NiteRider MiNewt Review



P

Paul Hobson

Guest
The original thread expired on my servers so...

It's *fantastic*

I illuminates the road very well in areas that are already lit, and it's
incredible. What I can't believe is how light it is. I friend let me
borrow his old helmet light once when were in a bind. His battery felt
like it was as heavy as a laptop charger. the MiNewt's batter doesn't
seem much heavier than a normal replaceable battery powered LED.

I've very happy with it and don't know how I got by so long without I
decent head like (I was using a cheap Cateye opticube type thing).

\\paul
--
Paul M. Hobson
Georgia Institute of Technology
..:change the f to ph to reply:.

ps. I'm back on the bike for now. I've an MRI Wednesday, but I'll
definitely be having surgery on my wrist with in the next 6 months.
 
Paul Hobson wrote:
:: The original thread expired on my servers so...
::
:: It's *fantastic*
::
:: I illuminates the road very well in areas that are already lit, and
:: it's incredible. What I can't believe is how light it is. I friend
:: let me borrow his old helmet light once when were in a bind. His
:: battery felt like it was as heavy as a laptop charger. the MiNewt's
:: batter doesn't seem much heavier than a normal replaceable battery
:: powered LED.
::
:: I've very happy with it and don't know how I got by so long without I
:: decent head like (I was using a cheap Cateye opticube type thing).
::

I saw this in the LBS yesterday. Are you saying that this little thing will
provide enough light to see on a well lit road or on a dark road? The
battery pack is indeed small as it the light itself. I could not tell
inside the store if it was really useful or not.
 
Paul Hobson wrote:
> The original thread expired on my servers so...
>
> It's *fantastic*
>
> I illuminates the road very well in areas that are already lit, and it's
> incredible. What I can't believe is how light it is. I friend let me
> borrow his old helmet light once when were in a bind. His battery felt
> like it was as heavy as a laptop charger. the MiNewt's batter doesn't
> seem much heavier than a normal replaceable battery powered LED.
>
> I've very happy with it and don't know how I got by so long without I
> decent head like (I was using a cheap Cateye opticube type thing).
>
> \\paul
> --
> Paul M. Hobson
> Georgia Institute of Technology
> .:change the f to ph to reply:.
>
> ps. I'm back on the bike for now. I've an MRI Wednesday, but I'll
> definitely be having surgery on my wrist with in the next 6 months.

In my experience, it's not Niterider product but their crappy customer
support. After sending a unit back, and being accused of lying about
what I put in the box, I don't think I'll be buying any NR stuff for me
or the shop.
 
Roger Zoul wrote:
> Paul Hobson wrote:
> :: The original thread expired on my servers so...
> ::
> :: It's *fantastic*
> ::
> :: I illuminates the road very well in areas that are already lit, and
> :: it's incredible. What I can't believe is how light it is. I friend
> :: let me borrow his old helmet light once when were in a bind. His
> :: battery felt like it was as heavy as a laptop charger. the MiNewt's
> :: batter doesn't seem much heavier than a normal replaceable battery
> :: powered LED.
> ::
> :: I've very happy with it and don't know how I got by so long without I
> :: decent head like (I was using a cheap Cateye opticube type thing).
> ::
>
> I saw this in the LBS yesterday. Are you saying that this little thing will
> provide enough light to see on a well lit road or on a dark road?

Both. It lights up a dark road more than I thought was possible (given
my previous lighting situation). And, the beam is powerful enough to
show up on roads that are already well lit.

Does that make sense?

> The
> battery pack is indeed small as it the light itself. I could not tell
> inside the store if it was really useful or not.

I'm quite pleased with it.
\\paul
 
Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:

>
> In my experience, it's not Niterider product but their crappy customer
> support. After sending a unit back, and being accused of lying about
> what I put in the box, I don't think I'll be buying any NR stuff for me
> or the shop.

Personally, I've had nothing but great service from Niterider. They've
popped a few parts in the mail gratis when i e-mailed them about a
failure, no questions asked.

Too bad about your experience,
Cheers,
Michael Davis
 
Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:

> In my experience, it's not Niterider product but their crappy customer
> support. After sending a unit back, and being accused of lying about
> what I put in the box, I don't think I'll be buying any NR stuff for
> me or the shop.

Agree wholeheartedly. I spent what to me at the time was a small fortune on
lights and an extra battery for mountain biking, and when they began to fail
barely a year later I took them to NR right here in SD. After a rude
reception, "NR Dave" apparently solved my problems with an upgraded chip in
the head unit. That was great until BOTH batteries died completely within a
few uses after that. (Just a "coincidence" they told me.)

The frustrating part is hearing people gush about their customer service.
Sure hasn't been my experience at all. (I did later get a deal on a HID
that's been trouble-free, although the bar mount design is flat-out
dangerous in that it can pop open way too easily. I zip-tie it shut as a
precaution.)
 
On Tue, 21 Nov 2006 06:19:55 -0800, Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:

> In my experience, it's not Niterider product but their crappy customer
> support. After sending a unit back, and being accused of lying about
> what I put in the box, I don't think I'll be buying any NR stuff for me
> or the shop.

My one experience with Niterider support was considerably different. I
took the malfunctioning light back to a shop (different one from the one
where I bought it, seeing as how that one burned down), and the bad
connection was fixed reasonably quickly and at no charge.

OTOH they no longer make the battery pack -- and no one else makes it
either, so it did not do me a whole lot of good in the long run.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | A mathematician is a machine for turning coffee into theorems.
_`\(,_ | -- Paul Erdos
(_)/ (_) |
 
David L. Johnson wrote:
> On Tue, 21 Nov 2006 06:19:55 -0800, Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:
>
>
>>In my experience, it's not Niterider product but their crappy customer
>>support. After sending a unit back, and being accused of lying about
>>what I put in the box, I don't think I'll be buying any NR stuff for me
>>or the shop.
>
>
> My one experience with Niterider support was considerably different. I
> took the malfunctioning light back to a shop (different one from the one
> where I bought it, seeing as how that one burned down), and the bad
> connection was fixed reasonably quickly and at no charge.
>
> OTOH they no longer make the battery pack -- and no one else makes it
> either, so it did not do me a whole lot of good in the long run.

I had a couple NR TrailRat 10W lights. Small with a decent battery
and good optics.

However the lights failed twice. I'd send them back to NR and they'd
be generally fine about repairing/replacing the light and getting it
back to me in a couple weeks. No problems.

But when the third failure occurred, I pretty much washed my hands
of NR lights. Used the last remaining light for a few months before
it too failed, and I was NR free.


SMH
 

> The original thread expired on my servers so...
>
> It's *fantastic*
>
> I illuminates the road very well in areas that are already lit, and it's
> incredible. What I can't believe is how light it is. I friend let me
> borrow his old helmet light once when were in a bind. His battery felt
> like it was as heavy as a laptop charger. the MiNewt's batter doesn't
> seem much heavier than a normal replaceable battery powered LED.
>
> I've very happy with it and don't know how I got by so long without I
> decent head like (I was using a cheap Cateye opticube type thing).
>

I own a NiteRider HID Storm which I infrequently use on the bike. The
battery (I have the flat one) is heavy, cumbersome and nowhere to put
on the bike. Also, the light sometimes refuses to turn on.
Brightness-wise it's almost as bright as the car's lights. Drivers
sometimes complain (they get the finger). But I am looking for smth
lighter and hopefully not much dimmer.

>From the review above, and from the NR website it is stil not clear:

- hw the bright the thing is. Need numbers here, not just "gee, this
thing is bright". Compared to a $30 cateye everything is bright.

- how the battery is mounted.

BTW 6 hrs lifetime for an LED is not that fantastic. a 40W HID lStorm
lasts 4 hrs.
 
Bill Sornson wrote:
> Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:
>
> > In my experience, it's not Niterider product but their crappy customer
> > support. After sending a unit back, and being accused of lying about
> > what I put in the box, I don't think I'll be buying any NR stuff for
> > me or the shop.
>
> Agree wholeheartedly. I spent what to me at the time was a small fortune on
> lights and an extra battery for mountain biking, and when they began to fail
> barely a year later I took them to NR right here in SD. After a rude
> reception, "NR Dave" apparently solved my problems with an upgraded chip in
> the head unit. That was great until BOTH batteries died completely within a
> few uses after that. (Just a "coincidence" they told me.)
>
> The frustrating part is hearing people gush about their customer service.

The times I dealt with NiteRider customer service back in the late
1990s was terrific. I wish all companies had even half as good a
customer service as NiteRider. At the time I dealt with them, they had
awesome customer service. Fantastic.

On RoadBikeReview or MTBReview I wrote my review of the NiteRider
Digital HeadTrip unit. It had that common failure of going to the dim
3 watt mode whenever it was cold after only a few minutes. Even with a
100% charged battery. Chip was too sensitive or something. NiteRider
read my review and emailed me and had me send in the head unit to them
for an overhaul. I think I also complained about the battery pack not
lasting very long so they sent me a free battery pack. I also
complained about one of the lights on my other non digital HeadTrip or
non digital handlebar mounted unit being very dim. So they sent me a
new 15 watt MR12 halogen bulb. Even asked if I wanted flood or spot.
And I ended up with a free 15 watt head unit because their chip fix did
not work and I sent the Digital unit back a second time and they gave
me a basic On/Off head unit to use instead of the never really fixed
Digital. Great customer service.

Unfortunately, I'm not as happy with their products. As stated, the
fix to the chip so the Digital HeadTrip would not turn to dim after a
few minutes did not solve the problem even after two attempts by
NiteRider. So I don't use the Digital light head. And I would not buy
anything from NiteRider that is Digital controlled. So no HID from
NiteRider since I think the HID units are all digital of some sort or
another. The basic light heads, On/Off, work great. The battery packs
don't seem to last that long either. I use their NiMH flat 6.0 volt
packs. 3800 MAh. I had a few fail a little too early in my opinion.
But its $40 to buy a good replacement pack of batteries that fit
perfectly into the NiteRider case. And a friend just bought a
NiteRider HeadTrip 10 watt unit for $72 from Performance Bike. $90
sale price less 20% coupon. But the charger stopped working after 10
or so charges.

NiteRider. Great, great, great customer service in my experience.
Some/Many/Most poor products. Unfortunately, I'm a firm believer in
the best customer service being the one you never have to use. The
product trumps service.


> Sure hasn't been my experience at all. (I did later get a deal on a HID
> that's been trouble-free, although the bar mount design is flat-out
> dangerous in that it can pop open way too easily. I zip-tie it shut as a
> precaution.)
 
[email protected] writes:

> The battery packs don't seem to last that long either. I use
> their NiMH flat 6.0 volt packs. 3800 MAh. I had a few fail a
> little too early in my opinion.

I had a NiteRider battery pack fail after only a few uses. I
took it apart and figured out that the batteries were fine;
instead, the problem was that a connecting wire had broken. I
ended up building my own battery pack from NiMH AA batteries.
Cheaper and repairable.
--
Ben Pfaff
email: [email protected]
web: http://benpfaff.org
 
Ben Pfaff wrote:
> [email protected] writes:
>
>> The battery packs don't seem to last that long either. I use
>> their NiMH flat 6.0 volt packs. 3800 MAh. I had a few fail a
>> little too early in my opinion.
>
> I had a NiteRider battery pack fail after only a few uses. I
> took it apart and figured out that the batteries were fine;
> instead, the problem was that a connecting wire had broken. I
> ended up building my own battery pack from NiMH AA batteries.
> Cheaper and repairable.

Wow, all these **** reviews of NiteRider. I have a 10/20W NightSun from
1991, the lamps have still not burnt out and the battery still lasts for
2 hours when running on 10W. They tried to convince me to buy a new
battery when I bought a cable from them a couple of years ago, I had
lost my extender and their connectors are proprietary, but I told them
I'll buy a battery when the current one fails.

Greg

--
"All my time I spent in heaven
Revelries of dance and wine
Waking to the sound of laughter
Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons
 
"Ben Pfaff" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> [email protected] writes:
>
>> The battery packs don't seem to last that long either. I use
>> their NiMH flat 6.0 volt packs. 3800 MAh. I had a few fail a
>> little too early in my opinion.
>
> I had a NiteRider battery pack fail after only a few uses. I
> took it apart and figured out that the batteries were fine;
> instead, the problem was that a connecting wire had broken. I
> ended up building my own battery pack from NiMH AA batteries.
> Cheaper and repairable.
> --
> Ben Pfaff
> email: [email protected]
> web: http://benpfaff.org

How did you do that?
 
I only point the light on the drivers when they blind me with their
lights. So we are even. And it draws their attention. I never point the
light on other cyclists/pedestrians.

[email protected] wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
> >
> > Brightness-wise it's almost as bright as the car's lights. Drivers
> > sometimes complain (they get the finger).
>
> Your light shouldn't blind other road users.
>
> - Frank Krygowski
 
"nash" <[email protected]> writes:

> "Ben Pfaff" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> [email protected] writes:
>>
>>> The battery packs don't seem to last that long either. I use
>>> their NiMH flat 6.0 volt packs. 3800 MAh. I had a few fail a
>>> little too early in my opinion.
>>
>> I had a NiteRider battery pack fail after only a few uses. I
>> took it apart and figured out that the batteries were fine;
>> instead, the problem was that a connecting wire had broken. I
>> ended up building my own battery pack from NiMH AA batteries.
>> Cheaper and repairable.
>
> How did you do that?

I started by throwing out the battery pack and connection cable.
Then I cut off the proprietary connector on the head unit. I
then soldered on a standard RCA phono connector. Then I bought a
6-AA battery holder and soldered a jumper wire across one of the
battery slots (because I couldn't find a 5-AA battery holder).
Then I soldered an RCA phono connector to the output terminals of
the battery holder. I use cheap speaker wire with RCA phono plug
ends to connect them. (Avoid audio line-level wiring, which
isn't rated for high enough current.)

I'm not very good at soldering, so this was a considerable amount
of effort, but I eventually got it done to my satisfaction. The
total cost in components is under $10: phono connectors are about
$.50 each, the battery holder is about $3, the speaker wire is
maybe $4 or $5.

The batteries and battery charger are more expensive, but you can
use them with any electronic device that takes AAs. I use
Duracell 2650 mA-h batteries in the pack. They last over an hour
with my 10 W head unit, which is long enough for my commute. I
use a high-end NiMH battery charger (Maha MH-C808M) but that's
probably overkill.
--
Ben Pfaff
email: [email protected]
web: http://benpfaff.org
 
[email protected] wrote:
> I only point the light on the drivers when they blind me with their
> lights. So we are even. And it draws their attention. I never point the
> light on other cyclists/pedestrians.
>
>
Ahh yes. The two wrongs make a right argument.
 
On Wed, 22 Nov 2006 11:06:15 -0800, G.T. wrote:

> Wow, all these **** reviews of NiteRider.

Niterider sold a lot of lights.

> I have a 10/20W NightSun from
> 1991, the lamps have still not burnt out and the battery still lasts for
> 2 hours when running on 10W. They tried to convince me to buy a new
> battery when I bought a cable from them a couple of years ago, I had
> lost my extender and their connectors are proprietary, but I told them
> I'll buy a battery when the current one fails.

Older Nightsuns use standard Molex-style connectors, which you can get at
Fry's.

If you don't have any luck there, I may still have a few.

Matt O.
 
> [email protected] wrote:

>> [email protected] wrote:

>> > Brightness-wise it's almost as bright as the car's lights. Drivers
>> > sometimes complain (they get the finger).

>> Your light shouldn't blind other road users.

Theirs shouldn't blind me either.

On Wed, 22 Nov 2006 11:08:47 -0800, [email protected] wrote:

> I only point the light on the drivers when they blind me with their
> lights. So we are even. And it draws their attention. I never point the
> light on other cyclists/pedestrians.

Ditto. I like helmet lights because I can get drivers' attention
(especially the drunk ones, for whom driving on 1.5 lane residential
streets with their high beams on is a dead giveaway).

VA Tech students/staff driving around drunk? Nah, never...

Matt O.
 
G.T. wrote:
> Ben Pfaff wrote:
> > [email protected] writes:
> >
> >> The battery packs don't seem to last that long either. I use
> >> their NiMH flat 6.0 volt packs. 3800 MAh. I had a few fail a
> >> little too early in my opinion.
> >
> > I had a NiteRider battery pack fail after only a few uses. I
> > took it apart and figured out that the batteries were fine;
> > instead, the problem was that a connecting wire had broken. I
> > ended up building my own battery pack from NiMH AA batteries.
> > Cheaper and repairable.
>
> Wow, all these **** reviews of NiteRider. I have a 10/20W NightSun from
> 1991, the lamps have still not burnt out and the battery still lasts for
> 2 hours when running on 10W. They tried to convince me to buy a new
> battery when I bought a cable from them a couple of years ago, I had
> lost my extender and their connectors are proprietary, but I told them
> I'll buy a battery when the current one fails.

As already mentioned, NiteRider sold, sells, a lot of lights. Far
easier to get negative reviews if there is a huge population to draw
upon. Is Night Sun still in business? As for why your battery is
still working, I bet its a different type of battery. The failed
NiteRider batteries are NiMH. Yours is probably SLA or NiCad. NiMH is
far more delicate than SLA or NiCad. But that disadvantage comes with
the advantages of being lighter, higher MiAH capacity, smaller. So
with NiMH batteries its easy and common to make them light and small
enough to put in a jersey pocket and use with a helmet light. There
are very few SLA or NiCad batteries sold with helmet mount lights.



>
> Greg
>
> --
> "All my time I spent in heaven
> Revelries of dance and wine
> Waking to the sound of laughter
> Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons
 
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