A Bike Headlight To End All Bike Headlights • Hacker News Board

Re: A Bike Headlight To End All Bike Headlights

#11

Post by tadfisher » Thu, Feb 16, 2012, 6:30 PM UTC

"End All Bike Headlights" this will not; it is a "be seen" light, not a "see at night" light. For that, you absolutely need a lithium- or dynamo-powered light with lots of throw and LEDs that output a few hundred lumens (not 40-60 as shown here, which is easily beaten by cheap alkaline-powered lights).

My solution is a $20 18650-powered flashlight (200 lumen) from DealExtreme attached to my helmet. At maximum, it is so bright that car drivers honk at me, and it can blind oncoming bicyclists. For this reason, I run it at medium unless I'm alone in pitch darkness. It is also very weather-resistant, and because it is attached to my helmet, it is never left on the bike for someone to notice a crime of opportunity. It is also much easier to read street signs when I can just point my head at them.

At best, this will be useful for the city bicyclist who rarely travels at night.

Re: A Bike Headlight To End All Bike Headlights

#12

Post by keenerd » Thu, Feb 16, 2012, 6:31 PM UTC

This is going to be a huge disappointment.

A mid range LED flashlight with a single CREE emitter will run for 10 hours on two AA batteries while putting out 50 lumens the entire time.

So we can guess guess the output of this bike light based on the batteries and run time. Works out to 15 lumens. Now that is pretty dim for outdoor use. Based on the 6 emitter design they would be using older Nichia LEDs. They may claim 40 lumens, but that will be on a fresh set of batteries. There will not be a regulator and after an hour it will be much dimmer.

Or (more likely) this guy has no clue what he is doing. Either way, it will still be a disappointment.

If you want a bike light that won't get stolen, buy a normal small two-AA flashlight and a flashlight mount. Unclip the light from the mount when you aren't on your bike and use it as a normal flashlight the rest of the time.

Re: A Bike Headlight To End All Bike Headlights

#13

Post by rhizome » Thu, Feb 16, 2012, 6:33 PM UTC

cchurch wrote: post #5

rhizome wrote: post #3

Countdown to the first cyclist who gets shot by a cop for having a headlight that looks like a revolver at night.

That's stupid. It doesn't look like a gun; it is styled after a gun part. That's like saying you'd confuse a car with a tire.

I've read enough news stories to think it possible.

Re: A Bike Headlight To End All Bike Headlights

#14

Post by ck2 » Thu, Feb 16, 2012, 6:42 PM UTC

Search ebay for "53 led bicycle" or "56 led bicycle"

It's a $6 headlight that looks almost like a motorcycle headlight and is very bright. Uses 3-AA.

Most importantly it can easily clip on and off, so you can just take it with you instead of leaving it on the bike to be stolen.

Doubles as an awesome flashlight that can light up an entire room.

Put one on each side of your handlebars and I guarantee you will see the entire road in front of you in pitch dark while moving 20mph.

Re: A Bike Headlight To End All Bike Headlights

#15

Post by naich » Thu, Feb 16, 2012, 6:45 PM UTC

The only real difference is that this light is uses a "secure" torx fastener on the assumption that a would-be thief doesn't have one. They are certainly not a "special screwdriver", being obtainable from any good hardware place.

Re: A Bike Headlight To End All Bike Headlights

#16

Post by moonboots » Thu, Feb 16, 2012, 6:52 PM UTC

security by obscurity

Re: A Bike Headlight To End All Bike Headlights

#17

Post by bunderbunder » Thu, Feb 16, 2012, 6:56 PM UTC

Having an expensive-looking light bolted to your bike in such a way that it's not easily removable won't prevent your light from being stolen. All it will do is ensure that when it does get stolen, the bike goes with it.

Re: A Bike Headlight To End All Bike Headlights

#18

Post by buro9 » Thu, Feb 16, 2012, 7:01 PM UTC

Word from LFGSS ( http://www.lfgss.com/ ) is that this is useless.

It's too low powered (40 lumens), and no-one suffers stolen lights (they're all removable in an instant). Equally powerful lights are incredibly small and can be fitted and removed in literally a few seconds.

None of us believe we are experiencing the problem that this solves, none of us get lights stolen.

What we do suffer is stolen saddles (detached from seat posts), and stolen hubs (bolt-cut the spokes of and steal the hubs).

But for those problems, this startup ( http://atomic22.co.uk/ ) are almost there at bringing to market a total bike security product in which every bolt on the bike is part of the same security system.

Re: A Bike Headlight To End All Bike Headlights

#19

Post by arethuza » Thu, Feb 16, 2012, 7:05 PM UTC

What about a cycling equivalent of this snowboarding outfit?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIX3ntiTV-g

:-)

Re: A Bike Headlight To End All Bike Headlights

#20

Post by shallowwater » Thu, Feb 16, 2012, 7:22 PM UTC

ck2 wrote: post #14

Search ebay for "53 led bicycle" or "56 led bicycle" It's a $6 headlight that looks almost like a motorcycle headlight and is very bright. Uses 3-AA. Most importantly it can easily clip on and off, so you can just take it with you instead of leaving it on the bike to be stolen. Doubles as an awesome flashlight that can light up an entire room. Put one on each side of your handlebars and I guarantee you will see the e…

damn, where where you when I was buying my latest bike headlight! I ended up with a super-bright flashlight that I am quite satisfied with, but that cost a bit more than $6.