|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
EverLed vs new Cateye El-500
August 16, 2004
Hello all.. Back in May, I posted an inquiry about the EverLed PR bulb. The bulb had good reviews but I was not convinced. After reading a review by a respected bike rider Bruce Ingle in the topica.com newsgroup.. I decided to do my own informal evaluation. www.brightguy.com has the white EverLed on sale for $34.00 each for a limited time. As with everything I do.. I don't short change anything.. I go for broke.. I ordered 4 EverLed ( on August 10 and received it on August 16. To my disappointment, one EverLed was DOA on arrival. On close inspection.. the quality doesn't seem to be there (at least from my perspective for a bulb with price tag of $40 suggested retail price). I am not an engineer but visually, the dark rubber like insulator that separates the bulb from the PR flange looks like it was shaped with an utility knife. The bottom tip (base) of the bulb seemed to have some oxidation residue of sort -- similar to what a a leaky battery would leave. These characteristics were on all 4 EverLed for whatever reason. Troubling? The box the EverLed came in was stamped 0421 6 cj by Bright Guys..On the side of the box, the bullet description states: Highest Light Output; Longest Battery Life; Water / Shock Resistant; Reflector Focus-able; Runs on 1 to 6 Cells; Made in the USA. The jewelry like case the bulb came in is made in China. Initially I thought the bulb was made in China. Hmmm.. With the three EverLED that worked.. I installed one EverLed in a Lumilight 4D spotlight / lantern with 3 1/8" reflector. My second EverLed I put in a Aztec 4AA stubby flashlight ($2.99) with a 1 7/8" reflector; the third EverLed I put in a Zefal HF635 bicycle light. All have very favorable results. I compared the beam intensity against Cateye EL-300. Not even close.. EverLed wins hands down. The ZEfal HF635 is not a good bike light.. The 3 yellow LED are the best features of the light.. but the halogen bulb, reflector, lens cover does a poor job of shielding residual light from your eyes. Read additional product reviews at MTBR.COM. With the EverLED light installed in the Zefal HF635.. the residual light is even worse. To make the Zefal light practical, I will need to use black electrical tape or something to shield my eyes from the residual light.. but if I do so.. I pretty much render the forward and side visibility of the 3 yellow led to practically nothing. Zefal HF635 headlight is a POOR excuse for a bicycle light. Poor constuction, poor bracket, poor reflector / lens implementation. Again the best part of the light is the highly visible 3 yellow LED. I wanted to use the EverLed on my old Cateye HL-1500s (I have four Cateye HL-1500), but I have'nt got the EverLed to work (The EverLED did not work on a Vistalite Road Toad either). It might be the fact that the Cateye HL-1500 is wired differently and that has negative connection instead of a positive connection is at the tip of the bulb. Per EverLED que sheet; "Lights that have this type of connection need to have the "diamond" version of the EverLED. Check your distributor for availability. To cut to the chase... I highly recommend the EverLED if you can afford it. The beam intensity in the Aztec 4AA flashlight burns much brighter / better focused than a Vistalite 5w MR11 hotspot bulb. That's amazing from a 1W Luxeon. The beam penetrates a tight focus beam 50 feet away when the Cateye EL-300 blueish light is fading fast. The white light reminds me of the light put out by my MR16 Solux 4700K bulb. As a reference.. the higher the Kelvin? temperature rating the whiter the light.. A typical MR11 / MR16 bulbs are rated at no more than 3000K. Many manufacturers get the whiter light by overvolting the bulb. CONCLUSION....(for the moment.. I am very pleased with the output of the bulb despite the high price tag).. The issue of quality is suspect (one DOA bulb); time will tell. When one pays $34 to $40 for a bulb, one expect quality, finish, and peformance. As for using EverLed for trail riding.. I think with two EverLEDs installed on workable 2 Cateye HL-1500s combined with a 10 to 15w watt helmet light will do you fine -- especially if you ride in sandy trails that reflects much of the light and help illuminate the trail. Finally.. Cateye has the new EL-500 now.. If the same Cateye marketing guy that overhyped the EL-300 when it was initially introduced, EL-500 will probably disappoint as well. So far.. the only Cateye in my inventory of lights that exceeded expectation is the EL-200. The plastic case is not water tight, and slips apart too easily.. but I used an old inner tube cut into strips of rubber band to hold the case together.. the EL-200 when operating in flashing mode..is super super bright, and as a being seen light.. I found no other better light in its class and price range. I bought three of the EL-200 when it was on sale for around $18.00. Cateye lights in my current inventory: MODEL / Quantity 1. Cateye HL-500 (3) -- great light for its vintage!! 2. Cateye HL-500ii (5) 3. Cateye HL-1500 (4) My all time favorite.. Only if it will work with EverLED upgrade -- I'd be overjoyed! 4. Cateye EL-110 (2) original snow white 5. Cateye EL-200 (3) great flasher!! Won't leave home without it. 6. Cateye EL-300 (2) Over hyped.. disappointing even at $25 sale price. 7. Cateye MC-200 (2) (Luminux model) -- It sucks royally. 8. Cateye Luminux (5) (2C model aluminum body).. It sucks even more! But for $5.00 each on sale; I bought it for the handlebar bracket) NiteRider Trail (2) Specialized Proview Solo (3) 12w overvolted bought at $20.00 from Performance. Cygolite Rover Nite-Hawk 5w Viper (4) - bought at Performance for $20.00 each..wanted the 5w MR11 bulb. Vistalite Code 15 --5w Hot Spot bulb..bluish tint.. not very bright.. Neat design.. Looks like a bird egg. Handlebar bracket weak. Vistalite Road Toad (4) -- wide beam spread.. worthless for seeing the road. Vistalite 420 (2) - unique design.. frosted bulb -- focusable beam. Replacement bulb not readily available. I still like it. EverLED PR base flashlilght...You need one of these. NO KIDDING! Much obliged. Nick Lee Sparks, NV carless since January 2000 member of the 5 digit club (over 10,000 bicycle miles each year) since YR 2000. |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Last week I obtained a Tektite LPR-2 LED replacement bulb and this
weekend tested it in two different Cateye 2-cell headlights, the HL-500 and the HL-270: http://members.cox.net/lioninoil/lpr2.htm -- "Bicycling is a healthy and manly pursuit with much to recommend it, and, unlike other foolish crazes, it has not died out." -- The Daily Telegraph (1877) |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
(NLee1875) wrote in message ...
August 16, 2004 Hello all.. Back in May, I posted an inquiry about the EverLed PR bulb. The bulb had good reviews but I was not convinced. After reading a review by a respected bike rider Bruce Ingle in the topica.com newsgroup.. I decided to do my own informal evaluation. cut EverLED PR base flashlilght...You need one of these. NO KIDDING! cut Nick Lee To summarise, I agree entirely with what Nick has written. For a change, this is a product that exceeds expectations and where the marketing claims match the product. After reading this post I decided to try an EverLED to replace one of the bulbs in my SMART BL201 (see http://www.sjscycles.com/store/vIndex.htm?item8379.htm). The bulb (at £28.20 from http://www.ultraleds.co.uk/product_i...roducts_id=605) was more expensive than the lights new, so I was a little hesitant about trying this. I had previously replaced the 2.4W bulb with a 6W and made up a set of 5 AA NiMH rechargeables to replace the lead acid battery supplied (actually 2 NiMH sets), the aim being to get acceptable illumination for my daily commute (about 45 mins each way). This worked well, but meant doing lots of recharging. I wanted the Everled to give me the same illumination but with greater battery life. I considered the Cateye EL-500, but my experience with the EL-300 is that, while it works quite well on fresh AA batteries, it isn't quite so bright with NiMH's as with alkaline cells. I had hoped the EL-300 would replace my SMART system, but it was nowhere near good enough (only small patch of road/path illuminated). I don't know if cateye have included appropriate electronics with the EL-500 so that it will work well with NiMH cells and couldn't find this out from their web site. The Everled claims to work with a "1-6 cells" with "maximum light from 3 or more cells", so should be a good bet with rechargeables. The Everled easily exceeds the brightness of the 6W bulb in my lights, though it isn't as bright as the 10W one (subjective tests by using pairs of bulbs in the two housing of the light and switching between them illuminating the same spot on the wall). The Everled is a pure white light, certainly much harsher than the halogen it replaces, but without the blue cast of my EL-300. Ultraleds supplied this next day and will certainly get an order for another to replace the second bulb in my light set. Like Nick, I am interested to know if the EL-500 would have done just as well in terms of light output (with rechargeables) and battery life (potentially it could as, I understand, it uses the same Luxeon Star LED technology), but if you are currently using a 5W or less incandescent bulb in a 4.5V or more light, you would certainly benefit from an EverLED bulb for increased light output and battery life. Andrew Webster |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
(NLee1875) wrote in message ...
August 16, 2004 Hello all.. Back in May, I posted an inquiry about the EverLed PR bulb. The bulb had good reviews but I was not convinced. After reading a review by a respected bike rider Bruce Ingle in the topica.com newsgroup.. I decided to do my own informal evaluation. cut EverLED PR base flashlilght...You need one of these. NO KIDDING! cut Nick Lee To summarise, I agree entirely with what Nick has written. For a change, this is a product that exceeds expectations and where the marketing claims match the product. After reading this post I decided to try an EverLED to replace one of the bulbs in my SMART BL201 (see http://www.sjscycles.com/store/vIndex.htm?item8379.htm). The bulb (at £28.20 from http://www.ultraleds.co.uk/product_i...roducts_id=605) was more expensive than the lights new, so I was a little hesitant about trying this. I had previously replaced the 2.4W bulb with a 6W and made up a set of 5 AA NiMH rechargeables to replace the lead acid battery supplied (actually 2 NiMH sets), the aim being to get acceptable illumination for my daily commute (about 45 mins each way). This worked well, but meant doing lots of recharging. I wanted the Everled to give me the same illumination but with greater battery life. I considered the Cateye EL-500, but my experience with the EL-300 is that, while it works quite well on fresh AA batteries, it isn't quite so bright with NiMH's as with alkaline cells. I had hoped the EL-300 would replace my SMART system, but it was nowhere near good enough (only small patch of road/path illuminated). I don't know if cateye have included appropriate electronics with the EL-500 so that it will work well with NiMH cells and couldn't find this out from their web site. The Everled claims to work with a "1-6 cells" with "maximum light from 3 or more cells", so should be a good bet with rechargeables. The Everled easily exceeds the brightness of the 6W bulb in my lights, though it isn't as bright as the 10W one (subjective tests by using pairs of bulbs in the two housing of the light and switching between them illuminating the same spot on the wall). The Everled is a pure white light, certainly much harsher than the halogen it replaces, but without the blue cast of my EL-300. Ultraleds supplied this next day and will certainly get an order for another to replace the second bulb in my light set. Like Nick, I am interested to know if the EL-500 would have done just as well in terms of light output (with rechargeables) and battery life (potentially it could as, I understand, it uses the same Luxeon Star LED technology), but if you are currently using a 5W or less incandescent bulb in a 4.5V or more light, you would certainly benefit from an EverLED bulb for increased light output and battery life. Andrew Webster |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
If you want bright, you won't be happy with the EL500. It's much better
than the EL300 though, and you can certainly ride with it on a dark, pothole-free road with no problem. The road surface will go invisible if there are many competing lights though. I have 3 of them on my handlebars - I just added two and like the size and construction and the battery life, which makes it possible to make it home without rationing the light - and ordered a 4th for a spare spot I think I can squeeze it in. Three of them is getting up there in light, maybe 4 will do it. $40 at bikeman.com I was happy with the Cateye halogen HL-1500 (also uses 4 AA's) pair I had but the batteries didn't last long enough without rationing the light to long half-power periods. The EL500's look very bright from the front, and they're instantly spotted as vehicle-like by traffic itching to pull in front of you otherwise, anyway if you have more than one of them on the handlebars. They turn on their mounts very easily, so you're reaiming them a lot, compared to the old Cateye mounts. Not that they turn on their own so much as that operating the switch will turn them. -- Ron Hardin On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk. |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
If you want bright, you won't be happy with the EL500. It's much better
than the EL300 though, and you can certainly ride with it on a dark, pothole-free road with no problem. The road surface will go invisible if there are many competing lights though. I have 3 of them on my handlebars - I just added two and like the size and construction and the battery life, which makes it possible to make it home without rationing the light - and ordered a 4th for a spare spot I think I can squeeze it in. Three of them is getting up there in light, maybe 4 will do it. $40 at bikeman.com I was happy with the Cateye halogen HL-1500 (also uses 4 AA's) pair I had but the batteries didn't last long enough without rationing the light to long half-power periods. The EL500's look very bright from the front, and they're instantly spotted as vehicle-like by traffic itching to pull in front of you otherwise, anyway if you have more than one of them on the handlebars. They turn on their mounts very easily, so you're reaiming them a lot, compared to the old Cateye mounts. Not that they turn on their own so much as that operating the switch will turn them. -- Ron Hardin On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk. |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Having recently perchased an EL-500, I thought I'd chip in with my 2
cents worth. Following a tip in another post I installed Lithium batteries in the light. (which I found at a good price on E-bay) These batteries put out about 1.75V as compared to the Alkalines, which put out about 1.5V. In my opinion, this light works quite well and is a noticeable improvement over both my EL-110 and my EL-300. Unfortunately the beam pattern is in the shape of the Cateye symbol and I think it would be better if it was a circle. Maybe they wanted to advertize to spy satelites how many people use their product? Lewis. ************************* (Andrew Webster) wrote in message . com... (NLee1875) wrote in message ... August 16, 2004 Hello all.. Back in May, I posted an inquiry about the EverLed PR bulb. The bulb had good reviews but I was not convinced. After reading a review by a respected bike rider Bruce Ingle in the topica.com newsgroup.. I decided to do my own informal evaluation. cut EverLED PR base flashlilght...You need one of these. NO KIDDING! cut Nick Lee To summarise, I agree entirely with what Nick has written. For a change, this is a product that exceeds expectations and where the marketing claims match the product. After reading this post I decided to try an EverLED to replace one of the bulbs in my SMART BL201 (see http://www.sjscycles.com/store/vIndex.htm?item8379.htm). The bulb (at £28.20 from http://www.ultraleds.co.uk/product_i...roducts_id=605) was more expensive than the lights new, so I was a little hesitant about trying this. I had previously replaced the 2.4W bulb with a 6W and made up a set of 5 AA NiMH rechargeables to replace the lead acid battery supplied (actually 2 NiMH sets), the aim being to get acceptable illumination for my daily commute (about 45 mins each way). This worked well, but meant doing lots of recharging. I wanted the Everled to give me the same illumination but with greater battery life. I considered the Cateye EL-500, but my experience with the EL-300 is that, while it works quite well on fresh AA batteries, it isn't quite so bright with NiMH's as with alkaline cells. I had hoped the EL-300 would replace my SMART system, but it was nowhere near good enough (only small patch of road/path illuminated). I don't know if cateye have included appropriate electronics with the EL-500 so that it will work well with NiMH cells and couldn't find this out from their web site. The Everled claims to work with a "1-6 cells" with "maximum light from 3 or more cells", so should be a good bet with rechargeables. The Everled easily exceeds the brightness of the 6W bulb in my lights, though it isn't as bright as the 10W one (subjective tests by using pairs of bulbs in the two housing of the light and switching between them illuminating the same spot on the wall). The Everled is a pure white light, certainly much harsher than the halogen it replaces, but without the blue cast of my EL-300. Ultraleds supplied this next day and will certainly get an order for another to replace the second bulb in my light set. Like Nick, I am interested to know if the EL-500 would have done just as well in terms of light output (with rechargeables) and battery life (potentially it could as, I understand, it uses the same Luxeon Star LED technology), but if you are currently using a 5W or less incandescent bulb in a 4.5V or more light, you would certainly benefit from an EverLED bulb for increased light output and battery life. Andrew Webster |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Ron Hardin wrote in message ...
If you want bright, you won't be happy with the EL500. It's much better than the EL300 though, and you can certainly ride with it on a dark, pothole-free road with no problem. The road surface will go invisible if there are many competing lights though. cut I'm really more interested in decent battery life. I generally only cycle at night on roads I know well and have front and rear xenon strobes for being seen. I don't think anyone wanting super-brightness would be considering LED lights. I do prefer to use rechargeable batteries. Do you have any experience of these in your array of EL500s? They turn on their mounts very easily, so you're reaiming them a lot, compared to the old Cateye mounts. Not that they turn on their own so much as that operating the switch will turn them. I'm not sure what you mean by the "old cateye mounts". Is this the same bracket as the EL-300 (cateye web site doesn't make this clear)? (having invested in an EL-300 bracket for four of my bikes it would certainly influence me if the EL-500 were the same). Andrew Webster |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Ron Hardin wrote in message ...
If you want bright, you won't be happy with the EL500. It's much better than the EL300 though, and you can certainly ride with it on a dark, pothole-free road with no problem. The road surface will go invisible if there are many competing lights though. cut I'm really more interested in decent battery life. I generally only cycle at night on roads I know well and have front and rear xenon strobes for being seen. I don't think anyone wanting super-brightness would be considering LED lights. I do prefer to use rechargeable batteries. Do you have any experience of these in your array of EL500s? They turn on their mounts very easily, so you're reaiming them a lot, compared to the old Cateye mounts. Not that they turn on their own so much as that operating the switch will turn them. I'm not sure what you mean by the "old cateye mounts". Is this the same bracket as the EL-300 (cateye web site doesn't make this clear)? (having invested in an EL-300 bracket for four of my bikes it would certainly influence me if the EL-500 were the same). Andrew Webster |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Front light advice? Cateye ABS-25 | Andrew Reddaway | UK | 6 | February 6th 04 12:08 AM |
Cateye EL-500? | Lars S. Mulford | Recumbent Biking | 18 | February 4th 04 07:38 AM |
Front light advice? Cateye ABS-25 | Andrew Reddaway | General | 2 | February 3rd 04 04:15 AM |
Front light advice? Cateye ABS-25 | Andrew Reddaway | Australia | 2 | February 3rd 04 04:15 AM |
cateye | Marian Rosenberg | General | 7 | September 10th 03 01:27 PM |