Message-ID: <19F4D790C94CD2119EB100805FA7FEFC01F38671@localhost> From: Estes Wayne-W10191 Subject: RE: Product Review: NiteRider 6V tail light Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 09:48:55 -0600 I found three mistakes that I would like to correct in my NiteRider 6V tail light product review. 1. The 6V and 12V versions both have 16 LEDs. A 12V "digital" version has 19 LEDs. 2. The power consumption in flash mode is 1.1 watt, not 1 watt. 3. The dimensions are 4x4x1.5 cm, not 4x4x1 cm. Here is the corrected text: This weekend I finally received a NiteRider 6V tail light in the mail. This thing is awesome. It has 16 super-bright LED's and is vastly brighter than my Cateye LD-500 flasher. The NiteRider tail light is smaller than my Cateye flasher because there are no batteries inside. That's the price you pay for being so bright - it's not practical to power from a pair of internal AA or AAA batteries. The instruction sheet says it draws 1.1 watts (185 mA) in flash mode, and 3 watts (500 mA) in continuous mode. It is intended to be used with NiteRider light systems, powered from the same battery that powers the headlight. But it is possible to use the tail light with other brands of headlights, or alone with it's own dedicated battery. The LEDs radiate a high intensity beam that is 12 degrees wide, quite a bit wider than the bright part of the beam on my Cateye flasher. The side illumination is also MUCH brighter than the side illumination of my Cateye flasher. This morning I set my commuter bike on the patio with the NiteRider tail light and my amber LightMan strobe facing directly into the sun. Both lights were clearly visible but the flashing NiteRider tail light was more attention-getting than the amber strobe. I didn't bother comparing my Cateye flasher because I can't even tell if the Cateye flasher is on when it's facing the sun. The standard NiteRider tail light comes with a seatpost clamp mounting setup. You can also buy a rack mount version. The seatpost mount version comes with a straight cable that runs from the tail light to a NightRider headlight. A socket in the cable connects to the battery so that a single battery powers both the headlight and the tail light. The rack mount version comes with a longer coiled cord. Both versions have a thumb screw that theoretically allows you to quickly remove the tail light. But, I see two major flaws in this concept. First, when you remove the tail light you stand a chance of dropping the thumb screw (in the snow, or into a storm sewer), especially when wearing gloves. To avoid misplacing the loose screw you need to spend a few more seconds screwing the screw back into the tail light. Second, the power cable is permanently attached to the tail light. So to remove the tail light you also have to remove the power cable that runs to your headlight and your battery. The cable has two velcro straps that hold the cable to your frame. The velcro strips would be difficult to manipulate with gloves on. I'm sure the tail light is more waterproof without a connector, but the fixed cable makes it much more difficult to remove the tail light. The tail light doesn't seem practical for a winter cyclist to remove every day, so I chose a different approach. I semi-permanently attached the tail light to my bike (no thumb screw). A thief could still remove the light, but not with bare hands. So I'm gambling that nobody will steal the tail light (which cost me US$55). I park my bike at work in a relatively secure area where theft is not a major concern. The tail light is so small (4x4x1.5 cm) that it kind of resembles a red reflector or a cheap LED tail light, so I'm hoping that it won't attract the attention of thieves. If you park your bike in a high-theft area you would need to remove the light. An alternative is to attach the tail light to a backpack or a pannier that you carry with you. If you do this you will need the rack mount version and you may want to use a separate battery to power the tail light. And you should ensure that the tail light is vertical and aimed directly behind you (not a trivial task when the light is attached to the flexible fabric of a backpack/pannier). My overall conclusion is that the NiteRider 6V tail light is by far the brightest tail light you can buy. I highly recommend it, but caution that the mounting system is NOT optimized for winter cycling. NiteRider also sells a 12V version which should have identical performance. For those of you who have NiteRider 12V "digital" light systems, there is an even brighter 19 LED version that can only be used with the NiteRider 12V "digital" systems. It's getting to the time of year when I don't ride at night very often. But the NiteRider tail light is so bright and effective that I plan to use it during daytime as well as at night. Wayne Estes Mundelein, IL, USA