Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

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pete75
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by pete75 »

This seems a better buy. 7 watt, lamp bracket, charger 2 3.7 volt rechargeable batteries and a back light thrown in for measure.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ZOOMABLE-7w-C ... 5d2e4f4dbd
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
thirdcrank
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by thirdcrank »

gentlegreen wrote:The lens is plastic. Quite crude compared with the usual refractive optics you get.
I'm not convinced yet about the zoom function, but I've yet to try it outdoors.

The lens is a simple convex lens. It is completely plain so its effect is varied as it is moved further from the light source, The beam is changed from a flood to a very sharp spot . Only friction holds the head of the torch in the chosen zoom position so I suspect that with use it would become a bit loose.

I think that using it on a bike would need some pretty careful aiming and testing unless the user intended to dazzle other road users or wasn't bothered if it happened.
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gentlegreen
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by gentlegreen »

pete75 wrote:This seems a better buy. 7 watt, lamp bracket, charger 2 3.7 volt rechargeable batteries and a back light thrown in for measure.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ZOOMABLE-7w-C ... 5d2e4f4dbd

Given the "5W Cree" ones are 1Watt and not Cree at all ...

The free back lights are best thrown straight in the bin.
pete75
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by pete75 »

gentlegreen wrote:
pete75 wrote:This seems a better buy. 7 watt, lamp bracket, charger 2 3.7 volt rechargeable batteries and a back light thrown in for measure.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ZOOMABLE-7w-C ... 5d2e4f4dbd

Given the "5W Cree" ones are 1Watt and not Cree at all ...

The free back lights are best thrown straight in the bin.


Dark in your bin is it?

A mate at work bought a 5 watt off the web from hong kong - one of the zoomable ones and if it really is 1 watt then it's brilliant value for money if they're producing that much light with so little power consumption.
Last edited by pete75 on 21 Nov 2011, 9:43pm, edited 1 time in total.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
thirdcrank
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by thirdcrank »

In the interests of science (and because I like playing with torches) I've taken some pics. White wall about 12' away, a yard wide (the top of our stairs seen from the landing.)
Tesco Cree
Tesco Cree
Aldi Cree flood
Aldi Cree flood
Aldi Cree spot
Aldi Cree spot


I just set the camera to auto and snap away so I suspect it has adjusted itself a bit to accommodate the different light levels because subjectively, the difference between the Tesco and the Aldi is greater than it looks here.

(PS I used mt Petzl Zipka to see what I was doing with the camera in the dark. :mrgreen: )
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gentlegreen
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by gentlegreen »

pete75 wrote:
gentlegreen wrote:
pete75 wrote:This seems a better buy. 7 watt, lamp bracket, charger 2 3.7 volt rechargeable batteries and a back light thrown in for measure.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ZOOMABLE-7w-C ... 5d2e4f4dbd

Given the "5W Cree" ones are 1Watt and not Cree at all ...

The free back lights are best thrown straight in the bin.


Dark in your bin is it?

A mate at work bought a 5 watt off the web from hong kong - one of the zoomable ones and if it really is 1 watt then it's brilliant value for money if they're producing that so much light with so little power consumption.


OK - [perhaps the zoomable ones are like the Aldi ones ...

I haven't used anything as dim as the 1 watt torch I bought as "5 watt" since my NeverReady days - went straight to a 21 watt car utility lamp - then 9 watt fluorescent, then 4 watt domestic MR16 LEDs - genuine Crees. Currently using triple 2 watt domestic MR16s that I've seen for well under a tenner now - described as "9 watts" but serviceable nonetheless I would feel naked with less. In fact I also wouldn't ride on busy roads without my large 48 LED / 4 watt "be seen" lights ...

The ( viewtopic.php?f=15&t=10801 ) freebie rear lights switch on if you knock them - used mine attached to a rucksack when I was walking to work last year - was just about acceptable for that.

None of these things are fit to be used as a bike light without something to hack the beam into an acceptable shape - (and I include the MagicShine) but then I feel the same way about most of the lamps sold as bike lights.

What I want to know is why Cateye or the like can't turn out lamps with German-quality optics at a competitive price.
Nettled Shin
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by Nettled Shin »

gentlegreen wrote:None of these things are fit to be used as a bike light without something to hack the beam into an acceptable shape - (and I include the MagicShine)

What do you do to modify the beam shape, Gentlegreen? And what shape do you go for? Having already built some lights, I'm a hostage to fortune over whether a specific lens or reflector will fit. Maybe louvres are the easiest thing to install, as was done in the War.
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gentlegreen
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by gentlegreen »

Nettled Shin wrote:What do you do to modify the beam shape, Gentlegreen? And what shape do you go for? Having already built some lights, I'm a hostage to fortune over whether a specific lens or reflector will fit. Maybe louvres are the easiest thing to install, as was done in the War.


At the moment, two halves of a half litre yoghurt carton laminated with an aero wrapper !

You wouldn't want anything like my lights on your bike, I can assure you !

Image
thirdcrank
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by thirdcrank »

What an array!

What are the different elements? The lowest looks suspiciously like the fittings on the waste pipe under our kitchen sink. Is that at the top some sort of Klaxon? (Or a Gattling gun?)

What about a competion to guess what's what? :wink:
Last edited by thirdcrank on 21 Nov 2011, 10:39pm, edited 1 time in total.
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gentlegreen
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by gentlegreen »

It's my feeling that as a cyclist I need more types of lights than a car or motorcycle.

My biggest problem is when other cyclists approach me from behind when I have my retina-piercing 48 LED rear light on ... I have a special diffused light I can switch over to when I'm using shared paths ...

Image

That's a surgical glove by the way !

I was overtaken by a van today and the driver was shouting something incomprehensible about my rear light - it cuts through dense fog very well.
Last edited by gentlegreen on 22 Nov 2011, 5:12am, edited 2 times in total.
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gentlegreen
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by gentlegreen »

thirdcrank wrote:What an array!

What are the different elements? The lowest looks suspiciously like the fittings on the waste pipe under our kitchen sink. Is that at the top some sort of Klaxon? (Or a Gattling gun?)

What about a competion to guess what's what? :wink:


Actually that's the previous configuration - I felt the need to use two single Cree spots with different optics to make up my dipped beam. I now have just a single lamp with three 2 watt LEDs - the old lamps each made about as much light as one of the Aldi torches, the single new lamp is significantly brighter.

The upper unit is my "be seen" lamp, with my high beam in the middle - operated from a dip switch and flash button on the left side of the handlebar.

If I ever find myself fully content with my lights, It's always been my plan to mould something - perhaps from fibreglass, but actually more likely to be hemp or something. (did you know that Lotus cars have hemp body parts ? )
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Phil_Lee
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by Phil_Lee »

pete75 wrote:This seems a better buy. 7 watt, lamp bracket, charger 2 3.7 volt rechargeable batteries and a back light thrown in for measure.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ZOOMABLE-7w-C ... 5d2e4f4dbd


If that's emitting 7 watts, I'm Chris Hoy.

The LED they claim to use (CREE Q5) is only capable of emitting 107 lumens at a maximum of 3.7w.
But even at that far lower output, it's inappropriate for use on a bicycle except as an instantly switch-able High beam.
thirdcrank
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by thirdcrank »

gentlegreen wrote:... I was overtaken by a van today and the driver was shouting something incomprehensible about my rear light - it cuts through dense fog very well.
I'll jump to the obtuse conclusion that there's irony there.

If we accept that bike lights have two overlapping purposes, to see and be seen, I get the impression that you are especially keen on the latter. Was that comment from the van driver typical of frequent comments or an isolated incident? ie do you find you are annoying a lot of other road users?
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gentlegreen
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by gentlegreen »

thirdcrank wrote:
gentlegreen wrote:... I was overtaken by a van today and the driver was shouting something incomprehensible about my rear light - it cuts through dense fog very well.
I'll jump to the obtuse conclusion that there's irony there.

If we accept that bike lights have two overlapping purposes, to see and be seen, I get the impression that you are especially keen on the latter. Was that comment from the van driver typical of frequent comments or an isolated incident? ie do you find you are annoying a lot of other road users?


I suspect he probably disliked not having an excuse to ignore me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVmBLiFZJlI

His brake lights - to which I was predictably almost immediately exposed, added up to a lot more light....

As I said earlier, I have an alternative light for when I feel I'm unfairly annoying a following road user, but all he had to do in this case was hold back.
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Re: Aldi CREE torches (5W - £11)

Post by LANDSURFER74 »

5 Watt Cree LED Bike Front & Rear Light Set ;

BOUGHT MINE OFF E BAY £8 ... with rear light and all mounting brackets ... blinding beam from 3 aaa cells..... out for a ride tonight to see how long it lasts..
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