Well TB I just booked a flight to visit my Canmore place on 10/31.
I don't think there is a bad time to visit Canmore.
I love the mountains.
It's over here.
Today is 65*F, the warmest it's been in a week. It will start freezing each night starting in the next week or two.
Welcome to the great white north.
you know I love it when it is 65... just don't like the freezing bit... then again I'm a freak and wear shorts year round here.
... I'm a freak and wear shorts year round here.
When I was last down there, it was 75~85 degrees most days and I was being mocked for wearing shorts. In fact, You Tee couldn't stop laughing about it. It was December, nice and warm, and I was soaking up all I could get and loving it.
When I was last down there, it was 75~85 degrees most days and I was being mocked for wearing shorts. In fact, You Tee couldn't stop laughing about it. It was December, nice and warm, and I was soaking up all I could get and loving it.
in the winter it averages low 60s high 50s here. The only thing I hate about the winters here is the rain. If I could find some place that stayed 65 year round and had ~ 300 days of sunshine. I would move right now.
If I could find some place that stayed 65 year round and had ~ 300 days of sunshine.
Based on my experience, Saskatchewan falls somewhat outside of your specification.
When the sun goes down, I use electric light.
I made my own LED headlight system and it works pretty well.
http://www.carlsonspeed.com/~tombrow...t/img_0768.jpg
your light looks like it works pretty well, what are the components? what was the cost to build it? how much does it weigh? and how long does it last? I have been doing night rides lately and my light is OK but yours looks a lot better.
your light looks like it works pretty well, what are the components? what was the cost to build it? how much does it weigh? and how long does it last? I have been doing night rides lately and my light is OK but yours looks a lot better.
I made these two lights on the cheap. Total cost was probably in the $50 range, if you factor in shipping.
They aren't regulated so they dim over time, following the Eneloop discharge voltage curve (Eneloops are pretty stable so it's not too bad at all). They stay really bright for about an hour. At 90 minutes, they are no longer bright enough to do any real off-roading. At 120 minutes, they are bright enough to allow cars to see me but they don't illuminate the trail much.
I take spare battery packs with me so I can swap them out mid-ride. That gives me 2.5~3 hours of good light.
Weight is probably between 1~2 pounds but I've never weighed them. I would guess that weight to light output, nothing else can compare with this cheapo system.
They are made from cheap aluminum MXDL flashlight bodies ($6 each), Luxeon 3 emitters (They used to run about $12 each but these days it would be smarter to run K2 emitters as they are much cheaper and a little better), Eneloop batteries (about $8 per light), and some handlebar mounts eMillion from CandlePowerForums had kicking around (free but could be made easily with a pair of pipe clamps)
I should also factor in a pair of La Crosse BC-900 battery chargers at a cost of about $45 each. I had them anyway but it's nice to be able to quick charge 8 cells at once and monitor their capacity over time as the battery packs age.
I have another system built on a pair of MRC16 halogen bulbs (like all of the super-high end systems use), regulator electronics, and a sealed lead acid battery. It cost about $200 to build. It competes with *ANY* of the super expensive bike light systems I've ever seen. Being regulated, it puts out full power for about 2 hours and then goes dim suddenly. It could last longer with a larger SLA cell. The MRC16 bulbs definitely throw further then LEDs by quite a bit. The system seems cumbersome so I don't use it. I don't like having a nylon bag full of batteries and electronics hanging off my crossbar and it weighs a few pounds.
When I ride at night at a club event, everyone comments about my lights. The LEDs are bright and the MRC16s are brighter (I run two 12 degree spots and I overdrive them so they throw light like crazy). The LEDs have more useful side spill than the halogens.
The light from the LED is a little weird though; you don't have as good of depth perception as light from a halogen bulb. If it wasn't for that, I don't know why anyone would run halogen except in the most extreme of conditions.
I've also built a couple of systems with Maglites. One, a converted 3D Mag with 9 x AA cells and Welch-Allyn 1185 halogen super bulb (nerds call this conversion a Mag85). These are the brightest lights I have. Jbb posted a link showing some nerds shining a Mag85 on a newspaper and starting it on fire. I've done that. lol! I can't describe how much light these things throw. They can put a blob of light on objects a half mile away. It is literally more light than is useful. They are pretty much only good for the "Wow" factor.
The other Maglite system I built has 4 x Luxeon 3 emitters per light and a regulator, also built in 3D Maglites. This configuration too, is too much light.
Maglites can be mounted to handlebars or crossbars using TwoFish block mounts but I will never run a Maglite system again. It's a pain in the butt to have a big honking flashlight on the handlebars and it's worse on the crossbar. I like small, light systems.
Perhaps I should mention a pair of lights I sometimes run built on 18650 Lithium Ion cells (common laptop cell size, can be had for about $1 per cell). A single 18650 can drive a reasonably efficient LED to about 80 lumens for 3 hours. I like these lights but they aren't as bright as my Lux3/AAA system. You can't drive LiIon cells as hard as you can drive Eneloops or they will explode.
If your interested in a certain type of light, I probably have some experience with it (except for HID) and can help you put something together. I've had a lot of fun fooling around with this stuff and I can hook you up with contacts to source the materials.
I made these two lights on the cheap. Total cost was probably in the $50 range, if you factor in shipping.
They aren't regulated so they dim over time, following the Eneloop discharge voltage curve (Eneloops are pretty stable so it's not too bad at all). They stay really bright for about an hour. At 90 minutes, they are no longer bright enough to do any real off-roading. At 120 minutes, they are bright enough to allow cars to see me but they don't illuminate the trail much.
I take spare battery packs with me so I can swap them out mid-ride. That gives me 2.5~3 hours of good light.
Weight is probably between 1~2 pounds but I've never weighed them. I would guess that weight to light output, nothing else can compare with this cheapo system.
They are made from cheap aluminum MXDL flashlight bodies ($6 each), Luxeon 3 emitters (They used to run about $12 each but these days it would be smarter to run K2 emitters as they are much cheaper and a little better), Eneloop batteries (about $8 per light), and some handlebar mounts eMillion from CandlePowerForums had kicking around (free but could be made easily with a pair of pipe clamps)
I should also factor in a pair of La Crosse BC-900 battery chargers at a cost of about $45 each. I had them anyway but it's nice to be able to quick charge 8 cells at once and monitor their capacity over time as the battery packs age.
I have another system built on a pair of MRC16 halogen bulbs (like all of the super-high end systems use), regulator electronics, and a sealed lead acid battery. It cost about $200 to build. It competes with *ANY* of the super expensive bike light systems I've ever seen. Being regulated, it puts out full power for about 2 hours and then goes dim suddenly. It could last longer with a larger SLA cell. The MRC16 bulbs definitely throw further then LEDs by quite a bit. The system seems cumbersome so I don't use it. I don't like having a nylon bag full of batteries and electronics hanging off my crossbar and it weighs a few pounds.
When I ride at night at a club event, everyone comments about my lights. The LEDs are bright and the MRC16s are brighter (I run two 12 degree spots and I overdrive them so they throw light like crazy). The LEDs have more useful side spill than the halogens.
The light from the LED is a little weird though; you don't have as good of depth perception as light from a halogen bulb. If it wasn't for that, I don't know why anyone would run halogen except in the most extreme of conditions.
I've also built a couple of systems with Maglites. One, a converted 3D Mag with 9 x AA cells and Welch-Allyn 1185 halogen super bulb (nerds call this conversion a Mag85). These are the brightest lights I have. Jbb posted a link showing some nerds shining a Mag85 on a newspaper and starting it on fire. I've done that. lol! I can't describe how much light these things throw. They can put a blob of light on objects a half mile away. It is literally more light than is useful. They are pretty much only good for the "Wow" factor.
The other Maglite system I built has 4 x Luxeon 3 emitters per light and a regulator, also built in 3D Maglites. This configuration too, is too much light.
Maglites can be mounted to handlebars or crossbars using TwoFish block mounts but I will never run a Maglite system again. It's a pain in the butt to have a big honking flashlight on the handlebars and it's worse on the crossbar. I like small, light systems.
Perhaps I should mention a pair of lights I sometimes run built on 18650 Lithium Ion cells (common laptop cell size, can be had for about $1 per cell). A single 18650 can drive a reasonably efficient LED to about 80 lumens for 3 hours. I like these lights but they aren't as bright as my Lux3/AAA system. You can't drive LiIon cells as hard as you can drive Eneloops or they will explode.
If your interested in a certain type of light, I probably have some experience with it (except for HID) and can help you put something together. I've had a lot of fun fooling around with this stuff and I can hook you up with contacts to source the materials.
Flashlight nerd....
But they call it Sunny Alberta"!
can you put some pictures up of the system mounted on the bike? I have looked at some high end systems and cant bring myself to drop the coin. I have a bunch of old makita stuff would those batteries do the job?
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