Schmidt E6 review
I’ve been previously using a Niterider Blowtorch, both on my commuter as well as for the night section of doubles on my light bike and have recently installed a Schmidt E6 onto my randoneuring/commuter bike
The Blowtorch is truly a fabulous light, lasting almost 5 hours with the 4Ah NiMH water bottle battery. It puts out a *ton* of light, with much of it spilling to the sides/top/bottom allowing me to see the entire road and also descend at speed because I can see around corners. My commuter has a third bottle mount on the bottom of the downtube so the battery fits nicely and doesn’t raise the center of mass of the bike.
My SON came from Peter White built into a Velocity Aerohead rim with 14-16 spokes along with a matching Aerohead OC rear wheel. Peter did a great job on the build. The thing I love about the Aeroheads is the inside rim leaves a perfect surface for sticking reflective tabs, so that drivers see two bright white circles when viewed from the side. Get your reflective tape from www.identi-tape.com.
I installed the lights on the sides of my fork with the primary on the left side. Peter’s instructions were quite clear and once I figured out where I wanted to wrap the spare cables it was quickly done.
I attached a Cateye HL-EL500 to the front of my aero bars for when I wasn’t moving.
All told the new setup was about the same weight as the old one. Without the EL-500 I saved about 300g from the NR setup.
I headed out north into Marin last Sunday afternoon figuring it’d get dark a few hours before I returned so I’d have plenty of time to test out the new E6 setup.
As it got dark I turned on the primary light. As much as I tried I couldn’t notice any additional resistance. Even with both on I couldn’t tell.
Since it was still fairly light out at first I couldn’t see the beam pattern, but as it got darker it eventually became noticeable and useful.
My first impression was how great the beam pattern was. Even with one light it presented a trapezoid with the narrow end near me and a uniformly consistent brightness throughout. There was a sharp outline to the pattern where there was nearly no spillage of light outside this trapezoid. One light was enough for riding on flat ground at any speed. I didn’t need to use the secondary when I wasn’t descending.
The beam of just one light is *orders of magnitude* better than any clip on light (HL-500, etc) light that I’ve previously used. It’s at least as good as a narrow beam 10W halogen, but not as good as a 15W wide beam halogen.
While climbing I found that on steep hills the EL500 was necessary to see where I was going. It was also essential when I stopped the bike in dark areas. Stopping the bike without it made things dark *really* quickly and it was a little disturbing.
The big problem I have with the E6 is directly related to what makes it a great light. Without the spillage to the sides I found it really scary descending when my path involved *any* turns. With my NR I could see around corners but with the E6 all I could see was black. I had to slow down a lot on descents, even with the secondary. It was nerve wracking.
I had the same problems on flat ground when I had to turn. When turning I couldn’t see around corners so I was already rolling over something by the time I could see it. Once again, quite disturbing.
Maybe I’m spoiled by my HID light, but I found myself scared going down descents at speed with nothing but a relatively narrow beam leading the way.
One solution might be to replace the secondary light, which didn’t really make that big a difference, with a wider angle but lower intensity beam for descents and turns. This would probably be enough to see a little around corners and make me more at ease.
My determination is similar Zach’s. I’ve removed the E6 and replaced it with my NR light. I’ll use the NR light on doubles and the brevets that involve less than 5 hours of dark. I’ll also still use it for commuting since a brighter, wider beam dramatically increases my visibility to drivers. I’ve carried a spare battery for my NR light in my trunk bag and the extra weight is something I’d rather not deal with.
My plan is to install the E6 for the longer brevets and just watch my speed on descents and turns. It’s somewhat a shame that it didn’t work out as well as I had hoped since it’ll now take much longer to amortize my investment.
In summary I believe the NR HID light is far superior to the E6 in every way except for the fact that it uses a battery that eventually runs out. For events that require significantly more than 5 hours of night riding there isn’t any clear alternative to the E6.
PS: I’ve also found that the red photo micro II light velcroed to the helmet makes for a great computer/route sheet reading light and doesn’t disturb one’s night vision. I’ll carry a spare micro with me on the brevets.
December 14th, 2006 at 8:01 pm
Hey Joe,
Nice write up on the E6, but I think you’ve got it wrong. Add an LED helmet light to the mix for your commutes and doubles and you’ll have it made (esp if you ditch the Cateye and replace it with a “be seen” light. The helmet light is perfect for reading road signs and general navigation on brevets, as well as for seeing round corners, descending, and for when you slow down to climb. I’ve been using a Danolite that will give me about 2.5 hours of continuous light - but I switch it on and off as needed, so I’ll easily have it last 3-4 hours on 4AA rechargeables.
July 9th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
Hi Joe,
Just read your article on the E6. I have been commuting for many years, I do a 22 Kms (13 miles) each way, mostly on unlit country roads. I have tried many battery set-ups over the years and have found some good, grunty lighting solutions, but was left with the old problem of having to re-charge all the time and store heavy batteries. Also found that expensive globes blew frequently. So, a friend of mine suggested a dynamo set-up, and after researching I bought the E6, E6-Z and built a new front wheel around the SON. One thing I have found for sure is that the lights are highly focused, with low spillage, so this presents the problem with “seeing around corners”. I have found that adjusting the beam pattern of the two lights to cover the maximum possible area is the best way to overcome the issue. My house is 1600Ft absl and my work is at sea level so you see that going home is all climbing. On the climb I sit at about 19 Km/h which is not quite enough to generate sufficient power for the secondary but in some flatter sections I boot it up and with the separated beams I find it makes a huge difference. I can descend quite fast on the same winding road without fear (at about 50 Km/h). Overall I am very impressed, and most of all I like the concept of the energy for the lights being human powered, and not relying on greenhouse gas generating electricity to re-charge my batteries every night.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
I just did the E6, E6 Z + SON hub set up on my commute bike. I mounted one on each side of my fork (using the brake boss) and found using a side by side spread (I have little overlap of the trapezoid) to be amazingly well suited for road riding. Side-by-side it was a bit wider than a two lane road, and for the speeds I usually average (30+ km/hr) this is the perfect coverage. Plus for some of my longer commutes (3+ hours a day) the non-reliance on batteries is a godsend.
Another thing the E6 E6z combo excels at is reach. My office is at the top of a 1200 ft mountain, which does not have lights on the road way. I often work late and as such I usually make the decent in pitch black. Here is where I have found the trapezoid pattern to be ideal. It reaches far better into the dark than any high power trail light I have tried before. Trail lights shine light evenly in all directions, including upwards. While this is good for trail riding, it is not an efficient use of light on the road.
As for the lack of spill light, at first I found it a little disconcerting when I would look to my left or right side and see darkness. However, at road bike speeds I would never head in such sharp direction, as such for my purposes the reflector design seems to put the light where I tend to needed it most.
That said, at slower trail speeds ( < 15 km/hr) with sharper turns the light pattern is restricting - it all depends on what you are doing. A helmet light, or a flood light may help in these situations, especially if you encounter these conditions rarely.
In the end it depends on what your needs are. The E6, E6 Z combo are a highly specialized to a particular kind of riding. If you ride on slower, twister roads you may consider a different primary light, one with more spread and shorter throw, saving the E6Z for the job as a secondary when speeds are higher.