Matt O'Toole
December 13th 05, 07:31 PM
On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 19:17:17 -0800, wrote:
> My town requires bicyclists to have a bicycle light on when dark. I
> found an LED front light online for $15.00. This will will make me
> visable to traffic but will it provide any light for me? I sometimes
> ride in a very dark conditions but would only need a little light. If it
> doesn't provide any light can anyone recommd a light that does and is
> under $30.00?
The standard for small, battery powered lights is the Cateye Micro, a 2.4W
halogen unit. Cateye makes two newer LED models (HL300, EL500) that are
supposedly equivalent, but IMO they don't even come close. They may be as
bright, but their beams are too narrow.
So for an inexpensive, minimalist solution it's still hard to beat the
Micro. If you shop around you can get them cheap too, like $10. Busch
and Muller makes a similar light that Peter White says is better:
www.peterwhitecycles.com
There's a good comparison of various beam patterns here:
http://eddys.com/site/page.cfm?PageID=493
I use a Micro for short trips around town, slowing down a lot for dark
areas and bad pavement. To actually see where I'm going I add a 6W
Sunsport helmet light.
Matt O.
> My town requires bicyclists to have a bicycle light on when dark. I
> found an LED front light online for $15.00. This will will make me
> visable to traffic but will it provide any light for me? I sometimes
> ride in a very dark conditions but would only need a little light. If it
> doesn't provide any light can anyone recommd a light that does and is
> under $30.00?
The standard for small, battery powered lights is the Cateye Micro, a 2.4W
halogen unit. Cateye makes two newer LED models (HL300, EL500) that are
supposedly equivalent, but IMO they don't even come close. They may be as
bright, but their beams are too narrow.
So for an inexpensive, minimalist solution it's still hard to beat the
Micro. If you shop around you can get them cheap too, like $10. Busch
and Muller makes a similar light that Peter White says is better:
www.peterwhitecycles.com
There's a good comparison of various beam patterns here:
http://eddys.com/site/page.cfm?PageID=493
I use a Micro for short trips around town, slowing down a lot for dark
areas and bad pavement. To actually see where I'm going I add a 6W
Sunsport helmet light.
Matt O.