New Vibration and Solar-Powered Bike Light from CatEye
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 11.22.05
Thanks to Stuart, our world-traveling tipster who saw this in Japan, we have the scoop on an all-new bike light from CatEye. It's powered by vibration, with the help of a photovoltaic solar panel. The light itself, about 3 cm x 6 cm, apparently fires up when vibrations (ostensibly from riding) are felt, and the little PV panel (under the transparent case on top) supplies power to the light as well. According to the information available at the show, the light has a potential life span of around 10 years if well taken care of. No word on what sort of light would be used, but CatEye looks to be big fans of LEDs (and who could blame them?) so we'll keep our fingers crossed. The expected release for the light is early in 2006, though it's so new that even their website doesn't have any info on it. We'll keep an eye out. ::CatEye
Keep us posted. I'm looking to tour across the US this summer the only green way I could think of by bicycle.
I'm still looking for a dynamo powered flashlight that can be mounted on a bike. I've seen several solar lights for bikes, but that would mean that I would have to leave my bike outside all the time, and I'd rather not, since bikes still aren't designed well enough to withstand much cold and wet weather. While a dynamo powered light would be simply to charge right before I leave on my nighttime commutes.
FYI, though, most LED lights are still not bright enough to use as a primary light to see with. They are fine for being seen, and many do meet the legal headlight requirements for biking at night (at least in most states). But for real touring or even jsut riding on unlit roads, the LED headlights probably won't cut it.