Night Light: Utility Bike/Short Haul?

I ride my utility (i.e. POS-Who'd-Want-To-Steal-It) bike to the
gym a few nights per week.

Total riding-in-the-dark time 20-40 minutes, depending on how
early I get home from work.

The only time I have to ride on a street is through a housing
development where I ride on the left at a walking pace. The
ambient light there, and in the parking lots I cut through
is pretty good.

But the rest of the route, I'd like a little light - especially
on cloudy and/or moon-less nights.

Rode right into an evergreen branch the other night.

Seems like this situation might be different from most in that:
--------------------------------------------------------------
- The lighting time required isn't all that long

- I need light spread out - not just spotted on the trail ahead,
but diffused to reveal objects at face/head height too.

- POS bike to the contrary, I've been secretly lusting after a
drum-brake front wheel.

- I'd prefer something where I don't need remove/replace/charge
a battery. "Set it and forget it".
--------------------------------------------------------------


I'm wondering:
--------------------------------------------------------------
- What the logical lighting arrangement is (i.e. number, type,
and placement of the illumination parts)

- If it makes any sense to mix in the drum brake thing here and
get one of Sturmey's DynoHub/Brake hubs as per
http://tinyurl.com/2uujok

- If something like Sheldon's setup with a NiCad
battery constantly being charged by the DynoHub through
a rectifier could be implemented in such a way as to
require no rider intervention - ever.

- Considering the lower power consumption of LEDs, would a
couple of alkaline "C" batteries and carrying spares be
the simplest and lowest-cost power-side solution?
--------------------------------------------------------------




--
PeteCresswell

In article ,
"(PeteCresswell)" wrote:

I ride my utility (i.e. POS-Who'd-Want-To-Steal-It) bike to the
gym a few nights per week.

Total riding-in-the-dark time 20-40 minutes, depending on how
early I get home from work.

The only time I have to ride on a street is through a housing
development where I ride on the left at a walking pace. The
ambient light there, and in the parking lots I cut through
is pretty good.

But the rest of the route, I'd like a little light - especially
on cloudy and/or moon-less nights.

Rode right into an evergreen branch the other night.

Seems like this situation might be different from most in that:
--------------------------------------------------------------
- The lighting time required isn't all that long

- I need light spread out - not just spotted on the trail ahead,
but diffused to reveal objects at face/head height too.

- POS bike to the contrary, I've been secretly lusting after a
drum-brake front wheel.

- I'd prefer something where I don't need remove/replace/charge
a battery. "Set it and forget it".
--------------------------------------------------------------


I'm wondering:
--------------------------------------------------------------
- What the logical lighting arrangement is (i.e. number, type,
and placement of the illumination parts)

- If it makes any sense to mix in the drum brake thing here and
get one of Sturmey's DynoHub/Brake hubs as per
http://tinyurl.com/2uujok

I think drum brakes are generally considered marginal on large-wheeled
bikes, but on the other hand, you're riding slowly.

--
Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/
"My scenarios may give the impression I could be an excellent crook.
Not true - I am a talented lawyer." - Sandy in rec.bicycles.racing

Per Ryan Cousineau:
I think drum brakes are generally considered marginal on large-wheeled
bikes, but on the other hand, you're riding slowly.

Yeah... I think I've been through that discussion some months
ago... but another heavyweight's (Chalo's?) account made me think
that it wouldn't be a problem given my scenario.
--
PeteCresswell

Per (PeteCresswell):
heavyweight's (Chalo's?) account made me think
that it wouldn't be a problem given my scenario.

But the hub thing isn't a religious issue.... I've lived this
long without a hub brake or generator and I'll get along just
fine with neither....

Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it. My main focus is on the
type/number of light sources and what power I'd need to run same.
--
PeteCresswell

On Dec 31, 2:50 pm, "(PeteCresswell)" wrote:
I ride my utility (i.e. POS-Who'd-Want-To-Steal-It) bike to the
gym a few nights per week.

Total riding-in-the-dark time 20-40 minutes, depending on how
early I get home from work.

The only time I have to ride on a street is through a housing
development where I ride on the left at a walking pace. The
ambient light there, and in the parking lots I cut through
is pretty good.

Hmm. I wonder why you're doing those odd things? Riding on the left
is almost always a bad idea, as discussed here ad infinitum. And
parking lots, while sometimes handy, are often chaotic, thus scary.
But anyway...


But the rest of the route, I'd like a little light - especially
on cloudy and/or moon-less nights.

Rode right into an evergreen branch the other night.

Seems like this situation might be different from most in that:
--------------------------------------------------------------
- The lighting time required isn't all that long

- I need light spread out - not just spotted on the trail ahead,
but diffused to reveal objects at face/head height too.

- POS bike to the contrary, I've been secretly lusting after a
drum-brake front wheel.

- I'd prefer something where I don't need remove/replace/charge
a battery. "Set it and forget it".

OK, if you don't want to fuss with a battery, you know what to use for
a power source. Once you install a generator, it works pretty much
forever.

--------------------------------------------------------------

I'm wondering:
--------------------------------------------------------------
- What the logical lighting arrangement is (i.e. number, type,
and placement of the illumination parts)

If you're really worried about head-height obstacles, I'd mount the
generator headlight at handlebar height and point it slightly up.
Even "good optics" headlights cast enough lights upward to show such
obstacles, even though they very properly send most of the light onto
the road, where it's most needed. If you found an unusual headlamp
that didn't give enough upward illumination, post here and we'll
discuss simple fixes.

And the number you need is one.


- If it makes any sense to mix in the drum brake thing here and
get one of Sturmey's DynoHub/Brake hubs as per
http://tinyurl.com/2uujok

I'd say no. It's inconsistent with your "POS who'd want to steal it"
approach. And why would you want a drum brake anyway? If you get it,
I think it would be just for the novelty. Not that there's anything
wrong with that.


- If something like Sheldon's setup with a NiCad
battery constantly being charged by the DynoHub through
a rectifier could be implemented in such a way as to
require no rider intervention - ever.

You don't need that complication. I believe Sheldon wired that up
because the original, old S. A. Dynohubs put out only about 2 watts
power. That's adequate for a "be seen" light, but not for much else.
By battery-storing that power during his day rides, he was able to get
bright lights at night. It's the same concept as catching a constant
trickle of water in a big tank, so you could get lots of flow when you
needed lots of flow.

Again, you don't need that. Just use a standard generator.

- Considering the lower power consumption of LEDs, would a
couple of alkaline "C" batteries and carrying spares be
the simplest and lowest-cost power-side solution?

Well, that does away with your "set it and forget it" criterion.
Also, those sorts of lights are easier targets for theft.

FWIW, I set up a super-cheap sidewall generator for a person who I
knew would never keep after batteries. Her application was almost
exactly the same as yours. The generator cost about $15 at a
department store. I double-wired it (that is, did not rely on the
frame ground) and used a halogen bulb in place of the ordinary vacuum
bulb. It's worked perfectly for years and years.

Admittedly, it stopped working earlier this year, but I doubt the
problem is anything serious. However, since the bike's owner recently
married an electrical engineer, I'm just going to let him diagnose the
problem!

- Frank Krygowski

In article ,
"(PeteCresswell)" wrote:

Per (PeteCresswell):
heavyweight's (Chalo's?) account made me think
that it wouldn't be a problem given my scenario.

But the hub thing isn't a religious issue.... I've lived this
long without a hub brake or generator and I'll get along just
fine with neither....

Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it. My main focus is on the
type/number of light sources and what power I'd need to run same.

Your riding time is so short that almost anything would work. These
days, the hot setup is a 3W Cree flashlight with something to strap it
to the bars and a few NiMH AA batteries in the body.

--
Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/
"My scenarios may give the impression I could be an excellent crook.
Not true - I am a talented lawyer." - Sandy in rec.bicycles.racing

(PeteCresswell) wrote:

snip

I'm wondering:
--------------------------------------------------------------
- What the logical lighting arrangement is (i.e. number, type,
and placement of the illumination parts)

- If it makes any sense to mix in the drum brake thing here and
get one of Sturmey's DynoHub/Brake hubs as per
http://tinyurl.com/2uujok

- If something like Sheldon's setup with a NiCad
battery constantly being charged by the DynoHub through
a rectifier could be implemented in such a way as to
require no rider intervention - ever.

- Considering the lower power consumption of LEDs, would a
couple of alkaline "C" batteries and carrying spares be
the simplest and lowest-cost power-side solution?

The decent front LED lights use a high power LED, and battery life is
not in hundreds of hours like it is for LED flashers.

The best setup for a battery-free system would be a rear drum brake, a
front dynamo hub, and a SolidLights 1203D
("http://www.solidlights.co.uk/products/1203d.php").

You'd be spending about $700 on wheels and lights before you're through.

Your statement "I need light spread out - not just spotted on the trail
ahead, but diffused to reveal objects at face/head height too" makes
most lights for dynamo systems unacceptable, because they focus the
limited light output such that it will not provide the type of
illumination you want (the SolidLight is an exception).

If it were me I'd get a 3W Cree LED flashlight that runs on 2 C or 2 AA
cells. But this definitely requires rider intervention. You could
build something that allowed a dynohub to charge batteries, but the
circuits actually end up being quite complex. There were a commercial
product announced, but it never made to market
"http://www.copycatsolar.com/index_files/Page657.htm".

Ryan Cousineau wrote:
In article ,
"(PeteCresswell)" wrote:

Per (PeteCresswell):
heavyweight's (Chalo's?) account made me think
that it wouldn't be a problem given my scenario.
But the hub thing isn't a religious issue.... I've lived this
long without a hub brake or generator and I'll get along just
fine with neither....

Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it. My main focus is on the
type/number of light sources and what power I'd need to run same.

Your riding time is so short that almost anything would work. These
days, the hot setup is a 3W Cree flashlight with something to strap it
to the bars and a few NiMH AA batteries in the body.

This is correct. Especially given the light pattern that you want. See
"http://nordicgroup.us/s78/flashlights.html" for two good Cree choices
and a variety of attachment methods.

Per :
Riding on the left
is almost always a bad idea, as discussed here ad infinitum.

Yeah, I think I've read most of the threads.

But nobody seems to have spelled out the functional diff between
a person on foot jogging at 7 mph and a cyclist riding at 4mph.

Assuming there's a reason that a jogger is advised to run facing
traffic, nobody's illuminated me on the reasons why a person on a
bike moving at the same or slower speed with the same profile
should ride on the opposite side of the street - especially in
the context of people talking on cell phones, doing email, and
text messaging while trying to drive at the same time.

Maybe I'm missing something... but the variables seem tb closing
speed and profile.

And if they're virtually the same for both the runner and the
cyclist......
--
PeteCresswell

Planeybike makes a head or helmet mounted front and rear light