choosing a light
HOW TO CHOOSE A LIGHT Choosing the right head light for your bike these days can
be a daunting task. There are a lot of different lights out there, for a bunch
of different purposes. This Learn Stuff is dedicated to de-mystifying the
jargon of the light industry.
The first question you'll need to ask yourself when choosing
a light is what do you want the light to do? Are you looking for a light to see
with, or to be seen by motorists and other cyclists? Will you be doing 24-Hour
races? How much do you want to spend? Do you want to use rechargeable
batteries? A good starting point is our light finder. This helpful
tool will provide you with a visual example of how much illumination each of
our lights puts out.
We sell three types of lights that produce light with three
types of "bulbs": Halogen, LED and HID.
Halogen lights were the industry standard for many years.
You no doubt had a halogen flashlight growing up. The bulbs have a tiny
filament strung between two towers. When an electronic charge passes across the
filament, it gets extremely hot, and reacts
with a gas in the bulb (in this case Xenon) producing light. Halogen bulbs are
cheap, rugged and the circuits are very simple making them easy to repair. They
produce quite a bit of light as well. Their main draw back is their lack of
efficiency. Quite a bit of heat is produced as a by-product of the light, and
consequently, they will eat up you battery's charge quickly. We have three
types of halogen lights: high powered light systems like our Alias and Insight
sets that come with rechargeable Nickle Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries. Lower wattage lights like our 5000x and 1200
lights run on replaceable alkaline batteries, and our Dynamo light that is
powered by a hub generator. The Alias and Insight light systems are great for
hard-core commuters who ride very dark, long routes and 24 hour racers. The
lower wattage lights are small, inexpensive and pack enough of a punch to light
your way home if you get caught out after dark, or ride on city streets. The
Dynamo is the ultimate light for the environmentally conscious commuter because
of its simplicity and the fact that it doesn't require batteries.
LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) aren't really bulbs at all, but
rather tiny semi conductors. You can find them just about anywhere in your
daily life from your alarm clock, to your TV remote. LED's are even less
expensive and more rugged than halogen bulbs. They are a little more complex in
the circuitry, and not as repairable, but since they rarely stop working, it
isn't usually a problem. They don't produce nearly as much heat, so their
battery longevity is many times longer than that of halogen lights. The
technology of LEDs accelerated in the last decade, and now by clustering
several LEDs or focusing them with good lenses, you can push quite a bit of
light out them. We currently make eight LED head lights. Want to be seen? Then
you'd probably what to pick the Blinky Safety set, the Blinky 3H, Beamer or the
Spot. Looking for a bit more power? The Blaze, Super Spot, Beamer 3 or the
Beamer 5 provide enough light to get you just about anywhere. For reliability,
bang for the buck and size, LED lights are the way to go.
HID is the latest addition to the world of bicycle lights.
High Intensity Discharge light technology was originally developed for the
medical field, but was quickly adapted for many other uses like scuba diving,
high end car head lights, and obviously night riding. The gas in HID bulbs
serves as the filament between two electrodes. When an electrical current arcs
from the electrodes thru the gas, intense light is produced. HIDs provide the
most light by far, but they are also the most expensive, and somewhat fragile.
Our HID lamp is powered by a small Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) battery that charges
quickly, puts out about three times the light of our next brightest light, lasts
for up to 3 hours and is about the most compact on the market.
Each manufacturer gets their Halogen and LEDs from a variety
of sources. (Our LED's come from Nichia of Japan who holds the patent and sets
the standard in white LED technology.) However, all HID bulbs come from the
same source, Welch-Allyn.
There are many ways to "scientifically" measure and compare light outputs. We've found that phrases like candle power and lumens are common but can be subjective, misinterpreted and misleading. We'd rather point you towards our Light Finder and have you see for yourself which light puts out the right amount of light for your cycling needs. If you have any questions about a light, email us and we'll try to help you find the light you need.
