jfcl
Newly Enlightened
I'm looking for new lights for my bike. My trusty VistaLite VL400s continue to serve me well, with two 10W lamps and a 6V 12AH SLA battery for up to 3 hours of light. But I've been watching the LED technology improve significantly over the past few years, especially in getting better color.
I thought about making my own lamps with an MR-16 bulb, but then I found two well-designed LED lamps: the Busch&Müller Lumotec IQ2 and the Philips SafeRide 80.
The SafeRide 80 comes in two forms: the unit with 4 AA batteries in the lamp head and the Pedelec version which is intended for e-bikes. The Pedelec version seems to only be available in Europe.
I'd rather have longer runtime than the 2hrs the AA unit provides. As you can tell, I don't mind carrying a good-sized SLA. It looks like the AA unit can run on 6V but I'd have to add an external connector. Does anyone know the power draw for the SafeRide 80 AA unit? I'm guessing it's about 6W. At that rate my 12AH SLA would give me a week's runtime!
I'm trying to decide whether to get the AA or Pedelec version. The Pedelec spec says it takes 8W at 6V and 6W at 36V. I'm thinking the AA version uses less power, especially at 6V. Has anyone used the Pedelec version?
Because I use a ZZipper fairing (mostly in the winter), I need to mount the lights below the fairing. With the VL400s, that was easy because I can mount them hanging down from the mounting bar I have at the front of my front rack. However, both the Lumotec and the SafeRide lamps must be mounted with the clamp on the bottom of the light. The SafeRide AA seems humongous and thus would be less suited to the longer bracket needed.
The SafeRide Pedelec is about $104 shipped from bike24.com. The SafeRide AA is $80 from Amazon.
I'm interested in any suggestions and any experience with the SafeRide Pedelec or mounting the SafeRide below the bars.
I thought about making my own lamps with an MR-16 bulb, but then I found two well-designed LED lamps: the Busch&Müller Lumotec IQ2 and the Philips SafeRide 80.
The SafeRide 80 comes in two forms: the unit with 4 AA batteries in the lamp head and the Pedelec version which is intended for e-bikes. The Pedelec version seems to only be available in Europe.
I'd rather have longer runtime than the 2hrs the AA unit provides. As you can tell, I don't mind carrying a good-sized SLA. It looks like the AA unit can run on 6V but I'd have to add an external connector. Does anyone know the power draw for the SafeRide 80 AA unit? I'm guessing it's about 6W. At that rate my 12AH SLA would give me a week's runtime!
I'm trying to decide whether to get the AA or Pedelec version. The Pedelec spec says it takes 8W at 6V and 6W at 36V. I'm thinking the AA version uses less power, especially at 6V. Has anyone used the Pedelec version?
Because I use a ZZipper fairing (mostly in the winter), I need to mount the lights below the fairing. With the VL400s, that was easy because I can mount them hanging down from the mounting bar I have at the front of my front rack. However, both the Lumotec and the SafeRide lamps must be mounted with the clamp on the bottom of the light. The SafeRide AA seems humongous and thus would be less suited to the longer bracket needed.
The SafeRide Pedelec is about $104 shipped from bike24.com. The SafeRide AA is $80 from Amazon.
I'm interested in any suggestions and any experience with the SafeRide Pedelec or mounting the SafeRide below the bars.
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