Recomm. for a starter HID light system

[Zilla]

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)

[Carla A-G]

"Zilla" > wrote in message
...
> 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!

[Per Löwdin]

> 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.

> 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.

> - smart charger

Niterider and Light and Motion.

Per
http://user.tninet.se/~ipg289h/English.html

[[email protected]]

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

[B a r r y B u r k e J r .]

On Sat, 4 Oct 2003 23:55:08 -0400, "Carla A-G"
> wrote:

>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

[Zilla]

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)


> wrote in message
...
> 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
>

[Zilla]

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" > wrote in message
...
> "Zilla" > wrote in message
> ...
> > 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!
>
>

[KLydesdale]

"Carla A-G" > wrote in message >
> 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.

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.

[KLydesdale]

> wrote in message
...
> 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.

[KLydesdale]

"Zilla" > wrote in message
...
> 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.)

[Zilla]

"KLydesdale" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Zilla" > wrote in message
> ...
> > 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.)
>
>

Thanks for the link...

--
- Zilla
Cary, NC
(Remove XSPAM)

[jack]

"Zilla" > wrote in message
...
> 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.

[B a r r y B u r k e J r .]

On Sun, 5 Oct 2003 14:50:53 -1000, "jack" > wrote:


>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

[Carla A-G]

"B a r r y B u r k e J r ." > wrote
in message ...
> On Sat, 4 Oct 2003 23:55:08 -0400, "Carla A-G"
> > wrote:
>
> >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

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!

[Carla A-G]

"Zilla" > wrote in message
...
> 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!

[Andrew Thorne]

>
>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

[jack]

"B a r r y B u r k e J r ." > wrote
in message ...
> On Sun, 5 Oct 2003 14:50:53 -1000, "jack" > wrote:
>
>
> >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.

http://members.misty.com/don/dschlamp.html#dlpwhid