I'm seeking a new lighting solution, need advice please

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Waffles
Posts: 55
Joined: 25 Dec 2009, 8:14pm

I'm seeking a new lighting solution, need advice please

Post by Waffles »

The problem:

I need a new light, but have grand desires, yet a limited budget.

History:

I have an Air Bike P7 Ever Light (SCC P7 LED) rated at 700 lumens and it's been working well for several years now (gosh how time flies).
Over the weekend the cat (soon to be the late cat when I catch her) has chewed the charger cable, so I have had to patch it up until I can get a replacement.

Where I'm up to:

Given the lack of availability of spares, the condition of the lamp itself and the price of the MagicShine lights I'm tempted to just buy one to replace it.
I've also been thinking about a dynamo lighting setup, but I've been held back before on the two points:
- Cost
- Lack of flashing mode
- Lack of quick release (on the lamp)
If I did go for dynamo lighting I could get a Hope Vision 1 (or something similar) for the backup bike.
Or if the replacement had a charger I could use with my airbike then that would be a double win, but it is unlikely.

Any advice, suggestions or past experiences you can share would be very welcome.
Thanks in advance.
Brucey
Posts: 44522
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: I'm seeking a new lighting solution, need advice please

Post by Brucey »

you can get 6mm threaded QRs for seat clusters. You could maybe use one of these on the fork crown for a QD light fitting if you are running cantis or hub brakes.

then again there are wing nuts etc... I'm sure you could arrange something QD with a little thought and creativity.

cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
stewartpratt
Posts: 2566
Joined: 27 Dec 2007, 5:12pm

Re: I'm seeking a new lighting solution, need advice please

Post by stewartpratt »

What burn time to do you need your new light to give you? And is this a "be seen" light or a "see by" light?
MacBludgeon
Posts: 462
Joined: 6 Feb 2009, 4:19pm
Location: Farnborough, Hampshire, UK

Re: I'm seeking a new lighting solution, need advice please

Post by MacBludgeon »

If you're thinking of a dynamo solution then the best bang for the buck would be a combination of:-

Shimano dynohub wheel - £90
B&M IQ Cyo - £60
Optional B&M rear light - £30

Personally I wouldn't bother with a dynamo rear light again.
nuns, no sense of humour
Waffles
Posts: 55
Joined: 25 Dec 2009, 8:14pm

Re: I'm seeking a new lighting solution, need advice please

Post by Waffles »

Brucey wrote:you can get 6mm threaded QRs for seat clusters.

Do you have a link you could post as I can't quite picture what you mean, thanks Brucey.

stewartpratt wrote:What burn time to do you need your new light to give you? And is this a "be seen" light or a "see by" light?

3 hours on max would be fine as I can charge it daily, though more time would be welcome.
It is a light that will flood the road with light so I can see it that I need and of course to be seen too. The airbike does an amazing job of both of these, so something as good as or better would be perfect. I'm trying to keep costs down as I've spent my annual allowance several years back :)

MacBludgeon wrote:Shimano dynohub wheel - £90

Are they pre built or is that just the price of the hub? Do you have any links you could share?
Oh, worth mentioning, my wheels are 26" and v-brakes.

At least I've got the summer day light to get this all together before I really need the lighting, but still, I like to light up the tree tunnels.
Thanks.
Ayesha
Posts: 4192
Joined: 30 Jan 2010, 9:54am

Re: I'm seeking a new lighting solution, need advice please

Post by Ayesha »

I bought one of these as a 'see by' lamp. Fantastic.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2012-CREE-XML ... 3cc6ecc36f
Brucey
Posts: 44522
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: I'm seeking a new lighting solution, need advice please

Post by Brucey »

bolt like this, if of the correct length would (say) mount to the fork crown

Image

e.g.http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/150474431693?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&adtype=pla

maybe there is a better way of achieving this....

cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MacBludgeon
Posts: 462
Joined: 6 Feb 2009, 4:19pm
Location: Farnborough, Hampshire, UK

Re: I'm seeking a new lighting solution, need advice please

Post by MacBludgeon »

A quick scan shows the wheel price has risen, I was thinking of a complete 'Alfine dynamo wheel' type that into your search engine and you'll get lots of hits around the £110-120 mark. But I think this wheel is 700c, it's worth looking on a few of the German websites as well....Bike24, Bikecomponents.DE and Roseversand.
nuns, no sense of humour
stewartpratt
Posts: 2566
Joined: 27 Dec 2007, 5:12pm

Re: I'm seeking a new lighting solution, need advice please

Post by stewartpratt »

I bought a setup similar to the above last year from Bike24 (Shimano XT hub, Mavic Open Sport rim, DT Competition spokes, B&M IQ Cyo Senso light) - it cost me £150 including the postage from Germany.

It's a great setup. The only disdvantage for me is that I can't just whip it off and put it on another bike, but I can live with that. It's great never having to charge anything up or worry about running out of juice, it's good that it doesn't occupy any bar space, and since it has a proper dipped beam pattern it's also nice never being main-beamed by motorists who get naffed off by the super-bright scattergun beams that most bike lights have.
johnb
Posts: 793
Joined: 28 Jun 2007, 8:05am

Re: I'm seeking a new lighting solution, need advice please

Post by johnb »

I bought into the whole dynamo concept with. Handbuilt Rigida Sputnik rim, Shimano d72 dynamo hub and a B&M iq senso fly front and a senso plus rear light. It has served me well and has provided great lighting but they have their limits and drawbacks.

You carry approx one lb weight at all times from the hub.
Not easily moved from bike to bike.
Shimano hub dynamo cannot be serviced.
Lack of flashing light.

I have recently bought two Smart 35 lux lights which can be fork crown, fork blade and handlebar mounted and find with one mounted on the fork blade and one on the handlebars the lighting is far superior to that of the single dynamo light. I already have an excellent battery charger and batteries so no added costs for them.
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Graham O
Posts: 669
Joined: 27 Jan 2007, 7:54am

Re: I'm seeking a new lighting solution, need advice please

Post by Graham O »

Another vote for the B&M IQ Cyo and rear light plus a Shimano DN-80 (?) hub dynamo. Nice and bright and more than enough light for unlit roads. Why do you want a flashing mode? This was originally provided to extend battery life and although many people will say otherwise, I don't think flashing is good on the road as it gets lost in all the other lights around towns. On the open road, constant is just as visible.

Again, why a quick release? The purpose of dynamo lighting is (almost) fit and forget. If it's a case of moving the lamp from one bike to another that is contradicted by your comment about getting a Hope vision 1 etc.

And finally don't get bogged down in the number of lumens. This is the total light output and takes no account of how the lamp distributes them. So a 700 lumen lamp with 50% going above the "road horizon" is no brighter on the road than a 350 lumen one. The IQ Cyo provides a nice trapezoidal beam pattern concentrating the light where you need it. Their output is measured in lux which is the number of lumens per square metre.


For your old lamp, why not go to Maplins and get a couple of inline connectors and repair the charger. Don't be nasty to the cat. Cats are nice :D
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meic
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Joined: 1 Feb 2007, 9:37pm
Location: Caerfyrddin (Carmarthen)

Re: I'm seeking a new lighting solution, need advice please

Post by meic »

If the dynamo set up is too much of a financial hit then take a small cut in lighting output for a major cut in price and buy a B&M Ixon IQ. Similar lighting output to the Hope, lasts five hours on full power mode and costs around £60.

It can also be transferred easily between bikes.
However if it has a flashing mode, you will find that it is in fact just broken. :lol:

Personally I cant stand flashing mode at the front of my bike when it is fully dark. When it gets dark enough for me to get irritated by flashing lights, I reset them to constant.
Yma o Hyd
stewartpratt
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Joined: 27 Dec 2007, 5:12pm

Re: I'm seeking a new lighting solution, need advice please

Post by stewartpratt »

johnb wrote:You carry approx one lb weight at all times from the hub.


It's about 1/2lb. Standard XT front is around 230g, XT dyno is around 480g. The lamp is around 100g including bracket, I believe. Cable weighs pretty much nothing.

So the total additional weight is around 350g.

Bear in mind that to get similar lighting on the tarmac from a non-dipped beam will require around twice as much output, hence twice as much power requirement. So as a comparison you're looking at an Exposure Strada or Race Maxx as the lightest comparable option, which are around 200g.

So, compared to those options, the XT/Cyo setup is around 1/4lb heavier, but gives you infinite runtime and zero faff (plus the opportunity to use the power for other purposes, eg rear lights or USB devices). It's also £50-100 cheaper. Granted, no ability to swap bikes and no flashing (not that I've ever wanted a flashing light - and also, since flashing LEDs have very low battery drain, you can easily and very cheaply get a flasher to stick on the bars to augment the dyno light).

Naturally there are other battery lights than the Exposures, but: cheap, bright, decent runtime - pick two (or often one). If you add "proper road beam" as a fourth criterion then even if you ditch the "cheap" then there isn't a battery light out there that'll do more than a short ride (depending on your definition of 'short' of course).
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meic
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Location: Caerfyrddin (Carmarthen)

Re: I'm seeking a new lighting solution, need advice please

Post by meic »

Further down the food chain than the prestigious XT hubs,

Dynamo hubs weigh in at 560g and 760g, yet standard hubs remain close to the 220g mark.
Which makes the 1lb figure quite reasonable.

Then there was the comment about "all the time". Most of the people do most of their miles in daylight and battery lights just stay on the shelf at home.
Yma o Hyd
stewartpratt
Posts: 2566
Joined: 27 Dec 2007, 5:12pm

Re: I'm seeking a new lighting solution, need advice please

Post by stewartpratt »

meic wrote:Further down the food chain than the prestigious XT hubs, Dynamo hubs weigh in at 560g and 760g


True enough - though an XT dyno is £20-30 extra, and for that you get a 100-200g weight saving, increased efficiency, better sealing and better bearings (and a QR, over the base model). In the bicycle world that's a lot of bang for your buck - and I assume the OP isn't on a shoestring budget if he/she's talking about buying a Hope light as a backup :)
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