srands
Retro Guru
These days when we buy bikes we're pretty concerned about the WEIGHT of our bikes.
Some of us, will put a few accessories on the bike after buying, I was very very surprised by the TOTAL weight of all my accessories 1650g+ = 3.6 Lb's+ (Wirless computer, Full water bottle in cage, mini pump in bracket, alloy bar ends ski type, and my heavy front halogen light).
Typical essential accessories and their weights (Specific to my bike parts, so look yours up in a manual/website, or weigh yours if you want something other then approximate):
~ a wireless computer (Approx 50g),
~ some clipless pedals (Instead of flat pedals, weight differences negligible, pair of pedals 450g to 500g approx)
~ water bottle & cage (Full with liquid about 450 g),
~ maybe some bar ends (150 g),
~ maybe pump & clip (150 g),
~ upgrade to disc brakes (60g, Total addition of F&R caliper & rotor, instead of V Brakes)
~ mudguards (Crud Catcher F 74g's + R 137 g's = 211 g's),
and perhaps some LIGHTS. There many different light styles, weights differ alot, For example:
~ my REAR led light inc batteries 40 G's, which is typical is pretty light, and
~ my FRONT high power halogen with seperate battery weighs a total of 850 G's, which is at the absolute heaviest end of the scale.
Depending of your accessories, you may have made your bike heavier by upto 2000 G's = 2 KG's = 4.4 LB's ! Surprising isn't it. For WEIGHT CONVERTER see HERE
Hence discussion of light weights below.
CONVENTIONAL LIGHTS with AA or AAA batteries:
OK the AA and AAA lights at night are visible to motorists, but offroad BRIGHTNESS is poor, you can't see where you are going, only people can see the light, but these lights are LIGHTWEIGHT.
RECHARGEABLE LIGHTS with integrated battery:
Some are more LIGHTWEIGHT then others (New version of mine weighs 230g, very impressive!). The BRIGHTNESS even offroad at night is excellent, even at speed.
Have a look at the newer range of mine:
http://www.niterider.com/rechargeable-new/
The newer versions are far more expensive then previous versions, the newer model of mine is 4 times the cost at RRP £240
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/niterider-minew ... ont-light/
My rechargeable front light with seperate battery (NiteRider RoadRat) looks like this:
My older version is a great light, however it is a bit big, and a bit heavy
NiteRider Roadrat Halogen rechargeable Light:
Weight: 850g (Lamp, bracket and battery)
Bulb: Halogen 100w 6v
Battery: 6 Volt 6 Amp
Recharge time: 9 hour (I just leave it to charge overnight).
Run time: 2hrs 30 mins (My actual run time 1hr 30mins)
Cost: RRP £60 (Discounted to less)
However there are many products I don't think alot of, and many of which we believe is inferior, only one example springs to mind, is a bike Dynamo:
BIKE DYNAMO!
Well I never seen a Dynamo shine very brightly!
ADEQUACY OF PARTS/CABLE?
The dynamo thumbwheel creates alot of friction, on the tyre wall, slowing the rider down, reducing momentum, and wearing tyres more rapidly (As long as the cable is zip tied in place should be ok, but cable is typically thin, hence longlivety is an issue, and loose/sagging cable may snag on objects, especially if used offroad.
OVERCHARGE?
There is no battery storage: The cyclist needs to ride the bike to generate power the light (Hence no overcharge).
UNDERCHARGE/FLAT?
Since most dynamo's need the bike to be ridden to generate elec, then the light won't be useable when the bike is static.
Some of us, will put a few accessories on the bike after buying, I was very very surprised by the TOTAL weight of all my accessories 1650g+ = 3.6 Lb's+ (Wirless computer, Full water bottle in cage, mini pump in bracket, alloy bar ends ski type, and my heavy front halogen light).
Typical essential accessories and their weights (Specific to my bike parts, so look yours up in a manual/website, or weigh yours if you want something other then approximate):
~ a wireless computer (Approx 50g),
~ some clipless pedals (Instead of flat pedals, weight differences negligible, pair of pedals 450g to 500g approx)
~ water bottle & cage (Full with liquid about 450 g),
~ maybe some bar ends (150 g),
~ maybe pump & clip (150 g),
~ upgrade to disc brakes (60g, Total addition of F&R caliper & rotor, instead of V Brakes)
~ mudguards (Crud Catcher F 74g's + R 137 g's = 211 g's),
and perhaps some LIGHTS. There many different light styles, weights differ alot, For example:
~ my REAR led light inc batteries 40 G's, which is typical is pretty light, and
~ my FRONT high power halogen with seperate battery weighs a total of 850 G's, which is at the absolute heaviest end of the scale.
Depending of your accessories, you may have made your bike heavier by upto 2000 G's = 2 KG's = 4.4 LB's ! Surprising isn't it. For WEIGHT CONVERTER see HERE
Hence discussion of light weights below.
CONVENTIONAL LIGHTS with AA or AAA batteries:
OK the AA and AAA lights at night are visible to motorists, but offroad BRIGHTNESS is poor, you can't see where you are going, only people can see the light, but these lights are LIGHTWEIGHT.
RECHARGEABLE LIGHTS with integrated battery:
Some are more LIGHTWEIGHT then others (New version of mine weighs 230g, very impressive!). The BRIGHTNESS even offroad at night is excellent, even at speed.
Have a look at the newer range of mine:
http://www.niterider.com/rechargeable-new/
The newer versions are far more expensive then previous versions, the newer model of mine is 4 times the cost at RRP £240
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/niterider-minew ... ont-light/
My rechargeable front light with seperate battery (NiteRider RoadRat) looks like this:
My older version is a great light, however it is a bit big, and a bit heavy
NiteRider Roadrat Halogen rechargeable Light:
Weight: 850g (Lamp, bracket and battery)
Bulb: Halogen 100w 6v
Battery: 6 Volt 6 Amp
Recharge time: 9 hour (I just leave it to charge overnight).
Run time: 2hrs 30 mins (My actual run time 1hr 30mins)
Cost: RRP £60 (Discounted to less)
However there are many products I don't think alot of, and many of which we believe is inferior, only one example springs to mind, is a bike Dynamo:
BIKE DYNAMO!
Well I never seen a Dynamo shine very brightly!
ADEQUACY OF PARTS/CABLE?
The dynamo thumbwheel creates alot of friction, on the tyre wall, slowing the rider down, reducing momentum, and wearing tyres more rapidly (As long as the cable is zip tied in place should be ok, but cable is typically thin, hence longlivety is an issue, and loose/sagging cable may snag on objects, especially if used offroad.
OVERCHARGE?
There is no battery storage: The cyclist needs to ride the bike to generate power the light (Hence no overcharge).
UNDERCHARGE/FLAT?
Since most dynamo's need the bike to be ridden to generate elec, then the light won't be useable when the bike is static.
:?
