Thoughts on lights?

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R

Roddy

Guest
No, not grow lights, this is a headlight for my bicycle!! You cyclists out there, please chime in!

Needs:

Bright enough light that oncoming traffic can't "wash" my light away making me blind as to where the road is!

Battery life for at least 4 hours of continual running time.

Quick and easy recharge is a must.

Choices I have narrowed down to:

hXXp://www.niterider.com/rechargeable-new/pro-1500-led-pro-1500-led-race-new/

Not the race, the pro because of battery size.

hXXp://www.niterider.com/rechargeable-new/pro-3000-led-new/


Now, both are expensive as all get out, both are bright and will do the trick...one obviously brighter (and the price reflects this). Both are programmable, so do the same functions. Here's the difference that matters, though, the 3000 comes with an 8 cell battery whereas the 1500 comes with a 6 cell battery. The 1500 states it runs the same amount of time on a charge as the 3000 set to 1500 (medium setting on the 3000), but I find this hard to believe, wouldn't the bigger battery last longer when putting out same lumens?

Also, how many lumens do I really need?? I owned the predecessor to the 1500 and it was BRIGHT!! Cars would dim their headlights, some even flashing me thinking I'm a motorcycle with hi beams on. I can only imagine the brightness of double the lumens!

Last thing to consider, the 1500 (with smaller battery and less lumens) is ONLY $100 less than the 3000 (larger battery, double light output), which is $500+ (depending on where I can get it). Considering my (and most mag) flashlight is around 110 lumens, what choice would you make??

1) Buy the bigger unit and be happy?
2) Buy the smaller unit, a bigger battery (which would up the price to $100 more than the 3000) and still be happy? The extra battery means never running out of light, but is it worth it?

Help me out here, bikers! This purchase will be made soon, I am gearing up for a big ride season and I like to ride at night and, while money isn't a big issue, it's still a concern!
 
Or, do you know of another choice with similar abilities?? Keep in mind, this is made in the USA!
 
No one talked me down and I found a deal I just couldn't pass on...the 3000 pro was ordered just now!! It ended up only $50 more than the 1500, couldn't pass on that one!

Yeah, made the purchase sooner than I expected or planned, I'm really one of those impulse buyers (if you can say that in this case, I did plenty of homework and shopped around). Biking season is HERE and I love the night!!! I can't wait now, this will really make night riding fun and safe! Cars, dim those hi beams! :)
 
Thank you for shopping with us. We thought you'd like to know that PHAT TIRE shipped your item, and that this completes your order. Your order is on its way,

She's on her way!!

This is the bad girl: hXXp://www.niterider.com/rechargeable-new/pro-3000-led-new/ I wonder, how many sq' can I light with this 3000 lumen gal?? :rofl:
 
Congrats, man. I've done a lot of riding over the years. I never thought about riding at night. Duh! With the scorching temps around here it would make good sense. We always started longer rides in the early morning. In the afternoon heat, nothing more than 25 to 30 miles.
 
THANKS Classic!!

My job required I ride during the early evening, I'd end up riding into the dark and always had headlights wash away my light, making me pull to the side in most cases. As soon as I bought one of these (previous model), I owned the night and wound up getting to work late some mornings since my rides kept getting longer and longer! :)

This one is much brighter than my original, I can't imagine that! Cars were already dimming their headlights with the old model, they'll probably hate me with this one!!

Looking through their testimonials, I see many are buying the smaller models including the minewt and saying it's plenty bright...I may have gone a bit overboard with this one :rofl:

With being unemployed, I can imagine riding all night long! Already ordered a second battery....
 
The higher you aim the light, the more road you'll illuminate and the more drivers will be flashing you.

Aim the light lower and you only light the road right in front of you but no drivers flash you.

There's probably a happy medium in there somewhere.

You're going to make me dust off my bike and buy a couple of new tires. My last ride was a two day MS 150 a few years ago. The first day was cold, windy, and wet. I rode 100 miles that day into a north wind. I really wasn't ready for it as it was early in the season. I made the mistake of assuming that the prevailing south winds would be blowing. I'm way to proud to let the sag wagon pick me up. About 95% of the other riders were way smarter and less proud than me.

The second day was much more pleasant weather and only 100k (66 miles). It would have been a piece of cake except for the brutal torture I went through the day before.

It was all for a good cause, though as we were raising funds for Multiple Sclerosis. That's what kept me going on that miserable day. Anyway, once I got home, the bike was parked in the garage and I haven't ridden since.
 
Yeah, my old light was focused a bit lower and, if the cars didn't low beam, I lifted it just enough to let them know and they did!

NICE!! I appreciate anyone who goes through hell for a good cause, congrats!! I hear ya on the pride thing, not one to give in much, myself lol!

I had planned to kayak around Michigan, but I don't like being at the mercy of both the wind and the rain, so I may end up biking to the bridge and back, maybe a 1000 mile tour! Will have to see how my getting back into it works out AND whether they can get me a bit more top speed out of the sun trike. At any rate, this shall be the SUMMER OF RODDY!!!! :)
 
I rode a bike from Illinois to Florida to Oklahoma back to Illinois one summer. I was so tired by the end of the day I never needed a light lol. That was 1978. I don't know if I'd do that these days. We have a 150 mile trail here that follows a canal all woods & farmland, Good time witha fishin pole.
 
WOW....my light was just delivered!!!! :clap: :yay: :dancing: :yay: :clap:

I would consider that wicked fast, especially when delivery was estimated to be the 19th?? I am really thrilled and now cannot wait to try it out...tonight will be a chilly 34 degrees, but I'm game!! Battery is in the charging cradle as I type, this whole set-up is really quite impressive and feels of quality and durability; heavy and solid!

I'm really stoked right now!
 
I took off tonight at 8:30(ish) thinking I'd probably get in 10 or so miles, got back at midnight with 25 miles in! :eek: :D The light is really bright, I never had to take it above the lowest setting even on the dark dirt roads. I did test it out to it's highest a few times, but mainly lowest setting for 3.5 hours and the battery gauge said I used 1/4 of the battery. Now, I did stop a few times, smoked 2 joints along the way, so probably only 3 hours of on time.

While I'm very happy I bought the 3000 pro for the larger battery, I easily could have done with the 1500 pro! :) The lady that brighted me probably isn't as happy! :p
 
Tonight is promised to be beautiful, will go out with my son for a looong road tour! It will be interesting to see just how long the battery will last, we'll try to test that tonight! I'll load on the GPS and maybe even turn on the SPOT for tonight's run, will map my route as well as keep records of my stats.
 

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