I agree with Eric. I bought one of these same "units"
several years ago. the high cost (around $500 for a
built wheel and lights) prevented me from making this
investment but after nearly being run down by a car
making a left turn into his driveway (I had forgotten
my headlight that night) I decided my life was worth
$500.
Since then I have ridden through the night from
Madison to:
Milwaukee
Appleton
Wittenberg
some of the most memorable rides I've had, especially
riding through the Horicon Marsh on the Wild Goose
Trail on a beautiful, starry night...oh the things you
see and hear.... and Highway 22 between Wyocena and
Waupaca, where after passing through Montello around
midnight I saw more bicyclists than cars!
now I know that no college kid is gonna lay down that
kind of money for a light but I am glad to see that
the larger manufacturers are starting to put them on
as "standard features." and, other than a very, very
small amount of "drag" it's free energy (well, maybe
you'll have to eat an extra candy bar on your ride).
you don't have to worry about speed or batteries when
you know you always have a light (and spare bulbs)
ready to go.
JW
--- Eric Sundquist <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Actually the problems posed on that link have
> already been solved. A few years back I built up a
> bike with a hub generator and head and tail lights
> that have capacitors to keep lights on while you
> stop pedaling. The parts needed to do that are
> readily available; Shimano makes a hub generator --
> though the somewhat-harder-to-find Schmidt is better
> -- and "standlights" can be found here, among other
> places: http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/.
>
> Now you can even buy a bike with standlights similar
> to mine as OEM. Here's one:
> http://www.breezerbikes.com/specs.html.
>
> And as far as light power goes, my pedal-powered,
> 2.4-watt halogen light actually does a decent job of
> illuminating the path. You can't go 20 mph in places
> with no streetlights, but it's not bad at all at
> 10-12 mph, and in places that are streetlit, you can
> go as fast as you want.
>
> In addition to eliminating the need for batteries,
> the system makes a great conversation starter as
> you're sitting at an intersection with a fellow
> rider, etc.
>
> Eric Sundquist
>
>
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