Find solution
What would be the best solar powered lights to use?

New Halogen bike lights?

  • Ok, I like bike lights. I commute to work and ride trail and off road ‘Proper Mountain biking’. I was looking on the i.net for a rechargeable set of bike lights; I thought that I would buy them now as they would be cheaper, than in the winter. As I was looking all of them seem to be between 5-15 watt power outputs, nothing I have found can beat my 50 WATT halogen super high beam. Because I couldn’t’ find any that were even close to that power, I thought that my current lights were: 1. Superior to any thing else 2. Ridiculously high powered, perhaps even illegal for road use?? That do you think??

  • Answer:

    I don't think you'll find anything 'off the shelf' near what you have. I'm like you...I like bike lights. In fact I'm building a high-power LED bike light right now. I should get 1,000 lumens out of it and I expect it to last 4-5 hours with the battery I'll be using (Li-Ion). I'm really building it to compare against my OVERVOLTED halogen I built that puts out approx. 1,800 lumens (a 11w HID puts out about 550 lumens for comparison). If you're running your 50W at 12v (if the voltage is higher, the output will be as well), you'd be putting out about 1,650 lumens (depending on bulb). So, if it's 12v, it's not superior to anything else (about 150 lumens short of my 20W halogen. BUT, my bulbs don't last too long either - only about 50 hours (fortunately, I can get them for $0.99 at Big Lots for GE) and my battery only runs them for 1:45 - long enough for a short MTB ride. So, why would I build an LED that "only" gets 1,000 lumens? Run time! It's becoming important as I want to go all night with bright light. Carrying two batteries will get me through the night with the LED. There's nothing rediculous about high power or it being illegal (people may flash their brights at you if you're on the road expecting you to get off your "high beam"). AND, if you're on the road, lights can save your life!! If I could have them, I'd like lights so bright that bambi would not only freeze in her tracks, but also spontaneously combust!

Daedalus at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

Was this solution helpful to you?

Other answers

How is your battery time on your 50w system? I use a mi-Newt by NiteRider. 8oz total weight, battery lasts 3 or 6 hours, light seems brighter than rated due to the blue light emitted. Was riding in -15°C weather this winter, and still got 2+ hours of light even in the cold. I would rate high at about 20w and low at 15w compared to my halogen systems - just seems brighter with the blue light.

OlMacDude

I think that the brightness of the light on your bike ,50 Watt halogen super high beam, is good if there is only one light bulb. My halogen lights have low watt output but because there are 15 in a cluster they are incredibly bright. 15 x 5 = 75 watt total output. Bright bright bright

gaviscon

Check out exposure lights they use special LEDs that leave halgens in the dark.n I use a joystick with helmet mount for endro races as well as commuting in London, and get a burn time of 4hrs full beam or 8hrs low beam.

LEON

Hi Daedalus, -The Niterider HID's or any HID will be brighter and last longer on the trail than your Halogen light. -You can use any light off-road, because the vehicle code does not apply off-road. http://www.niterider.com/

Jett Boy

Related Q & A:

Just Added Q & A:

Find solution

For every problem there is a solution! Proved by Solucija.

  • Got an issue and looking for advice?

  • Ask Solucija to search every corner of the Web for help.

  • Get workable solutions and helpful tips in a moment.

Just ask Solucija about an issue you face and immediately get a list of ready solutions, answers and tips from other Internet users. We always provide the most suitable and complete answer to your question at the top, along with a few good alternatives below.