Lights - being prepared

[Kevoffthetee]

evening folks, am looking ahead to Autumn and winter and wanting to get a quality front and rear light. I'm not going to intentionally ride in the dark so I don't need my solarstorm x3 strapped to my bike 24/7, but would like a decent light for flash that I can switch to torch mode if I'm out later than planned. The rear ligh needs to be able to clip onto my topeak saddle bag

I'm after suggestions, been looking at the lezyne 400xl but the battery life seems quite sort

Thanks, Kevin

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

I'm after suggestions, been looking at the lezyne 400xl but the battery life seems quite sort

Thanks, Kevin

I suppose it depends how long you will unintentionally be out

 

[steve50]

I can recommend the lunar 2 rear light, extremely bright and rechargeable with a good battery life, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Smart-Luna...d=1471648722&sr=8-1&keywords=Lunar+bike+light

Knog mini lights are also very good considering their small size, https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_s...eywords=knog+bike+lights&sprefix=knog,aps,174

 

[RoubaixCube]

fluxient u2 mini. Very powerful and focused beam and batteries are said to last around 3hours or even longer on high depending on how high capacity batteries you use. I use 3400mAh Panasonic battery cells in mine.

 

[cyberknight]

Had my basic see me lights on the last few mornings.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I have a Topeak Redlite Mega clipped to my saddle bag

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-lights/bike-lights/topeak-redlite-mega-bike-light (available from other retailers)

 

[Kevoffthetee]

Had my basic see me lights on the last few mornings.

I've seen the front and rear set on sale at £100, are they really worth it?

 

[Kevoffthetee]

fluxient u2 mini. Very powerful and focused beam and batteries are said to last around 3hours or even longer on high depending on how high capacity batteries you use. I use 3400mAh Panasonic battery cells in mine.

I have the solarstorm x3 but was thinking of a light without a separate battery pack

 

[RoubaixCube]

I have the solarstorm x3 but was thinking of a light without a separate battery pack

That tells me you haven't even tried to at least google it to see what its all about. I wont make anymore suggestions if youre going to waste my time like that

 

[cyberknight]

I've seen the front and rear set on sale at £100, are they really worth it?

It really depends if you want to see on unlit roads, be seen on street lit areas or take a chance on the cree lights .

For street lit areas i have an old cree p4 torch on flash running on 3 x aaa batteries , on the back i use a planet x copy of a smart superflash
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/LIPHBSTRL/phaart-booster-05-watt-led-rear-light, 1 in the middle and one on each pannier loop .

For unlit lanes i use a cree xml t6 which you can pick up for under £20 , perfectly ok although some people have had issues with batteries if not stored correctly .
If you want a light with a built in battery pack then a lot of people like the hope vision 1

 

[Kevoffthetee]

That tells me you haven't even tried to at least google it to see what its all about. I wont make anymore suggestions if youre going to waste my time like that

I have looked, a lot, but this is more of a "what have you got and is it any good or $h1t3". You give me you opinion of yours which was good, but I responded with something I thought might help people offering suggestions something to go off.

I mentioned my solarstorm which has a separate battery in my original post, and that I didn't want it on my bike 24/7. I don't see your problem but if you don't want to contribute that's fine

 

[Kevoffthetee]

It really depends if you want to see on unlit roads, be seen on street lit areas or take a chance on the cree lights .

For street lit areas i have an old cree p4 torch on flash running on 3 x aaa batteries , on the back i use a planet x copy of a smart superflash
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/LIPHBSTRL/phaart-booster-05-watt-led-rear-light, 1 in the middle and one on each pannier loop .

For unlit lanes i use a cree xml t6 which you can pick up for under £20 , perfectly ok although some people have had issues with batteries if not stored correctly .
If you want a light with a built in battery pack then a lot of people like the hope vision 1

Those Pharrt lights would clip straight onto my pannier on tourer. One of the guys at the club has bought some see.sense lights. Will see what he thinks.

For the front though I'm tempted but the lezyne 600xl as the battery life is better then the 400xl and I can turn it down for most of the journey

 

[Kevoffthetee]

Had my basic see me lights on the last few mornings.

Just re-read, for some reason I had see.sense in my mind hence my £100 reply. More coffee required

 

[the_mikey]

Not glamourous but I use RSP RX100 usb rechargeables for a highly focussed beam and a decent flash mode and an RSP RX480 for a wider see everything beam, they're inexpensive and have long run times and are USB rechargeable, you might be able to get them both for less than £50.

 

[ufkacbln]

One trick is to ignore the present fashion of rechargeable lights.

A set of battery lights is ultimately expendable

I use the Ixon IQ on the front

There is a rechargeable system, and a realistic battery life. If you extend the trip and the battery expires, just bung in a set of 4 AA batteries available anywhere

I use the Moon Shield on the rear, again battery (AAA)