Lupine Piko Dual-LED Lamphead for Daytime Safety

2011-02-08 • SEND FEEDBACK •
Related: cycling, Lighting, road biking

Lupine Piko lamphead mounted with battery on handlebar

See the previous page for more details on the Lupine Piko.

A quick note on night riding

For road cycling at night where I ride at speeds up to 35mph, I mount a Lupine Betty II on my helmet, and also a pair of Lupine Betty lampheads on the bike bar. That’s 5400 lumens brighter than 90% of the cars on the road today. I can ride nearly as fast at night as in the daytime, even on twisty descents. Cars back up for me on narrow canyon roads. That setup is killer for night riding.

For night-time cycling, my #1 recommendation is the 7-LED Lupine Betty II, and of course it can be used for daytime use as well.

But the 2-LED Piko is very bright, and wonderful for many types of night-time cycling, and still far superior to most every bike light you’ve seen on the road.

Daytime running lights

Over the last few years, I have transitioned to using a bike light even in the daytime, especially when riding in populated areas rife with cross streets and driveways.

The knee-jerk reflex from drivers works to your personal safety—

A light means reflexive caution— another car or motorcycle.

Don’t forget a tail light (even in the daytime).

Drivers pay attention to lights. I have personally observed all of the following using my daytime running light approach:

• A vehicle coming around a curve can be seen to lurch back into its lane.
• A vehicle jerks as the brakes are slammed on, before it was about to enter the roadway and occupy the space you intended to occupy (cut you off).
• A vehicle delays a right turn, because a bright light can be seen behind and to the right.
• A vehicle is over the center line, but moves back onto its side of the road.
• A drunken or inattentive driver hits the brakes because the light reaches his/her dimly functioning brain.
• A vehicle stops at a stop sign instead of rolling through it.
• A vehicle waits to make a turn into your path, because the light commands attention.

A dinky little light is better than nothing, but doesn’t command attention.

A lightweight and cost effective daytime running light

If your life is cheap, get a cheap light and don’t bother with a helmet, or buy insurance— it all costs money. I have no patience anyone who thinks that buying a $3K bike is fine, but settles on a $49 light for their personal safety.

Shown below is how I mount the Piko on my road bike. This is my daytime running light setup, something I highly recommend for all road cyclists.

Total weight for the Piko + battery + bar mount is under 200 grams, a very modest weight for the 2.5 hours of full brightness runtime.

By comparison, a 7-LED Lupine Betty II lamphead would add about 75 grams, but of course it would need to run on low brightness to get similar runtime, thus the Betty II would want a larger battery to run on medium or high. If you want one super premium light for day or night, then opt for the Betty II.

The Piko complete with charger and mount is about $360. Be sure to get the optional CNC-machined bar mount if you want the setup as shown below.

Lupine Piko lamphead mounted with battery on handlebar

Lupine Piko lamphead on high