[Borregokid]

Four years ago I bought my first bike light a NR Trail Rat. I used it very little over the first three years. Maybe 20 times. I ended up having too duct tape the battery to the top bar. Last year I notice ride time was down to 40 minutes or so. I got a new batttery and cable from NR for a pretty good price,the old style was phased out and now an adaptor was required. That was another $50 on top of the $100. I was good to go. Of course I realized one light wasnt enough so I bought at the same time another headlight from Performance, for the helmet. That was $90. Now I had two decent lights.

This summer I plugged the batteries in and charged them but never used them. Last night I headed out for my second night of night riding the NR battery went dead after 40 minutes-both times. The Performance battery was still good. I stopped on the ride to cinch up the Performance light and snapped the plastic buckle. The NR was of course dead. I was able to tie the Performance down with the strap and finish. After spending $250 and riding a handful of times I am out of service just about. These lights are almost as big a waste as buying a computer.

I dont ride enough at night to justify the cost but the HID on the handlebar and the Performance or similar 10w on the helmet would be the way to go. I am sending the NR back to NR and have them take a look at it. I think they have pretty good customer service. :mumble:

 

[DBR X6 RIDER]

The trick w/ the batteries is you have to recharge them every couple of months or so...even if you don't use them. If you don't, then the battery will not perform up to estimates. I had the same problem when I first got my cygolite night-rover headlight.
Hopefully, that's all that is wrong with the system you have.

 

[Borneo]

Borrego, this sort of thing pops up about this time every year on all the bike lists. DBR is exactly right. You just gotta charge/drain them every other month or so.
I'l even run a few cycles the days before a ride. I'll be discharging this evening and recharging overnight for a ride tomorrow. As for NR, performance and service has gotten much better in the past. But, there's been a big flame war over their support(or lack therof) during 24 hour races.
I do think it's better now though. Good luck!

 

[Snacks]

So when your light has 2.5 hrs. of burn time then your battery is drained? Or do I only have to recharge it every couple of months? I'm confused

 

[Borregokid]

In a job that I had on another planet we used to use Ni-Cad batteries like crazy. Some guys insisted on completely discharging them every month while other people never did. Some batteries lasted only one year but some went four years. I am guessing some went 2000 charge cycles. Pretty much like phone batteries. The main thing was they were almost always being charged when they werent being used.
At one point I remember reading a memo that there was no "scientific proof" that completely discharging the batteries kept the batteries lasting any longer. Of course letting them sit around like I did probably didnt help.

In the case of my NR batteries I might have abused them a bit my not keeping them charged however the Performance battery got the same abuse and works perfect. I think NR will probably come up with something, might be my charger or just bad luck.

 

[DBR X6 RIDER]

So when your light has 2.5 hrs. of burn time then your battery is drained? Or do I only have to recharge it every couple of months? I'm confused

After a ride, it's good to recharge the battery for a few hours.
If you don't use it for a couple of months after that use, then drain it and then charge it for about 6hrs. - the numbers vary from manufacturer-to-manufacturer. Good to check what they say on either your users-guide or find their website - if you don't know the site, then check w/ www.google.com first.

 

[Big B]

No one will have to worry about this crap pretty soon. LEDs!! They're the future.

 

[oly]

Its not NR's fault (or any other lite company) Care is written in your manuals....

or here.

http://www.niterider.com/techinfo/geninfo_battery2.html

 

[Borregokid]

I might have used my NR battery 2x and its kaput, it was lead acid. The "kid" has been ridding his lead acid battery powered "silverado" all over the yard for three years with all kinds of abuse including no charging for 4 months during the winter and it still runs like new. Not sure how the lead acid stacks up to the Ni-Cad but I know they are built for at least a little abuse.

So far the NR customer service has been pretty good. They sent me a service order number out right away, and I have already sent the whole thing in for repair or whatever. They responded within an hour by e-mail, not bad customer service.
This particular light is getting kind of dated if I run another 24 I would like something better.

 

[Borneo]

First, to answer Snacks' question. The, "burn time" is how long you should have light with a good charge. Every time. So, if you see a ride posted with, "min. 1.5 hours burn time" you know you're covered.
There's a slew of opinions on this subject and to each their own.
I try to charge up/drain the batteries every couple of months or when I see the lights during the off months.
When the night riding season comes along, I'll cycle them through a couple times and time the, "burn time". Just like I'm doing now. I let the lights run down from last week's ride. Threw them on last night, will discharge them during dinner and throw them back on for tomorrow evening's ride.
Fresh charge and ready to go.
I have both Ni-cad for the helmet and lead acid on the bars. The lead acid light on the bike usually runs for about 30 minutes longer at 10w. ymmv

As said before, NR is getting way better on CS and they still are the "Burton" of lights. But, the LED wave is coming.

 

[Peter Parker]

The easiest way to avoid all of these problem is to buy a light with a "smart" charger. Just plug it in an forget it! I recently bought a Lume Strada (www.lumelighting.com). Its an HID with a smart charger and costs less than NR. They also make a halogen light with a smart charger. Having a light that has a recharge time equal to the burn time is great! I never have to worry about not having enough time to charge the light anymore. The way the light attaches to the helmet is better than NR as well. It attaches in the middle of the light rather than at the back. This keeps it from bouncing around so much. I do like the NR quick release system better, but a velcro strap isn't that hard to work.

Just my two cents!