Super Bright LEDs

I was over at the LBS during lunch, and one of the guys was
talking about a 10w LED from England or Europe that is going to
hit the market around Christmas. It is supposed to be
super-bright. My old NiteRider is about kaput, and I am thinking
LED is looking like the way to go. However, I need a lot of
light because I ride in the rain and poor visibility conditions
(lots of ambient light). Is it too early in the technology cycle
to be buying LEDs as a primary light? -- Jay Beattie.

On Thu, 16 Nov 2006 15:03:38 -0800, Jay Beattie wrote:

I was over at the LBS during lunch, and one of the guys was
talking about a 10w LED from England or Europe that is going to
hit the market around Christmas. It is supposed to be
super-bright. My old NiteRider is about kaput, and I am thinking
LED is looking like the way to go. However, I need a lot of
light because I ride in the rain and poor visibility conditions
(lots of ambient light). Is it too early in the technology cycle
to be buying LEDs as a primary light? -- Jay Beattie.

What's wrong with your Niterider? Does it just need a new battery?

I don't know about single 10W LEDs, but there are several excellent lights
on the market with three 3W LEDs. The Cateye Triple Shot, Solidlights
from the UK, etc. They're brighter, better focused, and more reliable
than halogen incandescents of similar wattage. Solidlights even
makes a generator-compatible model. The only downside is their high price.

Would I buy one? Yes.

Matt O.

I've got a dual 3W LED light that I bought when I had to send my NiteRider
HID in for service.
Having ridden with it for a few weeks, I can say it almost replaces the HID.
The light in the first 50-100 feet is nearly the same, it's only the
"long-throw" light that isn't quite as bright, say in the 100-200' range.
It's plenty rideable thou', even in a pack ride cruising along in curves in
the mid-to-upper 20's.
Runtimes are excellent too, I can usually get a couple of 2-3 hour evening
rides before recharging.

-pete

"Jay Beattie" wrote in message
...
I was over at the LBS during lunch, and one of the guys was
talking about a 10w LED from England or Europe that is going to
hit the market around Christmas. It is supposed to be
super-bright. My old NiteRider is about kaput, and I am thinking
LED is looking like the way to go. However, I need a lot of
light because I ride in the rain and poor visibility conditions
(lots of ambient light). Is it too early in the technology cycle
to be buying LEDs as a primary light? -- Jay Beattie.

Pete Grey wrote:
I've got a dual 3W LED light that I bought when I had to send my NiteRider
HID in for service.
Having ridden with it for a few weeks, I can say it almost replaces the HID.
The light in the first 50-100 feet is nearly the same, it's only the
"long-throw" light that isn't quite as bright, say in the 100-200' range.
It's plenty rideable thou', even in a pack ride cruising along in curves in
the mid-to-upper 20's.
Runtimes are excellent too, I can usually get a couple of 2-3 hour evening
rides before recharging.

Lord knows I'm no gram-counter, but how's the weight? I understand
those 3- and 5-watt LEDs require some fairly massive heatsinks.

In article ,
Pete Grey wrote:
I've got a dual 3W LED light that I bought when I had to send my NiteRider
HID in for service.
Having ridden with it for a few weeks, I can say it almost replaces the HID.

The usual complaint about LED lights is that the beam is too focused.
How well does this light up the sides of the road? Thanks.

Brian Huntley wrote:
Lord knows I'm no gram-counter, but how's the weight? I understand
those 3- and 5-watt LEDs require some fairly massive heatsinks.

"Massive" is relative, I suppose. And those heatsinks are usually made
of aluminum, not copper (if you were thinking of those crazy things
computer overclockers fit onto their CPUs).

If I recall, high power LED lights like the Dinotte and the new
NiteRider Minewt are smaller and lighter than pretty much everything
else on the market with similar output and runtime (though an HID system
with more output may be lighter overall factoring in the output).

--
I do not accept unsolicited commercial e-mail. Remove NO_UCE for
legitimate replies.

"Matt O'Toole" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 16 Nov 2006 15:03:38 -0800, Jay Beattie wrote:

I was over at the LBS during lunch, and one of the guys was
talking about a 10w LED from England or Europe that is going
to
hit the market around Christmas. It is supposed to be
super-bright. My old NiteRider is about kaput, and I am
thinking
LED is looking like the way to go. However, I need a lot of
light because I ride in the rain and poor visibility
conditions
(lots of ambient light). Is it too early in the technology
cycle
to be buying LEDs as a primary light? -- Jay Beattie.

What's wrong with your Niterider? Does it just need a new
battery?

I rebuilt the battery pack on a first generation "Classic" with
some rechargeable sub-C NiCads which I shorted pretty badly while
wiring up an old Night Sun (so both lights could use the same
battery). Long story. Anyway, the run time on the battery is
short, and the light output is not that good anyway, so I was
going to skip the rebuild exercise and go with a new light with
longer run times. I also like the idea of a super bright light
since my night vision is going to hell as I grow older. -- Jay
Beattie.

On Thu, 16 Nov 2006 16:30:59 -0800, "Jay Beattie"
wrote:
On Thu, 16 Nov 2006 15:03:38 -0800, Jay Beattie wrote:
Is it too early in the technology cycle
to be buying LEDs as a primary light? -- Jay Beattie.

I also like the idea of a super bright light
since my night vision is going to hell as I grow older.

To answer your original question, maybe. I think it really depends on
how much light you're comfortable with. I picked up a Planet Bike 1 W
LED light last spring, and tried it out when the time changed this
fall. I didn't need the "big" 12W halogen light set, so I've been
commuting with the PB LED on the rain bike, and it's good enough for
me. Mix of urban and suburban streets, ranging from lit well enough I
don't need a light to see the road through lit at intersections and
down to unlit.

I don't know if I'm not old enough for night vision deterioration to
set in, or if the bifocals help.

Pat

Email address works as is.

On Thu, 16 Nov 2006 15:03:38 -0800, Jay Beattie wrote:

I was over at the LBS during lunch, and one of the guys was
talking about a 10w LED from England or Europe that is going to
hit the market around Christmas. It is supposed to be
super-bright. My old NiteRider is about kaput, and I am thinking
LED is looking like the way to go. However, I need a lot of
light because I ride in the rain and poor visibility conditions
(lots of ambient light). Is it too early in the technology cycle
to be buying LEDs as a primary light? --

I decided over a year ago to test out that question, and got a diNotte to
replace my old NiteRider with irreplaceable, dead, battery pack.

The diNotte is "only" a 5W light, but works extremely well. Plenty of
light to see, and be seen, in all but the most unfavorable conditions. I
also like the small size and easily replaced batteries. I didn't much
like the cost, but that's life. It certainly puts out more light, in a
better pattern, than a typical 10W halogen. The light is also bluer, and
seems to light up reflective bits, like signs, better than other lights.

I would like to see how much light a 10w LED puts out. It ought to be
impressive.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Enron's slogan: Respect, Communication, Integrity, and
_`\(,_ | Excellence.
(_)/ (_) |

On Thu, 16 Nov 2006 15:35:02 -0800, Brian Huntley wrote:

Lord knows I'm no gram-counter, but how's the weight? I understand
those 3- and 5-watt LEDs require some fairly massive heatsinks.

Huh? The housing on the diNotte is all heat-sink, but massive it is not.
I forget exactly, but the whole thing, batteries and all, is listed as
210g.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Become MicroSoft-free forever. Ask me how.
_`\(,_ |
(_)/ (_) |