[OrRando] Lighting

[Andrew P. Black]

On 18 Sep 2007, at 20:44, fitzbase at comcast.net wrote:

> well, as long as Cecil is asking, I'll add in my question...  Has  
> anyone tried the LED lights?  How do they compare to the halogen  
> lights?

I got a "Light and Motion" Vega headlight last year.  This is one of  
the new generation  LED lights with a single 4W LED.  It is the first  
LED light that I've ever had that is bright enough to ride by.  It's  
a great commuting light, but not great for long brevet because the  
battery is internal: you have to recharge it, not replace it.  The  
battery life is 2 1/2 to 3 hours on bright; it also has various  
flashing and several less-than-bright modes.   (If anyone wants one,  
I have a never-used factory replacement on my desk, which I'm  
planning to sell.)

This spring I bought (from Peter White, although there are much  
cheaper sources on the 'net), the Ixon light. It has a similar spec  
to the Vega, although the beam is less even.  It is also bright  
enough to ride by.  It's big advantage, for brevets, is that it runs  
on four AA sized NiMH cells, which can be removed from the light.  As  
a consequence it is larger and heavier than the Vega.  It has a  
longer run time (about 6 hours on bright), so with one set of spare  
batteries, it will get you though the night.  It can also be operated  
on non-rechargable AA cells bought in any convenience store, which is  
a nice property for a randonneur light.  It has two modes: bright,  
and not so bright, and an LED to tell you which is engaged.  I think  
that German laws don't allow the use of flashing lights.  It is a  
nice commuting light too, and the batteries can be recharged without  
removing them from the light, which is convenient for daily use.

If I ever get to the point of doing a 4-day brevet, I might invest in  
a SON hub.  Or, I might just get a half-dozen sets of rechargeable  
batteries for the Ixon.

	Andrew

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