Michael Wise a écrit : > I like lights. That's sort-of a crusade I'm on--better lights mean > less people dying on bikes. So I'm focused mainly on urban cyclists, > because the recreational folks can take their own chances. But I'm not > unwilling to draw from their experience, or to take advantage of the > world of possibilities their interest opens up. Randonneurs open up > the world of generator-powered light, and mountain bikers open up the > world of excellent, portable light, and these get introduced to the > ordinary commuting public who doesn't see the need for either. But > once it gets out there, people like me start seeing a potential: to > arrest the statistic that 50% of all cycling fatalities are cyclists > riding at night without lights. I want to put lights on those bikes no > matter what the cost ....
One problem with battery headlights is that no matter the battery type, there is a need for maintenance. Regarding lithium batteries, I thought that their main advantage is their rather long duration. That's good in a brevet because one doesn't want to carry 2-3 sets of batteries to ride 1-2 nights. But for the truly occasional night cyclist, I think the most important aspects are: - no self-discharge (so the light works when one needs the light 2 months from now) - works in cool and wet weather - uses cheap standard batteries as much as possible. I think standard alcaline batteries work well in that regard. Another drawback of handling out lights with lithium batteries is that many riders will think that they need to buy those expensive batteries, so they'll ride with dead batteries instead. Some lights seem to be less susceptible to battery discharge than others. As far as taillights are concerned, the Superflash seems to last forever, and it is indeed very bright with batteries down to about 0,9 V each, whereas the Cateye TL-LD1000 (I don't have the newer LD1100 to test it) dims as soon as the voltage drops to 1.15-1.2 V. But one aspect that plagues the Superflash and many headlights is that they need additional weatherproofing. In that case, electric tape around the seal works well, but don't expect those who change batteries every 5 years to add such a seal. -- Michel Gagnon Montréal (Québec, Canada) --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Bicycle Lifestyle" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/bicyclelifestyle?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
