Choosing a Light:
Just a bit of Information on choosing a light to get you started.
There are so many lights available that to say it is a daunting task is an understatement.
The first question is what is the purpose of the light. Do you want to see with it, or do you just want to be seen.
A couple of examples:
Riding on bike paths. The paths will have lots of dark patches, so you will need a reasonable headlamp that will show up any obstacles. The faster you go, the further the lamp must illuminate. On a bike path the taillamp is less important. You are really only using it for passing cyclists or the occasional stint on the road.
Riding on the road. Then you'll be in a lot of traffic, so you need to stand out.
Rear Light. When in traffic you will need to consider side vision as well as rear. You will require a good bright taillamp, that will stand out from all the car taillights. Flashing lights obviously set you apart from the cars and identify you as a cyclist. The more traffic the better the light should be.
Front Light. The ideal is a flashing light and a focussed lamp to see with. Of course many people do not want 2, so most lights come with a flash mode as well as the fixed beam. Where there is really good street lighting, the flashing lamp may suffice, but dont forget, there are usually areas between street lamps that are "black holes". Scary stuff at any speed! A really good lamp gives such piece of mind, and is such a pleasure to use. Usually anyone who has done quite a bit of night cycling invests in a decent rechargeable light set.
Off Road Riding. Forget anything else, get yourself a good rechargeable light set, with a wide enough beam to see the bush on either side, and a spot, so you can see far enough into the distance to have time to react. Also a taillight sufficient to prevent your mates running into the back of you (not too bright though)
Slightly More Technical Stuff (written by a lay person)
There are basically three types of lights that produce light with three types of "bulbs": Halogen, LED and HID.
Halogen. A few years ago Halogen lamps were "all the go". they are still widely used as down lights in houses. They are a based on a conventional globe with a filament that is heated in Zenon gas to a point that it produces lots of light (and heat unfortunately). The heat being a by-product uses lots of battery power and reduces their efficiency. They are cheap to produce, pretty rugged and only require simple circuitry. Their main draw-back is their lack of efficiency.
LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) aren't really bulbs at all, but rather tiny semi conductors. They are widely used these days in anything from an alarm clock to a bicycle lamp. They are inexpensive to produce, but do require more complex circuitry. Probably the greatest benefit is that they produce little heat, so they produce light much more efficiently. This means that lighter batteries, longer battery life and relatively long run times. Now were talking!
HID (High Intensity Discharge) light technology. HIDs provide the most light by far, but they are also the most expensive, and somewhat fragile. As with LED's it is a rapidly developing field. With HID's the gas acts as the filament between 2 electrodes. When an electrical current arcs from the electrodes through the gas, intense light is produced. Again these are very efficient, producing something like 3 times the output of other bicycle lights. But they do cost. Ideal for off-road use.
It has proven impossible to get any reasonable comparison of bicycle lights simply from manufacturers (and sales people's) specifications. Trying to compare Lumens, Watts, Lux or Candlepower, then what is the ideal beam pattern, factor in the battery run time, etc, etc makes my head spin. The comparisons were so misleading. So, my answer was to get an independent photographer to take the photos on the Light Comparison and let you judge for yourself. This eliminates opinion and brings it down to observable fact. Hope this all helps. Click here to see the photos of our Light Comparison.
