Bicycle dynamo taillamp: Büchel Wing
2022-2-24: I contacted German manufacturer Büchel on 16 Feb. 2022, on where I might be able to acquire their taillamp "Wing" which looks cool and looks to have a big smoothly distributed light output, possible similar to the Philips Lightring? I had noticed this taillamp long ago, last year, and as I still couldn't see it for sale anywhere I contacted Büchel who then offered to send one for review purposes. I also discussed a bit with the person in charge about these matters, the issue of brake lamps (the rules for brake action changed in StVZO since mid 2017). I had not see any taillamps yet wit the newer brake lamp rules and Büchel apparently made the first one, but more on this later. I also asked about LED light colour for headlamps, maybe this will give some stimulation for them to make headlights with neutral white LEDs. Even with cool white LEDs, some of their higher end lights such as the Shiny 80 look to have a good beam, so I may buy a few to try out.
The useful responses by the person I had contact with are a pleasant difference from many of the other manufacturers who often just do not give useful information or who don't respond.
Specifications:
StVZO approval no: K? (I don't see the approval number on my sample, I will ask if this because it's a non-commercial sample, normally the K-number should be on the optic)
Mass: 46 g (without any washers & nuts, the way I got it; with washers/nuts it would be ca. 49 g).
Size: 100.3 mm width, 38.9 mm height, 16.3 mm thickness
Light source: Looks to be 9 red LEDs, 1 in the middle, 4 less bright ones at each side lighting up the side sections.
Mounting method: On the rear rack.
Rear rack bolt distance: 80 mm
Cabling/connectors: There are 2 connectors for 2.8mm female connectors.
Construction: Plastic, with black painted (possibly galvanised steel underneath) bolts, no washers/nuts included in this loose version but in the retail version they are likely galvanised and/or painted black.
Price: ca. € 29,-
Pictures:
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Experiences
Tested from: 2022-2-28
Esthetically it looks great.
Running on my lab power supply it runs at 6V 0.129A, starting at nearly 0.3A. When switching off the power the LEDs on the side are immediately off, so the standlight powers only the LED in the middle. The LED in the middle sits behind a distributing optic which at first I thought would be insufficient but the apparant size of the light source is bigger than a bare 5mm LED and not nearly as bad as taillamps that I criticise in this regard. I will need to test it at night for further impressions and whether the apparent brightness (cd /m^2) is too high.
The light colour: To come. I will compare it with the Spanninga Duxo which I think is too orangy, and to the taillamp that was installed on the 2nd hand bike trailer that I bought for temporary use. The latter has a beautiful deep red colour, which is the standard with which I will compare taillamps from now on.
The connectors are fine (clamped by the rear black housing and the transparant front part of the housing, not the feel of hanging loose as with the Spanninga Elips (based on the Philips Lumiring).
Beamshots
Note: I cannot yet make the taillamp beamshots as I don't have the proper space at the moment. This will come in 2nd half of 2022.
See the camera settings page for more on the setup and settings to make pictures of the beams of taillamps.
Out of a corner (showing how much light is cast upwards, forwards and to the sides) [ F3.9 & F1.8 ]:
Wallshot (showing the beam pattern):
Visibility from various angles (0°, 45°, 90°, 135°) [ 0.5m, zoom x3, F3.5, ISO80, 1/250s & 1/60s ]:
Comparing taillamps
Design- and thus review considerations for taillamps
See Theory for taillamps.
Conclusion
To come.
Last modified: 2022-3-1
