Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Commuting
Reload this Page >

Trippin' the Light...Fantastic!

Notices
Commuting Bicycle commuting is easier than you think, before you know it, you'll be hooked. Learn the tips, hints, equipment, safety requirements for safely riding your bike to work.

Trippin' the Light...Fantastic!

Old 12-11-19, 07:49 AM
  #1  
BobbyG
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
BobbyG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Posts: 5,962

Bikes: 2015 Charge Plug, 2007 Dahon Boardwalk, 1997 Nishiki Blazer, 1984 Nishiki International, 2006 Felt F65, 1989 Dahon Getaway V

Mentioned: 54 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1359 Post(s)
Liked 1,658 Times in 822 Posts
Trippin' the Light...Fantastic!

Last night was the first ride home after dark with the new headlight. The battery in my 8-year old NightRider MiNewt 500 was dying. The unit worked well for me, so I bought another NiteRider light...the NiteRider Lumina 900 Boost. Same basic shape and mounting bracket, so everyting works with what I already have, altough it uses a USB micro plug to recharge, rather than the older unit's USB mini (however I have more micro plugs laying around).

The new unit was appreciably brighter, and having a fresh battery, when I arrived home the headlught was still goin' "gangbusters"!

At the start of this winter commuting season I had replaced my "be seen" helmet light with a slightly brighter unit that helps me see when I look to the sides, so last night's ride was a celebration of visibility...both seeing and being seen.

The old 500 lumen headlight was adequate for most of my riding down well-lit thoroughfares and some-what lit residential streets...but I really enjoyed the extra light of the new unit on the darkest portions of ladt night's route.

The old unit was on sale for $76 bucks at Performance Bike. I got the new one off Amazon for $42!

Now I can't wait to take another of my routes home tonight after dark!

BobbyG is offline  
Likes For BobbyG:
Old 12-11-19, 06:40 PM
  #2  
bpcyclist
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Portland
Posts: 1,115
Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 451 Post(s)
Liked 364 Times in 227 Posts
That looks like a really nice light. I rode with 4-600 lumen lights for years. Then, one day, a buddy loaned me his 1000-lumen light and it was like I had been riding with no light at all. I couldn't believe how much better I could see. I've made no secret that I am a fan of maximizing the 'see' portion of my lighting out here where we spend much of the year in dark rain. That said, I would recommend to anyone going with just a single forward-looking source to get something around a legit 1000 lumens or so (this is just for the US market--I can't comment on the StVZO lights as they are just totally different). I believe it improves safety. Just my take.
bpcyclist is offline  
Likes For bpcyclist:
Old 12-12-19, 02:49 PM
  #3  
DiabloScott
It's MY mountain
 
DiabloScott's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Mt.Diablo
Posts: 9,991

Bikes: Klein, Merckx, Trek

Mentioned: 70 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4311 Post(s)
Liked 2,954 Times in 1,601 Posts
I almost wish I needed another one!

DiabloScott is offline  
Likes For DiabloScott:
Old 12-13-19, 08:11 PM
  #4  
rhm
multimodal commuter
 
rhm's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: NJ, NYC, LI
Posts: 19,852

Bikes: 1940s Fothergill, 1959 Allegro Special, 1963? Claud Butler Olympic Sprint, Lambert 'Clubman', 1974 Fuji "the Ace", 1976 Holdsworth 650b conversion rando bike, 1983 Trek 720 tourer, 1984 Counterpoint Opus II, 1993 Basso Gap, 2010 Downtube 8h, and...

Mentioned: 584 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1908 Post(s)
Liked 574 Times in 339 Posts
80 lux works fine for me.

This lux-lumen thing just baffles me.
If someone can explain the difference and give me an approximate way to convert my one to the other, I'm listening
__________________
www.rhmsaddles.com.
rhm is offline  
Old 12-14-19, 07:50 AM
  #5  
BobbyG
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
BobbyG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Posts: 5,962

Bikes: 2015 Charge Plug, 2007 Dahon Boardwalk, 1997 Nishiki Blazer, 1984 Nishiki International, 2006 Felt F65, 1989 Dahon Getaway V

Mentioned: 54 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1359 Post(s)
Liked 1,658 Times in 822 Posts
Originally Posted by rhm
80 lux works fine for me.

This lux-lumen thing just baffles me.
If someone can explain the difference and give me an approximate way to convert my one to the other, I'm listening
Lumens is the light output measured in a square meter (or at the source).
Lux is the total light output over a greater spread, and at a greater distance.
The shortcut I think of is Lumens are measured at the source of a light; lux at the destination.


https://blueriverdigital.com/blog/wh...umens-and-lux/

I think the reason lumens are used more in advertising is that they provide a larger number, and the source of a light is an undisputible point compared to a target where lumens can be measured, which can vary widely in distance, area and other properties.

Even so, much like horsepower, torque and efficiency ratings in the automotive world, there is some fudging and apples-to-oranges comparisons.

Last edited by BobbyG; 12-14-19 at 07:57 AM.
BobbyG is offline  
Likes For BobbyG:
Old 12-15-19, 01:30 PM
  #6  
Eric S.
Senior Member
 
Eric S.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Posts: 932

Bikes: '04 LeMond Buenos Aires, '82 Bianchi Nuova Racing, De Rosa SLX, Bridgestone MB-1, Guerciotti TSX, Torpado Aelle, LeMond Tourmalet 853, Bridgestone Radac

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 101 Post(s)
Liked 46 Times in 36 Posts
I have NiteRider lights as well, currently a Lumina 650 on the bars and an old Lumina 220 on the helmet. Though years apart, I got both new on eBay for about $30.

NiteRider is a very good company, too. I first had a 250 and dropped it, cracking the front lens. It messed up the beam and they fixed it for free - I didn't even have to pay return shipping. Then some time later I boogered up the micro USB port on my Lumina 220 and they again fixed it for free.
Eric S. is offline  
Old 12-15-19, 04:53 PM
  #7  
well biked
Senior Member
 
well biked's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 7,487
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 140 Post(s)
Liked 162 Times in 89 Posts
I have to admit, when I saw the thread title I thought this was a thread about tripping a red light to green.
well biked is offline  
Likes For well biked:
Old 12-15-19, 06:12 PM
  #8  
BobbyG
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
BobbyG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Posts: 5,962

Bikes: 2015 Charge Plug, 2007 Dahon Boardwalk, 1997 Nishiki Blazer, 1984 Nishiki International, 2006 Felt F65, 1989 Dahon Getaway V

Mentioned: 54 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1359 Post(s)
Liked 1,658 Times in 822 Posts
Originally Posted by well biked
I have to admit, when I saw the thread title I thought this was a thread about tripping a red light to green.
...if only I could!
BobbyG is offline  
Likes For BobbyG:
Old 12-16-19, 11:56 AM
  #9  
noglider 
aka Tom Reingold
 
noglider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Posts: 40,691

Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem

Mentioned: 510 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7287 Post(s)
Liked 2,365 Times in 1,382 Posts
Originally Posted by rhm
80 lux works fine for me.

This lux-lumen thing just baffles me.
If someone can explain the difference and give me an approximate way to convert my one to the other, I'm listening
Lux is a measurement at the lighted-up object. Lumens is the measurement of light from a source. For this reason, they can't be converted. It might be generally true that a light rated at 80 lux typically puts out 300 lumens, but that's just a guess.

I believe that to measure lux, they have to agree on the distance from the source of the light and the area of the object measured.
__________________
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog

“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author

Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
noglider is offline  
Old 12-16-19, 12:25 PM
  #10  
rhm
multimodal commuter
 
rhm's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: NJ, NYC, LI
Posts: 19,852

Bikes: 1940s Fothergill, 1959 Allegro Special, 1963? Claud Butler Olympic Sprint, Lambert 'Clubman', 1974 Fuji "the Ace", 1976 Holdsworth 650b conversion rando bike, 1983 Trek 720 tourer, 1984 Counterpoint Opus II, 1993 Basso Gap, 2010 Downtube 8h, and...

Mentioned: 584 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1908 Post(s)
Liked 574 Times in 339 Posts
Originally Posted by noglider
Lux is a measurement at the lighted-up object. Lumens is the measurement of light from a source. For this reason, they can't be converted....
wait, let's repeat that just 'cuz
Originally Posted by noglider
they can't be converted....
So, for a sports analogy, lumens is something like the number of goals attempted, lux is the number of goals scored? A high number of lumens is all well and good, but the important thing is that the light falls on the road ahead (rather than up in the trees, or another cyclist's eyes).
__________________
www.rhmsaddles.com.
rhm is offline  
Old 12-16-19, 12:41 PM
  #11  
noglider 
aka Tom Reingold
 
noglider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Posts: 40,691

Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem

Mentioned: 510 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7287 Post(s)
Liked 2,365 Times in 1,382 Posts
That sounds like a good analogy. I had a high power flashlight with a round beam, and I thought it was fantastic. But the mounting and charging were cumbersome, and I noticed that my eyes gravitate to the hot spot in the center when I really should have been focusing on the far edge of the beam. Not only that, the brighter the light, the harder it was to see outside the beam. So I lean towards dim lights. They do limit my speed, but that's OK with me. My main commuting light is either a B&M Ixon Core rated at 50 lux or a B&M something-or-other dynamo headlight, probably with a similar rating. They might be around 200 lumens. That sounds woefully inadequate to some, so to each his own. With car and motorcycle motors, there is an axiom that says once you increase power, you never go back to lower power. That doesn't seem to be true with me. I can adjust. I'm sure if I rode off-road, I would want a powerfuller light.
__________________
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog

“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author

Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
noglider is offline  
Likes For noglider:
Old 12-16-19, 10:47 PM
  #12  
BobbyG
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
BobbyG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Posts: 5,962

Bikes: 2015 Charge Plug, 2007 Dahon Boardwalk, 1997 Nishiki Blazer, 1984 Nishiki International, 2006 Felt F65, 1989 Dahon Getaway V

Mentioned: 54 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1359 Post(s)
Liked 1,658 Times in 822 Posts
I'd really like a shaped beam with a horizontal cut-off. They can use lower power beams, but those are a little pricey.

Last edited by BobbyG; 12-17-19 at 02:14 PM.
BobbyG is offline  
Old 12-17-19, 02:03 AM
  #13  
bpcyclist
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Portland
Posts: 1,115
Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 451 Post(s)
Liked 364 Times in 227 Posts
Originally Posted by BobbyG
I'd really like a shaped bean with a horizontal cut-off. They can use lower power beams, but those are a little pricey.
This is what I finally decided on after looking at a bunch of German products.

https://www.outboundlighting.com/pro...-road-edition/
bpcyclist is offline  
Old 12-17-19, 09:46 AM
  #14  
rhm
multimodal commuter
 
rhm's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: NJ, NYC, LI
Posts: 19,852

Bikes: 1940s Fothergill, 1959 Allegro Special, 1963? Claud Butler Olympic Sprint, Lambert 'Clubman', 1974 Fuji "the Ace", 1976 Holdsworth 650b conversion rando bike, 1983 Trek 720 tourer, 1984 Counterpoint Opus II, 1993 Basso Gap, 2010 Downtube 8h, and...

Mentioned: 584 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1908 Post(s)
Liked 574 Times in 339 Posts

For what it's worth, here's what my 80 lux dynamo powered light shows me, as seen by my cell phone a few evenings ago. This is on the towpath of the D&R canal between Trenton and Princeton. There are occasional trees between the path and the canal, to the left, really nothing to see there; to the right are trees which you would see if I turned my handlebar in that direction.
__________________
www.rhmsaddles.com.
rhm is offline  
Likes For rhm:
Old 12-17-19, 02:22 PM
  #15  
bpcyclist
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Portland
Posts: 1,115
Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 451 Post(s)
Liked 364 Times in 227 Posts
Originally Posted by rhm

For what it's worth, here's what my 80 lux dynamo powered light shows me, as seen by my cell phone a few evenings ago. This is on the towpath of the D&R canal between Trenton and Princeton. There are occasional trees between the path and the canal, to the left, really nothing to see there; to the right are trees which you would see if I turned my handlebar in that direction.
Looks like you were moving along at a pretty good clip there. Also appears as though you have a nice, wide beam pattern. That looks terrific, as far as I can tell. What would you say the useful throw of that light is for you in yards or meters?
bpcyclist is offline  
Old 12-17-19, 06:21 PM
  #16  
rhm
multimodal commuter
 
rhm's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: NJ, NYC, LI
Posts: 19,852

Bikes: 1940s Fothergill, 1959 Allegro Special, 1963? Claud Butler Olympic Sprint, Lambert 'Clubman', 1974 Fuji "the Ace", 1976 Holdsworth 650b conversion rando bike, 1983 Trek 720 tourer, 1984 Counterpoint Opus II, 1993 Basso Gap, 2010 Downtube 8h, and...

Mentioned: 584 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1908 Post(s)
Liked 574 Times in 339 Posts
Originally Posted by bpcyclist
Looks like you were moving along at a pretty good clip there. Also appears as though you have a nice, wide beam pattern. That looks terrific, as far as I can tell. What would you say the useful throw of that light is for you in yards or meters?
Yeah, I've been wondering about that myself. It's not an easy question to answer. I can see reflective things, like road signs, hundreds of feet away, but they just float there by themselves. The useful beam that you see in the photo above, I'd guess that's around 25 or 30 meters. It's plenty at moderate speeds. Screaming down an unfamiliar hill in the dark, I have at times wished for a little more when the road turns.

In the photo above, I wasn't going fast at all, I'll guess about 12 mph. The light doesn't appear noticably brighter at higher speeds
rhm is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.