Light review..

David Martin said:

I succumbed. I was in Halfords to get a tin of paint for a fancy dress
costume for my son[1]

Talking about fancy dress, I need some good ideas for a home-made
Pepe-le-Pew skunk tail.
I have a black cycling top, a Rapha hat with a white stripe,
a black buff with white stripe, and a pair of Bikesters.
All I need is a black and white tail to attach to my saddle pack.
I reckon a one mtre length of twin and earth cable will keep the tail up.
I trawled round Wilkinsons in Andover this evening, but nothing sprang to
mind. I did get a nice 'I love my bike' bell for 99p though.
So, thoughts on sources of pretend fur or feather boas etc?

David Martin said:

I succumbed. I was in Halfords to get a tin of paint for a fancy dress
costume for my son[1] and was looking at the bike lights. I have been
looking for something small light bright and cheap with a good run
time to put on the road bike, so I bought one of Halfords own brand
ultrabright ones that ahs a luxeon 1W LED. Think Cateye EL500
equivalent.

Or Smart Nova, which also costs around thirty squids, iirr.

Thanks for the review, I didn't know Halfords has one of these. I should
eventually get something like this for when I don't want to take my
rechargeable system.

~PB

John Hearns said:

David Martin said:

I succumbed. I was in Halfords to get a tin of paint for a fancy dress
costume for my son[1]

Talking about fancy dress, I need some good ideas for a home-made
Pepe-le-Pew skunk tail.

Fabric shop and some black and white fleece? (or black fleece and a can
of white paint - or for a cyclist, the white paint painted like road
centre markings with a catseye cunningly positioned..)

Best fancy dress I ever did was a bunch of grapes. Green boiler suit
and a large pack of green balloons stuck all over it. Bit of a hassle
getting through doors though.

...d

David Martin said:

I succumbed. I was in Halfords to get a tin of paint for a fancy dress
costume for my son[1] and was looking at the bike lights.

Didn't really read the light review, but the costume sounds great! Where's
the photo's? 🙂

Graeme

David Martin said:

[1] 7 year old wanted to go as a robot. I despair of the many families
who will buy fancy dress costumes (almost every other family) so we
have discovered the way to win the 'best costume' is to get a credible
home made one. So, large cardboard box for the body, small one for the
head. Lots of junk (egg boxes etc) stuck on. Two pringles tubes with
the ends cut off, bit of yellow tissue paper in one end and a couple of
old rear lights stuck in teh other set to flash attached as jet packs.
Spray paint matt black. Recycle all those old AOL CD's by sticking them
all over. Last minute additions are a few 2' multicolour glowsticks.
Way cool and as it was the only home made one, got him the first prize.

Mine was covered in tin foil, but that was before the introduction of CDs
:-)

Roos

Roos Eisma said:

"David Martin" <[email hidden]> writes:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

[1] 7 year old wanted to go as a robot. I despair of the many families
who will buy fancy dress costumes (almost every other family) so we
have discovered the way to win the 'best costume' is to get a credible
home made one. So, large cardboard box for the body, small one for the
head. Lots of junk (egg boxes etc) stuck on. Two pringles tubes with
the ends cut off, bit of yellow tissue paper in one end and a couple of
old rear lights stuck in teh other set to flash attached as jet packs.
Spray paint matt black. Recycle all those old AOL CD's by sticking them
all over. Last minute additions are a few 2' multicolour glowsticks.
Way cool and as it was the only home made one, got him the first prize.

Quoted message said:

Mine was covered in tin foil, but that was before the introduction of CDs

My dad was always great at this: being a primary school
teacher/headmaster in his time may have helped. The egg box trimming
thing is very handy if your youngest happens to think a Dalek would be a
very good thing to go as (I am the youngest of my family...)

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

David Martin said:

I succumbed. I was in Halfords to get a tin of paint for a fancy dress
costume for my son[1] and was looking at the bike lights. I have been
looking for something small light bright and cheap with a good run time
to put on the road bike, so I bought one of Halfords own brand
ultrabright ones that ahs a luxeon 1W LED. Think Cateye EL500
equivalent. Tonight was the first chance to give it a decent test. Dark
damp roads, wet leaves etc and a swirl of low cloud.

Yes - I bought one of these, just last night - if you mean the Bikehut
jobbie? Given your description of the glare off the bezel, there can be
little doubt we are talking the same light - I had the same problem.

I've used a strip of insulation tape; it's a shame one has to perform
mods on a brand new item though.

That aside though, this light is by far and away the brightest LED/AA
combo I have seen. Whilst it doesn't rival my Smart 10w light for
luminance, it's a good compromise given the duration and convenience of it.

I think I paid £22.

Chris.

Chris said:

David Martin said:

I succumbed. I was in Halfords to get a tin of paint for a fancy dress
costume for my son[1] and was looking at the bike lights. I have been
looking for something small light bright and cheap with a good run time
to put on the road bike, so I bought one of Halfords own brand
ultrabright ones that ahs a luxeon 1W LED. Think Cateye EL500
equivalent. Tonight was the first chance to give it a decent test. Dark
damp roads, wet leaves etc and a swirl of low cloud.

Yes - I bought one of these, just last night - if you mean the Bikehut
jobbie? Given your description of the glare off the bezel, there can be
little doubt we are talking the same light - I had the same problem.

I've used a strip of insulation tape; it's a shame one has to perform
mods on a brand new item though.

Probably woth writing to Halfords and pointing out the error of their
ways.

Quoted message said:

That aside though, this light is by far and away the brightest LED/AA
combo I have seen. Whilst it doesn't rival my Smart 10w light for
luminance, it's a good compromise given the duration and convenience of it.

I think I paid £22.

They must have had them on discount. I paid £29.

I find with LED and with blue tinted halogens that the illumination
isn't as good as full panchromatic halogens. My theory is that eyes
respond best to a spectrum of wavelengths, and coloured reflectors and
LEDs provide only a limited spectrum.

Also riding on wet roads doesn't do much for the visibility. I'll find
some decent tape and mask the bezel properly. I used a large puncture
patch and a couple of cable ties last night.

...d

David Martin said:

Chris said:

David Martin said:

I succumbed. I was in Halfords to get a tin of paint for a fancy dress
costume for my son[1] and was looking at the bike lights. I have been
looking for something small light bright and cheap with a good run time
to put on the road bike, so I bought one of Halfords own brand
ultrabright ones that ahs a luxeon 1W LED. Think Cateye EL500
equivalent. Tonight was the first chance to give it a decent test. Dark
damp roads, wet leaves etc and a swirl of low cloud.

It is this one
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10151&storeId=10001&productId=219900&categoryId=31362&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=31362&crumb=33980-31270-31362&varient=&CarSelectorCatalogId=

http://tinyurl.com/82h3j

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Yes - I bought one of these, just last night - if you mean the Bikehut
jobbie? Given your description of the glare off the bezel, there can be
little doubt we are talking the same light - I had the same problem.

I've used a strip of insulation tape; it's a shame one has to perform
mods on a brand new item though.

Probably woth writing to Halfords and pointing out the error of their
ways.

Quoted message said:

That aside though, this light is by far and away the brightest LED/AA
combo I have seen. Whilst it doesn't rival my Smart 10w light for
luminance, it's a good compromise given the duration and convenience ofit.

I think I paid £22.

They must have had them on discount. I paid £29.

I find with LED and with blue tinted halogens that the illumination
isn't as good as full panchromatic halogens. My theory is that eyes
respond best to a spectrum of wavelengths, and coloured reflectors and
LEDs provide only a limited spectrum.

Also riding on wet roads doesn't do much for the visibility. I'll find
some decent tape and mask the bezel properly. I used a large puncture
patch and a couple of cable ties last night.

..d

Graeme Dods said:

David Martin said:

I succumbed. I was in Halfords to get a tin of paint for a fancy dress
costume for my son[1] and was looking at the bike lights.

Didn't really read the light review, but the costume sounds great! Where's
the photo's? 🙂

I'll post them tonight..

...d

Chris said:

David Martin said:

I succumbed. I was in Halfords to get a tin of paint for a fancy dress
costume for my son[1] and was looking at the bike lights. I have been
looking for something small light bright and cheap with a good run time
to put on the road bike, so I bought one of Halfords own brand
ultrabright ones that ahs a luxeon 1W LED. Think Cateye EL500
equivalent. Tonight was the first chance to give it a decent test. Dark
damp roads, wet leaves etc and a swirl of low cloud.

Quoted message said:

Yes - I bought one of these, just last night - if you mean the Bikehut
jobbie? Given your description of the glare off the bezel, there can be
little doubt we are talking the same light - I had the same problem.

Quoted message said:

I've used a strip of insulation tape; it's a shame one has to perform
mods on a brand new item though.

Quoted message said:

That aside though, this light is by far and away the brightest LED/AA
combo I have seen. Whilst it doesn't rival my Smart 10w light for
luminance, it's a good compromise given the duration and convenience of it.

Quoted message said:

I think I paid #22.

I got my Smart 4 AA 1 watt Luxeon front lamp for 24 quid in a Bike
Chain sale (they seem to have sales quite often). It's much better
engineered than this one sounds like. I'm very critical of engineering
design, and the Smart lamp is one of the few where I found nothing I
could think of as even as even a minor improvement.

--
Chris Malcolm [email hidden] +44 (0)131 651 3445 DoD #205
IPAB, Informatics, JCMB, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ, UK
[http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/homes/cam/]

Response to John Hearns:

Quoted message said:

So, thoughts on sources of pretend fur or feather boas etc?

Claire's Accessories for the fur/boas; they might also have e.g. wig-
maker's wire to stiffen it as well. While you're in there you'll find
plenty of other material to pimp your ride! No, I haven't tried it
myself. ;-)

--
Mark, UK

"'Michael Gilhaney,' said the Sergeant, 'is an example of a man that is
nearly banjaxed from the principle of the Atomic Theory. Would it
astonish you to hear that he is nearly half a bicycle?'"

I got a 1w headlight led from liddle which has high, lower and lowest
settings.When the 3 batteries run low the light suddenly switches off
completely.
I only use it in combination with a bike mounted light.
I am very pleased with the light, and find that being able too look
around r point at something specifically is a great improvement.
TerryJ

Quoted message said:

I got a 1w headlight led from liddle which has high, lower and lowest
settings.When the 3 batteries run low the light suddenly switches off
completely.
I only use it in combination with a bike mounted light.
I am very pleased with the light, and find that being able too look
around r point at something specifically is a great improvement.

I have one of those too. It was using one of those that convinced me
that a 1W LED would do for a bike light.

...d

David Martin said:

Graeme Dods said:

David Martin said:

I succumbed. I was in Halfords to get a tin of paint for a fancy dress
costume for my son[1] and was looking at the bike lights.

Didn't really read the light review, but the costume sounds great! Where's
the photo's? 🙂

I'll post them tonight..

http://www.compbio.dundee.ac.uk/~dmamartin/robot/robot.html

...d

David Martin said:

Best fancy dress I ever did was a bunch of grapes. Green boiler suit
and a large pack of green balloons stuck all over it.

Reminds me of the Michelin man I did. I wrapped myself completely in
white 260 modelling balloons.

Quoted message said:

Bit of a hassle
getting through doors though.

ISTR I burst (and had to replace) a few balloons when I decided to ride
a unicycle.

I love the robot costume, BTW.

--
Danny Colyer (my reply address is valid but checked infrequently)
<URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/>
Subscribe to PlusNet <URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/referral/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'll post them tonight..

http://www.compbio.dundee.ac.uk/~dmamartin/robot/robot.html

That's brill!

Mark Thompson of NTL said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'll post them tonight..

http://www.compbio.dundee.ac.uk/~dmamartin/robot/robot.html

That's brill!

Indeed it is. Good idea from the 7 year old, and excellent execution by
parent. Definitely deserved the first prize.
--
Judge: A law student who marks his own papers.
Henry Louis Mencken
Steph Peters delete invalid from [email hidden]
Tatting, lace & stitching page <http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/index.htm>

Steph Peters said:

Mark Thompson of NTL said:

Quoted message said:

> I'll post them tonight..

http://www.compbio.dundee.ac.uk/~dmamartin/robot/robot.html

That's brill!

Indeed it is. Good idea from the 7 year old, and excellent execution by
parent. Definitely deserved the first prize.

It was based on a previous one for my daughter as a martian, done in
pink and gold.
That one also won.

Top tip. Do the gluing with a hot glue gun. Makes it much easier than
trying to use PVA.

...d