SMS wrote:
> Prisoner at War wrote:
>> I'm wondering whether to get the Light & Motion ARC Li-Ion Ultra HID
>> or the NiteRider Moab HID/LED. They're both the same price but the
>> NiteRider burns over 50% longer at the same highest level of
>> brightness (if I'm reading the specs right -- in which case I'm
>> surprised Light & Motion haven't lowered their price at all; also, I'm
>> not sure what it means for the NiteRider to be "HID/LED" [according to
>> performancebike.com, anyway])....
>
> I've updated the HID/LED section of the Bicycle Lighting website
> "http://bicyclelighting.com".
Note that this site was primarily a site
> for building homebrew lighting systems, not a site to evaluate every
> commercial lighting system on the market. As such, I've now included the
> TrailTech lamps because they are usable in a homebrew system, but not
> included the insanely over-priced commercial HID systems.
>
> I've also added the few good Luxeon LED lamps, since several readers
> requested this information, though the good LED lamps are nearly as
> expensive as the TrailTech HID lamps.
>
> The direct link to the HID/LED section is
> "http://nordicgroup.us/s78/hidled.html"
>
> Again, this site is primarily to help people construct their own
> high-performance lighting systems. It's been expanded over the years to
> include information on other options, including a section that explains
> the pros and cons of dynamo systems at
> "http://nordicgroup.us/s78/dynamo.html".
The TrailTech site indicates the MR11 light outputs 500lm at a power
draw of 13W. That's around the 40 lm/W of mature power LEDs like the
Luxeon. Newer LEDs, like the Cree, are capable of 80lm/W. Of course
that's at the 1W level, but it's still a lot of light for cycling.
LED systems have had difficulties scaling up, whereas HID systems have
difficulty scaling down. LEDs have finally reached the point in power
where they are beginning to qualify for huge application markets in
general & automotive lighting. Prices are declining fast. A 1W Cree is
currently at $7.50 in single units, Luxeons at half that.
A lot of people find the ~30-40lm of a generator powered incandescent
sufficient to ride by. Having used a wide variety of lights, I can't
imagine anyone really needing more than 200lm. The best of the latest
LED devices can almost do that today.
LEDs have a number of inherent advantages over both arc and incandescent
bulbs: more rugged/longer lived; ability to modulate power over a wide
range with no color ****ft or efficiency loss; simple power supplies; no
warm up; very small emitter/optics size; cheap to make in volume.
I don't think we'll ever see a HID light in the cycling "sweet spot" of
~200lm/2W.
2 years ago, I bought a NiteHawk 1W Luxeon light, MSRP $60. This year I
bought I 1W Luxeon head-mounted light for $15. I'm told they're
available for half that if you shop around. Prices have declined 4-5x
for the devices in that period. It's only a matter of time before LEDs
dominate all forms of lighting, including cycling.
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