New LED Bicycle Lights make Night Riding More Fun

The New LED Bicycle Lights make Night Riding More Fun
LED Bicycle Lights have completely changed the cost and safety of riding a bicycle at night. As recently as 2004 the standard light was a halogen bulb bicycle light. The old Halogen technology was about 50% brighter for the same power rating than a regular bulb. With a Halogen bulb you could get six to eight hours of use from a set of C or D batteries and you would get about 150 candle power.



LED Bicycle Lights are much Brighter
The latest Cateye LED Headlight the HL-EL500 is ten times brighter than the older Halogen lights. That is right 1500 Candlepower from a set of 4 aa batteries. Going from two Halogen lights on my bicycle to one of the new LED lights was amazing. The one light is so much brighter than I can believe from just 4 little AA batteries.

Batteries for LED Bicycle Lights keep going and going.....
The HL-EL500 is rated by Cateye for 90 hours on standard batteries. This will last most people a couple of years. I used to put batteries in every couple of weeks with the old Halogen bulbs. I have gotten a full winter season out of one set of batteries in my new LED Bicycle Lights.

Do not use Rechargeable Batteries
Rechargeable batteries are great for items that drain your batteries quickly. Unless you ride for an hour a night a couple a nights per week you will probably only go through a set of batteries every year or two.

Light Safety
Do not leave your light on your bike when you lock it up. Almost all the new lights can be removed in a matter of seconds. It is really a pain to come out to your bike and find your light stolen.



LED Tail Lights
LED tail lights are very important if you are riding in traffic. The flashing rear light will alert the passing motorists. I have found that motorists really appreciate the flashing light. They can see you. The brightest flashing tail light I have ever seen is the new Cateye TL-1000. They have several ways that you can have them flash and a couple of ways that you can mount them to your bike or bikebag.

I take the view that it is my job as a cyclist to avoid contact with cars. The cyclist always pays dearly in car vs bicycle contact. I am overly polite even when they are rude. I will not give them the satisfaction of ruining my bike ride or my day.