BRIGHT IDEAS Archive
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These articles first appeared in Audax UK's hardcopy magazine, Arrivee, and have been only slightly adapted for the web.
Please read them in the context of their original publication date, as prices, specifications, weblinks and even opinions will change over time.

New LED Front Lights by Francis Cooke
A slightly adapted reprint of the article first published in Arrivee, February 2002

In this column exactly 4 years ago, I was hailing the arrival of 'new technology' in the form of white LEDs which, although relatively dim and expensive, showed the potential to be made into usable bike lights, as I said then, "possibly in time for PBP '99". Three issues of Arrivee later, I described my own 'Mk 1' design using these revolutionary components, which I'd used on night rides through the summer, and also announced the arrival of the first commercial white led bike light, the very effective Knightlite single-led design.

These are both 'visibility lights' of course, but with a bit of charity either could be seen to throw a 'beam' of sorts. Later I predicted that we would have 'beam throwing' front led lights in time for PBP '03.

My own newer 4-led design, the Luxbrite 'head' light, and the new CatEye led light which uses the familiar 'micro' housing, all demonstrate that this prediction is well on schedule. Any of these will allow comfortable progress on unlit lanes, at moderate speeds, the two commercial models being specifically designed to throw a beam.

Faster roads still need proper primary lighting - even their most enthusiastic advocates would see these new lights as 'secondary' lighting, and we may have to wait until PBP '07 before we see led lights powerful enough to be used as primary lights. You don't get something for nothing - such lights have been built by enthusiasts, but their power consumption is no less than that of equivalent halogen lights, and they are bulkier and heavier.


The most excellent Luxbrite (centre) demonstrates these design limitations in action - with its 9 leds it is heavier than the 'equivalent' Petzl Micro (actually the Luxbrite is much the better light) and it has a limited run time which is only just long enough for randonneur needs.

Sian Charlton e-mailed to say that she was disappointed with the run-time, she was getting rather less than a full nights- worth using NiCads - its come to something when we have an led light that won’t last even one night! Even the makers claim only 9 hours with Duracells.

The new Cateye EL100 led light (far right) also demonstrates the weight problem - the 'micro' package which is so irresistibly neat as a halogen headlight, suddenly seems clumsy and over-heavy as an led light. A 3-led light run off 4 AA cells - how weird is that?

On the plus side, this new Cateye is the best commercial beam throwing led light yet produced. I call it ‘beam throwing’ though many would argue with this, because that is how it is designed, with a new reflector assembly, to throw a beam. How successful it is at this depends on your expectations.

It is a very similar brightness to the Luxbrite 9-led, but the Cateye has more of a ‘shaped’ beam, with a central hotter spot with a hint of patterning, and a definite fall-off around the edges. The Luxbrite is more of a ‘splurge’ - typical of white led lights in general.

The Cateye has much the longer claimed runtime - which I don’t doubt with its 4 AA cells - the Cateye literature then suggests that when the light is no longer effective as a ‘beam’ it can continue to be used for 100 hours or so, as a ‘visibility’ light. This is complete nonsense - continuing use of led lights with half-dead batteries is what gives them a bad name. All led lights, front or rear, beam or visibility, need good fresh batteries just like any other bike light.

The suggestion that one front light can do both of these very different jobs is, in my opinion, quite misguided and it is extraordinary that one of the best bike light manufactures should fall into this trap.

If you want a front visibility light - and on our crowded roads you’d be foolish not to - then fit one that is dedicated to the purpose, such as Cateye’s own ‘Reflex’ white led light. Neater, much lighter, does a better job.


A final comment on the new Cateye - it shares the ‘new look Micro’ housing with their new ‘improved’ MC200 headlight. The good news is, that the mounts are compatible with the older Cateye Micro lights. The bad news is, that the new housing is a flimsy, shoddy, cheap manufacture compared with the old one.

Worst of all, the MC200 (above left) has a shaped beam which means that, for best results, it must be mounted ‘right way up’ - on top of the handlebars. It is not possible to turn the reflector upside-down, to allow you to hang the light under the bars. On the whole, the older HL500-II Micro looks the better light.


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