Dan is spot on that reflectors, and hence the shape of the light makes
a huge difference. Here's what the beam of the 1-watt Planet Bike hub
dynamo looks like on the unlit southwest path:
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/mababo/4115217091/>
and the German-standard Schmidt Edelux dynamo light:
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/mababo/4115984994/>
Granted, there are some differences in perspective and exposure in
these photos, and the Schmidt is a 2-watt LED. But the difference is
clear, and even more so in person. What the photos don't show is the
abrupt, clean cutoff at the top of the Schmidt's beam, sort of like
most car headlights are now designed. It's quite unfortunate that no
one is producing a light like this for the American market. Don't get
me wrong, I really like the PB light and this is sort of an unfair
comparison. If I were riding through the woods, I would prefer it
since the Schmidt doesn't illuminate anything above waist height at
close range. But for commuting it's hard to beat the Schmidt.
Good headlight beam comparison photos also on Peter John White's site:
<http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/headlights.asp>
Michael
On Nov 18, 2009, at 3:31 PM, [email protected] wrote:
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:32:18 -0600
From: Daniel Liu <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Bikies] Intelligent news coverage?
One topic that doesn't get a lot of attention in bike-light-world is
the fact that lenses and reflectors matter just as much as battery
and bulb technology. The reflectors and (plastic) lenses on even the
cheap B&M incandescent generator lights project a trapezoid onto the
ground without blasting too much light up or straight forward, much
like car headlights do. It's probably not as bright than my Planet
Bike light, which I'll give up over my dead body, but I can see a
lot more pavement with the B&M light. I can also imagine it's less
irritating to people around me, though that's probably the whole
point of the cheaper 'be-seen' lights.
http://www.bumm.de/index.html?docu/170.htm
--Dan
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