Best light (AA batteries)

Ghost Estate

What is the best light for a bike i could buy that runs on AA's. Is the cateye el-520 any good? Lumen ratings seem low on those things

I was half thinking of buying one of these, running it off a 10-pack AA's and making my own case for it. bad idea?

tomasrojo

I use the Cateye EL-530 and I like it.

Depends on what you want it for, but I got it for going down the poorly lit roads of the Phoenix Park, a purpose for which it's ok. There are much brighter lights though. It's more than bright enough for normal city cycling, and is very conspicuous because it's so much brighter than most bike front lights in use.

These review seem accurate enough, both on the positives and negatives:
http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews118341.html

C3PO

Hope Vision 1

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=24391

Lumen

For seeing or being seen?

For seeing, consider...

Hope Vision 1
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=24391

B&M Ixon IQ
http://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;navigation=1;product=6825;pid=66;group=92;menuid1=5

smacl

+1 on the Ixon IQ, been using one for the winter and it works well. The two settings mean you can move between unlit and poorly lit conditions easily, and on the low setting it holds a charge for a long time. It includes rechargeables and charger, or you can use regular AAs when required.

If I was doing longer night rides, I'd probably buy a second one to have one beam for near the bike and one for further ahead. Picked up a flat last night on some broken glass, where I probably had the beam too far forward.

smacl

Just noticed that Wiggle have a 50% sale on lights which could be worth a scan.

doozerie

Re the Cateye EL-530, I've been using one for 3 years or more now and I've been happy with the amount and quality of light from it. It is certainly enough to be seen by, and isn't bad for seeing either on short stretches of semi-lit roads. If you were travelling along a completely unlit road though then you might not spot potholes and the like with this light though.

The light is certainly not perfect though. My main gripe is with the fragility of the plastic that the main body of the light is made from. Combine that with the weight of 4 AA batteries in it and you can cause significant damage if you drop it - that's not too big a deal, mind you, as the same could be said for many lights. The real issue for me is that where the body of the light connects with the mounting bracket seems to be prone to breaking while the light is on the bike. I've had this same issue with most Cateye lights I've used. Mind you, my current one is still managing to hold to the mounting bracket despite a chunk of the interfacing plastic being missing for many months now. As with most of my previous Cateye lights, I expect to have to replace the light due to it being unable to grip the mounting bracket any longer, rather than due to any failure of the electronics in it. The guts of them have lasted well for me, it's just the casings that seem to be the limiter.

As regards some of the online reviews referring to the light tilting down on the handlebars, a strip of grippy material between the mount and the handlebar has always sorted that out for me. The strips of rubber spacers that came with the lights for this purposes didn't always work for me so I sometimes used something else - a strip of silicone works very well.

tomasrojo

I think Cyclelogical sell older-style Cateye mounts, which are much better than the ones that come with the EL-530. I had one spare from years ago, and I put it on the Brompton, having put the modern one on my main bike. The old-style one is a lot better, both for gripping the handlebar and for mounting the light.

I had to replace my first EL-530 because the case cracked when I dropped it, which meant that the top (the bit with the LED and all the electronics) couldn't be screwed on anymore. But it survived quite a few drops over a few years before that happened.

The only other disadvantage not mentioned here by doozerie or that review site is that if you leave your mobile phone beside it, it can switch the light on, leaving you with no light to get home.

doozerie

Just to qualify my comment above that the EL-530 is "certainly enough to be seen by", I will say that people have driven, walked, and cycled, out in front of me even with this light beaming at them from my bike. They are the exception, and almost certainly can all be primarily classed under the label of "moron", but just be aware that this light is ignorable by those who find it too inconvenient to notice it. By comparison, I started using an (additional) 900-lumen front light recently (an SSC P7-C) and even if you were determined you'd be hard pressed to deliberately not notice it (unfortunately the "super-moron" category of such people does exist though but thankfully it's not heavily populated, probably 'cos most of them can't manage to find the exits from their house and so fail to unleash themselves on the world). At least, it claims a max of 900-lumen, the reality is probably quite a bit less but the light is certainly *very* bright.

The SSC P7-C is a good light for seeing by too, but it takes a single TR18650 battery rather than AA's which doesn't match the requirements you mentioned. I bought two of the lights, plus rechargeable batteries, plus recharger, from DealExtreme.com. The price is good but the quality is patchy as one of the lights has an intermittent problems. Runtime is relatively low too, with a claimed 1hr on full brightness and 2hrs on half-brightness I think (though I seem to get longer than those figures). Review here.

doozerie

tomasrojo wrote: »

I think Cyclelogical sell older-style Cateye mounts, which are much better than the ones that come with the EL-530. I had one spare from years ago, and I put it on the Brompton, having put the modern one on my main bike. The old-style one is a lot better, both for gripping the handlebar and for mounting the light.

That's a good point. I think that I have the older mount, from a previous Cateye light, on one bike and the grip on that seems more solid and reliable than that of the newer mount on another bike. The older mount is actually for a different model of Cateye light.

langdang

I'll weigh in behind the Hope Vision 1 too.
Get quality branded rechargeables tho, cheapo ones can't keep up to them.
Duracells are keeping mine going nicely.

seamus

doozerie wrote: »

Just to qualify my comment above that the EL-530 is "certainly enough to be seen by", I will say that people have driven, walked, and cycled, out in front of me even with this light beaming at them from my bike.

I've been flashed by cars who thought I was a motorbike with full beams on, yet people have still managed to SMIDSY me. Unfortunately super-morons are everywhere

I think the fragility of the EL-530 is my main gripe with the unit. I still have mine but now it's been reduced to being used as my emergency torch in the car and will probably go into my backpack during the summer as my emergency get-me-home light in case I get caught out.
Mine started getting dimmer/brighter or turning off altogether when you shook the unit, which when coupled with the dodgy bracket, meant that it was constantly flickering while I was cycling along. It also went off a couple of times and I hadn't noticed, so I just couldn't rely on it any more to use as my main light.

If you're going to go looking at spending the best part of €100 on lights and not entirely married to AA batteries, then I can't recommend these highly enough. The main reason I bought them was the rechargable battery, I got sick of carrying AA batteries everywhere and having to buy them all the time.

blorg

Why, out of interest, are AAs a requirement? You will get better energy density from (rechargable) lithium ion batteries (e.g. 18650s.) A Fenix TK11 will give you 13 hours of significantly brighter light than the Cateye (more than enough to see the road) from each spare 18650 you carry (spares only cost $4 or so.)

kennyb3

Another Hope Vision 1 user here, as said get rechargeable 2900 batteries (good quality ones)

Ghost Estate

blorg wrote: »

Why, out of interest, are AAs a requirement? You will get better energy density from (rechargable) lithium ion batteries (e.g. 18650s.) A Fenix TK11 will give you 13 hours of significantly brighter light than the Cateye (more than enough to see the road) from each spare 18650 you carry (spares only cost $4 or so.)

because I have loads of these already that i'd carry around and use for other things as well. and don't want another charger

li-ion batteries also perish quite fast. my own laptop battery for example

Battery 0: design capacity 4492 mAh, last full capacity 3768 mAh = 83%

(it's only barely a year old ) i know you can get lifepo4 18650's but their capacity is similar to a AA


that Hope Vision 1 looks fairly decent, 240lm. It needs to be fairly bright for use in the pitch dark

Lumen

One 18650 has about the same capacity as two AAs.

A light based on a single cell will tend to perform better than one based on multiple non-matched cells.

18650s are engineered for high discharge, whereas some AAs are not. I think this is why you can get high power lights based on one, two or four 18650s or two or four AAs, but not just two AAs - the current would be more than the AAs could take.

Dubba

+ 1 for the Hope Vision 1

Wiggle have them down 30% to £63.53:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/hope-vision-1-led-front-light/

Also a very good review from a poster here - Super Freak which is worth a look:

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055708710&highlight=hope+vision

Fan

Any recommendations on what rechargeable batteries and charger to get and where to purchase?

For use with the Hope Vision 1

Thanks

serendip

> What is the best light for a bike i could buy that runs on AA's. Is the cateye el-520 any good?
I had an el-520 and the seal/connection between back and front broke pretty quickly. I wouldn't get one again. More generally I wouldn't get one that: a) is made of plastic and b) has an asymmetric attachment. (Although others seem to have had a better experience with this light.)

Redjeep!

Ghost Estate wrote: »

What is the best light for a bike i could buy that runs on AA's. Is the cateye el-520 any good? Lumen ratings seem low on those things

I was half thinking of buying one of these, running it off a 10-pack AA's and making my own case for it. bad idea?

Well, it's been done before. Read this, if you want to go the DIY route. http://http://www.amquix.info/alieneye/

Ghost Estate

Redjeep! wrote: »

Well, it's been done before. Read this, if you want to go the DIY route. http://http://www.amquix.info/alieneye/

I dont want to blind any oncoming traffic with it, so that idea is gone

Redjeep!

Ghost Estate wrote: »

I dont want to blind any oncoming traffic with it, so that idea is gone

I'm not sure that the beam pattern is really much different to the majority of bike lights or converted torches, so I don't know if it would be any worse than them anyway. Something like the Hope light seems to have a very round beam pattern and I think that it would be just as likely to blind oncoming traffic as a light like this.

I'd say that blinding oncoming traffic is down to power, beam pattern and the way it's angled.

I'm not saying it'd be any better or any worse, I just can't see the difference, maybe somebody could explain if they can ? ? I'm in the same boat and trying to buy a powerful bike light for commuting. I just can't see if the price difference for the Hopes (or similar) are worth it above for instance, the Deal Extreme torches or the Fenix.

Lumen

Redjeep! wrote: »

I just can't see if the price difference for the Hopes (or similar) are worth it above for instance, the Deal Extreme torches or the Fenix.

I've bought two or three torches for use on the bike, and they all suffered from either general unreliability or cut-out over bumpy roads. Other people have found them OK (particularly the Fenix, which is generally highly regarded although mine failed). I would not buy any torch with multiple 18650s which uses a tail-mounted clicky, as the weight of the cells tends to cause cut-out over bumps (or more irritatingly, a mode switch to kill-everything-strobe) as they bounce around inside.

So, my experience of torches isn't great.

Other lights I've owned include:

- USE Joystick (failed with water ingress after a month)
- Blackburn 4 rear (v. bright, but is eventually succumbing to water ingress)
- Blackburn Flea front and rear (front is fine, rear is malfunctioning after two weeks, ouput from either isn't great)
- Knog Frogs (crappy output)
- B&M Ixon IQs (front mounted pair, pretty much faultless except for the relatively modest output).

So, I'd like to say that bike lights are better engineered than cheaper torches, but I'm not sure that's necessarily true.

The high-end MTB lights from the likes of USE, Ayup etc do occasionally fail but are reported to have excellent customer service, and the riders on our RAI team last year loved them, particularly the Ayups. But they are expensive.

Fenix TK11 is still the best bang for buck, but the Hopes are priced well at the moment.

If I was to start again with bike lights I'd probably just spend the money on a dynamo hub and some B&M lights and eliminate the battery issue altogether. Batteries are crap.

smacl

Lumen wrote: »

If I was to start again with bike lights I'd probably just spend the money on a dynamo hub and some B&M lights and eliminate the battery issue altogether. Batteries are crap.

Out of interest, if you go with a dynamo, is the dynamo charging a battery pack, or driving the lights directly? Thinking of likely power output from downhills vs uphills, along with stops. The Ixon IQ charger charges from flat in a couple of hours with 9v @600ma (current regulated), but I wonder if the variable and possibly interrupted output from a dynamo would suit.

Lumen

smacl wrote: »

Out of interest, if you go with a dynamo, is the dynamo charging a battery pack, or driving the lights directly? Thinking of likely power output from downhills vs uphills, along with stops.

I'd probably get the 60 Lux version of this, the LUMOTEC IQ Cyo N plus and a dynamo-driven rear light to go with it.

No batteries, just a capacitor for the standlight.

Mosiki

Fan wrote: »

Any recommendations on what rechargeable batteries and charger to get and where to purchase?

For use with the Hope Vision 1

Thanks

http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350424955193&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:IE:1123

langdang

Dunno lad,(unless you've tried em) just because a battery has 2700 or 2900 written on it doesn't mean it'll drive the Hope. There's quality AND quantity to be taken into account - some batteries just can't deal with the current draw. They might have the capacity but they can't deliver high current.

I had one of these chargers, the 2700mAh batteries that came with it are useless in the Hope
http://www.camlink.eu.com/products/chargers/chargers/ZETA.html

But Duracell rechargeables of lesser capacity last longer and are more reliable. got em cheap from this guy
http://cgi.ebay.ie/8-DURACELL-SUPREME-AA-2450mAh-RECHARGEABLE-BATTERIES-/320634700633?pt=UK_ConsumerElectronics_Batteries_SM&hash=item4aa7514359#ht_1327wt_898

tomasrojo

Tesco sell the Duracell rechargeables, AAs and AAAs. Very reliable, reasonable price. Rechargeables last me about ten years anyway. My uncle reckons it's because I use very old rechargers that take about twenty hours to top the batteries up, rather than the very fast modern ones.

langdang

tomasrojo wrote: »

Tesco sell the Duracell rechargeables, AAs and AAAs.

Found them expensive compared to that eBay dude.

tomasrojo

langdang wrote: »

Found them expensive compared to that eBay dude.

True.

doozerie

The rechargeable battery shoot-out page now seems to have gone a few years without an update but it makes interesting reading nonetheless. I have two Maha chargers, one of which is recommended on that page, and I've found them very good. One of their selling points is that they continue to provide a trickle charge once a battery has supposedly reached a full charge - apparently a "full charge" is actually only something like a 90% charge or so (depending on the charger) so the trickle charge is an attempt to top that up to closer to 100%. Mind you, I've yet to find a (affordable) battery tester that'll tell me accurately how much charge a battery has so I remain a bit sceptical about the 4-bar LCD display on one of my battery chargers and the results displayed by the two cheap and cheerful battery testers I have.

As regards batteries themselves, I have a set of four Powerex 2300mAh NiMH AA batteries for several years now (must be at least 7 years now) which have been excellent throughout. They power my compact digital camera for quite a while (for at least 200 photos) and they continue to hold their charge very well between charges too for periods of 4 weeks and more. By comparison, I have lots of Energiser 2500mAh NiMH AA batteries which started out well but within a year or two they were no longer holding their charge beyond a couple of weeks of being charged and they drain to zero quickly when in use too. I also bought a bunch of Powerex 2700mAh NiMH AA batteries a few years ago which have gone the very same way as the Energisers. I don't know whether the quality of Powerex batteries dropped before I bought the 2700's or whether higher powered batteries just don't hold their charge as well but my experiences with the Energisers seems to suggest the latter. By comparison, I have a mix of Energiser 850mAh NiMH AAA batteries and Powerex 1000mAh NiMH AAA batteries and these still keep their charge well between charges.

smacl

doozerie wrote: »

I've yet to find a (affordable) battery tester that'll tell me accurately how much charge a battery

Probably because there isn't one. In terms of discrete measurement, you can measure voltage, or current drawn across a load. You can also record usage since last full charge, voltage drop across a load over a time, current drop across a load over time. Very difficult to accurately predict when the battery will become exhausted through typical usage using any of these methods. This article on the subject isn't bad.

Ghost Estate

doozerie wrote: »

Mind you, I've yet to find a (affordable) battery tester that'll tell me accurately how much charge a battery has so I remain a bit sceptical about the 4-bar LCD display on one of my battery chargers and the results displayed by the two cheap and cheerful battery testers I have.

Its very hard to know how much exactly is left in a battery other than by emptying it completely. with laptop batteries the gauge is reasonably accurate because it continuously monitors the voltage on the battery and how much current is being drawn from it but even if you gave it a different battery it would take a charge or 3 to calibrate properly.

the best to see if a battery is full is a multimeter to measure the voltage on it, even that can be deceptive as freshly charged batteries have a higher voltage than ones that have been sitting around for a while and the voltage on empty batteries tends to creep back up if leave them idle for a while

langdang

Hence one of the downsides of the Hope Vision One - no warning of low battery or imminent shutdown

Fan

Thanks for the help. TBH if I get a good year or two of use from a pack I'd be happy.

SurferDude41

Ghost Estate wrote: »

What is the best light for a bike i could buy that runs on AA's. Is the cateye el-520 any good? Lumen ratings seem low on those things

I was half thinking of buying one of these, running it off a 10-pack AA's and making my own case for it. bad idea?

Please think about the plannet man, before you buy 10-pack AA's:(
Most of these dry cell batteries end up in landfill sites, eventually their contents leach into the water-table.

Please, Please, Please, consider buying rechargable nickle-metal hydride AA batteries. You can recharge these 1000 times:)
Look for the high density ones 2200 mAh Digital camera cells.
These are only €5 for a pack of four, in Aldi.

Just think of all the money you will save, and you will be doing your bit for our plannet.

carry your non rechargable batteries for a back-up, just for emergencies.

Happy cycling:)

Ghost Estate

SurferDude41 wrote: »

Please think about the plannet man, before you buy 10-pack AA's:(
Most of these dry cell batteries end up in landfill sites, eventually their contents leach into the water-table.

Please, Please, Please, consider buying rechargable nickle-metal hydride AA batteries. You can recharge these 1000 times:)
Look for the high density ones 2200 mAh Digital camera cells.
These are only €5 for a pack of four, in Aldi.

Just think of all the money you will save, and you will be doing your bit for our plannet.

carry your non rechargable batteries for a back-up, just for emergencies.

Happy cycling:)

what made you think i was using disposables?

SurferDude41

Ok thats great:)
A few years ago cycling plus, did a feature on a homemade high output front light that used one of those LED low voltage plastic encased bulbs.
If memory serves, they used a battery from an electric remote controlled car they then mounted these battries in a cut down waterbottle.

Hope this helps. SD..

Redjeep!

SurferDude41 wrote: »

Ok thats great:)
A few years ago cycling plus, did a feature on a homemade high output front light that used one of those LED low voltage plastic encased bulbs.
If memory serves, they used a battery from an electric remote controlled car they then mounted these battries in a cut down waterbottle.

Hope this helps. SD..

If it was a few years ago, it was more likely to be a 12volt halogen bulb rather than an LED. That was common practise back then. I could be wrong though. It was easy enough as all you needed was some form of 12v battery and a bulb, and then put it in a waterproof container of some sort.

The LED's tend to need voltage or current regulators which make it a bit more complicated, but you get much better battery life. There's no reason why you couldn't make a halogen light as they still work well, but you'd only get an hour or so battery life (even with a fairly heavy battery).

I think the dynamo is the way to go if you're serious.

blorg

IMO, talk of using 10 packs of NiMh AAs in preference to lithium ion is simply nuts. Nuts!

Ghost Estate

blorg wrote: »

IMO, talk of using 10 packs of NiMh AAs in preference to lithium ion is simply nuts. Nuts!

lithium ion has to be one of the worst types of battery available. it has certain advantages that make it appeal to manufacturers but thats about it

BostonB

tomasrojo wrote: »

I use the Cateye EL-530 and I like it.

Depends on what you want it for, but I got it for going down the poorly lit roads of the Phoenix Park, a purpose for which it's ok. There are much brighter lights though. It's more than bright enough for normal city cycling, and is very conspicuous because it's so much brighter than most bike front lights in use.

These review seem accurate enough, both on the positives and negatives:
http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews118341.html

Me too, and also for the Phoenix Park. EL-530 its been through lots of rain, and I've had no problems with it. Mount moves a little, but then its a biggish light. Battery life if great too. However one thing I don't like about is the light pattern. One bright spot with a Halo. Theres some info on the web about modding them to give a bright and more even spread of light. Initially I didn't use it in the city, but I noticed after using it late one night, that, cars definitely react to it, more than when I just had the Smart light below. React as in not pull out across me, or slop and give way more. That said I knocked off when using it, but thats another story.

I've also got a Smart Polaris II 5 LED as a flasher and its been great too. Through rain and great battery life. Unfortunately its not bright enough to see the road, so hence I bought the EL-530.
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/lights/front/product/ii-5-led-32399

I've considered buying a 2W (I think) Smart Lunar 35 Lux Front Light.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Smart-Lunar-Lux-Front-Light/dp/B002Q4TZDG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1298241023&sr=1-2 but just didn't do it yet.

I've been off the bike a while, but I did get two of these, 1W 2-Mode 50-Lumen lights. http://www.dealextreme.com/p/1w-2-mode-50-lumen-led-bike-light-with-mount-4-aaa-18307 . Arrived in something like 3 or 4 days from HK. they are brighter and more even than the EL-530. Takes AAA's though, no idea how good they'll be in rain, or battery life yet. I hope to try them this week.

I really need to get some decent battery chargers now though...

tomasrojo

I'd be interested to hear how you get on with the 1W 50 Lumen lights.

blorg

If it is for cycling in the dark you can get substantially brighter than 50 lumen from DealExtreme for not very much more money (they have ~250 lumen torches for $20 or so.) 3xAAA is not a great idea for a light IMO, very bad energy density and a hassle to charge.

BostonB

Ideally I'd like this...when funds allow....

http://www.bike24.com/p214244.html
http://www.xs4all.nl/~swhs/fiets/tests/verlichting/Philips_LED_bike_light/index_en.html

kleefarr

Guys,

I recently bought 8x Energizer Recharge-EXTREME-AA-2300mAh-Batteries.
I had to charge them when they arrived and have used one so far in a small battery powered kitchen clock. This battery needs charging again now where as before other rechargeables and normal batteries would last months.
I have checked all the others and they are all the same, out of charge after being charged to full capacity. Two weeks.
Any ideas? Strange that all 8 batteries are behaving the same.

tomasrojo

For a clock I'd use a standard battery, as the rechargeables I have lose charge over the course of a few weeks (maybe ten or twelve weeks). I think there are newer rechargeables that don't discharge like this, but I don't have them.

I've never had a rechargeable discharge fully after two weeks and never used.

smacl

Worth reading some reviews on rechargeable batteries, decent article here; http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-rechargeable-batteries/

tomasrojo

Interesting that kleefarr's very batteries are top of the class in that link. Maybe kleefarr got a dud set? Maybe give them one more chance? Charge them again and see how long they retain charge.

smacl

tomasrojo wrote: »

Interesting that kleefarr's very batteries are top of the class in that link. Maybe kleefarr got a dud set? Maybe give them one more chance? Charge them again and see how long they retain charge.

Could be a different type of charger is required, e.g. higher amps, switch mode etc... AFAIK NiCad chargers will not work for NiMh batteries.

tomasrojo

I recharge NiMH batteries with an old recharger from the NiCd days. But it's a slow charger; twenty hours or so to recharge a battery. Batteries seem to last from ten to five years with this charger though, so I've never changed it.