1.Choose the headlamps according to your riding habits.
As a headlamp for active lighting, its LED wattage has always been the focus of consumers’ concerns. In fact, the higher the wattage, the lower the luminous efficiency. Although it will be brighter, it will not increase proportionally. For example, according to the data published on the website of the American LED manufacturer DREE, the light of a 1W bulb is 80 lumens, while that of a 3W bulb is only 135 lumens. After the wattage is tripled, the brightness is not tripled, but the power consumption is definitely tripled (the rest of the power is lost as heat), and the price is also much more expensive. Therefore, the choice of 1W, 3W, or 5W should be based on the premise of meeting the needs, such as riding a bicycle on a bright street or in the early morning and evening. Generally, the headlights can be used as passive lighting with ease, and even turning on the flashing mode is enough; Cycling in suburbs or places without street lights, of course, requires high-wattage lights for active lighting.
In addition, the illumination angle will also affect the brightness. The larger the angle, the lower the center brightness is; The smaller the angle, the brighter the center and the farther it shines, just like the difference between the low and high lights of a car. The products on the market are between 8 and 16 degrees. Consumers should choose according to their riding habits and road conditions. If they are accustomed to riding in suburbs or mountainous areas without street lights, of course, they can also be paired farther and nearer to be safer. However, since most of the lights are beams of light, it is easy to make the oncoming cars feel dazzling, so special attention should be paid to the irradiation angle not too high.
2.Look at brightness from Lux or Candlelight.
The quality of the LED is also an important factor affecting the brightness, so the wattage is not the only basis for evaluating the brightness of the lights. For example, the light intensity emitted by three 0.1W (total 0.3W) bright-level LEDs may be the same as that of one 1W low-level LED. When purchasing, the car lights should be selected based on the actual range, breadth, and brightness of illumination, not only the number or wattage of LEDs as the basis for selection. In addition to choosing a big manufacturer as much as possible, it is best to inquire a lot, compare the lights used by riders, or refer to the Lux or Candlelight (CD) marked on the product.
Lux refers to the brightness per unit area, the farther the distance, the less light. We can see signs similar to “71 (Lux/5M)/18 (Lux/10M)” on the headlight products, which means that at a distance of 5 meters, there is 72Lux of light, and at 10 meters, only 18Lux is left. Some products are expressed in candlelight. The conversion formula between candlelight and Lux is: CD=Lux×㎡. If 72 (Lux/5M) is taken as an example, it is 72×25=1.800 candlelight.
3.Most of the headlights are installed on the handlebars. When purchasing, consumers must pay attention to whether they can be matched with the handlebars of the car, whether the installation is convenient, and whether the horizontal angle is adjustable.
If there is no room for the handlebar, it can also be mounted on the front fork reinforcement plate using the adapter light bracket. Headlights generally use No. 5, No. 7 batteries, or lithium batteries. No. 5 and No. 7 batteries are more common, but 3 to 4 batteries are used at a time, so the volume will be larger. Lights that use lithium batteries are smaller, but they are not common. Please pay attention to the quality of the battery when using AA or AA batteries. If you do not need to take out the battery for a long time, it will prevent the battery fluid from leaking and damaging the lights.
In terms of functions, it is best to have full-bright, half-bright, and flashing modes to switch according to actual road conditions. For example, when riding a bicycle on a brightly lit city street, the flashing pattern is more eye-catching than the constantly bright lights. Most car light products are rainproof. If water is unfortunately still in, you should turn off the power first, wipe it on, dry it in the shade, and then turn it on.
When choosing a bicycle main light, it is still necessary to comprehensively consider the lamp bead chip that uses the LED light source, the maximum number of lumens, the driving circuit, the battery life, the heat dissipation design, and whether it is waterproof.
