Creo Light Splitter Upgrade for Front Light

[ActionJackson]

I don't see the point for the price neither for lumens. I already wrote that the price on the producers website is list price and that its sold for a little bit more than half of it, about $80.
And lumen and lux is not the same, 1500 lumen is not 10 times 150 lux. And both values have their flaws, many lux in one small spot doesn't help much for offroad/MTB rides and 1500 lumens everywhere puts most of the light anywhere but not on the road but blinds everyone.

Maybe I should have mentioned, that Germans love good bicycle lights and are willing to pay a lot of money for it. ;-) Many people here use there bicycles for commuting, to cycle to work every day and at all times. And there you need good light at least in winter from October to March. Also the rules for front lights for roads/traffic are quite strong that they have to be dimmed/cut of the upper half for not blinding others. This makes sense on the road/with traffic and there it does not decrease the use of light as it may do offroad.

Just for leisure rides in daylight for a tunnel or fading light once a month I also wouldn't need a permanent front light. I also use a "road flashlight" from the same brand with 50 lux and the upper half cut off on the Creo. About the same "class" or amount of light than the front light on the Vado SL 4.0. But you were the one who asked for a more powerful front light... Even if I don't see the need that big for only rare use and short passages, where the standard Vado SL light is quite fine. It's not enough for racing all night long with 28mph in the dark, but 3 minutes tunnel per month with 16mph is quite relaxing.

Lux is relative to a given area at a given distance, whereas Lumens is total light output. Either way the 12v light on the Vado SL is a joke for riding as Stefan Mikes and others have pointed out in this and other posts.

Initially I thought it was cool that my bike would have wired lighting, however the power available, and lights capable to be used with the wiring, are just too low powered for safe riding in darkened environments.

 

[jodi2]

Seem we both already knew the difference between lux and lumens... ;-)
On the road lux are not the only thing but more important than lumens, a round 1500 lumens light is wasting on the road maybe 1000 lumens to the sky and to the sides apart from blinding others.

Also 65 lux/the standard Vado SL light is quite normal for a low level equipped ebike. It's ok for moderate speeds or just seldom use. The 115lux light of the 5.0 is even better, the 150 light even more. Yes, it's not the brightest road bike light, I know exactly two really better lights for road use. 150 lux/7.5-8 watts belongs to the best 2% of bicycle lights at the moment. 650mA sounds not much, but with 12v, 8w is great for a bike light. Also many drive brands offer less watts for light and even less brands offer ebikes with more light than 150 lux/8w. But then these are never light ebikes with assist drives like Vado/Como SL or Creo.
And we did not change the 65 lux normal Lezyne light because it was so terrible, but my wife "needed" the space in the handle bar for a bag. As you can't flip the light for fork mount, I thought if I already have to buy a new light, why not put another 30€ in the bucket and my wife gets the best possible permanent light on her new Vado SL.

A removable light with extra battery pack has the risk that you did not mount or charge it when you need it unexpectedly. While a permanently mounted and connected light (almost) ever works.
Of course you can't take it off for example for repairs, but I think this use case is over since all smartphones today have a light and every one of us takes it on any ride.

Don't get me wrong, of course one can have other needs or wishes for bicycle light! But I don't see any reason to blame Specialized for a quite common and for it's road purpose adequate 65 lux light in their entry level ebike. And even less for 8watts lights output which already allows very good front light.

 

[kahn]

Seem we both already knew the difference between lux and lumens... ;-)
On the road lux are not the only thing but more important than lumens, a round 1500 lumens light is wasting on the road maybe 1000 lumens to the sky and to the sides apart from blinding others.

Also 65 lux/the standard Vado SL light is quite normal for a low level equipped ebike. It's ok for moderate speeds or just seldom use. The 115lux light of the 5.0 is even better, the 150 light even more. Yes, it's not the brightest road bike light, I know exactly two really better lights for road use. 150 lux/7.5-8 watts belongs to the best 2% of bicycle lights at the moment. 650mA sounds not much, but with 12v, 8w is great for a bike light. Also many drive brands offer less watts for light and even less brands offer ebikes with more light than 150 lux/8w. But then these are never light ebikes with assist drives like Vado/Como SL or Creo.
And we did not change the 65 lux normal Lezyne light because it was so terrible, but my wife "needed" the space in the handle bar for a bag. As you can't flip the light for fork mount, I thought if I already have to buy a new light, why not put another 30€ in the bucket and my wife gets the best possible permanent light on her new Vado SL.

A removable light with extra battery pack has the risk that you did not mount or charge it when you need it unexpectedly. While a permanently mounted and connected light (almost) ever works.
Of course you can't take it off for example for repairs, but I think this use case is over since all smartphones today have a light and every one of us takes it on any ride.

Don't get me wrong, of course one can have other needs or wishes for bicycle light! But I don't see any reason to blame Specialized for a quite common and for it's road purpose adequate 65 lux light in their entry level ebike. And even less for 8watts lights output which already allows very good front light.

Do bikes in Europe or certain countries require lights when sold?

 

[jodi2]

Yes, when sold and when used (lights have to be mounted always, not powered on at day time).
At least in Germany, due to the European Union I guess also in other european countries, but maybe not everywhere.
Racing bikes can be sold and also used during daytime without lights. When it gets dark you are obliged to mount&use lights (so normally battery lights).
Some years ago this rule was only for racing bikes up to 11kg. As Creo and many other race ebikes here are sold without light, maybe the 11kg rule was canceled the last years, I'm not sure. But that would mean just put race bars on any kind of bike and you can ride it at day time without mounted lights.
It may seem strange that this exception is only for race bikes. What about a light MTB Hardtail or Singlespeed below 11kg? I guess this is due to the quite big and old race bike history in Europe. There are many hobby sport race cyclists and clubs. It would be hard for them to put 1 pound of battery lights on their 12 pound bikes... But of course it's not fair for others with light bikes with straight bars.

 

[Rincon]

The other thing, I'm not sure if the Creo has connections for any lighting system????

When I bought the Creo the dealer said there was a Specialized lighting kit/wiring harness for the bike. Probably the same wiring harness that comes stock on the Vado SL.

Post #1 in this thread cites the part number.

 

[Allan47.7339]

My road & river trail biker friend recommended as a minimum a really nice Chinese “Olght” brand light with 1500 lumens and vertically wide beam. About $75 USD. I’ll probably be getting that on my next Amazon order.

He also pointed out the obvious - maybe I don’t think I need a strong light, but one day when I get a flat, and nightfall comes quickly, I can remove the battery powered light and try to fix the flat plus ride/walk home safely afterwards.

I hope I never meet your friend either on the road or a trail with a 1500 lumen beam blasting away. There is nothing more obnoxious than an overpowered light without a STVzo type lens that puts it only on the road or trail. It's like ebike power, some people claim you need a 3000 watt motor to have fun scooter but 200 watts in the right place is a bicycle. I use a 90 lux B+E dynamo light on all times riding in an urban/sub-urban setting. I can't count the number of times in riding in daylight when I've seen a driver start to pull out then look again and stop. I also carry a very small LED flashlight in my tire kit that I can hold in my teeth and use to change a tire in the dark.

 

[Art Deco]

I hope I never meet your friend either on the road or a trail with a 1500 lumen beam blasting away. There is nothing more obnoxious than an overpowered light without a STVzo type lens that puts it only on the road or trail. It's like ebike power, some people claim you need a 3000 watt motor to have fun scooter but 200 watts in the right place is a bicycle. I use a 90 lux B+E dynamo light on all times riding in an urban/sub-urban setting. I can't count the number of times in riding in daylight when I've seen a driver start to pull out then look again and stop. I also carry a very small LED flashlight in my tire kit that I can hold in my teeth and use to change a tire in the dark.

Never saw a dynamo light ... is 90 lux a normal amount of light for one?

 

[ActionJackson]

I hope I never meet your friend either on the road or a trail with a 1500 lumen beam blasting away. There is nothing more obnoxious than an overpowered light without a STVzo type lens that puts it only on the road or trail. It's like ebike power, some people claim you need a 3000 watt motor to have fun scooter but 200 watts in the right place is a bicycle. I use a 90 lux B+E dynamo light on all times riding in an urban/sub-urban setting. I can't count the number of times in riding in daylight when I've seen a driver start to pull out then look again and stop. I also carry a very small LED flashlight in my tire kit that I can hold in my teeth and use to change a tire in the dark.

A dynamo light won’t get you seen in Tokyo. Urban warfare here. 1500 lm doesn’t even begin to compete with car lights or advertising lights. I think the maker of the light has made some efforts to concentrate the beam anyways…

 

[jodi2]

Obviously this is a front light Stvzo type for road use.

 

[ActionJackson]

Obviously this is a front light Stvzo type for road use.

Actually I think it’s just a Chinese light generally designed to focus the beam.

I just read about the Stvzo light though - apparently it’s a German standard. But honestly this Stvzo compliance standard doesn’t make any sense at all to me - If it’s really supposed to restrict the light beam from blinding others it would have to be inspected for every installation, after all you could install an Stvzo headlamp to even blind yourself?

 

[jodi2]

typical german example for tons of rules and laws for the smallest things...
and yes, one grip to adjust your own lamp and you can blind again others. but still better than blinding always...

 

[Shuji]

Thank you all for providing me with the information and discussions. I apologize for not getting back to you guys sooner. I currently use Cateye Volt800 which is great light. My problem is charging it after every ride even though I may not have consumed the battery much. It is relatively heavy (136 grams). So I was looking into possibility of getting power from the motor battery to something lighter i.e. Bontrager ION200RT (22 grams). 8 Watts is not much of power. But, probably sufficient for day light flashing, riding through tunnels and in an emergency use when you get late in the evening. My options are (1) Find 12 V bike light i.e. Vado head light (2) Fit a voltage converter in the top tube and use 5V light. I still like to use the Volt800 in autumn and winter.

 

[Allan47.7339]

Never saw a dynamo light ... is 90 lux a normal amount of light for one?

It is now as the LEDs have gotten better. Dynamo's are 6V/3W so they don't have noticiable drag. I also sometimes add a Light and Motion helmet light that I would turn on if I needed to navigate very dark streets or paths with sharp turns so I could look ahead of the turn.

 

[Shuji]

Finally I got the front light that I ordered from Germany. Cateye GE100 which is made in Japan. I have tried to find 12V pins on the splitter cable S196800022 . I only found 3.2V. Anyone know how to hook up the 12V power lines from the light to the splitter cable?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I just want to add something. Vado 4.0 SL headlight is not that bad as I thought. I would probably not be too much happy in the forest at night, or during the wintertime with it but it serves me well during my local short shopping rides here in the suburbs. I have installed a bracket on the handlebar anyway, and can always attach one of my powerful external CatEye lamps if I need it.

 

[ActionJackson]

Finally I got the front light that I ordered from Germany. Cateye GE100 which is made in Japan. I have tried to find 12V pins on the splitter cable S196800022 . I only found 3.2V. Anyone know how to hook up the 12V power lines from the light to the splitter cable?

I believe, but not certain, there is a setting in the mission control app for lighting preferences. But I don’t have my bike handy today. perhaps it is configured off, or low setting? @Stefan Mikes might be a good person to ask about mission control.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I believe, but not certain, there is a setting in the mission control app for lighting preferences. But I don’t have my bike handy today. perhaps it is configured off, or low setting? @Stefan Mikes might be a good person to ask about mission control.

No, there's no such setting. The MC setting is for Stealth Mode, that is, making the TCU display blank during the ride. Nothing related to the lighting.

 

[Shuji]

No, there's no such setting. The MC setting is for Stealth Mode, that is, making the TCU display blank during the ride. Nothing related to the lighting.

I believe, but not certain, there is a setting in the mission control app for lighting preferences. But I don’t have my bike handy today. perhaps it is configured off, or low setting? @Stefan Mikes might be a good person to ask about mission control.

Finally I got the front light that I ordered from Germany. Cateye GE100 which is made in Japan. I have tried to find 12V pins on the splitter cable S196800022 . I only found 3.2V. Anyone know how to hook up the 12V power lines from the light to the splitter cable?

I contacted Specialized customer support yesterday and figured out what my problem was. The split cable S196800022 is not correct part for the CREO. I looked at the same page in the manual. The part number is now S206800003 and it all makes sense.

 

[ActionJackson]

No, there's no such setting. The MC setting is for Stealth Mode, that is, making the TCU display blank during the ride. Nothing related to the lighting.

Thanks- So how do I turn off the lights?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Thanks- So how do I turn off the lights?

You don't. Lights are your life-saver.
See and Be Seen.