Review: Solidlights 1203d (long)

[A R:nen]

SMS <[email protected]> writes:

> I've only worked with TUV, not the StVZO (Germany's
> traffic safety department), but the thoroughness extends across
> agencies.

StVZO is the German Road Vehicles Act (or something to that effect,
not a literal translation), not an organization.

 

[SMS]

Dane Buson wrote:

> Funny. That's not the opinion of the fellow who flipped me off last
> night and yelled at me "Dim your lights asshole!". I didn't think it
> was *that* bright, but evidently I was mistaken. I'll have to be much
> more careful of other cyclists on the commute this winter than with my
> old light.

Sounds like there's finally a decent dynamo light available. I see that
they make similar battery powered lights as well. What's particularly
good is the beam pattern with a center spot, combined with sufficient
beam spread out to the sides; a broad pattern is where most dynamo
lights fall short, but they have to concentrate their limited output in
a center spot.

The Fenix, mentioned earlier, with the 3W Cree LED has a similarly good
beam pattern for cycling. All that needs to be done is to hook up one or
two Fenix flashlights to a dynamo, via a buck/boost regulator.

 

[Dane Buson]

In rec.bicycles.misc Tim McNamara <[email protected]> wrote:
> In article <120920070250342985%[email protected]>,
>
>> at the Dinotte's price I'll gladly bear the occasional extra burden
>> of 4 AAs. I mean it's a payload smaller than a chocolate bar, how
>> much of a nuisance can it be?
>
> As a randonneur it's a hassle I don't need. I enjoy riding dusk to dawn
> but I don't want to have to keep stopping every two hours to fumble
> about replacing batteries. In that scenario it's four to six sets of
> batteries to swap out in order to get through the night.

I have the same problems. I commute in darkness a lot, and I also do
night rides year round with friends. A battery light isn't even close
to tempting until it can last ten hours on a charge and is lighter,
cheaper and more convenient than the dynamo. I don't see that happening
in the next decade or two.

> At the risk of it being on the wrong bike if you get caught out at night
> when you weren't planning on it.

Eh. For myself, the majority of miles are on my commuter. The grocery
bike is only out at night in urban areas, so it just needs see-me lights
- which cheap LEDs do very well. The fixed gear is also usually a day
bike, or urban nights. I suppose I could swap the dynamo lighting
setup fairly easily to it. It would take more time to get the stupid
handlebar clamp moved than the wheel honestly.

--
Dane Buson - [email protected]
..NET is basically Bill Gates' snake-oil solution to all those registry/DLL hell
problems. Bill Gates is a true genius. He's made installing and maintaining
windows apps so ridiculously difficult and expensive that businesses and
consumers will actually buy into the idea of having their applications on
someone else's server. --Ukab the Great

 

[Dane Buson]

In rec.bicycles.misc SMS <[email protected]> wrote:
> Alan Braggins wrote:
>
>> A dynamo system is harder to swap from bike to bike, and if you put one
>> on all your bikes the cost goes up further.
>
> For very long night rides, i.e. randonneuring, the expense of a good
> dynamo system makes sense.

Or you know, anyone who actually rides their bike transportationally.
If you just ride when the it's bright and sunny out, they're totally
inappropriate.

> For commuting, you usually want a brighter, safer system, and it's easy
> to get into the habit of charging your battery pack (or batteries) when
> you get home.

Nonsense. Charging batteries sucks. The first thing I want to do when
I get home from work is shed my clothes, pull on some dry clean ones and
go spend time with my family. Fiddling with my lights and batteries
sucks.

No, it's not hard. But it's prone to failure (human error) and
annoying.

> The Cree LED flashlights look to be a very good choice for an
> economical, bright bicycle light. They provide about 2.5x the
> illumination of a halogen 3W lamp that is typically used with a dynamo
> system.
>
> As to the SolidLight, it looks like there is finally a very good
> headlight for dynamo _or_ battery powered systems, though it's very
> expensive.

Yup, I think that has more to do with the economies of scale than
anything else though. I think there were already very good dynamo
headlights available (though I know you are constitutionally incapable
of admitting that).

> Peter White's site states "The DH-3N70/71 hub can power either a single
> headlight with a 3 watt bulb, or a 2.4 watt headlight and .6 watt
> taillight combination." I presume that this is not correct if the
> SolidLight has two LEDs, each drawing 3 watts.

Yup, the Shimano hub can easily drive it up to 6 watts, as multiple
people have posted.

> While the SON hub can power two 3W lamps, you have to be going at least
> 10mph to have adequate light output.

So what? Do you need stadium quality lighting at 8 mph? MTBers do, I
don't. Is your commute across an MTB park or something?

Anyway, as I posted earlier, the lighting at 8 mph is outstanding on the
1203d. I had a chance to use it on a very dark area (Interlaken park
drive) and it was amazing how much it lit up.

--
Dane Buson - [email protected]
"High explosives are often applicable
where truth and logic fail."

 

[Dane Buson]

In rec.bicycles.misc SMS <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> For now, if you want a "safe and efficient bicycle lighting system"
> that's reasonably priced you have to go the battery route.

Funny, that's not the conclusion any of the rest of us actual dynamo
users is. Find me a battery light that gives ten hours of light on one
charge and we might be able to talk.

--
Dane Buson - [email protected]
clone, n:
1. An exact duplicate, as in "our product is a clone of their
product." 2. A shoddy, spurious copy, as in "their product
is a clone of our product."

 

[Dane Buson]

In rec.bicycles.misc SMS <[email protected]> wrote:
> M-gineering wrote:
>> SMS wrote:
>>
>>> It's too bad there are no 12V/6W hub dynamos yet, not that I've found
>>> anyway.
>>
>> Of course you /could/ Google on '12v/6w AND dynamo', but that wouldn't
>> be sporting
>
> Which would show you 12V/6W bottle dynamos. Sure the SON can be pushed
> to that at higher speeds, but it's not practical for many users.

Why not? The only time you need the very top of the watt range is going
downhill. Anyone can coast down a hill.

--
Dane Buson - [email protected]
"Here's something to think about: How come you never see a headline like
`Psychic Wins Lottery'?"
-- Jay Leno

 

[Dane Buson]

In rec.bicycles.misc SMS <[email protected]> wrote:
> Dane Buson wrote:
>
>> Funny. That's not the opinion of the fellow who flipped me off last
>> night and yelled at me "Dim your lights asshole!". I didn't think it
>> was *that* bright, but evidently I was mistaken. I'll have to be much
>> more careful of other cyclists on the commute this winter than with my
>> old light.
>
> Sounds like there's finally a decent dynamo light available. I see that
> they make similar battery powered lights as well. What's particularly
> good is the beam pattern with a center spot, combined with sufficient
> beam spread out to the sides; a broad pattern is where most dynamo
> lights fall short, but they have to concentrate their limited output in
> a center spot.

Actually, in some ways, it's too much of a good thing. It has some of
the same problems every battery light I've seen has. It beam is not
shaped as well as the dynamo headlights. The dynamo headlights really
do have better optics.

> The Fenix, mentioned earlier, with the 3W Cree LED has a similarly good
> beam pattern for cycling. All that needs to be done is to hook up one or
> two Fenix flashlights to a dynamo, via a buck/boost regulator.

The newer LEDs are really outstanding. I really wish the companies
would move a little faster getting them into bike products.

--
Dane Buson - [email protected]
"Ah well, back to the cutting edge on the
coal-face of e-commerce." -- Charlie Stross

 

[SMS]

Dane Buson wrote:

> Why not? The only time you need the very top of the watt range is going
> downhill. Anyone can coast down a hill.

Perhaps that true for you, but don't presume to speak to the vast
majority of transportatinoal cyclists in the U.S..

There are so many half-truths and downright untruths that are taken as
gospel by some dynamo advocates that I don't know where to start, but
your statement is as good a place as any.

 

[Chris Gerhard]

SMS wrote:
> M-gineering wrote:
>> SMS wrote:
>>
>>> It's too bad there are no 12V/6W hub dynamos yet, not that I've found
>>> anyway.
>>
>> Of course you /could/ Google on '12v/6w AND dynamo', but that wouldn't
>> be sporting
>
> Which would show you 12V/6W bottle dynamos. Sure the SON can be pushed
> to that at higher speeds, but it's not practical for many users.

My son is wired for 12V and only when the speed drops below 10mph does
it fade, but then at that speed it is really not a problem.

--chris

 

[Dane Buson]

In rec.bicycles.misc SMS <[email protected]> wrote:
> Dane Buson wrote:
>
>> Why not? The only time you need the very top of the watt range is going
>> downhill. Anyone can coast down a hill.
>
> Perhaps that true for you, but don't presume to speak to the vast
> majority of transportatinoal cyclists in the U.S..

I didn't know there were people who can't coast down a hill (except
fixie riders). You learn something new every day.

> There are so many half-truths and downright untruths that are taken as
> gospel by some dynamo advocates that I don't know where to start, but
> your statement is as good a place as any.

Well, considering you didn't actually respond to my statement in any
meaningful way (other than saying 'nuuuh-uuhhh'), feel free to tell me
when you plan on starting.

--
Dane Buson - [email protected]
You know it's going to be a bad day when you want to put on the clothes
you wore home from the party and there aren't any.

 

[Luke]

In article <[email protected]>, Tim
McNamara <[email protected]> wrote:

> This has been debated at length in other threads and doesn't need to be
> repeated here. Basically, enough light is enough light and more is not
> necessarily better. Most battery powered lights have suboptimal optics
> for cycling, since the lamps they use are not designed for that
> application (I can't speak for the DiNottes since I haven't seen one in
> person);

<snip>

This is just an open request. I used to have a link to a site
comprising night photos of the Dinotte's as well as other LED and IIRC
HID and Halogen light beam profiles. I remember the site was the work
of an enthusiast (not affliated with magazines) and the photos were
part of a comprehensive review of 4 or 5 battery powered lights. Does
anyone have a link to such a site?

 

[SMS]

Dane Buson wrote:
> In rec.bicycles.misc SMS <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Dane Buson wrote:
>>
>>> Why not? The only time you need the very top of the watt range is going
>>> downhill. Anyone can coast down a hill.
>> Perhaps that true for you, but don't presume to speak to the vast
>> majority of transportatinoal cyclists in the U.S..
>
> I didn't know there were people who can't coast down a hill (except
> fixie riders). You learn something new every day.

Typical. You of course are well aware of what part of your statement I
was referring to. Of course we all know that the world revolves around
you, so the fact that most transportational cyclists do need the "top of
the watt range" (assuming you meant the top of the lumens range, but I
don't expect you to understand the difference).

 

[Alan Braggins]

In article <[email protected]>, Clive George wrote:
>"Alan Braggins" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>
>> Bromptons have narrower than usual hubs, so it would have to be be a
>> SON XS, which is specifically designed for the higher rpm of smaller
>> wheels at the same speed. But if you wanted unnecessarily higher output
>> at lower revs you could build a SON XS with spacers into a large wheel.
>
>T'other way round - XS produces less per rpm than the ones designed for big
>wheels.

So it is. Bother - strike that second bit, and use a non-XS in a small
wheel bike with wider hubs.

 

[Alan Braggins]

In article <[email protected]>, SMS wrote:
>
>There are so many half-truths and downright untruths that are taken as
>gospel by some dynamo advocates that I don't know where to start, but
>your statement is as good a place as any.

Your editing seems to have left a spurious "dynamo" in there.

 

[Alan Braggins]

In article <[email protected]>, SMS wrote:
>
>The Fenix, mentioned earlier, with the 3W Cree LED has a similarly good
>beam pattern for cycling. All that needs to be done is to hook up one or
>two Fenix flashlights to a dynamo, via a buck/boost regulator.

Hub dynamos are essentially current limited devices, so a buck/boost
regulator is unnecessary, unless you need it to work with more unnecessary
regulation already in the flashlight. (Or you want the light to be regulated
when running off a battery pack on another bike, which I believe is possible
with the Solidlights 1203d.)

 

[Alan Braggins]

In article <[email protected]>, Dane Buson wrote:
>users is. Find me a battery light that gives ten hours of light on one
>charge and we might be able to talk.

Solidlights 1103 on medium power (and a bit of high power) and second
battery pack. They sell a Y-cable for the second pack, so no swapping
over is needed: http://www.solidlights.co.uk/buy/40012-640.JPG
Adds up to more than a 1203d and dynamo hub though, for less light.

 

[Dane Buson]

In rec.bicycles.misc SMS <[email protected]> wrote:
> Dane Buson wrote:
>> In rec.bicycles.misc SMS <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> Dane Buson wrote:
>>>
>>>> Why not? The only time you need the very top of the watt range is going
>>>> downhill. Anyone can coast down a hill.
>>> Perhaps that true for you, but don't presume to speak to the vast
>>> majority of transportatinoal cyclists in the U.S..
>>
>> I didn't know there were people who can't coast down a hill (except
>> fixie riders). You learn something new every day.
>
> Typical. You of course are well aware of what part of your statement I
> was referring to.

Mayhap I did, and mayhap I didn't. Your lack of clear writing is not my
fault, nor my problem.

> Of course we all know that the world revolves around you,

Oh noes! You've found me out!

> so the fact that most transportational cyclists do need the "top of
> the watt range" (assuming you meant the top of the lumens range, but I
> don't expect you to understand the difference).

A) There is a (admittedly) non-linear range between watts consumed and
lumens output for a light source. However when you are talking about the
*same* light source at different watts, it makes a lot of sense to talk
about it that way. Especially since I don't tend to have any kind of
light meter handy.

2) I don't pretend to be an expert on lighting.

iii) Most transportational cyclists are a *lot* slower than me. If
anything I need more light than most people. Also I do more night
riding than most US cyclists.

Fourth) Did you actually want to put forth some valid arguments, or are
you just going to continue to attack me instead of talking about the
data or arguments?

--
Dane Buson - [email protected]
"Baseball has the great advantage over cricket of being sooner
ended." -George Bernard Shaw

 

[Dane Buson]

In rec.bicycles.misc Alan Braggins <[email protected]> wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>, Dane Buson wrote:
>>users is. Find me a battery light that gives ten hours of light on one
>>charge and we might be able to talk.
>
> Solidlights 1103 on medium power (and a bit of high power) and second
> battery pack. They sell a Y-cable for the second pack, so no swapping
> over is needed: http://www.solidlights.co.uk/buy/40012-640.JPG
> Adds up to more than a 1203d and dynamo hub though, for less light.

Yeah, I looked at that when I was drooling over the 1203d. I already
had a dynamo hub, so it becomes even less attractive at that point. I
didn't realize the runtime was that long. Cool.

--
Dane Buson - [email protected]
All phone calls are obscene.
-- Karen Elizabeth Gordon

 

[David Horwitt]

SMS wrote:
> Dane Buson wrote:
>
> Typical. You of course are well aware of what part of your statement I
> was referring to. Of course we all know that the world revolves around
> you, so the fact that most transportational cyclists do need the "top of
> the watt range" (assuming you meant the top of the lumens range, but I
> don't expect you to understand the difference).

I don't understand your vehement, consistent denial of the fact that dynamo
lights solve a problem for a large set of trsnaportational cyclists (of which
I am one). I found that dealing with batteries was a pain in the neck, and that
a dynamo light provides adequate lighting for my needs (and, apparently, the
needs of many other thread contributors). It's always there, and I never have
to deal with it, and it helps get me home safely and efficiently in the dark.

Since you are fond of speaking for 'most transportational cyclists', I'll
add that I suspect 'most' dynamo-enlightened cyclists have used battery driven
lights, and found the dynamos more useful for their particular situation.

DH

 

[Andy M-S]

On Sep 12, 6:21 pm, David Horwitt <[email protected]> wrote:
> SMS wrote:
> > Dane Buson wrote:
>
> > Typical. You of course are well aware of what part of your statement I
> > was referring to. Of course we all know that the world revolves around
> > you, so the fact that most transportational cyclists do need the "top of
> > the watt range" (assuming you meant the top of the lumens range, but I
> > don't expect you to understand the difference).
>
> I don't understand your vehement, consistent denial of the fact that dynamo
> lights solve a problem for a large set of trsnaportational cyclists (of which
> I am one). I found that dealing with batteries was a pain in the neck, and that
> a dynamo light provides adequate lighting for my needs (and, apparently, the
> needs of many other thread contributors). It's always there, and I never have
> to deal with it, and it helps get me home safely and efficiently in the dark.
>
> Since you are fond of speaking for 'most transportational cyclists', I'll
> add that I suspect 'most' dynamo-enlightened cyclists have used battery driven
> lights, and found the dynamos more useful for their particular situation.
>
> DH

Time for my $.02.

I'm another transportational cyclist. I have used battery-powered
halogen lights; I have used battery-powered LEDs. I have used hub-
dynamo-powered halogens, and hub-dyno-powered LEDs. I have commuted
early morning and late evening for a good many years.

My current main headlight consists of two Luxeon K2 LEDs in series,
powered from a Shimano dynohub by way of a bridge rectifier. I built
the light into an old bullet headlight casing. One of the LEDs has a
wide-angle lens, the other a 15-degree (medium) lens. Total cost
excluding the front wheel was $30, shipping included. No standlight,
though I could have added one for $5 and some additional work, but I
was lazy. The front wheel cost me $120 a few years ago; it would have
cost $160 (approx) but I reused a rim and had the shop build the
wheel, so things even out.

This arrangement puts out significantly more light than friends' 10-
and 15-watt Halogen systems (and these are not bargain-basement
systems, either). I never have to charge it, and while the light
starts to pulse (very rapidly) at around 7 MPH, it doesn't die until
~3 MPH. I never need to worry about batteries, I never need to worry
about whether I will be riding after dark. A tiny Cateye blinker on
the headtube makes up for my laziness in not adding a standlight
circuit.

IMO, the Solidlights people have a great product, and they're likely
making a reasonable profit. But LEDs are for everybody, and anyone
with a modicum of skill can make their own headlight.

Generators, hub and/or bottle, are an excellent way to light the road;
but they've been handicapped by inefficient lights--incandescent
lights, including halogens, honestly work better with batteries. With
LEDs, generators come into their own, and no complex circuits are
needed to make things work.