super cyclelight, betty, bright, cycling, cyclists, expensive, lumens, lupine, safety, sport...

The World's Brightest Cycle Lamp Is Called Betty

Betty is a 22-watt, 1400-lumen bicycle lamp that you can buy from Gretna Bikes. And it's expensive—at 84 per lumen, the grand total is $1,185. It is, however, the light of all lights for cyclists— just have a look at what it can do below.

There's a custom-designed lens system for optimal beam quality and seven top-grade LED lights. Its three modes include a low power-consuming emergency mode, which gives you up to two weeks' light using just 0.25W. Using its strongest battery, it will last all night for a month. But is that worth $1,185? Depends how safe you want to be. [Lupine via Book of Joe]

6:28 AM on Tue Oct 2 2007
By Addy Dugdale
11,326 views
24 comments

Comments

shibbyjames at 06:36 AM on 10/02/07
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I would crash when someone told me the price!
Raz at 07:03 AM on 10/02/07
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Looking at the picture, I'd be more concerned about blinded oncoming traffic crashing into me... almost looks like a full beam for cars, but it's easier for us to flick between the two than for cyclists
ECAsh at 07:09 AM on 10/02/07
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Watch someone RIP that off your bike...
Or forget your battery pack, and you are SCREWED..
pipper at 07:19 AM on 10/02/07
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betty, also aka Master Pain. (Kung Pow!!)
scarbrtj at 08:13 AM on 10/02/07
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@pipper: is "also aka" redundant? ;)
earthling at 08:30 AM on 10/02/07
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Or you could do what I did. Tape a Maglite to your bars and go riding. It worked so well in preparation for a night race that I ended up cutting the head off the maglite, mounted it to the bars and made a battery pack out of a 7 cell R/C car battery pack and mounted it under the seat at the back. I can also recharge it using my R/C car charger. The resulting light was very powerful, lasted for several races, and is by far the brightest thing mounted on any bike at any race I have been to. Its actually so bright that its a bit confusing at night on a trail where the contrast between what seems to be pitch black trail outside the area affected by the light and the ultra bright light is hard on the eyes. Next time I will go for a wider light that is not quite as bright. On my roadbike however there are no issues. The first time I had it on the bike I also discovered that it was a big help in passing people as well as the natural reaction to having a bright light come up behind you fast at night is to pull over :)

Total cost. $110.00
$Image of Cap\'n Jack$ Cap'n Jack at 08:54 AM on 10/02/07
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YOUR SHIRT IS RED!!
AlexTheSane at 09:21 AM on 10/02/07
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And Betty when you call me, you can call me Al.
sakko at 09:29 AM on 10/02/07
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mmmm.... sleepy time...
ltcmurray at 09:30 AM on 10/02/07
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great, now we are going to have all kinds of wildlife/cyclist 'encounters.'

Any idea what it's like to slam into a deer at 30 mph, or run over the local armadillo?
MacBandit at 09:33 AM on 10/02/07
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Doesn't look any brighter than the HID bicycle lights.
prodigal_son at 09:44 AM on 10/02/07
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Yeah, that looks like a full beam on a car, and would probably blind oncoming traffic and really piss of traffic in front.

Still, looks like fun
lumpydog at 10:01 AM on 10/02/07
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Zounds!
halloweenjack at 10:15 AM on 10/02/07
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When Cateye put out a sooper-dooper bright light some years ago (I think that they referred to it as "aircraft-grade"), they warned that it was really for nighttime trail riding where you were out in the middle of nowhere and wouldn't blind anyone riding in the opposite direction.

I'm not sure where the picture above was taken--Deutschland, maybe?--so I don't know if the highway markings signify what they would in the US, which is that the road is one-way, but even if it were the case, you wouldn't want to flash that light in someone's rear-view, let alone head on. Lighting systems costing less than 10% of Betty are perfectly adequate for nighttime riding.
Technoid at 10:54 AM on 10/02/07
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I really wanted this for my spelunking adventures but I spent all my money on those darn speaker cables.
Tank at 11:13 AM on 10/02/07
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[www.ledshoppe.com]

$12.00. Not a lifetime torch but it's pretty bright. It's better than duct taping a MagLite to your bike.
lalahsghost at 11:23 AM on 10/02/07
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This sure would help on some single lanes out in the woods or some fire-trails. Pros out in Moab would feel safer if they were crazy enough to ride at night.
ChopSue-Me at 11:45 AM on 10/02/07
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@King of the Wild Frontier: By the looks of the driving on the wrong side of the road, I say it's the galactic empire known as Great Britain.
ChopSue-Me at 11:47 AM on 10/02/07
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My, Betty, you sure have some bright headlights!

How about, My, Betty, your headlight are BEAMING!
bowpair at 12:49 PM on 10/02/07
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I've never rode my bike at night in areas where it was dark enough to need a light, but I imagine it would be difficult to blind oncoming traffic if you are riding with traffic like you are supposed to be. Also, I am sure it is not as bad as the people who lift their trucks but forgot to adjust the headlights and then tailgate you, blinding you from every mirror.
hihai411 at 01:23 PM on 10/02/07
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im not sure how safe i would feel riding around with 1k on my bike. id rather ride in the dark ninja style..
huygir at 01:52 PM on 10/02/07
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probably not street legal where I live.
AqueousBeef at 08:11 PM on 10/02/07
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goddamn your lack of cycling knowledge. this is most definately made for night time mountain biking. there is absolutely no need for something like this on the open road. furthermore, only sponsored racers and the incredibly rich would ever consider one of these. you can get a perfectly good halogen bulb light for under 200, and a great one for 400.
nick3216 at 12:38 PM on 10/08/07
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"Looking at the picture, I'd be more concerned about blinded oncoming traffic crashing into me... almost looks like a full beam for cars, but it's easier for us to flick between the two than for cyclists"

By "us" do you mean car drivers? If it's so easy then why do so many off them not bother? That's why us cyclists need super bright lights.