Jan. 20, 2005

It is time to update our lights shootout. We've had overwhelming response to our lights shootout last year and we've received a few suggestions on how to improve it. Many told us of this mysterious company in Germany called Lupine that made the 'best' lights in the world. We also observed dramatic progress at Interbike 2004 that saw the rapid development of LED lighting technology.

For this installment we offer 3 lights from Lupine and 2 from Topeak. The Lupine lights feature the mighty Edison 10. It is often proclaimed as the best light money can buy. Unfortunately at $900, only a lot of money can buy this light. Lupine also offers us a glimpse into LED lighting technology. We've heard LED proclaimed as the future of lighting technology. They offer a nice white color and incredible power efficiency, leading to longer run times.

Also coming soon are HID lights from Jet Lites, a self-contained LED light from Light and Motion not much bigger or heavier than a mini-maglite. LED lights from BLT and MountainLED are expected as well.

It is quite a challenge to match the beam patterns of these new lights to the ones we took last year. Photo-John of Photography Review was up to the task though and went to the exact same location under similar conditions. Manual Camera equipment and settings are identical and the photos are all unedited. The resulting beam photographs are excellent. Personally, I think the brightness properties are identical to the old photos. The color on the old photos however is a little more 'red' than the new ones. Please take that into consideration when viewing our new beam patterns to the older ones.

francis
mtbr.com

Jan. 7, 2004

At long last, the 2004 Mtbr Lights Shine-Off! Our last lights shootout article was published 3 years ago and it continues to be viewed regularly to this day. Well it's time for the sequel. There's been significant developments in light bulb technology, batteries and even chargers. So Shine on!!!

Now what's with Mtbr publishing editorial reviews? Well we normally avoid it. We're not very good at it and we like being an unbiased source of trusted information. We like lights though since the data is fairly objective. We will try to deliver the best beam pattern photos, battery run times, and actual weights. We can then supply the buyer with important data points to purchase the best set of lights for their riding style and budget.

francis
mtbr.com

Testing Notes:
We've learned a few things during this testing and have a few observations about lights technology and about some of the lights in this shootout.

HID
This is the primary reason for this the Lights Shine-On. Three years ago, there was only one player in the market, the Cateye Stadium 3. It was groundbreaking. It was bright, heavy and had a blueish colored light. In this shootout, we feature 4 HID lights from Niterider, Lights and Motion, Nightpro and Lume Lighting. Other players in the HID market but not in this shootout are Night Sun, Cateye, Topeak and Lupine.

High Intensity Discharge (HID) lighting technology replaces the filament of the light bulb with a capsule of gas. The light is emitted from an electric arc instead of a heated filament. The result is a more efficient light with a color that better simulates daylight. A more detailed description is available here http://www.halcyon.net/lights/hid-faq.shtml

Bottom line, the advantages are:
- More light. Better efficiency allows a 10 Watt HID to produce same amount of light as a 30 watt halogen
- Whiter light. The white light of HID compared to the yellowish light of halogen looks more like daylight and allows greater visibility.
- Long run times. This is just a side effect of better efficiency. Running a 10 watt HID with a good battery results in run times in excess of 4 hours.


Disadvantages:
- Cost. Some of these lights cost more than a decent bike
- Not instant on - HIDs take about 10-15 seconds to achieve full brightness. This makes them impractical for on-off switching while riding.

Charger Technology
Fast chargers, smart chargers are the new generation. With overnight chargers, you plug in the charger the night before, hope that it's charging and hope that it's fully charged by next morning. Fast chargers, have LED indicators that let you know when you're charging and they get the job done in 3-5 hours. Smart chargers Fast charge the battery until 50-80% then slow the rate of charging to avoid damage to the battery. They even detect when the battery is full and start a trickle charge to keep the battery in optimum charge. Smart chargers are said to increase battery life and charge cycles significantly.

Battery Technology
Batteries available now are Nickel Cadmium (Nicad), Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH), and Lithium Ion (Li-Ion). Just like cell phones and laptops, lighting is benefiting from these advancements in battery technology. In simplest terms, a NiMH battery is 30% lighter than Nicad. A Li-Ion battery is 30% lighter than NiMH. Alternatively, the manufacturer can just create the same weight batteries and have longer run times.

Beam Pattern Photos
Setting, the photographs were taken at Waterdog Park in Belmont California. The fire road features a 3% climb and trees on both sides. We aimed the lights at a spot on the ground approximately 30 yards away. We positioned a bike slightly to the left 35 yards away.


Lights Observations:
Niterider Flamethrower - The notable thing about these lights is the LED feature. It integrates 3 led lights (similar to the output of a AA flashlight) with a 12 Watt HID lamp. The LED light is useful for climbing, bike repair and taking breaks while out on the trail. It lasts an outrageous 80 hours (unverified) on a full charge. More significantly, the flamethrower is the run-time king at 4:25 hours at the highest setting. At 4:25 hours, the HID shut off automatically and the 3 LEDs went on. They stayed on for another 8 hours.

BLT Lights - Value, value, value. The most expensive BLT light in the group costs $155 and it features a fast/smart charger, 3 brightness levels and automatic shut-off to protect the battery.

Light and Motion - They're one of the first companies to venture into the new world of Lithium Ion batteries. Instead of going for even longer battery run times, they chose to make the batteries lighter.

Lume Lighting - The Lume lights feature outstanding materials and construction. They offer great value with good flexibility. For example, they offer 2 HID heads, a narrow focus beam and a wide focus beam. Also a 20 watt xenon light head can be used with the same battery/charger system.

Nightpro Extreme - These lights come in a case that deserves special mention. It keeps the goods organized and you can transport your HIDs like a secret agent.