Bicycling

Last edited Tue Nov 3, 2015, 10:20 AM - Edit history (6)

I know it was a subthread but it was talked about:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1207125

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1207319#post5

Now, in my youth (the 1970s) I used a cheap generator to power the lights. That generator had the tendency to tear apart tires. In the 1990s I used various lights, including a Sears Die Hard rechargeable light (which had a wide light, one side affect of it was drivers of automobiles thought it was a motorcycle light and actually cut their high beams for me, something I never had drivers do when using regular bicycle lights).

In the mid 1990s I broke down and purchased a Schmidt Son generator. I had read about how good high end generators were, so I decided to buy one. The SON is a product of Germany and is a generator located in the front hub (Schmidt use to sell a barrel generator that was powered by a roller that ran on the tire, like my old cheap generator, but I opt for the SON for it was a hub generator).



http://www.nabendynamo.de/english/index.html

http://www.bumm.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Katalog/B_M__Catalogue_2015_16__English.pdf



I liked the SON and abused it. Schmidt only guaranteed them for three years in the 1990s (the Guarantee is presently five years) so after ten years of abuse, my first one died. I purchased a second one in 2005 and I am still using it. I liked it for it provided two to three hours of lighting that I needed. The battery and rechargeable lights of the 1990s could NOT do that. Remember in the 1990s we are talking about Incandescent lights only, and those lights just ate up battery power. A generator light could go all night, for you generated the power as you moved along, thus you could have battery lights all night (or day) long.

The down side of generator lights, is the only one worth getting tend to be high in price. Yes, there were cheap generator, but most slow you down do to their poor construction when they were not tearing your tires apart. The high end generators, were and are a lot easier on biking. I replaced a front Shimano XTR front axle, with a heavier wheel and a Schmidt SON generator hub and I notice NO difference in biking (Schmidt says they is a slight decrease in performance between the XTR front hub and the SON Hub but I notice no difference). Given my previous experience with low end bike generators this was a pleasant shock. I am still using a Schmidt SON on my bike.

Now, if you had asked my in the 1990s what was the best bicycle light to get, i would have said the Schmidt generator with a Busch and Muller light. As to tail lights, but the 1990s LEDs have come to dominate the tail light market. LED taillights, being turned on for two to three hours a night, could last a month without having the batteries to be replaced.

Since the 1990s, LEDs have slowly improved. I notice LED on Bicycle tail lights in the early 1990s, in large tractor trailers by 1995 and in automobiles tail light by 2000 (Yes, large trucks had them first, given most large trucks only last about 18 months and truckers do NOT want to be stopped for a dead tail light, they had incentive to adopt LED lights). Please note mid size trucks travel half the distance most cars (and light trucks) travel in a year, but tractor Trailers do three to four times (and often more) miles then Cars do in a year. Thus a lot of mid size trucks on the road still use Incandescent lights. but almost all of the Semis use LEDs (Trailers also last longer then the 'Tractors" that haul them, so many trailer still have Incandescent lights)/

Anyway, LED HEADLIGHTS for Bicycle started to come out about 2000, but were expensive and inferior to Incandescent lights of 2000. By 2005 LED lights for Schmidt Generators lights were better then the Incandescent lights for the Schmidt, thus when I purchased my second Generator I also purchased a LED Light for the Generator. The reason why LED lights for the Schmidt was superior to Battery LEDs as late as 20905 was simple, people with high end generators were willing spend a lot more money on a light then people looking for a battery light. Given this willingness to spend more money, high end LED light makers catered to the people willing to spend the money. Thus as late as 2005, I would say Generator Lights were still heads and shoulders above battery lights.

I can NOT make the same claim today. Today, you can purchased a very good LED light, with more power then a Generator Light can produce and that light provide power for 6 to eight hours before it needs new batteries or to be recharged. Thus the main advantages of Generator lights is gone. On the other hand the secondary advantage, that you do NOT have to check the battery to make sure you have lights, remains (Generator lights just need the bike to move to have light, dead batteries is NOT a concern for someone with a Generator).

Here is the US Regulations as to Auto Headlights, its used Candela when setting forth what a US Headlight is suppose to produce, and then uses watts to set how much power is being used to produce the light produced by a headlight:

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?node=se49.6.571_1108

Please be careful when reading the above regulation, the Regulation cite the number "55", "70" etc in Table IIa and that seems to indicate WATTAGE NOT LUMENS. Then in later table CD or Candela is used, but only for light at a set angle, NOT total light from that headlight.

Thus 20,000 Candela (A number listed in the tables for headlights) converts to 8 lumens at 1.3 degrees.

Using the above conversion program, a 35 watt headlight (Typical Low beam for a Automobile) will produce 525 Lumens in a conventional Automotive headlight. A 55 Watt Headlight (Typical High Beam) will produce 835 Lumens in a conventional headlight.

I bring this up for you can see 525 Lumens is what most cars are producing with low beams, and 825 lumens are what most cars are producing with high beams. In my opinion any headlight for a BICYCLE should be at or below 525 Lumens for high way use (unless you have quick way to turn it off or otherwise NOT pointing the light at an auto driver). Please note, given the above conversion program and its error rate, 600 Lumens is a good cut off for "Low beams'.

I bring this up, for I have a tendency, even in the 1990s, if adding a "High Beam" to my bicycle, in the form of a helmet mounted headlight. I liked them about 1000 Lumens and used them as high beams. I like them on my helmet for when I car approached me from the front I would turn my head to the side of the road and NOT blind them (I turned if off in areas with streetlights, I live in a mix urban-rural area, I also did not use the "High bean" in areas with extensive auto traffic).

Today, you have to go with LED headlights. Try to get one with at lease 500 Lumens if traveling on roads without street lights. On roads with Streetlights 100 Lumens will do for on such streets the main purpose of a headlight is to be seen NOT to light up the road in front of you.

On roads without street lights and low traffic a mix of a 500 Lumen and a 1000 Lumen headlight are ideal, just remember to turn off the 1000 Lumen Light when you have oncoming traffic (or at least turn it away from such drivers). Please also remember the 500 and 1000 lumens are GUIDELINE numbers not absolute numbers, thus a 600 lumen with a 1200 lumen high bean would work for most people on roads without streetlights.

One last comment. It is ILLEGAL to use flashing lights in Germany. The reason for that rule is when people see something flashing, they tend to be drawn to it. Thus flashing lights tends to draw drivers to you on your bike and you really do NOT want that. Thus do NOT use flashing lights.



As between Generator, rechargeable and battery lights, some comments:

Generator: expensive, reliable, questionable cost to benefit ratio today.

Rechargeable: Intermediate in price. If LED (and only buy LED) reliable and can last six to eight hours on a charge. Downside, must be recharged, can not just buy new batteries. Upside, USB power sources are world wide today, you just have to purchase a converter from whatever is the local power source to the USB cable.

Battery powered lights: Cheap, but have to buy new batteries when the old battery run out of juice. This can be minimized by buying rechargeable batteries, but the newer rechargeable using USB cable can be recharged almost anywhere given a power source and a converter from that power source to a USB cable. Just a comment that I would opt for a LED with a USB rechargeable battery over a Battery powered Light,

I like my generator lights, and I will continue to use them (and may even buy a replacement when it goes bad) but I believe the most cost efficient option for lighting is a LED Light with a USB recharging option. Name brands I am NOT that big on. Before the LED revolution I used Nite Rider lights in addition to my generator light. I like pushing made in US things and Nite Rider is Made in the USA:

https://www.niterider.com/

I notice Nite Rider has 600 Lumens lights for road use and 3500 Lumen lights for off road usage. The 3500 lumen had only a two hour life expectancy, so I will tend to say it is to much for to little UNLESS you are going off road biking at night (3500 Lumens is WAY to bright to be used on any roads with oncoming traffic). I am sorry, I tend to go off road at night only on full moon nights and then I do NOT ride but I also do not use any lights (You be surprised how much you can see at night with a full moon, if you let your eyes adjust to the lack of light and such adjustment takes 30 or more minutes of NO light to make such an adjustment). The Full Moon will provide more then enough light if you leave it (Please note, the full moon will NOT provide you enough light to RIDE at night without a light, but the full moon will provide you enough light to WALK without a light except in areas with heavy tree cover).

Remember your night vision. On one bike ride I take, I ride to the Staple bend tunnel outside of Johnstown. When I hit that tunnel during daylight hours, my headlight looks weak as I bike through that tunnel. One time I road back, but by the time I reentered the tunnel it had turned dark, and my light appeared much brighter then it had earlier in the day. This was due to my eyes had adjusted for the decline in sunlight with the setting of the sun. I bring this up for when you go through tunnels, you need more light during the day time then at night do to your eyes, in the daylight hours, not adjusted for the darkness of the tunnel, but at night the tunnel is just a little bit darker then outside the tunnel, thus your eyes had time to adjust to the lower level of light and the light in the tunnel appears greater.

Snow on the ground also increase your night vision. I have gone cross country snow shoeing without lights with a full moon and snow on the ground. You can even travel in tree covered area, provided the trees are NOT evergreens. Last winter I even was able to take photos inside the Staple Bend tunnel due to the reflection of light from outside the tunnel, reflection caused by snow cover.

Just a comment on night time riding. On pave roads or bike paths, lights of 600 lumens or less are good enough, it is only if you are going on single tracks through the woods that you need more light. People who are doing such single track night rides are the ones buying Nite Rider 3500 lumen lights, the rest of us do not need that much light.