Battery lights vs. rechargeable.

[DCBassman]

I doubt that there's a recycling centre in the country that puts any batteries in landfill. Or other small electricals. They're too valuable.

 

[Blue Hills]

False
"Halfords Advanced 1600 Lumen Front Bike Light
Developing a massive 1600 lumens from three CREE XM-L2 LED's & three LG lithium-ion batteries in a premium brushed aluminium body, the Halfords Advanced 1600 Lumen Front Bike Light illuminates the darkest night rides. This is our recommended light for riding pitch black forest trails and country lanes."

Not having a general go at Halfords, but they are retailers - not manufacturers of lighting systems. I am afraid I give that statement of theirs no credibility at all. Pitch black forest trails and country lanes are extremely different environments. I don't think there are lane markings, oncoming traffic etc etc etc on forest trails. And I doubt riders of those trails would be happy with my B&M German lighting standard thingie. But it's great for roads.

 

[Alex321]

Not having a general go at Halfords, but they are retailers - not manufacturers of lighting systems. I am afraid I give that statement of theirs no credibility at all. Pitch black forest trails and country lanes are extremely different environments. I don't think there are lane markings, oncoming traffic etc etc etc on forest trails. And I doubt riders of those trails would be happy with my B&M German lighting standard thingie. But it's great for roads.

If there were lane markings, I wouldn't need such a bright light

There are very few of the roads I ride that have any markings at all. I used to have a Cateye AMPP800 light (800 lumens), and that was plenty for the A & B roads round here, but was sketchy on the other roads at anything above about 20mph.

And as I've also said, most of the time, the light is not on the brightest setting. Even if I set it to that, it will usually reset itself after a few minutes due to temperature issues. But for 90% of my riding, the 2nd level setting is enough, which is apparently 1000 lumens. And at that setting for most of the time, it comfortably lasts for the full commute in both directions, still showing over an hour of charge left when I get home. I did try once keeping it on the high setting for the full round trip, and it ran out (dropped to the emergency "get you home" setting) about 5 minutes from home, so just over 2 hours.

 

[Alex321]

I doubt that there's a recycling centre in the country that puts any batteries in landfill. Or other small electricals. They're too valuable.

True, but I doubt many of them are seen by the recycling centres

Most councils (maybe all) don't collect batteries in the household recycling, so you either have to remember to take them with you to the supermarket (most large supermarkets have battery recycling points), or make a special trip to the recycling centre.

I suspect most people don't bother, and just chuck them in the general waste (black bags), even though you shouldn't.

 

[Tenkaykev]

True, but I doubt many of them are seen by the recycling centres

Most councils (maybe all) don't collect batteries in the household recycling, so you either have to remember to take them with you to the supermarket (most large supermarkets have battery recycling points), or make a special trip to the recycling centre.

I suspect most people don't bother, and just chuck them in the general waste (black bags), even though you shouldn't.

Exception to the rule here, our council accepts batteries if you put them in a bag on top of our ( blue ) recycling bins.

 

[slowmotion]

Not me dear chap. I have a 7dayShop charger. Which I've had for a good few years.

Oops, my mistake.

 

[Jenkins]

I've also got the Halfords 1600 lumen light and my commute includes a 2 mile unlit country lane - I only ever need the middle setting of the 5 on this part and, in the case of meeting oncoming traffic, it's quickly knocked down to either of the two lowest settings thanks to the optional remote. The upper two levels are not neded for road riding in my opinion but I can see that they may be useful for off road work.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Half the lumens of these lights go up into the sky anyway. No use to man nor beast for road riding.

 

[Alex321]

Ok, I stopped to have a good look at it tonight.

Propped the bike against a roadside sapling, pointed the light as close as I could to where it would be when riding and walked up the road to see what the effect was.

On the 1000 lumen mode (which is what I'm in about 90% of the time), it is no more dazzling than a car dipped headlight. Probably a bit less.

On the 1600 lumen mode, it is a fair bit worse than a car dipped headlight, though still nowhere near as bad as a car on full beam.

And at very roughly 10 metres or so (1000 lumen mode), it was only showing about 40 lux on the phone held down near the road, in the centre of the beam. How accurate my phone is for such use, I have no idea.

SO, I will continue using it for now, but will certainly mainly only use in 1000 lumen mode. That is generally sufficient anyhow, and lasts long enough for a full round trip commute.

When I get the chance, I will probably get a different light - but which lights available in the UK will give better beam pattern with similar levels of road illumination? There is no point replacing it with another with similarly bad beam pattern. The StVZO should be better, this one looks decent if you justy look at the lux value - but I can't find anywhere it tells you the distance that was measured at, and it doesn't get good reviews for run time.

 

[I like Skol]

Well, I learned something new today. I wasn't aware of the StVZO standard but I am now, there's a pretty good explanation HERE.

It makes a lot of sense and is exactly what I was talking about even though I was unaware there was an applicable standard. I will continue to use my non-standard lights as they are not powerful enough to dazzle but are easily seen and suit my streetlit commute perfectly. Anyone that requires lights for unlit roads should seriously consider lights that have the beam pattern cut-off to avoid dangerously dazzling other road users, this is just common sense really.

One of the key lines from the article about the use of unfettered lighting....

“For example, you don’t want to be riding around the city with a 1,800-lumen light, blinding everyone who passes."

 

[Alex321]

Well, I learned something new today. I wasn't aware of the StVZO standard but I am now, there's a pretty good explanation HERE.

It makes a lot of sense and is exactly what I was talking about even though I was unaware there was an applicable standard. I will continue to use my non-standard lights as they are not powerful enough to dazzle but are easily seen and suit my streetlit commute perfectly. Anyone that requires lights for unlit roads should seriously consider lights that have the beam pattern cut-off to avoid dangerously dazzling other road users, this is just common sense really.

Agreed. The big issue then is actually finding out how those lights compare in terms of useful light on the road.

Lux should be useful, but only if they actually all specify the value at the same distance. That Lezyne one I linked to above doesn't specify that at all, it just says "115 lux" on highest setting (70 on medium), without saying whether that is measured 1m from the source or 10m, or anywhere else. With only 290 lumens max it seems unlikely it is really powerful enough for riding the lanes, but it is hard to be sure.

If I'm going to be forking out £50-£85 for a new light, I'd like to be reasonably sure that it is at least as effective as my current light in 1000 lumen mode, while also having the better beam pattern to not dazzle.

I wish that something like this site included more StVZO lights - in fact more lights generally, they only have a pretty small selection really.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I use ansmann rechargeables and they do me fine.

I also have various oddments of rechargeable lights, always like to have a spare.

 

[classic33]

On the issue of brighter lights on unlit roads, are folk afraid of what they can't see?

One of the good things about riding at night is(was) the darkness. But with high power lights becoming commonplace, that enjoyment quickly disappears.
25mph on an unlit road, because your light "allows that speed" is just nuts. You adapt your speed to the conditions, not "improve" your lighting to allow you to travel at speed.

 

[si_c]

Agreed. The big issue then is actually finding out how those lights compare in terms of useful light on the road.

Lux should be useful, but only if they actually all specify the value at the same distance. That Lezyne one I linked to above doesn't specify that at all, it just says "115 lux" on highest setting (70 on medium), without saying whether that is measured 1m from the source or 10m, or anywhere else. With only 290 lumens max it seems unlikely it is really powerful enough for riding the lanes, but it is hard to be sure.

If I'm going to be forking out £50-£85 for a new light, I'd like to be reasonably sure that it is at least as effective as my current light in 1000 lumen mode, while also having the better beam pattern to not dazzle.

I wish that something like this site included more StVZO lights - in fact more lights generally, they only have a pretty small selection really.

I have a large collection of lights, as I like to play with my setup and tweak it. By far the best light I have is my Supernova E3 Pro 2 (which is about 200lm spot brightness) which puts 60lux on the road at 10m. It's fantastic, I can guarantee your 1600lumen light doesn't produce as much usable light as this, the reason being that most of the light is spread to the side and up into the sky. I've ridden 40+mph descents with that light on dark country lanes and it's perfect.

The reason StVZO lights are so good is the optics - they place the light where it needs to be, not where it doesn't - I played with the Bikehut 1600 for a bit, but decided it wasn't a good fit for me for this reason it's OK for MTB or Trail riding but for the road it's optics are dreadful and cause too much glare.

 

[Alex321]

I have a large collection of lights, as I like to play with my setup and tweak it. By far the best light I have is my Supernova E3 Pro 2 (which is about 200lm spot brightness) which puts 60lux on the road at 10m. It's fantastic, I can guarantee your 1600lumen light doesn't produce as much usable light as this, the reason being that most of the light is spread to the side and up into the sky. I've ridden 40+mph descents with that light on dark country lanes and it's perfect.

That's a dynamo light?

Presumably you buy the dynamo itself separately. And it isn't StVZO.

Sounds good, but not sure about a dynamo, though I know modern ones are much better than when I was a kid , and I really don't want to be forking out over £100, which that seems to be.

The reason StVZO lights are so good is the optics - they place the light where it needs to be, not where it doesn't - I played with the Bikehut 1600 for a bit, but decided it wasn't a good fit for me for this reason it's OK for MTB or Trail riding but for the road it's optics are dreadful and cause too much glare.

I would like to replace it with an StVZO light at some point.