Lights...Again/ Long Burn Time

[Nanci]

Ok, it's official. I am off the deep end. I filled out the Radonneurs USA app tonight, and put it in an envelope with a check.

So I need to purchase some sort of headlight, that has a longish burn time, that doesn't cost, I don't know what, over $300? Preferable $200? Is there such a thing? I read all day about different lights, and reviews, and recommendations. I don';t see how you can make up your mind if you don't have $500 to spend. And then, even if you do, and you need to replace an HID bulb, that's over $100.

I wonder if any of the newer LED lights is worth anything. It would be road riding. I wonder what I should get for a helmet light. I for sure can't afford _two $200 lights.

It would be so much simpler if brevets happened in the summer.

And I really wish I had _one_ cycling friend in Florida. Can't someone move here???

Nanci

[SadieKate]

What length brevets? The 300k next? How many hours does the battery need to run?

Bubba bought the Niterider Classic Dual Beam. It is not HID but puts out a ton of light for a pretty reasonable cost, certainly less than HID. The current version has a top tube mount battery so you don't give up a bottle cage.

http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/11524-225_NITCL1-2-Accessories-35-Lights/Niterider-Classic-Plus-Dual-Beam-Light-System.htm

[jobob]

Well, if Nanci is seriously going off the deep end (and by all indications she is :D ) then the light SK is recommending might not be quite what she'll needs - that one has a run time of only 1-3 hours, which might not even cut it for a 300K, depending the time of year the brevet is run, or if it's overcast.

I forgot to bring a pen with me to the seminar this past Sunday, so I didn't take any notes. They spent some time talking about lighting systems but that might have been at the point my teeth were starting to chatter - it was really cold where we held the meeting. There was a brief discussion of the pros and cons of battery powered lights vs. generator/dynamo powered. The presenter quipped that if you wanted to have a 10-hour conversation, ask a randonneur about his lighting system. Or something like that.

I know Santa Cruz Randonneurs requires head and tail lights for all brevets over 200K; this might be a RUSA rule too but I'm not positive. They also strongly recommend a backup system. That was one of the plusses of a battery-powered system; it's easy to carry the identical light in your bag as a backup. Witht he generator light you probably need to carry a battery light as a backup in case the generator fails. The speaker at the seminar, who is the RBA (regional brevet administrator) for the Santa Rosa Randonneurs, showed us the battery operated light system he uses, which runs on 4 AA batteries. It was a CatEye light, I don't remember the model, but IIRC he said it's an older discontinued model anyhow. He spoke about the advantages of using Li batteries, rather than the usual alkaline batteries, in the battery powered lights since they run a bit brighter and last considerably longer. They cost more, about $8 - $10 for a 4- pack of AA cells, but they seem to be worth it. Plus they seem a bit lighter than the alkaline cells.

If it's any help, I have the CatEye EL-500, which is supposed to be pretty good but I haven't done much night riding so I can't say how good it is for descents, that sort of thing. I'm starting to head out early in the morning but so far when I've ventured out it's already light enough to see without lights. Maybe tomorrow I'll head out before it gets light.

You might want to peruse the Randon list; lots of discussions on lighting systems there.
http://lists.topica.com/lists/randon/read

Also, Peter White's website has lots of info.
http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/lightingsystems.htm

Veronica, what kind of light did you wind up with? Or are you still experimenting?


Good luck Nanci - I'm looking forward to living vicariously through your next adventure. :D

- Jo.

[Nanci]

SadieKate, the next one is 300k, and starts at 5AM, and has a 20 hour limit. So that means two hours of darkness at the start, and two at the end, at least.

Jobob, (sounds like your seminar was excellent!!) I ended up buying two Cateye HL500II micro halogens ($9 each, rec on Gainesville Cycling Club website as "The Cateye "Microhalogen" 2.4 watts, excellent optics, pretty fair light from 4 AA cells. Using LiFeS cells, you can nurse a pair of these lights through the night by alternating them periodically to extend battery life.") to get me through until I save money/decide on a "real" light. And I got a 10 LED tail light with a 30 hour burn time- hopefully that will be good enough for a permanent tail light.

I looked at some people's lighting systems, but of course, they are ALL different, so you can't just pick what the most people have. It will be cooler to see them all in the dark, really being used.

You have to bring your bike in for inspection the night before the brevet, and the lights have to be aimed correctly, bright enough, etc.

Nanci

[Veronica]

We got Jet lights. They use a water bottle sized battery - not a problem for us as we have braze ons for a third bottle. They are extremely bright - bright enough for mountain biking even. I really wanted to light the road for the descent of Hamilton. They have 3 power settings and will run for 6 hours at the lowest setting.

V.

[Nanci]

Which model? Can you see on the lowest setting?

Nanci

[Veronica]

We got the non HID version. You can check them out at jetlights.com.

V.

[Running Mommy]

Bless your heart for taking this challenge on! And people think *I'm* nuts for taking on an IM! Sheesh! You've got me beat by MILES!
Anyway, I'll check w/ my husbands "24 hours of dirt" buddies, but I'm pretty sure they swear by the Light and Motion lights. I just don't know which one.
I'll check and get back to you.
Denise

[Nanci]

Well, I think anything that involves even the slightest amount of swimming in a timed event is very, very difficult.

BF and I have this competition going- he's done a couple Ironmans, but I say, well, you have only run a marathon, and I've run 50k, so I've got you beat. You've only gone 114 miles on your bike, but I've gone 125! (I seriously know his effort is _much_ more than mine for the total event, though.) I was telling him a couple nights ago- if I go 300k, that he will _never_ beat that, and that it will even beat the whole Ironman!

I'm nervous about the distance, but am hoping that it won't be as big a jump from 200k to 300k as it was from, say, 25 miles to 100 miles. That's my plan/hope/theory, anyway. And I have the benefit of knowing how tough I am in terms of not giving up/completing my goal/taking little chunks of the distance at one time instead of freaking out about the sum.

Nanci

[Running Mommy]

Here is the email I got back from my friend. He's pretty gear savy. Hopefully this helps.

"At 180 miles, depending on what your average speed is and when you start, you should be able to get by with about 4 hours of lights. Unfortunately, 4-5 hours means either multiple batteries or one huge battery or HID system. Most HID systems are over 300. I guess a lot of it depends on how much lighting you are looking for. I have an older performance system that I was really impressed with. It was fairly light, used a nmhi battery and had almost 3 hour run time on low beam which is not really that low. Enough to be riding with. The light has changed since then and now is rated at 4 hour run tiem on low beam which is 10W (same wattage as before). It is only 150 buks…..i know, I hate performance too…..but I bought the light a while ago cuz it was cheap and I have to say, it’s a good light. Definitely a lot of value for the money. The cheapest HID system I know of is around 350….and goes up from there. The L&M lithium ion setup is around 450-460. but it’s only rated at 3.5 hours. They chose to go lighter on the battery instead of increased run time. From what I hear it’s a very light system though. If you know of anyone else who already has a light maybe you can barrow the battery if you buy a compatibly system. Sometimes on the long rides they will haul your battery and lights to one of the later check points….so you don’t have to carry it for 150 miles in the middle of the day. Good luck….. "

[Nanci]

Thanks, That's helpful. It's probably like cave diving- once you see/use an HID light, you can never go back. Cave diving HID's start at about $1000! Fortunately, someone gave me a cast-off which I highly treasure.

Nanci

[jobob]

pardon my cluelessness, but what's an HID system?

[SadieKate]

How much ya wanna know? :)

High Intensity Discharge

http://www.halcyon.net/lights/hid-faq.shtml

I believe the new automobile headlamps use this technology. It produces a very bright blue-while light compared to the yellowish beam of the halogen we're all used to.

[Nanci]

Hey! Halcyon is in the next town over from me. It's a not-so-small anymore company manufacturing cave diving gear themselves because what was commercially available wasn't good enough. I used to be on an exploration team headed by the founder.

In fact, many of the employees are MTBers, and have adapted the nice HID lights for cycling. Still out of my price range, though.

Nanci

[SadieKate]

This is cool. Jet Lites has a rental program.

http://www.jetlites.com/rental.html

[maillotpois]

Does anyone know if the lights with 3-ish hour burn times can be charged in a car?? I am doing the Furnace Creek 508 in October (2 person team), and we will be riding through the night. I will probaby get a light & motion HID, I guess with a spare battery? But then can you recharge in the car?

For my double centuries where I had 1 hour of so of darkness in the morning I used a Serfas LED light that was PHENOMENAL. I cuoldn't believe how much light I got from such a tiny little thing.

[Veronica]

Yes, but I'm not sure exactly what you need. I'll pick Thom's brain about it when I get home. That had been my original plan for DMD - recharge in the car, since my Light & Motion Vega lasts 2 hours.

V.

[Nanci]

I think you need a thing called an inverter. Auto parts store or Target or Best Buy would have it. But you should probably contact the light manufacturer to see exactly what to get, because those batteries are really sensitive.

Nanci