Philips SafeRide for Commuting

[androgen]

when i first saw a picture of it i thought it was some kind of a joke ... but as i have looked into it, it looks like it might work:

@ 400 lumens:

http://reviews.mtbr.com/wp-content/u...-SafeRide2.jpg

it produces illumination close to NR @ 3600 lumens:

http://reviews.mtbr.com/wp-content/u...-Pro-30002.jpg

the difference being that NR puts the light EVERYWHERE and philips puts it on just a small patch of ground.

however for commuting, when combined with a helmet light, maybe this is just the ticket ?

the SafeRide will not get in anybody's eyes and if you need some motorist to see you - you aim the helmet light at him.

what do you think ?

i didn't want to return NR 3600 because after restocking fee and buying a replacement light i thought there wouldn't be any $ left defeating the purpose - but Philips is only $175 - so by switching from NR 3600 to it some $ can be recovered.

the biggest downside to SafeRide seems to be battery life. powered by 4 AA rechargeables users report about 1 hour battery life on high. this is pretty bad. but it also has a low with a usable run time.

[MMacD]

I'd swear I read somewhere that Philips are coming out with a v2 that addresses some of the problems. Unfortunately, I can't find it again (that presumes it was a real experience rather than something I dreamed).

Being strictly an urban-streets utility cyclist, from the beamshots I've seen here and at Peter White's, I'm sold. It's definitely the best light I've seen for urban use.

If I must, I reckon I'll get out my jeweler's saws and drillbits and mod the light to get past its short battery life, complicated battery access, and cheesy switch.

[androgen]

I'd swear I read somewhere that Philips are coming out with a v2 that addresses some of the problems. Unfortunately, I can't find it again (that presumes it was a real experience rather than something I dreamed).

Being strictly an urban-streets utility cyclist, from the beamshots I've seen here and at Peter White's, I'm sold. It's definitely the best light I've seen for urban use.

If I must, I reckon I'll get out my jeweler's saws and drillbits and mod the light to get past its short battery life, complicated battery access, and cheesy switch.

what do you like about it ? are you currently having issues where your light is blinding traffic ?

[MMacD]

what do you like about it ? are you currently having issues where your light is blinding traffic ?

I currently stay off the road at night because I don't have lights -- the old ones never really worked to my satisfaction, and with the new LED ones just looking at the beam shots for all the units til now told me that they would cause problems. I was going to roll my own, but my time is so overcommitted already that I finally had to face reality. So I was going to buy the least-awful one that didn't cost a fortune, but happened to see the PSR and ta-daaa. If bad comes to worse, I'll carry extra batteries with and just swap them. And cycling only for utility these days means most of my trips are under 2 hours road time anyway.

[Maximus_XXIV]

Check out the German brands B&M and Schmidt. They both have lights with cutoffs.

[androgen]

Check out the German brands B&M and Schmidt. They both have lights with cutoffs.

i want something decently bright, and i don't want dynamo. i don't want wires to my front wheel because i have to take it off every time i transport the bike ( which is often ).

[Infinity123]

..and with the new LED ones just looking at the beam shots for all the units til now told me that they would cause problems.

That could be fixed: Commuting lights

I just ordered a new light, and hope I can make a cap for that one as well: New clone 3 x XML T-6 49.88 shipped

[Maximus_XXIV]

i want something decently bright, and i don't want dynamo. i don't want wires to my front wheel because i have to take it off every time i transport the bike ( which is often ).

Well, then it is good for you that they make lights with batteries. The brighter ones seem to be fairly bright but only you can decide what is enough for you.


Busch&Muller battery powered bicycle lights

[androgen]

Well, then it is good for you that they make lights with batteries. The brighter ones seem to be fairly bright but only you can decide what is enough for you.


Busch&Muller battery powered bicycle lights

looks good ! less revolting than the Philips to look at IMHO. and for the price of philips you can use two of these and get better battery life.

[JohnJ80]

I just bought a Light and Motion Taz 1200 for my daughter who I caught riding around the university the other night without a light. Very impressive - great beam shaping. Needed to be an all in one. If it were a separate battery and light, she'd never use it. This is really quick to take on and off the bike and is really bright with a nice wide beam from the front wheel forward.

J.

[androgen]

I just bought a Light and Motion Taz 1200 for my daughter who I caught riding around the university the other night without a light. Very impressive - great beam shaping. Needed to be an all in one. If it were a separate battery and light, she'd never use it. This is really quick to take on and off the bike and is really bright with a nice wide beam from the front wheel forward.

J.

nice beam but doesn't really seem to have any beam cut off up on top.

L&M seems to be the best at getting most efficient use out of Lumens but they don't seem to be concerned about blinding others the way Philips and B&M are.

[JohnJ80]

The TAZ lights have three less in a triangular pattern with two leds on the top. The bottom led has a diffuser over it to light the near field area. The two top ones seem to have an optic and a reflector that spread the beam.

I think the phillips light is trying to comply with some goofy EU standard which, IMO, is unnecessary.

J.

[androgen]

The TAZ lights have three less in a triangular pattern with two leds on the top. The bottom led has a diffuser over it to light the near field area. The two top ones seem to have an optic and a reflector that spread the beam.

I think the phillips light is trying to comply with some goofy EU standard which, IMO, is unnecessary.

J.

philips and B&M indeed are trying to comply with "goofy" regulations, but for road use i think that is very appropriate. i wish something could combine the output of a proper off-road bike light with those "goofy" german beam patterns.

[Maximus_XXIV]

philips and B&M indeed are trying to comply with "goofy" regulations, but for road use i think that is very appropriate. i wish something could combine the output of a proper off-road bike light with those "goofy" german beam patterns.

Yes, an 800 lumen light with a cutoff to minimize blindness in other road/MUP users would be nirvana. I am building up a Philips dynamo today that I am hoping works pretty well for fast morning riding.

[MMacD]

I'd to make a quick run to the hardware the other night when my light was already tired from being used as a flashlight through the day. It conked out on the way back, but having the thumbscrew in place of that M3 socket-head (see my post on usability elsewhere) made all the difference. I swapped out the tired batteries and was on my way again in 2 minutes.

Although the light is fine as it is (I keep it on high because my age has provided me with cataracts that reduce light transmission), I'm going to see about doing a LED upgrade next summer similar to Petherman's, but using a slightly different approach because of having no "machine-shop" tools available to me.

Cars seem to swing wider when passing now that I have the Serfac taillight on the rear rack, and a Cygolite Hotshot velcro'd to my helmet. They look lethal when flashing madly.