Basic one light or two question

I sometimes use a Fenix PD10 as a backup to my dynamo light on my bike. However, on my new bike I'm thinking of only using a Fenix or two. I had thought about running two PD10's side by side, but the limited runtime is a problem for me. I'm considering a TA30 – I know it's a lot bigger and heavier, but it has a 3+hr runtime.

My question is, will two PD10's (at around 185 lumens each) be brighter than one TA30 (at around 225 lumens)?

I can imagine the two smaller lights when used a few inches apart might have a broader beam, and I might also be able to point one slightly down in comparison to the other to light up the road slightly closer to me. However, the TA30 has a larger reflector, and perhaps more throw, so I'd be interested to hear how these things would work out.

Thanks very much.

David

:sick2:

deejayen said:

I sometimes use a Fenix PD10 as a backup to my dynamo light on my bike. However, on my new bike I'm thinking of only using a Fenix or two. I had thought about running two PD10's side by side, but the limited runtime is a problem for me. I'm considering a TA30 – I know it's a lot bigger and heavier, but it has a 3+hr runtime.

My question is, will two PD10's (at around 185 lumens each) be brighter than one TA30 (at around 225 lumens)?

I can imagine the two smaller lights when used a few inches apart might have a broader beam, and I might also be able to point one slightly down in comparison to the other to light up the road slightly closer to me. However, the TA30 has a larger reflector, and perhaps more throw, so I'd be interested to hear how these things would work out.

Thanks very much.

David

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Hi David,

In answer to your question, the two PD10 will obviously be brighter with (2 x 185 lumens) than the TA30 with 225 lumens however your are right about the runtime.

I use lights on my bike whilst night riding and I find having 2 lights are a nice way to go.

First light is for flood/fill. My choice: Malkoff MD3 with M60W MC-E (400 lumens).

Second light is for a little throw: My choice: Ra Clicky 140Cn.

Any light will do for the throw part of the equation. However, only a few light combos like my MD3 will give you 400 lumens of flood in a small package. The more lumens the better IMHO.

With the above combo, the whole street/trail ahead of you is completely illuminated.

James....:thumbsup:

Thanks for that, James. I've not heard of Malkoff or Ra before, but I've had a wee look at their websites.

I do have a Surefire G2 somewhere, so I could buy a Malkoff module for that.

Do you have any experience of the Fenix L2D and PD10 type of lights, and if so, would you say there is much difference between the Fenix and the Malkoff/Ra lights?

The PD10 is very small and light, and two of those might be ideal if wasn't for the mere 1-hour runtime. I've contemplated knocking together some sort of multi-battery holder and connecting it to the lamp head with a mini connector in order to extend the runtimes, but it could all get a bit messy. I do long distance riding, and some rides can run through the night so anything which reduces the hassle is a good thing.

for me it depends on the riding, if im just cruising / going to work i would just use one light/fenix but have both mounted so if one dies i can just switch the other on. if i am off road id have both on like you say one up ahead and one closer to home gives a nice spread. unfortunatly the little cr123 lights we use have no runtime with good out put compared to a dedicated bike light. so i would ask how much do you ride ? i dont ride that often in dark any more so i got rid of my nightrider minewt setup so i had cash to buy another torch :twothumbs
if you do i would seriously consider rechargables or a dedicated light.
Ant

I do quite a bit of night riding. For winter training rides I have a heavy bike and don't mind toting a few lighting systems around. I have some front wheels with Schmidt dynohubs and either run a Schmidt E6 halogen (or two) or a Solidlights XB2 LED. The latter is quite useful because I also have a rechargeable battery pack for that. It's got a fairly good beam, and is lets me see the road, although more light would be better for the dark nights on unfamiliar roads. I also have a Dinotte 400L light with rechargeable battery pack, and the Fenix torches. The Dinotte is fine, but I always find the battery packs to be a bit of a hassle. I also have an overvolted MR-16 halogen system which is incredible (with a 30W bulb), but the battery pack is heavy-ish for the short run times it gives.

In summer I'd like to keep the weight down, remove the clutter of external battery packs, and also give up the dynohub (and wires). In summer my rides will be maybe 250 miles, and that will involve riding through the night, on wee lanes, and on unfamiliar roads. If it starts to get dark at 9pm and light at 6am then that's 9hours of night time riding. I've just read that the Fenix lights I have can give run times of around 4 hours on 'high' as opposed to 'turbo' and perhaps I could get away with running two on 'high'. I'm now tempted by the P30D R4. it ups the power output on 'high' yet still has the 4 hour runtime. I tried out my Surefire G2 halogen last night, and although the warm colour temperature is good for some sort of riding, it wasn't anywhere near as wide or even as bright as the L2D.

ive gota say with all that riding you need to get a dedicated riding/bike light. i havnt looked at them for a couple of years but you will find something that meets all your needs much more than a torch on a bar.
http://www.niterider.com/prod_pro1200.shtml
im biased here of course, ive had some lights from this manufacturer. they have great guarantees and check the specs, and pc link for programing the light !!
please do some research on bike sites :twothumbs

Sorry CPFer's !

zs&tas said:

ive gota say with all that riding you need to get a dedicated riding/bike light. i havnt looked at them for a couple of years but you will find something that meets all your needs much more than a torch on a bar.
http://www.niterider.com/prod_pro1200.shtml
im biased here of course, ive had some lights from this manufacturer. they have great guarantees and check the specs, and pc link for programing the light !!
please do some research on bike sites :twothumbs

Sorry CPFer's !

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...exactly!

and to suggest using a malkoff m60w mc-e as a bike light is just impractical...first, getting one is a dice roll; you got to be online when the email for availability comes in, cause they sell out in hours, if not minutes...second, they have approx. 45 mins of runtime; 2-4 sets of batteries every bike ride, please...maybe if you're biking bryce canyon it makes sense...

Thanks for that. Probably good advice!

I hadn't seen that NiteRider model before. It seems really good, although it's heavy! That's what puts me off a powerful bike light (along with the often limited runtime). I know there are plenty of others (Lupine, Light & Motion, Busch & Muller, for example) but I've always stopped short on splashing out for a high powered bike light. I've always felt that on a 24-hour ride, lugging loads of heavy batteries all around the daytime sections is a daft idea, although maybe it doesn't make that much difference in the whole scheme of things. The dynohub addresses the runtime issue, and maybe I should just continue with that. I just wanted to go for the minimalistic approach, and had hoped the Fenix might be the answer.

I have two 4AA halogen Cat-Eyes on my bike, one pointing out and one pointing down more. When I bought them the LED lights at the time were nothing more than shower-head style lights that did an ok job of showing your position to others but didn't do so well at lighting the terrain ahead. I was also thinking of adding a helmet light so you can see what's down that trail on the left without turning your handle-bars. When you are riding in traffic I'd turn it off though so you don't blind drivers. There are some nice bike setups that mount the battery on your frame like a water bottle and give you a nice long rechargeable runtime and you can add multiple lights to the system.

deejayen said:

Thanks for that. Probably good advice!

I hadn't seen that NiteRider model before. It seems really good, although it's heavy! That's what puts me off a powerful bike light (along with the often limited runtime). I know there are plenty of others (Lupine, Light & Motion, Busch & Muller, for example) but I've always stopped short on splashing out for a high powered bike light. I've always felt that on a 24-hour ride, lugging loads of heavy batteries all around the daytime sections is a daft idea, although maybe it doesn't make that much difference in the whole scheme of things. The dynohub addresses the runtime issue, and maybe I should just continue with that. I just wanted to go for the minimalistic approach, and had hoped the Fenix might be the answer.

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yeah i just gave that as an example of what is possible, there are plenty of powerfull light lights out there built for 24hr races / endurance racing. im sure if you search through them there will be something there that suits, they make so many different styles / brightness's / runtimes / weight everything. you say about the weight issue - i never found it a real problem on the right bike, and i would believe a dynohub has quite a bit of built in resistance does it not ? you could get rid of this and youd be flying. decreasing rotational weight on your bike is the biggest improvement you can make, has the biggest impact on acceleration / speed. dead frame weight has much less impact.