Updated version. (Later, October 18, a pic, showing the lights fitted, has been added at the end of the text.)
I haven’t been out much on my new (earlier this year), Sterling Diamond Class 3 scooter, and I really must make the effort. I don’t know why I’m so reluctant** – over the years I’ve travelled many miles on scooters or powerchairs, with no problems.
**Constantly feeling like hammered shit doesn’t help.
So, as winter’s coming, I’ve treated myself to a set of decent front lights.
The scooter has excellent rear lights, and indicators (now I’ve snipped the insanely loud beeper out of the circuit), but the front lights are more of the glow-worm in a jam-jar type. OK for being seen, I suppose, but they do bugger all to light up the road, just casting a yellow glow a couple of feet in front – useless.
(Update, October 14:- The lights are received, fitted, and are great – very bright indoors, in my dark bedroom. My scooter has a tiller with tubular “handlebars”** – you would need to substantially modify the mounting system to fit any other style of tiller, which is true for most lights intended for bikes. There is enough slack in the Y-shaped wiring yoke to fit one lamp either side of the tiller head. The foam grip needed few layers of duct tape to bring it up to the necessary diameter, the alternative being to remove a section and use the thicker rubber clamp liners (shown in the pic, below), which might still have needed taping; this was tidier, and avoids scratching the paint and letting in rust. Amendments have been made to the following text where needed.)
**The forward and reverse wig-wag is operated by the fingers – far more comfy and ergonomically sound than the thumb-operated type – worth thinking about if you’re shopping for a scooter.
Around the turn of the century, I had a decent Pride powerchair, the Jazzy XL1120. That had no lights at all, so I fitted bike lights. LEDs front and rear, and a set of front lights running off a rechargeable sealed lead-acid battery to illuminate the road. I still have them but, unfortunately, the battery’s toast, and it’s very difficult to fit the lights to this scooter anyway.
Seeing it’s my birthday on tomorrow, I’ve treated myself to a new set, the Electron Terra 2, a matched pair of (allegedly), powerful LED lights, wide-angle and spot, running off a rechargeable Li-ion battery. The clamps will fit my scooter handlebars with minimal, or no, tweaking needed (see update, above, and important note at the end), and the battery, which is very light, will live in my bar-bag (there is a long battery lead if you need to put it somewhere else, plus a mounting strap that is probably more use on a bike). There’s a brief review here.
They retail at £99.99, but I got them for £79 here (plus delivery, though free delivery is an option). They are, at first glance, widely available, but most seem to be out of stock.
Some of the roads around here (Birkenhead), wouldn’t be out of place in a deprived, former eastern-bloc, country, pot-holed, cracked and broken up as they are (mysteriously, a short while ago the council resurfaced a nearby road which really wasn’t that bad, and completely ignored the road on which I live, which is rutted and pot-holed to buggery – there’s one just outside here, big enough to swallow a wheel and smash my suspension, or bring down an unwary cyclist).
Which is why I need good lights. They claim a very good battery life, too, giving 9 hours on full beam or 18 on low (options are full, low and flashing), which is way more than enough. The box says 5 hours on high, which is way more than enough anyway, and 35 hours in flashing mode. I think the 9 hours came from the single-light version.
Not only will they light my way efficiently, but they’ll get the attention of dozy drivers, too. And if you think £79 is a lot to pay for lights for an 8mph scooter, well, how much do you think safety is worth?
In addition to the good rear lights I also have a bright pair of flashing red LED lights, mounted high on the seat-back and right on the eye-line of most drivers – you can never be too conspicuous when you’re the slowest vehicle on the road (except for very slow cyclists).
I have to say, though, as I have before, the biggest danger on a scooter (or powerchair), is not other road users, but pedestrians, who seem to wander around in their own little world, and who are likely to step into the road, or change direction, if you’re on the pavement – without the slightest thought that they might not be alone in the world (one reason I stay away from shopping precincts). These cretins seem to think that scooters and powerchairs can stop instantaneously, and are going to be surprised if they get mown down by 400-500lb of machine and rider!
Cyclists come a very close second, especially the retards who ride on the pavement with zero regard for anyone else. Look, it’s simple, if you’re too much of a pussy to ride on the road, get the bus!
The lights are cast/machined alloy and plastic and as far as I can tell, a quality product (as, indeed, is the box they came in!), finished in charcoal grey, which will go well with my black scooter. They’re touted as quick-release on every website I’ve looked at, too, which anyone but a blind pedestrian can see they’re not (and, indeed, this is so). Doesn’t matter much to me.
I don’t know how well the light housings, where the wire enters, and Y-connector are waterproofed, but a tab of rubber solution will take care of that.
The box bears the name of a British company but whether lights are British-made or, like almost everything else these days, Chinese, I have no idea.
They are something of an unknown quantity, unfortunately, as user reviews are non-existent (and anyway, most are unreliable** – one person’s “way too dim” is another’s “perfectly fine”. It depends on one’s expectations – lights which are unsuitable on a fast, unlit, downhill trail will probably be perfectly fine around town. It’s fair to say that most lights of this type are considerably more expensive (and not road-legal – to be so, they must be visible from the side; most aren’t). We’ll see, but if they’re crap, they’re going straight back. Now irrelevant – see above comments.
**In the reviews for just one light, every shade of opinion was represented, from the best light ever to total junk – they can’t all be right, and that’s one reason why I never worry too much about reviews – they are as hopelessly undependable as eye-witness statements after a crime.
I did see one whinge about the battery, taking 10 hours to recharge. Personally, that’s not a problem, nor would it be for most cyclists, I suspect – just recharge overnight. Put it on charge when you get home from work, it’s ready next morning. Even the most dedicated cyclist isn’t out riding every night.
And, while looking at a different, AA-powered, light, I saw loads of complaints that, when carried in a bag or a pocket, it could be accidentally switched on. That made me wonder if today’s cyclists are a particularly dim bunch, or just love complaining (or if this is knowledge which has somehow become lost, though it’s so obvious I can’t see how), because, really, this is a non-issue – all you have to do is reverse one battery. That stops the switch working and, as no current will flow, won’t damage the electronics found in many LED lights.
Decades ago, when I was a backpacker, that was standard procedure – and doubtless still is – to avoid torches being accidentally turned on in our packs. It’s not rocket science.
IMPORTANT:- Be sure to mount the lights in such a position that no strain is placed on the Y-shaped connector (one wire to each light, and the third to the battery, from a central connector). Mine are 11 inches apart, which should be considered the maximum, leaving a little slack – straining the connections can shorten the life of the lights considerably. The hard plastic connector is secured with a blob of Blu-Tack so it doesn’t rattle against the top of the tiller moulding.
And if you use them in flashing mode, ensure that they are both visible from any angle – if only one can be seen, it could be mistaken for an indicator.
October 18. This is a photo of the lights in their final position, using a Topeak Bar Xtender to raise them so that they no longer shine through the basket, nor do they obstruct any switches. There is zero load on the Y-connector, as well. It’s not clear, because of the angle, but the wide-angle light is on the centre-line of the scooter, with the spot s few inched to the right. Using the Xtender, it’s now the work of a moment to slip the lights off and hide them or take them with me if parked up – impossible when they were mounted directly on the bars.
Click to see full size, Back button to return.
The small light on the left is a Cateye unit, one of a pair, very bright and can be used in steady or flashing mode (which seriously annoys the hell out of me, so unless I can find an alternative mounting point, they’ll just be steady.
You can get other brands of bar extender, I chose the Topeak model because it was mostly black, to match my scoot and the lights. Check out the Minoura brand – they have a range of models and are widely available (in the UK – sorry, don’t know about other countries).
