Recomm. for a starter HID light system

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

Quoted message said:

I want to venture into night riding. Any recomms. for a HID light system that doesn't cost more
than my bike? I want at least the following...
- dual beam for bar mount
- smart charger I was checking out the Cygolite Explorer Nicad but they're not HID.

You don't necessarily need HID, the proper set up is just as effective as those stupidly bright
lights. We use a set of Niterider helmet mounts and a set of dual beam Vistalite bar mounts and we
still look like a pair of UFO's riding in the woods.

- CA-G

Can-Am Girls Kick Ass!

Quoted message said:

I want to venture into night riding. Any recomms. for a HID light system that doesn't cost more
than my bike?

Don´t know what your bike costs so I pass on that one.

Quoted message said:

I want at least the following...
- dual beam for bar mount

All HID lamps I have seen are single beam. We got Niterider Blowtorches. Splendid lights. In fact
they changed our lives as they are so powerfull that we managed to cycle through the Swedish winter
last year. Truly makes you independent of day light. Blowtorch HID is said to equal 40W halide.

There are also helmed mounted models. If you are going to ride you favourite trails that you know
well a bar mount is preferable. No weight on the head, light closer to the ground, if you are going
to ride in places you don´t know well a helmet mount may be better as you can search around for
forks in the path etc without lifting and turning the whole bike.

Quoted message said:

- smart charger

Niterider and Light and Motion.

Per user.tninet.seEnglish.htmlOpen ↗

NOTHING WRONG with Cygo Explorer. I have 2 sets,one metal case and one plastic. The metal cased set
is use every working day as I ride to work all year round. And the plastic incased gets used trail
only. These two set are on their own bikes to go with the style of riding. Then theres a Turbo Cat
on one bike I use during snow storms to get to work. Theres the HID Lighting on cars and trucks that
when facing you off in a distance it looks like a UFO coming at you and same goes for trail riding.
REALLY who needs those $400.00 and up lighting. UFO's, strange people, people that just have to keep
up with the Jone's ,and people look my lights are better then yours, cost me $500.00. NOW he's late
on the house and car payments.

Fire up MTB 03

Carla A-G said:

You don't necessarily need HID, the proper set up is just as effective as those stupidly bright
lights. We use a set of Niterider helmet mounts and a set of dual beam Vistalite bar mounts and we
still look like a pair of UFO's riding in the woods.

How long do they last? A Niterider HID is good for an honest 3 1/2 hours. I would also imagine that
each setup was pretty comparable in cost to an HID.

Barry

Thanks to all. I'll check out the Cygolites. I'll look at the Turbocats too, but they're also
up there...

--
- Zilla Cary, NC (Remove XSPAM)

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

Quoted message said:

NOTHING WRONG with Cygo Explorer. I have 2 sets,one metal case and one plastic.
The metal cased set is use every working day as I ride to work all year round. And
the plastic incased gets used trail only. These two set are on their own bikes to
go with the style of riding. Then theres a Turbo Cat on one bike I use during snow
storms to get to work. Theres the HID Lighting on cars and trucks that when facing
you off in a distance it looks like a UFO coming at you and same goes for trail
riding. REALLY who needs those $400.00 and up lighting. UFO's, strange people,
people that just have to keep up with the Jone's ,and people look my lights are
better then yours, cost me $500.00. NOW he's late on the house and car payments.

Fire up MTB 03

I saw a set of Vistalite Nightstick at pricepoint. Is this what you have?

Vistalite Nightstick Code 25 MSRP $250.00 Price Point $159.98

-Two 5w HOT Halogen headlight -One 15w HOT Halogen headlight -Three high-power NiHM Nightsticks
-Three Charges, Two remote switches, Helmet mount -5w=2.8 Hours, Two 5=1.4 hours, 15w=1 hour -Up to
6 hours of continuous illumination

--
- Zilla Cary, NC (Remove XSPAM)

"Carla A-G" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

I want to venture into night riding. Any recomms. for a HID light system that doesn't cost more
than my bike? I want at least the following...
- dual beam for bar mount
- smart charger I was checking out the Cygolite Explorer Nicad but they're not HID.

You don't necessarily need HID, the proper set up is just as effective as those stupidly bright
lights. We use a set of Niterider helmet mounts and

a

Quoted message said:

set of dual beam Vistalite bar mounts and we still look like a pair of

UFO's

Quoted message said:

riding in the woods.

- CA-G

Can-Am Girls Kick Ass!

"Carla A-G" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >

Quoted message said:

You don't necessarily need HID, the proper set up is just as effective as those stupidly bright
lights. We use a set of Niterider helmet mounts and

a

Quoted message said:

set of dual beam Vistalite bar mounts and we still look like a pair of

UFO's

Quoted message said:

riding in the woods.

You may think the HID lamps to be "stupidly bright" but I'll take my Niterider Storm helmet mount
over my previous multiple halogen light setup anyday. (That system was composed of a Vistalite 10
watt helmet mount coupled with two bar mounts: a Niterider NiteOwl 10 watt and Vistalite 15 watt.)
The Niterider Storm provides a much more consistent and broader light coverage than all those other
lights combined and lasts about twice as long without the need to charge multiple battery packs.
It's far lighter too.

I've since sold the Vistalite helmet mount to a friend. The other Vistalite head developed a crack
in an internal solder joint that I've yet to fix so it sees little use. I still regularly carry the
NiteOwl as a backup to the Storm when I'm out riding by myself at night and don't want to risk a
single light system crapping out on me for some reason.

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

Quoted message said:

NOTHING WRONG with Cygo Explorer. I have 2 sets,one metal case and one plastic.
The metal cased set is use every working day as I ride to work all year round. And
the plastic incased gets used trail only. These two set are on their own bikes to
go with the style of riding. Then theres a Turbo Cat on one bike I use during snow
storms to get to work. Theres the HID Lighting on cars and trucks that when facing
you off in a distance it looks like a UFO coming at you and same goes for trail
riding. REALLY who needs those $400.00 and up lighting. UFO's, strange people,
people that just have to keep up with the Jone's ,and people look my lights are
better then yours, cost me $500.00. NOW he's late on the house and car payments.

Fire up MTB 03

So have you ever actually ridden with an HID lamp or is your opinion just based on your rather
ignorant perceptions?

I may not NEED my Niterider Storm HID helmet mount but it certainly makes riding at night - both
off-road and on - safer and more fun. On the trail I get consistent and broad light coverage for
over three and a half hours straight. On the road, the brightness of the light definitely gets you
noticed and that's what it's all about at night. The "strangeness" of the light is useful because
drivers of motor vehicles will slow down considerably as they approach because they're unsure of
what you are. The brightness of the light coupled with the helmet mount is useful too because you
can "flash" vehicle drivers to make sure you're noticed.

By the way, my HID lamp cost me $273.00 out-the-door from a LBS.

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

Quoted message said:

I want to venture into night riding. Any recomms. for a HID light system that doesn't cost more
than my bike? I want at least the following...
- dual beam for bar mount
- smart charger I was checking out the Cygolite Explorer Nicad but they're not HID.

--
- Zilla Cary, NC (Remove XSPAM)

Check out Light and Motion lights. They have decent stuff in HID and Halogen versions with real
smart chargers.

Also check out Marwi lights. Their stuff is simple, rugged and some of the least expensive I've
seen. See the online catalog at www.aebike.com for further info on Marwi and other lights. (It lists
Cygo Lites including the Z force HID for $264.99.)

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

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

I want to venture into night riding. Any recomms. for a HID light system that doesn't cost more
than my bike? I want at least the following...
- dual beam for bar mount
- smart charger I was checking out the Cygolite Explorer Nicad but they're not HID.

--
- Zilla Cary, NC (Remove XSPAM)

Check out Light and Motion lights. They have decent stuff in HID and Halogen versions with real
smart chargers.

Also check out Marwi lights. Their stuff is simple, rugged and some of the least expensive I've
seen. See the online catalog at www.aebike.com for further info on Marwi and other lights. (It
lists Cygo Lites including the

Z

Quoted message said:

force HID for $264.99.)

Thanks for the link...

--
- Zilla Cary, NC (Remove XSPAM)

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

Quoted message said:

I want to venture into night riding. Any recomms. for a HID light system that doesn't cost more
than my bike? I want at least the following...
- dual beam for bar mount
- smart charger I was checking out the Cygolite Explorer Nicad but they're not HID.

--
- Zilla Cary, NC (Remove XSPAM)

Carry a backup if you use the HID system. It's new technology using a ballast to power up the
light. Reviews at the mtbr.com complain about relighting failures. That's exactly what happened to
someone I was riding with. He complained that it happened before, but got it to restart. This time
the light would not restart. I ended up loaning my backup which was a cheapy Cateye so that he
could finish the ride.

I have the 3 light Vistalite system which Price Point sales. I've made some changes to my system to
suite my needs. I got a seal lead acid battery from Home Depot to extend my ride time. The battery
is heavy, but I can extend my ride time. I also replaced one of the bulbs with a Niterider 15W flood
light. The Niterider and Vistalite bulbs are the same except I removed the heat shield from the back
of the bulb since I don't have electronics on my system like the Niterider.

I will probably buy a HID in the future after they got the ballast thing sorted out.

jack said:

I will probably buy a HID in the future after they got the ballast thing sorted out.

It doesn't exactly happen every day.

I know of at least 100 HID systems locally, and have yet to see it happen here. The failure rate
locally dosen't seem to be any higher than any other light.

Barry

"B a r r y B u r k e J r ." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Carla A-G said:

You don't necessarily need HID, the proper set up is just as effective as those stupidly bright
lights. We use a set of Niterider helmet mounts and

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

set of dual beam Vistalite bar mounts and we still look like a pair of

UFO's

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

riding in the woods.

How long do they last? A Niterider HID is good for an honest 3 1/2 hours. I would also imagine
that each setup was pretty comparable in cost to an HID.

Barry

We can get about 2 solid hours of riding, we don't require more than that for a night ride and the
set up was very much cheaper.

- CA-G

Can-Am Girls Kick Ass!

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

Quoted message said:

I saw a set of Vistalite Nightstick at pricepoint. Is this what you have?

Vistalite Nightstick Code 25 MSRP $250.00 Price Point $159.98

-Two 5w HOT Halogen headlight -One 15w HOT Halogen headlight -Three high-power NiHM Nightsticks
-Three Charges, Two remote switches, Helmet mount -5w=2.8 Hours, Two 5=1.4 hours, 15w=1 hour -Up
to 6 hours of continuous illumination

We use a set a Code 15's as our bar mounts, we got them dirt cheap, but the Code 25's are the better
model. Excellent lights, IMO.

- CA-G

Can-Am Girls Kick Ass!

Quoted message said:

I want to venture into night riding. Any recomms. for a HID light system that doesn't cost more
than my bike? I want at least the following...
- dual beam for bar mount
- smart charger I was checking out the Cygolite Explorer Nicad but they're not HID.

If you're tight on money, I'd suggest a pair of nightrider trail rats. One on the bar, one
on the head.

They're bright, relatively cheap, brain dead reliable, and parts should be readily available for the
next decade or so.

And if you want to be really cheap, google around for "homebrew bike lights" for lots of good info
on how to make your own for under $50.

Cheers,

-Andrew

"B a r r y B u r k e J r ." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

jack said:

I will probably buy a HID in the future after they got the ballast thing sorted out.

It doesn't exactly happen every day.

I know of at least 100 HID systems locally, and have yet to see it happen here. The failure rate
locally dosen't seem to be any higher than any other light.

Barry

Best strategy might be to buy a new HID system and sell it after a couple years. On a conventional
lighting system you either fix the bulb or battery which are relatively inexpensive. On a HID system
diagnosing the problem can be a problems since you don't know if it's the bulb or ballast. Both
which are expensive. A defective system can radiate your brain or balls with UV depending on where
you mount your lights.

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