Another question on headlights

Kovie said:

I recently asked for recommendations on inexpensive LED headlights. I got a
lot of responses, all of them helpful, and I want to thank everyone for
taking the time to offer me their advice.

I have one other question on this topic. I have an old Road Toad headlight
that I thought was broken (thus the need for a new light), but was able to
fix it. How do any of the newer LED headlights compare to this admitedly
older XENON-based headlight? I figure that if it's still considered to be a
good headlight then I might just stick with it.

Note that it's the original Road Toad, not the one with a Hi/Lo switch.

I went out for a ride using the Cateye HL-EL200 last night. It's a very
good "be seen" light in town, but I had to curtail my ride because it's
utterly useless in unlit lanes.

Battery halogen lights are a lot better but still marginal. The minimum
for unlit areas at 20mph is a 3W dynamo, or a rechargeable system.

Zog The Undeniable said:

I went out for a ride using the Cateye HL-EL200 last night. It's a
very good "be seen" light in town, but I had to curtail my ride
because it's utterly useless in unlit lanes.

Utterly = completely, absolutely, entirely.

That's not the case. A tilted-down EL200 does enable a person with normal
eyesight to ride on unlit lanes if you keep your speeed down and
concentrate. Of course that's not very pleasant so you do need a more
powerful lamp for regular/intentional cycling on unlit roads. However,
the EL200 *is* of some use in emergency situations when you find yourself
stuck out later than expected in the sticks.

This reminds me of the time my batteries ran out and the only thing I
could see at all was an extremely faint white line on the road, thanks to
the moon! I would have been grateful for an EL200 then.

I'm looking forward to getting a Lumicycle or similar system for some real
power (and run time). Should be fun.

~PB

Quoted message said:

I have an old Road Toad headlight that I thought was broken
(thus the need for a new light), but was able to fix it.
How do any of the newer LED headlights compare to this
admitedly older XENON-based headlight? I figure that if
it's still considered to be a good headlight then I might
just stick with it.

My wife used a pair of old Road Toad lights for a few years, but when I
got her a pair of Cateye Micros, she said good-bye to the Toads.

--
"Bicycling is a healthy and manly pursuit with much
to recommend it, and, unlike other foolish crazes,
it has not died out." -- The Daily Telegraph (1877)