A mid range LED flashlight with a single CREE emitter will run for 10 hours on two AA batteries while putting out 50 lumens the entire time.
So we can guess guess the output of this bike light based on the batteries and run time. Works out to 15 lumens. Now that is pretty dim for outdoor use. Based on the 6 emitter design they would be using older Nichia LEDs. They may claim 40 lumens, but that will be on a fresh set of batteries. There will not be a regulator and after an hour it will be much dimmer.
Or (more likely) this guy has no clue what he is doing. Either way, it will still be a disappointment.
If you want a bike light that won't get stolen, buy a normal small two-AA flashlight and a flashlight mount. Unclip the light from the mount when you aren't on your bike and use it as a normal flashlight the rest of the time.
It's too low powered (40 lumens), and no-one suffers stolen lights (they're all removable in an instant). Equally powerful lights are incredibly small and can be fitted and removed in literally a few seconds.
None of us believe we are experiencing the problem that this solves, none of us get lights stolen.
What we do suffer is stolen saddles (detached from seat posts), and stolen hubs (bolt-cut the spokes of and steal the hubs).
But for those problems, this startup ( http://atomic22.co.uk/ ) are almost there at bringing to market a total bike security product in which every bolt on the bike is part of the same security system.
Here in London, if you leave anything lying around it'll get nicked regardless of the security device.
The common wisdom is to take the bike inside (if you have fancy LED/halogen setup) or just have a detachable light that you can throw in your pocket.
It's a $6 headlight that looks almost like a motorcycle headlight and is very bright. Uses 3-AA.
Most importantly it can easily clip on and off, so you can just take it with you instead of leaving it on the bike to be stolen.
Doubles as an awesome flashlight that can light up an entire room.
Put one on each side of your handlebars and I guarantee you will see the entire road in front of you in pitch dark while moving 20mph.
The review is right in that there is no focus, it's fixed distance. But it's much more light than a little flashlight.
Probably not as good as a $50 high power headlight but at $6 you aren't going to cry over it either. I've not had any corrosion problems with mine, though 2 of the leds inside stopped working (others are still at full brightness).
also, it's massive, and they don't seem to have provided a solution for a rear light, which i would probably argue is the more useful.
Most importantly, it's very directional - city cyclists don't really need to see, they need to be seen - the best front light can also be seen from the side.
My solution is a $20 18650-powered flashlight (200 lumen) from DealExtreme attached to my helmet. At maximum, it is so bright that car drivers honk at me, and it can blind oncoming bicyclists. For this reason, I run it at medium unless I'm alone in pitch darkness. It is also very weather-resistant, and because it is attached to my helmet, it is never left on the bike for someone to notice a crime of opportunity. It is also much easier to read street signs when I can just point my head at them.
At best, this will be useful for the city bicyclist who rarely travels at night.
I got my taillight off of eBay for a few bucks, and I don't really care if that gets stolen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIX3ntiTV-g
:-)
Wow. Nice one TechCrunch.
But as they didn't develop a (red) rear light, it's not really a complete solution for Dutch bikes.