I’m sure almost all of us have heard of the technology of HID somewhere before; it stands for High Intensity Discharge, and most often we get to see the system when we see the blazing headlamps of some Mercedes or Lexus cars. More commonly you get to see them in stadiums, where the lights shine over the football matches at night.
How does HID work, you may ask: Quite simply put, the HID system uses a very high voltage to create an arc that gives the whitish light; in order to obtain this arc, a very high voltage must be produced- this is achieved by having a ballast which charges up the initial voltage needed of about 10000-20000 Volts to jumpstart and then maintain the arc. The Ballast also regulates the current passing through the system once the arc is established.
The amazing thing about HID lights is that HID bulbs last 5-10 times longer than halogen bulbs.The reason why the bulbs can last so long is due to the absence of a filament in the bulb. In normal halogen bulbs, the filament which is heated up for light, can break. HID bulbs also consume only 65% of the power used by halogen bulbs! As such, the burn times of the lighting system is usually around 3-4 hours. All of this simply means that it’s great news for us who love to cycle at night.
With that said, on to the review!
What’s in a Box
What you get in the box:
1. Metal Halide ARC H.I.D Lamp
2. 4.0Ah NiMH Battery
3. Microbrute 5 Hour Charger
4. Waterbottle Battery Pack
5. Camlok QR Handlebar Mount
6. SurLok Connectors
7. Instruction Manual
Weight (Battery, strap, connections, mount and lamp unit ): approx. 960 grams (the battery makes up the bulk of the weight at about 700grams.)
Opening the box, we get to see the whole lighting system nested nicely. The casing for all the components feel burly and are definitely able to take a thrashing. However, the whole system is pretty light, and only adds about 2 pounds to the bike.
The instruction manual is simple to follow, and the reviewer was able to get down to business quickly. Charging was easily done with the Microbrute charger which reduces the charging time to only 5 hours! The status of charging is foolproof – the LED indicator is either red when charging; or green when it’s ready for charging(before you plug in the battery) or when the battery’s fully charged up. The microbrute also has automatic trickle, so the battery can be charged overnight without worrying about overcharging it. This also keeps the battery at maximum capacity until it is ready to be used. (But not to be connected 24hours a day) The LED is supposed to blink green when it’s trickling, but the reviewer never got to see it – there was only either a green light or a red light.
SAMSUNG CSC
SAMSUNG CSC
