Schmidt Edelux

One of the frustrations of cycling is the constant replacing of batteries in the headlight.

There are two kinds of lights: SEE ME lights, and SEE AHEAD lights.

Until recently see me lights were cheap and great for getting the attention of other road users, but did nothing for lighting up the road itself.  See ahead lights that light up the road were very expensive and extremely battery hungry. 

But i've always wanted to see the road, to ride in the dark.  So i usually choose a see ahead light with a dynamo, an electrical generator, that converts some of the energy from the bicycle, from me that is, into power for the light.

I first started riding with a generator light back in the mid 1970s. Generators then were loud, created a great deal of drag, damaged the side of the tire, required a great deal of tweaking and the light went off at stop lights. But there was no battery required, i had nothing to throw in the landfill, there was nothing to replaced weekly (or daily!). My light was always there. And it was the brightest thing around, not only did it make me visible, but i could see where i was going. And i have to say i kind of liked the way it made my bike sound like a jet engine as i accelerated downhill.

In the early 1990s, when almost all of my night riding was in the city, with good street lighting, i gave up on generators and used blinky lights front and back, figuring all i needed was to be seen, not to light my own way. I had a few sets of rechargeable batteries which i changed every couple of weeks.

But then in the late 1990s generator technology made a big leap (thanks to a German law requiring them on all bicycles). I read about the amazing bottom bracket generators that contacted the bottom of the tire, not the side, were quiet and were much much, more efficient. And the lights store 5 minutes of power so they stay on at traffic lights! After a long conversation about lights and generators, Val Kleitz at Bikesmith managed to find an imported bottom bracket generator for me, with front and back lights. I was thrilled.  I rode with that generator set for years. It served me very well. I loved it.

Although it was pretty quiet there was a bit of hum . When someone would ride right next to me they would sometimes ask about the sound. I was sorry it wasn't louder, i loved to talk about the generator, although, sadly, i don't think i ever converted anyone. I never had to think about batteries, i always had my light and it was always ready to go.  I used no power from the wall, or from a factory, i never threw any chemicals into the landfill, and every time i rode with anyone else, i had the brightest light on the road! That halogen headlight really lit things up.

Last year, for my birthday, my parents got me a hub generator! This is a huge advance. It's completely silent and very powerful. It's extremely efficient, there is no noticeable drag at all -- it uses magnets passing each other rather than contact with the tire. And it looks really cool too.

I love it. It's got more than enough power for my halogen headlight, however headlight technology has advanced considerably. My headlight is not really that bright. It hasn't changed, but all the other lights have. Even many of the small, cheap see me lights are now brighter than my halogen. Lights have begun using super bright LEDs which use considerably less current than a halogen.

So at the top of my wish list is now the Schmidt Edelux.

(I'd probably get black, the red is a slightly different color than my burgundy bike, and sliver might stand out too much... but any of the three would work.)

This light is amazingly bright.

But more importantly, it is focused, wide and low, so not to blind other cyclists.

So i'm going to ask for a Schmidt Edelux from Peter White Cycles this year.