Lumicycles!

I said:

Good news: Goods received in less than 24 hours of ordering.

Quoted message said:

Bad news: One of the two lamps is broken!!!!

Clarification: It's just the bulb that's broken. The "bulb" is encased
in a sort of bulb holder complete with reflector and lens (for those who
don't know MR11 type bulbs).

~PB

Pete Biggs said:

Anyway, everything else seems ok and the over-volted 12W spot halogen
looks fantastic -- and that's just from trying it at home in daylight! Of
course I'll send the broken lamp back for a replacement but won't stop me
having some fun with the other one in the meantime. I'm heading out into
the sticks tonight even if it's pissing down... well, maybe tomorrow then
:-)

~PB

So what is the runtime for the system, and what did it cost?

--
Brian

Brian said:

So what is the runtime for the system, and what did it cost?

There are lots of options, with prices from £127. Details:
www.lumicycle.co.uk

Li-Ion + 5W + 12W (halogens) + postage = £232.

The Li-Ion and NiMh batteries provide the same run times. 5W: 8.5 hours,
10W: 5 hours, 12W: 3.8 hours, 5 + 12W: ~2.6 hours, 20W: 2.2 hours, 35W:
1.2 hours.

I went for a spin tonight: found some unlit lanes and I'm well pleased with
the performance so far, except a 20W bulb would have been more fun (I'll get
one sometime). More details another time

~PB

Pete Biggs said:

Brian said:

So what is the runtime for the system, and what did it cost?

There are lots of options, with prices from £127. Details:
www.lumicycle.co.uk

Li-Ion + 5W + 12W (halogens) + postage = £232.

The Li-Ion and NiMh batteries provide the same run times. 5W: 8.5 hours,
10W: 5 hours, 12W: 3.8 hours, 5 + 12W: ~2.6 hours, 20W: 2.2 hours, 35W:
1.2 hours.

I went for a spin tonight: found some unlit lanes and I'm well pleased with
the performance so far, except a 20W bulb would have been more fun (I'll get
one sometime). More details another time

~PB

I find the 20W flood fairly disappointing as the light is spread a bit
thin. I'm going to try a second spot.
Cheers
Graham

Graham Bowers (Zen) said:

I find the 20W flood fairly disappointing as the light is spread a bit
thin. I'm going to try a second spot.

Before ordering my Lumicycles a couple of years ago, I searched usenet
and www for opinions. I found 2 or 3 people (including Myra, which made
me sit and and take notice) saying that the 20W flood lights up the
trees a bit too much, while the 20W spot puts out enough light to work
as a perfectly good flood.

I compromised and ordered the 20W mid. I think the spot would probably
have been better, and I shall probably order one this year (I'm waiting
for a quote for a recumbent loom before placing the order).

--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

Graham Bowers (Zen) said:

I find the 20W flood fairly disappointing as the light is spread a bit
thin. I'm going to try a second spot.

Me too.

I now have a 12W 7 degree with gow-ring as the 'default' light that's
on all the time, and a 35 W 10 degree (not from lumicycle) that's off
most of the time, but available if I want a bit more light. I quite
like this combination.

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

Danny Colyer said:

Graham Bowers (Zen) said:

I find the 20W flood fairly disappointing as the light is spread a
bit thin. I'm going to try a second spot.

Before ordering my Lumicycles a couple of years ago, I searched usenet
and www for opinions. I found 2 or 3 people (including Myra, which
made me sit and and take notice) saying that the 20W flood lights up
the trees a bit too much, while the 20W spot puts out enough light to
work as a perfectly good flood.

I compromised and ordered the 20W mid. I think the spot would
probably have been better, and I shall probably order one this year
(I'm waiting for a quote for a recumbent loom before placing the
order).

I've been looking into lighting options recently. I've been thingy of
dropping a hint to Santa that this
<http://www.parker-international.co.uk/ProductDetails/mcs/productID/2945/groupID/1/categoryID/11/v/41c5fab1-0174-45fb-81ba-3c8e073976c5> might fit quite well in my Xmas stocking.

It's got different power modes, as well as an adjustable focus. I'm
thinking about something I could use both on my road bike and for some
off-roading (my commuting bike already has SON + B&M lamps).

Anyone tried one of these?

You really need a 20W spot for fast riding probably combined with a
weaker flood pointed down for off-roading
unless you buy arc lamp which is powerful enough to do both jobs.
"Brian" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Pete Biggs said:

Brian said:

So what is the runtime for the system, and what did it cost?

There are lots of options, with prices from £127. Details:
www.lumicycle.co.uk

Hmmm, a bit too expensive!

I think I'm going to opt for these instead:

http://www.cygolite.com/light/products/10RoverNiCad.htm

# 16W dual beam halogen headlight
# 3 beam patterns
(6w wide, 10w narrow, 16w combined)
# Extended 6 hour run time
# Battery low L.E.D. indicator
# Exclusive high beam pitch for better road coverage
# Side-to-Side swivel for excellent peripheral vision
# Sleek, low profile, tough thermo-plastic casing
# Quick release mount

£65

--
Brian

Pat [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

You really need a 20W spot for fast riding probably combined with a
weaker flood pointed down for off-roading
unless you buy arc lamp which is powerful enough to do both jobs.

My old 10W halogen used to be fine for 30-35mph descents of the local
hills. To get enough light to be happy about going faster would have
involved some _serious_ equipment. Maybe some floods and a gennie by the
side of the road!

Jon

Pete Biggs said:

Brian said:

So what is the runtime for the system, and what did it cost?

There are lots of options, with prices from £127. Details:
www.lumicycle.co.uk

Hmmm, a bit too expensive!

I think I'm going to opt for these instead:

http://www.cygolite.com/light/products/10RoverNiCad.htm

# 16W dual beam halogen headlight
# 3 beam patterns
(6w wide, 10w narrow, 16w combined)
# Extended 6 hour run time
# Battery low L.E.D. indicator
# Exclusive high beam pitch for better road coverage
# Side-to-Side swivel for excellent peripheral vision
# Sleek, low profile, tough thermo-plastic casing
# Quick release mount

£65

--
Brian

Brian [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

Perhaps bike lighting industry is somewhat like the mineral water industry
Convince people they need extra high power lights, so people will buy
extra high power lights, thus making a bigger market for extra high
powered lights (like the mineral water industry convinces people they
must drink 6litres of mineral water a day to be healthy etc).

"Mineral water can aid slimming as part of a calorie controlled diet".
Seen on the side of a bottle of mineral water once.

Quoted message said:

Just my honest opinion, of course, not meant as flame bait!

I think that there is a certain amount of this. I'd rather see efforts
concentrated on efficiency and thus burn time rather that attempting to
ignite trees from 30 paces!

Jon

in message <[email hidden]>, Brian

(') said:

Jon Senior said:

Pat [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

You really need a 20W spot for fast riding probably combined with a
weaker flood pointed down for off-roading
unless you buy arc lamp which is powerful enough to do both jobs.

My old 10W halogen used to be fine for 30-35mph descents of the local
hills. To get enough light to be happy about going faster would have
involved some _serious_ equipment. Maybe some floods and a gennie by
the side of the road!

Perhaps bike lighting industry is somewhat like the mineral water
industry Convince people they need extra high power lights, so people
will buy extra high power lights, thus making a bigger market for
extra high powered lights (like the mineral water industry convinces
people they must drink 6litres of mineral water a day to be healthy
etc).

'Tis true. When we didn't have them, we didn't need them, and I remain
convinced a dynamo is better for road use. The only reason it isn't
better for off road use is that off-road you tend to need most light
when you're going slowest.

Mind you, having been given my Lumicycles for off-road use I have to
confess I now also use them on the road.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

'Victories are not solutions.'
;; John Hume, Northern Irish politician, on Radio Scotland 1/2/95
;; Nobel Peace Prize laureate 1998; few have deserved it so much

Jon Senior said:

Pat [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

You really need a 20W spot for fast riding probably combined with a
weaker flood pointed down for off-roading
unless you buy arc lamp which is powerful enough to do both jobs.

My old 10W halogen used to be fine for 30-35mph descents of the local
hills. To get enough light to be happy about going faster would have
involved some _serious_ equipment. Maybe some floods and a gennie by the
side of the road!

Jon

Perhaps bike lighting industry is somewhat like the mineral water industry
Convince people they need extra high power lights, so people will buy
extra high power lights, thus making a bigger market for extra high
powered lights (like the mineral water industry convinces people they
must drink 6litres of mineral water a day to be healthy etc).

Just my honest opinion, of course, not meant as flame bait!

--
Brian

Brian said:

Perhaps bike lighting industry is somewhat like the mineral water
industry Convince people they need extra high power lights, so people
will buy extra high power lights, thus making a bigger market for
extra high powered lights (like the mineral water industry convinces
people they must drink 6litres of mineral water a day to be healthy
etc).

There may be some truth in that but it's not just about what's "needed". I
didn't *need* brighter lights than I had last night, to get from A to B, but
it would have been even more enjoyable to have even more power.

~PB

IIRC Simon/Juliette commented some time ago on how cars mistook their lumicycles for car/motorcycle lights because they were so bright. Were those "ordinary" lumicycles or HID ones?

in message <[email hidden]>,
KakenBetaal ([email hidden]'😉

Quoted message said:

IIRC Simon/Juliette commented some time ago on how cars mistook their
lumicycles for car/motorcycle lights because they were so bright.
Were those "ordinary" lumicycles or HID ones?

Ordinary.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

my other car is #<Subr-Car: #5d480>
;; This joke is not funny in emacs.

KakenBetaal <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

IIRC Simon/Juliette commented some time ago on how cars mistook their
lumicycles for car/motorcycle lights because they were so bright. Were
those "ordinary" lumicycles or HID ones?

I frequently find some drivers mistake my 10w light for a motorbike
light judging by drivers emerging from give ways sitting where they
are when I am still a long way back. Given the number of cyclists -
even commuters - who use inadequate lights it is not surprising a
bright single light has this effect.
Iain

"Ian Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Graham Bowers (Zen) said:

I find the 20W flood fairly disappointing as the light is spread a bit
thin. I'm going to try a second spot.

Me too.

I now have a 12W 7 degree with gow-ring as the 'default' light that's
on all the time, and a 35 W 10 degree (not from lumicycle) that's off
most of the time, but available if I want a bit more light. I quite
like this combination.

I always thought that the glow ring would go into your eyes and put you off.

elyob said:

I always thought that the glow ring would go into your eyes and put you off.

It does for me. I tried it for one ride home, hated it and took it off.

James
--
If I have seen further than others, it is
by treading on the toes of giants.
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/julesandjames/home/