The next generation of Lights, LED to see by

by Pamela Blalock with John Bayley

It wasn't that long ago that I believed LEDs were only useful as taillights, standlights or for illuminating computers and cue sheets, but recently LED technology has advanced to the point that LEDs can now be used to see the road! Yes to SEE the road.

In early 2005, we saw the B+M Topal, an LED light designed to work with a generator. I just didn't see much point in replacing my awesome E6 with a light with an LED. I just didn't believe any LED could compare. Advantages claimed included not needing to change bulbs, but as mentioned earlier, changing the bulb on the E6 is very easy and straightforward. Besides the light wasn't terribly attractive and aesthetics are important! So we did not even try it.

Then in the autumn of 2005, we read a few rave reviews from various sources about the Lights and Motion Vega and started getting curious about these new battery powered high wattage LED lights. In the middle of November, we had a closer look at the L+M Vega and another battery powered high wattage light from a company called Dinotte Lighting (located nearby in NH). They both use rechargeable AA batteries. The Dinotte was a 5W LED light and has a remote battery pack and a small elegant package for the light. The Vega was a one piece unit. The batteries can be recharged inside the Vega, where the Dinotte has a separate recharger. We already had loads of the new high-octane rechargeable batteries (AA and AAA), and liked the form factor of the Dinotte so we decided to give it a try. We each used it on our evening commutes, mostly as a supplemental light, but also rode with it alone on a completely dark route. It opened our eyes to what the new LEDs could do. It didn't hold a candle to dual E6's at speed, but this 5W LED light works quite well for seeing - not just to be seen. Like other high wattage battery lights, burn time was limited, so it would work for just a couple of hours of riding in the dark (like a commute or a 3am brevet start), but to ride through the night would involve a change of batteries.

The above mentioned lights use a standard symmetrical lens with no special cycling specific focusing, as do most lights made in the USA. Busch and Muller make a 4AA battery powered light, the Ixon,that uses the same lens as the Lumotec lights, with a focused beam Like the Vega mentioned above, the charger is integral, and the transformer is small enough to carry on a tour. At 1 watt, it is a lower wattage light that either the Dinotte or the Vega, but the focused beam makes it compare favorably for light on the road to the higher wattage models, while allowing for longer burn times. This is a great choice for an emergency backup light.

B+M later released the Ixon Speed, which uses a separate NiMH battery back with a 10-15 hour burn time. I acquired one of these in spring of 2007 and used it on a 24 event (fleche). It has the same optics as the 4AA powered Ixon, but goes all night.

After trying and reporting favorably to Peter on the Ixon, he again mentioned the B+M LED light for generators, so I decided to finally give one a try. There are several models, the above mentioned Topal, which only mounts at the fork crown and the d'lumotec, which is similar in form factor to the lumotec oval, and could be mounted in my standard place on the side of the fork. He had several models, with and without standlights and senso switches. In the picture on the left, you can see a d'lumotec with a secondary lumotec, mounted on either side of the fork. The light from the d'lumotec reaches full power at about 1.5 mph, so it's great for my commute with lots of stopping and starting. The additional of the secondary does not affect the low speed light output, so unlike dual setups with bulbs, the secondary can be left on all the time, without affecting the brightness of the primary at lower speeds. The LED light is brilliant and provides a clear wide beam in front of the wheel. The secondary gets fully bright at around 12mph or so, and provides a nice wide beam down the road required for moderate speed riding. The LED light on the road is different from a halogen bulb. The LED is a bluer light, while the halogen bulb is more yellow. But what's really got me excited is how much better the LED seems to be in the wet.

Update: I had some issues when I tried to use an E6Z as secondary with this light and after a bit of testing here and at Schmidt in Germany, they discovered an issue with some of the first generation d'lumotecs. If used without a wired taillight and with a secondary, these first generation lights could have issues with the overvoltage protection diode. Once the diode was damaged, adding a taillight would not solve the problem. I was promised the newer lights would not have this problem. My replacement lights worked for a while with the e6z secondary, but after a bit of usage both secondaries stopped working in this setup. Peter says they work on his bench, but they don't work for me on the road. The most recent failure happened on a 10F snowy night. There is never a good time to have a light fail, but this was an especially bad time. I do not trust this combination and will not recommend it or ever try it again. Burned 4 times! That's enough. I don't find the d'lumotec adequate on its own and feel it needs a secondary, so given the failures, this light now lives in the discards bin.

Peter came back from Eurobike in 2006 all excited about another LED light from a company called INOLIGHT. That is the third light mounted on the fork crown in the photo above. They have two models, the inoled 10+ and inoled 20+. We tried both briefly. The beam was very different from any other lights I've used. It was extremely focused - very wide, but not very tall. And there was no spillage, so it was like a spotlight, and when aimed out for faster riding left a very dark spot in front of the wheel that just didn't work for me. Potholes passed through the spotlight and disappear into the dark spot in front of my wheel and then I hit them. To the left is a photo copied without permission from Peter's website, showing his solution to the problem. Not quite what I had in mind.

For the second generation of these lights, they modified the beam pattern to be much longer and far more useful. We tried one of these for a few weeks, and while the beam was longer, it still has the blind spot right in front of the wheel. Then we learned the circuitry was such that one had to use a wired taillight or risk blowing the light if riding down hill at night (30mph was called dangerous or some such nonsense). We returned the light and won't bother trying their next version.

As luck would have it, when Peter let us try the initial Inolight last year, he also loaned us a Solidlights dual LED light, but only for a brief period. I'm not sure he liked our favorable response. He asked for it back to take some photos and wouldn't let us try it again. Despite our glowing reviews, Peter chose to ignore our advice. He does not like this light and he does not sell this light (he sent me email asking me to make clear that he could sell the light, but choses not to).

Around the same time, we started hearing from AUK folks who loved them, and finally decided to bite the bullet and ordered one from the UK. The exchange rate has not in our favor for a while, so the light was rather expensive (leg plus both arms). I found this review very helpful. John had the Solidlight on his commuter for about a month before I stole it. And I loved it. The light comes bright at very low speeds and gets brighter at higher speeds. The light unit itself is boxy and industrial looking and has no reflector, but the standlight is brilliant. In fact, the standlight is the brightest I have ever seen. That and a little reflective tape on the front of the fork blades will make up for lack of reflector in the light. The light is a symmetrical beam, rather than the focused beam of most of the lights designed for generator hubs. But there IS an advantage to this type of beam for PBP. One thing I quickly noticed after several years of using focused beam lights is how well road signs reflect back with a symmetrical beam. For PBP, this means the reflective arrows on route markings on signposts and in trees should be quite visible. The light is appropriately named SOLID. It is solid, industrial and tough. John took it back after a month and wouldn't let it go. He used it on the fleche in 2007 and raved. He's been commuting with it ever since as well as using it on a few brevets. Unfortunately the light was not designed to be future-proof and will require a resign to use the better LEDs that have since been introduced. It is a great light and the best at the time, but newer lights are even better.

B+M recently introduced a modified version of the Ixon and lumotec lights that uses a similar sort of focusing to the Inolight, labeled IQ. These became available here just as winter was kicking in in December 2007. Because I seem to be a light addict, I tried these as well. My employer moved around the same time, and made my commute much longer, but still on many roads with streetlights. Peter told me I probably wouldn't like the IQ lights, since they would also have the dark spot in front of the wheel. There seems to be a bit more spillage from the B+M lights in that dark area and I found the IQ lights reasonable for my new commute. But I still feel like I fail the IQ test. I still have the issue with potholes passing though to the dark spot and hitting them. There has to be a better way to make use of new LED technology.

At around the same time, someone posted a pointer on the randonneuring list for another German light, the Supernova E3 along with a link to a site with photos comparing various lights. I loved the simple elegant design, and those photos are impressive. I ordered one in mid-December. It was outrageously expensive and the shipping was equally high, but I decided to give it a try. There was a substantial delay in getting the light, but it finally showed up and is quite impressive. After a couple of months, I can say that I love, love, love this light. I have two different bikes that I use for winter commuting. I have the Supernova E3 on one and the Lumotec Fly IQ on the other. The Supernova wins hands down! I also love that I only need one light. No supplemental secondary is necessary, nor do I need a fill in light. (I do still carry a backup light, no matter what kind of light I use). Needing only one light and having it be LED says LED technology has indeed come a long way.

The IQ lights are certainly bright, but I just would prefer not to have the dark spot in front of my wheel. Our roads are atrocious and dodging potholes means I need to see them until I pass by them. I've long promoted the focused beams, because they put your limited amount of light where you need it, but as low power generator lights get brighter and brighter, it is less essential to have such tight focusing. One thing I like about the symmetrical beam lights is that they can be mounted upside down, and this makes things a bit easier when trying to find space or a nice elegant mounting. I also really like the way they illuminate street signs. I like being able to SEE stop signs and street signs on my commute! I will worry about blinding drivers with my bike light when the car headlights that blind me are outlawed! I've looked at these lights from head on, and this argument that one can blind an oncoming driver just doesn't hold water with me.The supernova E3 is now my top choice for a gennie powered light.

Shortly after getting my Supernova, I showed off the light to Elton Pope-Lance at Harris Cyclery. Elton ordered one right away, and I've met him commuting with his several times. He was as impressed and I and the shop is importing them now. So if you want one, you can order from Harris and save a little hassle in shipping from overseas.Unfortunately the exchange rate is making all non-American made lights very dear these days, but the reality is you don't have much choice if you want lights for your generator, so you will get hit by the exchange rate regardless! I can say that this light does not need a secondary, so you only have to buy one (versus two of many of the other options).

I've also been reading a bit about the new IQ light from Schmidt. Given the name (IQ), and what I've read so far, I suspect this light will also suffer the same dark spot as other IQ models, but I guess we will see when it becomes available. I will certainly give it a look and not just dismiss it without trying.

In summary, I'll mention that I use the SEYMOUR unit of light. It is a Subjective Eye Measurement made while OUt Riding. Can you see enough? Can you see more? Will it last long enough? Does it mount easily, securely? Are batteries/bulbs/whatever easy to change? Does it fit your budget? I'll just emphasize again that bike lighting really is subjective. Lots of sites show lots of measurements with f-stops and lumens and lights shining on white sheets on a wall, but what it's really about is what YOU see on the road when you are riding, and how well it works for you. You have to ride with it, and see by it. Go with your experience.