Lights - thinking back 10 years

[Scott B]

This morning as I was riding in to work with my Edelux and Light & Motion Solite blazing away I was thinking about how fast lighting technology has changed of the past 10 years.

My first 'real' lights were a dual beam Cygolite with a 10 and 15 watt halogen bulbs and a NiCad bottle battery that was about 3 pounds. I'm pretty sure they cost more than my Solite that puts out more power, weighs a couple ounces and runs probably 3 times longer.

Remember when HIDs were *the* thing to have? I never bought one due to the cost, but when I was working in shops this was the thing to have. Now they are basically gone, replaced by super high power LEDs.

Night riding on the road used to cost serious money, now you can get 300-400 lumen lights for under $100. It's pretty amazing to watch this become the norm so quickly. This is the kind of technology that makes bike commuting better and more accessible.

[tarwheel2]

I've often thought the same thing. LED lights have caused a sea change in bike lighting. Today's lights are not only much brighter but less expensive than they were 10 years ago. I use a Light & Motion Urban 500 as my primary light and it puts out 500 lumens on high and only weighs less than 150 grams total. It's so bright that I am able to run it on the second-highest setting to extend the battery charge time. There are lots of great options now for comparable lights.

[Andy M-S]

Seven years ago, I built myself a rather powerful LED light to run off my hub generator--2 3W LEDs with lenses, the works. Earlier this fall, I tested a $30 Avenir LED unit against that light and my work was simply blown away.

It's getting brighter all the time...

[jrm]

I bought a L&M HID light and i still have it. Needs a battery. I still think the HID shoots a lot better and brighter beam then the LED. YMMV

[atpjunkie]

yup 900 lumens for a hundred bucks
crazy

[brady1]

Wow... This takes me back. I do remember HID being the thing.

That was my first quality light that I bought...around 10 years ago. A heavy Nite Rider helmet mounted light with a 2-3lb battery. I still use it to this day. I think I bought it on some big end of year sale. I guess I got my money's worth out of it.

I've actually looked into upgrading the light but it works fine. Since I only use it for commuting it doesn't really take any kind of beating.

[pmf]

I remember my first light system back in 1994. I got it from REI. It was a lead acid battery in a pouch that hung (and swayed back and forth) on the top tube and two lamps that mounted on either side of the handlebars and never stayed in place. It must have put out 200 lumens and cost $175. I thought is was effing great! I replaced it with a Niterider system. The NiCad battery seemed so light and it came in a water bottle! What an innovation that was. I went through two Niterider systems, the second had a NiMH battery. It was so light I couldn't believe it. The batteries and chargers on those systems never worked that great. Then there were a couple of years where I just bagged winter riding. The kids were little and I had a PITA job. About 3 years ago, I got into it again and could not believe how good lights are. And how cheap. My cheapo MagicShine light cost $85, puts out more light than those $250 Niterider systems and weighs nealy nothing. I got my wife a Cygolite -- a little more expensive, a little nicer, but still around $100. Frankly, there's no reason a bike light should cost hundreds of dollars. I'm glad there's some competition in the industry these days.

[Squidward]

Most of the really exciting advances in LED technology have occurred in the last three or four years. It used to be that you'd have to power three Cree XR-E emitters at 1A each , 3A or 9W total, to get 550+ lumens while a single Cree XM-L does that with 2.5A. The big difference is that the XM-L can be driven to 3A for about 1000 lumens. This means you'll get a smaller, lighter lighting system that is brighter with the same run time or just as bright with a longer run time.

Most older LED lighting systems, if they still work, can be upgraded to newer emitters for nice increases in output for very little money. I have a Cateye HL-EL510 that I bought six or seven years ago that was virtually worthless out on the open road. I'm guessing it put out 50 or 60 lumens on high. Swap an XP-G R5 into it, with no other changes, and it's putting out a very usable 100 lumens or so. The emitter costs $8 online. Run time should not change as the driver board and battery source have not changed, just the much more efficient emitter.

[Christine]

Boy was I ever a fan of the NiteRider HID. Got it cheap from somebody, gently used, less than $300. But it started acting up a few years ago- battery case would swell up like a balloon while charging. Didn't use it for a long time, then charged it up and used it- no problem. But a few weeks ago, battery started to balloon up again. Time to retire it for good!

Nice to see there are cheaper options nowadays. Will probably end up with a Magic Shine since that brand name gets a lot of great reviews.

[froze]

I remember back 30 years ago and I got a model I can't remember the name of a British made square shaped light that used 2 C batteries and a halogen bulb and I thought that thing was pretty good! Then about 18 years ago I got a Cygolite Metro that put out 13 watts total, but I replaced the high beam bulb with a brighter halogen which upped my power to 16 watts, it uses 8 D batteries that were carried in a pouch attached to the top tube; and that light was actually pretty decent. I think I paid $45 for the light, it was Cygolite's cheapest model but the darn thing worked great even through many rain storms and still works today! But as I got older my night vision slowly dropped off so I needed to get a brighter lighter, so about 2 years ago I got my first LED a Cygolite ExpiliOn 350 but then got a MityCross 480 and gave my wife the ExpiliOn instead of the bulky dimmer old Metro, then last spring added the Phillips Saferide.

What I found interesting is over the years the mounting brackets got cheaper, the old British light the bracket was steel with steel nuts and bolts, the Metro was thick plastic, the Mitycross used thinner plastic but mounted the light in such a way it puts less stress on the bracket, and the Phillips is slightly less as well made but adequate. I've seen some of the newest brackets out and some are just pure crap, won't last 2 years not alone 20. So lights may have gotten brighter but the brackets have gotten cheaper which is weird considering the LED bulb will last far longer then a halogen, which means the LED bulb will out last the bracket...go figure.

[Scott B]

You definitely speak truth about the quality of brackets. At this point it's a total mixed bag. I've been favorably impressed by my Cygolite Expillion/Metro bracket. I'm not sold on all the little rubber straps and o-rings. I just don't see them lasting either.

I would seriously buy upgraded brackets if someone made them for various lights. At least my Edelux has a solid bracket. I have a Light and Motion Solite, partially for skiing with it as a headlamp, and I'm just not sold on all the random rubber bits. Nice light, silly bracket.

[froze]

That o-ring strap method is for the birds, yet not just lights but computers too use them, fortunately for computers you don't need a real strong bracket but something better then O-rings would be great. Rubber rings dry out and crack after awhile, then you have to search around to find some that will work. Tail light brackets have really gotten bad, they use rubber straps that you pull and then put a hole into a rubber thingy that sticks out like a buckle but all rubber. Then you have to constantly readjust the light after almost every ride because it keeps moving as you go down the road! And if you pull the strap too tight thinking you'll keep the light from moving then the strap snaps.

Engineers have taken a bunch of steps backwards in making stuff good, this is reflective in a lot of stuff not just cycling stuff. It's all about making us have to go out and buy replacement stuff to keep the world economy going.