Cateye LED headlights

If you need the light to see where you are going you will need the expensive systems. The LED lights
are just if you want a light for the cars to see you.

"Horace" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I want to start commuting to work sometime this fall, but will need a headlight. I've seen lots of
posts about the hi-power systems ($100+), but that's out of my price range now.

I'm interested in one of the Cateye LED headlights (EL300), which I can power with rechargable
batteries. Has anyone used them? If so, how would

you

Quoted message said:

rate the illumination?

Horace

"Horace" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I want to start commuting to work sometime this fall, but will need a headlight. I've seen lots of
posts about the hi-power systems ($100+), but that's out of my price range now.

I'm interested in one of the Cateye LED headlights (EL300), which I can power with rechargable
batteries. Has anyone used them? If so, how would

you

Quoted message said:

rate the illumination?

Horace

The light is absolutly painfull to look at - IMHO it's a bargain.

Ken

Horace said:

I want to start commuting to work sometime this fall, but will need a headlight. I've seen lots of
posts about the hi-power systems ($100+), but that's out of my price range now.

I'm interested in one of the Cateye LED headlights (EL300), which I can power with rechargable
batteries. Has anyone used them? If so, how would you rate the illumination?

Horace

It's not enough to see with. Get the Cateye HL-1500 (4 AA's, works with NiMH's); in fact get two and
you'll be very happy, one on each side of the handlebar. Oncoming cars dim their lights rather than
raising them when they see two lights.
--
Ron Hardin [email hidden]

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

My experience is the same as everyone else here. LED headlights are superb for making your bike
visible. But they do zip for illuminating things that go bump in the night or even worse things that
will make you go bump in the night. Even with a high powered headlight, having an LED for backup
would not be a bad idea.

"Horace" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I want to start commuting to work sometime this fall, but will need a headlight. I've seen lots of
posts about the hi-power systems ($100+), but that's out of my price range now.

I'm interested in one of the Cateye LED headlights (EL300), which I can power with rechargable
batteries. Has anyone used them? If so, how would

you

Quoted message said:

rate the illumination?

Like others said ....

What's your safety or life worth? I can't believe how many people won't drop $100 to be safe for,
how long (?), a couple year's worth? How much is that per commute? Think rather hard about that
before you cheap out on lights.

Anyway, you can buy a two-bulb Sigma Sport 5/20W bulbs with 3.2Amp hour 6v rechargeable lead acid
battery for about $60. sigmasport.comindex usa.htmlOpen ↗.

Give me a holler if you can't find someone to get you one.

--
Robin Hubert <[email hidden]

Horace <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I want to start commuting to work sometime this fall, but will need a headlight. I've seen lots of
posts about the hi-power systems ($100+), but that's out of my price range now.

I'm interested in one of the Cateye LED headlights (EL300), which I can power with rechargable
batteries. Has anyone used them? If so, how would

you

Quoted message said:

rate the illumination?

Horace

horace; How bout some specifics....commute distance, time of commute, on what surface (city streets,
country roads?) You can by with an el300 IF the rouute is a well lit city street but only at lower
(less than 15 mph) speeds. If I was on a poorly lit road, working it hard, then I'd need some more
light (cept if I had the eyes of an owl). I'm using about 5 watts with a BISy light and find it ok
in poorly lit conditions- nice pattern - good cutoff at the top of the pattern but a little bit more
lumens would be appreciated. Pat

"Horace" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I want to start commuting to work sometime this fall, but will need a headlight. I've seen lots of
posts about the hi-power systems ($100+), but that's out of my price range now.

I'm interested in one of the Cateye LED headlights (EL300), which I can power with rechargable
batteries. Has anyone used them? If so, how would you rate the illumination?

Horace

Those LED lights are "being seen" lights only.

Some inexpensive higher power lights are:

Cygo Lite Night Rover 12 watt 6 volt Gel-Cell Lightset, $53
store.airbomb.comintro445c.htmlOpen ↗

Sigma Sport Mirage X 5-20 watt aebike.compage.cfmOpen ↗, $52

Also get a xenon strobe, not an LED flasher for the rear.

You could build something yourself as well. See nordicgroup.uss78Open ↗

Steven Scharf said:

Also get a xenon strobe, not an LED flasher for the rear.

Put TWO steady-mode Vista Eclipse LED taillights on the back, at about 1 foot spacing. They're
plenty bright and are what traffic expects to see and interpret easily as a vehicle. Same principle
as using two lights on the front.
--
Ron Hardin [email hidden]

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

"Horace" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I want to start commuting to work sometime this fall, but will need a headlight. I've seen lots of
posts about the hi-power systems ($100+), but that's out of my price range now.

I'm interested in one of the Cateye LED headlights (EL300), which I can power with rechargable
batteries. Has anyone used them? If so, how would

you

Quoted message said:

rate the illumination?

Horace

I'll second what several others have said here. You do need light to light your path, not just to
be seen, if you are going through any dark areas. Being seen by cars is most definitely not your
only worry.

For example - I rode last night for 45 minutes on suburban streets that are lit but there are dark
areas between the street lights. I passed lots of people out enjoying the evening. Of these, no less
than 6 runners and 2 cyclists where in the road with no reflective gear, no lights and they were
wearing dark clothes. I would have hit at least one of them if I had not had my own headlight to
illuminate them in time for me to see them and change my path.

If you cross paths with any such morons (and you will), your back wheel will be rolling over their
head before you even see them if you don't have a decent light. Get a decent headlight not just a
marker light like the Cateye if you plan on traveling at anything above a walking pace.

STP

I've been using the EL300 for 4 months now on my commute. If your ride is on city streets they're
excellent. I aim mine a bit low and it does give acceptable coverage up to 15mph or so. Personally
I'm not comfortable riding faster than that at night in town. I'm a bike commuter riding 8 miles
each way. I use rechargables and a set lasts me a month with my ride home at 3AM obviously being in
the dark<s>. With my old Roadtoad light I was going through 1 1/2 sets a week.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I want to start commuting to work sometime this fall, but will need a headlight. I've seen lots of
posts about the hi-power systems ($100+), but that's out of my price range now.

I'm interested in one of the Cateye LED headlights (EL300), which I can power with rechargable
batteries. Has anyone used them? If so, how would you rate the illumination?

Horace

"patrick mitchel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

horace; How bout some specifics....commute distance, time of commute, on what surface (city
streets, country roads?) You can by with an el300 IF

the

Quoted message said:

rouute is a well lit city street but only at lower (less than 15 mph) speeds. If I was on a poorly
lit road, working it hard, then I'd need

some

Quoted message said:

more light (cept if I had the eyes of an owl). I'm using about 5 watts

with

Quoted message said:

a BISy light and find it ok in poorly lit conditions- nice pattern - good cutoff at the top of the
pattern but a little bit more lumens would be appreciated. Pat

The commute would be on urban streets, some in neighborhoods, some in commercial (i.e. 45 mph)
areas, around 5:30-6:00 p.m., which is our afternoon rush time. Distance is roughly four miles,
which I expect would take maybe 15-20 minutes. There are several route options for avoiding most of
the high speed traffic. Most of the streets have adequate lights, though not always closely spaced,
and are in good condition. The only bike light I've ever used was a tire-powered generator set-up,
some 30 years ago, which was incredibly b-a-d. :-) (I think it was a Schwinn).

"Steven Scharf" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >

Quoted message said:

Those LED lights are "being seen" lights only.

Some inexpensive higher power lights are:

Cygo Lite Night Rover 12 watt 6 volt Gel-Cell Lightset, $53
store.airbomb.comintro445c.htmlOpen ↗

Sigma Sport Mirage X 5-20 watt aebike.compage.cfmOpen ↗, $52

Also get a xenon strobe, not an LED flasher for the rear.

You could build something yourself as well. See nordicgroup.uss78Open ↗

Thanks for the links! The Sigma Sport looks like a good deal. I'd really like to avoid the
lead-acid/Ni-Cad batteries if possible.

Horace <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Steven Scharf" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >

Quoted message said:

Those LED lights are "being seen" lights only.

Some inexpensive higher power lights are:

Cygo Lite Night Rover 12 watt 6 volt Gel-Cell Lightset, $53
store.airbomb.comintro445c.htmlOpen ↗

Sigma Sport Mirage X 5-20 watt aebike.compage.cfmOpen ↗, $52

Also get a xenon strobe, not an LED flasher for the rear.

You could build something yourself as well. See

nordicgroup.uss78Open ↗

Quoted message said:

Thanks for the links! The Sigma Sport looks like a good deal. I'd really like to avoid the
lead-acid/Ni-Cad batteries if possible.

Hello Horace; I'd say that in your situation, with the streets being well lit and in good shape,
the main thing is BEING seen . All the reflective stuff would be useful in the area where the speed
is 45 mph .Being cut off or turned in front of would be my concern. Be safe and enjoy the ride....I
get my exercise in the wee hours (4am) and like the morning skies with the winter constellations
and the occasional owl on the scene. Pat in Long Beach, Cal.

"Horace" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"Steven Scharf" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >

Quoted message said:

Those LED lights are "being seen" lights only.

Some inexpensive higher power lights are:

Cygo Lite Night Rover 12 watt 6 volt Gel-Cell Lightset, $53
store.airbomb.comintro445c.htmlOpen ↗

Sigma Sport Mirage X 5-20 watt aebike.compage.cfmOpen ↗, $52

Also get a xenon strobe, not an LED flasher for the rear.

You could build something yourself as well. See nordicgroup.uss78Open ↗

Thanks for the links! The Sigma Sport looks like a good deal. I'd really like to avoid the
lead-acid/Ni-Cad batteries if possible.

Alas, it's the cost of the NiMH batteries, and especially a smart charger, that really drives up the
cost of a lighting system.

You could buy the Cygo Lite Metro, "bicyclerevolution.comcygmetbiclig.htmlOpen ↗" for $52,
which runs on six D cells, and then buy six D cell NiMH batteries for about $36, but the big expense
is that a charger will cost you $50.

You can also just run with the lead-acid for a while, and eventually switch to six NiMH batteries.

Steven Scharf said:

Alas, it's the cost of the NiMH batteries, and especially a smart charger, that really drives up
the cost of a lighting system.

Once you have a smart charger, you have it for all sorts of applications, in particular portable
radios that you can make portable again by using NiMH batteries and putting away their wall warts.

So the cost spreads out.

It's the reverse in my case, the smart charger having been bought for radios and digital IC
recorders, and for AA's for the Cateye HL-1500's it's free.

I charge 10 AAA's a day; adding a night's AA's from the commute is free.

Smart chargers: for four AA or AAA the Maha C401FS is nice, with a slow charge option if you're not
in a hurry; for D C AA AAA and 9v the AccuManager 20. These are just what I have and they work
fine, there may be newer ones. A chief feature, the cells are charged individually rather than in
series or parallel. Series charges cells unevenly, and parallel may not charge a cell at all if
(very common) a contact isn't quite clean and you won't find out about it in time. With individual
charge, if the individual light doesn't come on, it isn't charging; and every cell gets its own
tailored charge.

You _will_ need it.

The NiMH batteries last a long long time. I've had to toss only a couple after several hundred
charges of a dozen. The per-use cost must be about zero.
--
Ron Hardin [email hidden]

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

Ron Hardin said:

It's the reverse in my case, the smart charger having been bought for radios and digital IC
recorders, and for AA's for the Cateye HL-1500's it's free.

Oh and how could I forget the dual eTrex GPS's on the handlebars! One bought to replace the other
when the page button finally broke off, but my quick-fix repair apparently is going to keep the old
one working indefinitely, so I have two. 4 AA's total.
--
Ron Hardin [email hidden]

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

...

Quoted message said:

for D C AA AAA and 9v the AccuManager 20.

Is this the one you say charges them individually, rather than in series? If so, do you have any
suggestions as to where I can find it?

Quoted message said:

These are just what I have and they work fine, there may be newer ones. A chief feature, the cells
are charged individually rather than in series or parallel. Series charges cells unevenly, and
parallel may not charge a cell

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

"Ron Hardin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Ron Hardin said:

It's the reverse in my case, the smart charger having been bought for radios and digital IC
recorders, and for AA's for the Cateye HL-1500's

it's free.

Quoted message said:

Oh and how could I forget the dual eTrex GPS's on the handlebars! One

bought to

Quoted message said:

replace the other when the page button finally broke off, but my quick-fix

repair

Quoted message said:

apparently is going to keep the old one working indefinitely, so I have

two. 4 AA's total.

Quoted message said:

--
Ron Hardin [email hidden]

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

Dude! I'm with ya! Etrex Vista on the bars.....

Ken

David Kerber said:

Quoted message said:

for D C AA AAA and 9v the AccuManager 20.

Is this the one you say charges them individually, rather than in series? If so, do you have any
suggestions as to where I can find it?

Quoted message said:

These are just what I have and they work fine, there may be newer ones. A chief feature, the
cells are charged individually rather than in series or parallel. Series charges cells unevenly,
and parallel may not charge a cell

Both it and the Maha C401FS I mentioned do it individually. (I've retired the smart chargers I have
that don't.)

I get my battery stuff from thomas-distributing.comthomas-distributing.comOpen ↗

There are newer chargers all the time. Feel free to experiment, that's what I do.

Thomas stuff comes with a coupon code for 5% off on the next order, if you want to plan ahead.
Incidentally I think the not-top-of-the-capacity batteries are probably most cost-effective, rather
than paying top dollar for the last 100mAh of capacity.
--
Ron Hardin [email hidden]

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.