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Title: Planet Bike Beamer 5 LED Bicycle Light with Quick Cam Bracket Mount
Purchase Item
Manufacturer: Planet Bike
List Price: $34.99
Our Price: $19.70
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Features:
- Extra-bright bike light with 5 white Nichia eXtreme v2.0 LED bulbs
- 4 times brighter than many earlier LED lights for brighter illumination
- Easy-to-use Quick Cam bracket mounts, adjusts, and removes in seconds
- Offers flashing and steady modes; runs for up to 100 hours on 2 AA batteries
- Fits 25.5 to 31.8 mm handlebars; backed by limited lifetime warranty
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Customer Reviews: |
| Planet Bike Beamer 5 LED Bicycle Light with Quick Cam Bracket Mount by Planet Bike Does the job! | | I'd recently bought a head light from Target and used it to commute to work,was almost hit by a car due to fog! This headlight cuts through fog and allows oncoming traffic to notice you. If you have poor vision and you need a headlight to see 20ft out, this is not the light for you. If you need a light to be seen, can't beat this unit! It only has two lighting options but for the price I'm not complaining. I feel you pay for what you get! | | Planet Bike Beamer 5 LED Bicycle Light with Quick Cam Bracket Mount by Planet Bike Good Urban Light, and Good Mount (ignore contrary reviews) | I have both the one-watt Blaze and the 5-LED Beamer lights on my bike (note that I am comparing the one-watt Blaze, not the half-watt Blaze). I use the Blaze for constant-on illumination (to see) and the Beamer as a blinker (to be seen).
First of all, there is NOTHING WRONG WITH THE MOUNT (which is the same for both lights). Please ignore other reviews to the contrary, which were posted by people who are apparently unable to read an instruction sheet.
The mounting strap is ADJUSTABLE. It will accommodate very small handlebars, as well as massively oversized handlebars. If you turn the mounting bracket over and examine the underside, you will see that the mounting strap has ratchet-teeth. There is a keep directly beneath the mount which holds the strap to the desired length. If the mount is too loose, push the strap towards the mount to ratchet it to a smaller size. If the mount is too tight, use a small screwdriver to hold the keep up as you let the strap out. The mount may be further adjusted by turning the set-screw (by turning the cam-lever). Don't make it too tight, or it will be hard to adjust vertically.
The mount is very secure, yet the lights are easily removed (and can easily double as a flashlight when needed - and you could easily hold it in your teeth for roadside repairs).
Photos of both the Blaze and the Beamer look rather similar - I wondered if they used the same plastic housing. But the Blaze is substantially larger than the Beamer (in both length and diameter, even thought they both use the same size (AA) batteries). As I said before, the mount is the same.
In blinking mode, the Beamer is actually brighter (overall) than the Blaze. This is because the Blaze (wisely) does not flash at full-intensity all of the time (otherwise you would absolutely blind passing motorists). The Blaze mostly flashes at low-intensity, but every sixth or seventh flash is at high-intensity. The Beamer flashes at maximum intensity with each flash, which is brighter than the Blaze for most flashes, but not as bright as the occasional max-flash of the Blaze. Overall, the Beamer is brighter in flash-mode, although I am not sure it is better. But it is sufficient for my needs.
Many bike lights are designed like flashlights, where the beam is really visible only from the front - someone viewing from the side would not see any light from the bulb itself (only the things that the bulb illuminated). Both the Blaze and the Beamer have lens bezels which fully expose the bulb to aspect view, giving these lights about 210-degrees of visibility.
In steady-on mode, there is really no comparison in lighting intensity. The Blaze has a high and low mode for steady-on, while the Beamer has only one steady-on mode. My comparison is only using the Blaze in high-mode. I give the Beamer four-stars because it does not compare to the Blaze in this regard.
The Beamer's steady-on mode is rather hazy and unfocused. The five-bulb light source can be seen in the uneven lighting it produces. The Blaze (which has a single bulb) produces a much whiter and brighter light which is highly uniform. I'm not sure I would recommend the Blaze for absolute pitch-dark riding over difficult surfaces (such as singletrack wilderness and mountain trails), but it is perfectly sufficient for fill-lighting in urban commutes, with occasional very-dark spots. The Beamer is sufficient only for urban fill-lighting - I would not want to use this light in very dark conditions.
If I found myself riding an extended bit of pitch-dark road, I would reconfigure my lights to use the Blaze as a distance light and the Beamer as a close-in light.
Some posters complain that NiMh rechargeable batteries are inferior to alkaline. I am not able to discern any difference in the Blaze. NiMh batteries are 1.2 volts, whereas ordinary batteries are 1.5 volts. However, it is not really voltage, but milliamp-hours (mAh) which determine a battery's power potential.
The Energizer e2 MiMh batteries can be charged to 2,450 mAh (milliamp-hours), while fresh Energizer Alkaline batteries are rated at 2,850 mAh.. So the difference in power is about 8.75%. I cannot perceive this difference. However, a freshly-charged MiMh battery will ALWAYS out-shine a somewhat-discharged (but still relatively new) alkaline battery. There is a temptation to use disposable alkaline batteries until they are absolutely worthless - thereby depriving ourselves of good lighting (few people toss out batteries because they are only at 91% power - the point at which fresh NiMh batteries exceed their 8.75% discharged alkaline counterparts). It is better, IMO, to have a slightly inferior battery that I can recharge each evening, so I always have an absolutely fresh battery, rather than a disposable battery that may be slightly brighter for the first hour or two, but soon looses ground to a freshly charged NiMh battery.
| | Planet Bike Beamer 5 LED Bicycle Light with Quick Cam Bracket Mount by Planet Bike Love the light, hate the bracket | I'm a city rider who frequently rides after dark or before dawn and this light is PERFECT for getting the attention of those behind the wheel. The blinking mode is rapid and hard to ignore.
As much as I love the light itself, I hate the mounting bracket. The bracket attaches by a lever-tightened cam that can take a bit of time to adjust properly. Since I'm not trying to illuminate my foot or the sky, getting the bracket to hold the light aimed where I want it is important, and the way the bracket's designed it doesn't hold well on handle bars with smaller diameters. For my bike with the skinnier handles, I've had to resort to using a bit of old inner tube as a shim to get a snug fit.
Also, if you own more than one bike, (and what cycling enthusiast doesn't?), switching the light between bikes can be a pain because of the bracket design. I greatly prefer brackets with a thumb screw for tightening.
Sorry Planet Bike, as much as I love the light, you dropped the ball on that bracket. | | Planet Bike Beamer 5 LED Bicycle Light with Quick Cam Bracket Mount by Planet Bike Great Light for my needs | | Flashing light can be seen for quite some distance. I especially like that the light can be seen from the side with this design. In constant light mode the beam is fairly good for a LED system. I usually ride on streets that have some lighting already. Easy to install. Make sure it is far enough away from your wireless bike computer or it will interfere with the signal. Overall, very satisfied with this light. | | Planet Bike Beamer 5 LED Bicycle Light with Quick Cam Bracket Mount by Planet Bike good product, not a flood light obviously | | You're buying a 5 LED bike light, so if you're expecting to see like it's noon on your dark ride home- you're in the wrong market. For the price this is the best bike light I've found or personally seen. It's bright enough to get me home without problems, and I would recommend it to anyone not wanting to spend $50+. | | Planet Bike Beamer 5 LED Bicycle Light with Quick Cam Bracket Mount by Planet Bike Product Description | | Ultra compact case is weatherproof and light weight. Fits handlebars from 25.5mm to 31.8mm. | | Planet Bike Beamer 5 LED Bicycle Light with Quick Cam Bracket Mount by Planet Bike Amazon.com Product Description | | Whether you're a 24-hour racer or a super commuter, the Beamer 5 LED bike light from Planet Bike gives you the power to light up the night. The light includes five white Nichia eXtreme v2.0 LED lights that help you see clearly at night while alerting drivers and other cyclists to your presence. The lights not only illuminate your path, but they're also four times brighter than many earlier LED incarnations, ensuring that you don't miss certain landscape features because the lights are too dim. Plus, the Beamer 5 is a breeze to install, with an easy-to-use Quick Cam bracket that mounts, adjusts, or comes off in seconds without tools. The Beamer 5, which runs for up to 100 hours on two AA batteries (included), offers both flashing and steady modes and carries a limited lifetime warranty. About Planet Bike
In November of 1996, Planet Bike was founded in Madison, Wisconsin. In many ways, Planet Bike began as a social experiment that dedicated itself to doing business in a different way. Instead of being just another company that develops and sells products with profit as its end goal, Planet Bike wanted to help bring about positive change for people, their communities, and the environment. Despite being a simple machine, the people at Planet Bike have always believed that the bicycle has great potential to help improve the world and the lives of the people in it. From the start, they have embraced an alternative corporate purpose which seeks to help get more people on bicycles by making communities friendlier places for the self-propelled. By donating 25% of company profits to causes that promote and facilitate bicycle usage, Planet Bike hopes to make an impact. Social experiments aside, Planet Bike was born from the heart of a cyclist with a goal of making innovative, high quality, and practical bicycle accessories. Simply put, they strive to design and develop the best bicycle products in the world. In the company's short ten year history, they have made important product innovations within the bicycle industry. Advancements include the 4-line computer which is now a standard in the industry and the world's first self-contained HID light. Not bad for a company that ten years ago started as a one man operation. Today, while still a small company, Planet Bike continues to evolve and improve their product line with the goal of always striving to build accessories that make it easier for people to ride their bikes. Since 1996, Planet Bike's financial support of the grassroots bicycle movement has totaled $500,000. By 2010, they have made a goal to donate $1 million to organizations that are dedicated to making America a friendlier place for cyclists. |
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