Peter, via e-mail - I purchased the QR10 with lead-acid water bottle battery in 2001. It’s been a great light. The best looking light made and very tiny on the handlebars. If I ever buy another light, it will be from your company. If I ever recommend a light it will be yours. Your employees should be proud to make such a quality product.

Jim, CA -- “This is a sweet system. Easy hook up, bright lights, happy nights.”

William, AZ -- “When I was first shown your system, I thought it was too expensive. After setting it up, I have changed my opinion. Excellent system.”

Steve, MI -- “Your willingness to help with personal service over the phone, topnotch quality, and fair price, again - thank you. Remember. Rubber Side Down.”

Matt, NM -- “This is the best, brightest, and most versatile light I have ever used! Keep up the good work!”

Rob, MA -- “Beautiful machining!”

John, VA -- “My rescue squad uses the S25 system on our bikes, and they are nothing shy of incredible. Most public safety organizations that I know use the same lighting system. I liked them so much I bought a set for my personal bike. Thanks for a great system.”

Bruce, CA -- “Hot stuff, look forward to using it hard. Keep up the current company culture. It reflects in products & literature.”

Mark, CA -- “Beautifully made!! I went in to buy Nite Rider and came out with yours because of craftsmanship.”

Alex, OR -- “I just wanted to let you guys know you built a great website...it was very helpful when it came time to buy.”

Mark, OH -- “My job takes me across this great country of ours. Thanks TurboCat for lighting up the nights of America.”

Warren, CANADA -- “This light is everything you said it would be – bright, solid & functional. The ni-cad batteries work well down to – so far – minus 20° F.”

Greg, via e-mail -- This will be year #4 these lights have been to 24 hours of Canaan/ Snowshoe. They have been great. I love em. Lighting is something I don't have to worry about.

MOUNTAIN BIKE ACTION January, 2003 Light the Night... Right

How to make night last for a day

We don't want you to be left in the dark, so we've pooled the wrecking crew's cumulative 100 years of night riding experience to bring you the following night riding survival tips. As an added bonus, we asked TurboCat's Tom Robbins (who has 15 years of building cycling lighting systems under his belt) to share his insights too.

MOUNTING THE SYSTEM

It's best to position bar lights as close to the stem as possible. Before mounting the bar clamp, run a round of duct tape around the bar. This is to keep the clamp from scoring the bar, which can compromise its integrity. Don't just rely on the included rubber pads to cushion the clamp off the bar. Not necessary with our clamps.

Understand the manufacturer's helmet mounting system and make sure that the proper fitting pads are in place and that the helmet straps snug tight. Otherwise, the helmet will move on your head and make the light dance all over the place. You won't notice a bouncing helmet in the daytime, but at night it's a disaster.

ROUTING THE WIRES

Use Velcro straps or zip ties to keep the wires from banging on the frame or getting tangled up somewhere. Don't undo any of the clamps that take strain off the wires entering the housing, battery, or switch. Use a stick-on Velcro fastener to secure the wire leading to a helmet light on the back of the helmet. If you don't, the wire will come around the side of your head while riding.

SECURING THE BATTERY

If there's any doubt about the security of the battery cage in rough stuff, use a toe strap to secure the battery to the frame. Some systems include a velcro strap for just that purpose. If you have an unconventional frame with water bottle bosses in unfavorable places, call TwoFish Unlimited at (510) 236-7473 and order a $15.95 Battery Strap. The burly, 1-1/2 inch wide velcro strap and rubber block can be used to securely hold any shaped battery to any odd frame location.

It's best to carry a helmet light battery pack in a Camelbak or fanny pack. There are some NiMH helmet light batteries that are small enough to carry in your jersey pocket, but you'll feel them bounce around. Our ni-mh is OK in a jersey. And don't think that it would be cool to attach your helmet light to a frame-mounted battery. Crashing aside, at one time or another you will forget and walk away from your bike while wired to it.

AIMING THE BEAM

With bar-mounted lights, don't aim the beam in to close. Set the light housing so that the beam shines 25 to 35 feet out. If you have a dual lamp head with independent adjustment, set the high beam well ahead of the low beam.

A helmet light is a little more tricky. It's important to position the beam just right or you'll come home with a stiff neck. First, do a rough adjustment on the light. Mount the bike, but put your foot on a rock. Get in your riding position with the beam shining forward. Then close your eyes for am minute and imagine where the beam is. Open your eyes and see where it really is. It is almost always not where you think it should be. Make some adjustments an repeat until the beam is where your mind most naturally wants it.

WHICH BULB IS BEST?

Bicycle lights use a sealed, halogen bulb. Most systems use bulbs that are interchangeable. You will also find commercial bulbs that will fit. Even though the commercial bulb costs less, opt for the manufacturer bulb. The specific bulb will be noticeably brighter, with a cleaner, whiter output.

For road riding or fire roading at speeds of 15 m.p.h. plus with a single beam bar light, use a spot bulb because it shines the light farther down the trail For tight single track, you are better off with a flood. A flood sacrifices distance illumination by spreading the light out. It's best to use a spot on your helmet because you point the light exactly where you need it.

DOUBLE UP

We don't recommend using only a helmet light. It won't show you shadows behind rocks and ruts and can throw off your depth perception. If you can have only one light, make it a bar-mounted light. Using two lights (helmet and bar mounted) is the best of both worlds. The bar light gives you the three dimensional view, and when it dances around (in tight turns or in rough stuff) your helmet light takes over and lets you see exactly where you're going.

If you run two lights, you don't want the helmet light to overpower your bar light. Use a 15w flood on the bar and nothing stronger than a 10w or 15w spot in the helmet light.

BACKUP

Take along a small, double AA battery flashlight just in case. In the event of a system failure, you then have a standby light that can be used to make the repair or to light the way. TwoFish sells a $5.95 Cyclopblock that takes up next to no room in your Camelbak and in seconds securely straps a flashlight to the bar.

HOW TO PRESERVE POWER

Ride as much as you can on the low beam. If you're riding in a group at night, become a vampire; leave your system off as much as possible and suck light from your buddies. Turn off the light when climbing. Only use the high beam when absolutely necessary. If you're in a slow, technical section and need more light, use the high beam as a pulse every minute or so to see what's coming up.

ILLUMINATING GROUP TIP

If a rider in your group has a brighter light than the rest, make him turn it off when climbing or riding close together. That way, your eyes will stay better adjusted to the overall light level. Or if the guy with the bright light prefers, use his alone!

BATTERY TYPES

Tom Robbins explains the pluses and minuses:

NICAD: The workhorse battery. NiCad batteries live for 300 to 500 charge cycles.

NI-MH: A smaller, lighter and easier to recycle battery than the ni-cad. It doesn't hold its voltage as well at higher power levels and will give less light output. Particularly as the ni-mh battery ages. Expect 200 to 300 cycles.

LEAD-ACID: Although heavy, it's a very reliable battery if a quality cell is used. Expect 200 to 600 charge cycles. The number of charge cycles depends on how far you deplete this battery type before each charge. The more you deplete it, the shorter the life. A deep discharge won't affect life or run time on a NiCad or NiMH battery as severely.

BATTERY TIPS

Get an idea of how much time it takes for the light output to dim or when the system defaults to its reserve, low power mode. If you were consistently getting four hours of run time and now suddenly only three hours, you know the battery is starting to go bad. For you retentive types, keep a log of the time on the battery. That way you have a better idea of how much longer you can expect the battery to last. (TR: If you turn on your high beam and it dims noticeably, you probably have a bad battery. Most common with ni-mh.)

BATTERY STORAGE

If your battery has been sitting for over a couple of weeks and you want maximum run time when it's used, throw it on the charger for a couple of hours to top it off. If a NiCad or NiMH battery has been in storage for a year, charge it for 24 hours. If you wait much longer without a recharge, the battery will be compromised. If a NiCad or NiMH has never been used, however, it can be stored almost indefinitely without charging. (TR: When charging any battery that hasn't been used for a while, check to see if the charger gets hot. A bad cell in the battery will cause the charger to put out too much current.)

A lead-acid battery in storage needs to be charged every six months, whether it has ever been used or not. That means the dealer that has had a lead acid light system for nine months better have charged it at least once.

Follow what the manufacturer says regarding the first use of a new system. Most new batteries need to be charged for up to 24 hours before their first use.

WHY DO BATTERIES REMEMBER?

Let's say that you didn't run your light all the way down before you threw it back on the charger. Cheaper ni-cads retained that memory and would only hold a charge for as long as the original run time. We hear riders warning about battery memory, but it is a complete non-issue on any name-brand bicycle lighting system.

CHARGING ETIQUETTE

Many of the systems out there don't use a smart charger. A smart charger measures when a battery has been brought back up to full power and then automatically switches to a trickle charge mode. The battery can be left on the charger without damage and a charge will be trickled only as required to maintain full capacity. Some systems have "smart-enough" chargers that let you leave the battery plugged in for up to a week without damage.

Your manual will list how long it takes for your particular charger to bring your specific battery up to a full charge and the maximum length of time it can be left plugged in. Since none of us can leave work midday to unplug our light system if it doesn't have a smart or semi-smart charger, go buy a lamp timer (Radio Shacks and hardware stores stock them). Remove the START pin and set it so it turns off after the desired number of hours of charge time.

Never leave the light connected to the battery when charging the battery (some charging systems allow you do this). If the light is accidentally left on (or turned on by children in the house), the headlight can generate enough heat to burn a hole in a rug. A two-inch burn hole in a rug can lead to a four-alarm house fire.

WET WEATHER CARE

Wipe the battery, lamp housing, wire harness and connectors dry and check for possible leaks. A little fogging inside the bulb is normal during the first few minutes before start up. But if there is water inside you need to check further. If the connector plugs have water or look like they're starting to corrode, spray them with WD40. Contact cleaner can work miracles. Don't hose off your bike with the light set in place!

BEFORE A 24-HOUR RACE

These races are often lost ­ or worse, turned into a nightmare ­ due to lighting problems. To avoid a dark disaster, assign a team lighting manager who will: 1) Make a list of all systems, batteries and riders, including lap times and available system run times. 2) Mark all batteries with adhesive tape that can be written on. 3) When a rider comes back from a lap, mark how much time was used on the battery. Consider extra batteries for the team. Going into the race self-supported with battery power is better than relying on charging during the event.

Practice night riding beforehand, know how long each system lasts, and don't buy a new light two days before a race.

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