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Old March 8th 17, 06:39 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
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Default More About Lights

On 3/6/2017 6:27 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Mon, 6 Mar 2017 10:47:34 -0800 (PST), wrote:

As a very occasional night rider I am interested in battery
powered lights but I think that I was attempting to give
a thought to a commuter that would use his light a great deal.


Do "occasional night riders" buy $150 headlights?

I notice that a large number of the people in our group
have flashing red rear lights and it isn't long before
these batteries run down enough that the taillight even
blinking is almost entirely unnoticeable. So I don't have
much respect for battery power for a great deal of use.


Well, that's one of the advantages of a dynamo. You never have to
worry about a dead or discharged battery or remember to carry a spare
dead or discharged battery. (Yes, I've done that).

I think you'll find a fair number of riders in your group using low
cost rear flashers like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/142066277090
$0.97 gets you a two AAA batteries packaged inside a flasher (postage
included). That's about the same price as the batteries, assuming
that they're alkaline and not carbon-zinc. One of my friends says
that he picks them out of the trash at the end of club rides because
people just toss them instead of trying to figure out how to pry open
the case and change the battery. It wouldn't do them much good even
if it was easy to open, because the COB (chip on board) electronics,
buried under a blob of epoxy, will self destruct if you touch, bend,
or push on it. As for not noticing a failure, most club riders will
inform your if they see a problem.


You used to be able to get 2xAA powered flashers, but they weren't 97¢

The best rear light was made by CatEye, and discontinued of course, but
still available via Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MQPEW10.
These ran for much much longer than AAA powered rear lights.

The trend now is toward smaller, USB rechargeable tail lights. No reason
you could not charge these via a dynamo.
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