
stop immediately and probably doing a nice endo ending with you face
first in the concrete.

At least with these little lights, they're too small to get stuck in
the fork, and the mounting is usually a little less `hacked'.

Of course if you're serious about not dealing with batteries, you can
get a generator (either the old style bottle type that rubs the side
of the tire) or a new style hub one, but you're looking at a lot more
cost and a lot more trouble.

--
Doug McLaren, [email protected]
I can please only one person per day.
Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good, either.

 

[Frank Krygowski]

On Jun 23, 3:16 pm, "Doug McLaren" <dougmc
[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Of course if you're serious about not dealing with batteries, you can
> get a generator (either the old style bottle type that rubs the side
> of the tire) or a new style hub one, but you're looking at a lot more
> cost and a lot more trouble.

The "trouble" you get with a generator is the initial installation.
That is, you need to bolt it on, align it properly, bolt on the
headlight, and run the proper wires. Admittedly, some non-mechanical
people find that to be a challenge.

For a hub unit, you need to buy or build the wheel instead of bolting
the generator on. That's more trouble (and more expense), but lots of
people like the higher efficiency and 100% reliability of a hub
generator. It's the high-end solution.

After that initial installation, generators are literally no trouble
at all. They are always there when you need them, and they're about
as reliable as the headlights on your car. They're much less
"trouble" than battery lights.

- Frank Krygowski

 

[landotter]

On Jun 23, 3:06 pm, Frank Krygowski <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Jun 23, 3:16 pm, "Doug McLaren" <dougmc
>
> [email protected]> wrote:
>
> > Of course if you're serious about not dealing with batteries, you can
> > get a generator (either the old style bottle type that rubs the side
> > of the tire) or a new style hub one, but you're looking at a lot more
> > cost and a lot more trouble.
>
> The "trouble" you get with a generator is the initial installation.
> That is, you need to bolt it on, align it properly, bolt on the
> headlight, and run the proper wires.  Admittedly, some non-mechanical
> people find that to be a challenge.
>
> For a hub unit, you need to buy or build the wheel instead of bolting
> the generator on.  That's more trouble (and more expense), but lots of
> people like the higher efficiency and 100%  reliability of a hub
> generator.  It's the high-end solution.
>
> After that initial installation, generators are literally no trouble
> at all.  They are always there when you need them, and they're about
> as reliable as the headlights on your car.  They're much less
> "trouble" than battery lights.
>

Much less trouble?? I've got a 3 LED 3AA be-seen+ light epoxied to the
underside of my front Nitto-wannabe platform rack and a 3 Cateye LED
2AAA rear mounted to my rear rack. I reckon I need to swap out
batteries in one or the other about every 2-3 months or so. Costs a
buck for 4 batteries at the dollar shop. Headlight is strong enough to
illuminate unlit urban alleys. Never a burnt out bulb. No wires.
Running cost is $5/year.

 

[Frank Krygowski]

On Jun 23, 7:32 pm, landotter <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Jun 23, 3:06 pm, Frank Krygowski <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Jun 23, 3:16 pm, "Doug McLaren" <dougmc
>
> > [email protected]> wrote:
>
> > > Of course if you're serious about not dealing with batteries, you can
> > > get a generator (either the old style bottle type that rubs the side
> > > of the tire) or a new style hub one, but you're looking at a lot more
> > > cost and a lot more trouble.
>
> > The "trouble" you get with a generator is the initial installation.
> > That is, you need to bolt it on, align it properly, bolt on the
> > headlight, and run the proper wires. Admittedly, some non-mechanical
> > people find that to be a challenge.
>
> > For a hub unit, you need to buy or build the wheel instead of bolting
> > the generator on. That's more trouble (and more expense), but lots of
> > people like the higher efficiency and 100% reliability of a hub
> > generator. It's the high-end solution.
>
> > After that initial installation, generators are literally no trouble
> > at all. They are always there when you need them, and they're about
> > as reliable as the headlights on your car. They're much less
> > "trouble" than battery lights.
>
> Much less trouble?? I've got a 3 LED 3AA be-seen+ light epoxied to the
> underside of my front Nitto-wannabe platform rack and a 3 Cateye LED
> 2AAA rear mounted to my rear rack. I reckon I need to swap out
> batteries in one or the other about every 2-3 months or so. Costs a
> buck for 4 batteries at the dollar shop. Headlight is strong enough to
> illuminate unlit urban alleys. Never a burnt out bulb. No wires.
> Running cost is $5/year.

I guess it depends on the degree of illumination you're after.

Last year, a colleague at work was praising a double-A LED light he'd
bought, shining the beam in my eyes in the office and saying what a
wonderful bike headlight it would make.

Before he trusted it for a night commute, I loaned him a Cateye Micro
II, which is the only small battery light I consider roadworthy. When
he actually used them on the bike, he immediately saw the difference.
And my generator set does significantly better than that Micro II.

If all you want is to be seen under ideal conditions, an unfocused LED
powered by, say, a 6 Volt alkaline lantern battery will give no
trouble for many years, provided it stays attached to the bike. But
for good lighting of the road, no worry ever about batteries, and
maximum overall system reliability I prefer generators and headlights
that are bolted to the bike.

But YMMV, as do your riding conditions.

- Frank Krygowski

 

[Ablang]

Pedco UltraPod II Tripod $15
http://www.rei.com/product/777250

Pedco UltraClamp Camera Mount $24
http://www.rei.com/product/777251