Racing roadkill
Guru
It’s typical road. Not as diffuse as a moth burning / bunny boiler MTB, and more effective on dark unlit roads. I run either 2, or 4 depending on my route. 4 on full whack, is like riding in daylight.
Aldi cycling gear - Sunday 29th Sept
- Thread starter Slioch
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Not quite nobody. Plenty of people will hurl abuse at you, write angry letters to the papers, turn up to council and police events to rant about cyclists have dazzling lights and so on... Please don't use MTB lights on roads.
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Many lights (not seen these to know) won't stay put if pointed down enough not to dazzle and/or end up spotlighting your front tyre so brightly it's difficult to see far enough ahead.
Save your money and either buy StVZO ones online or wait for Lidl's next special.
MontyVeda
a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
- Location
- Lancaster... the little city.
- Location
- London
Racing roadkill
Guru
uphillstruggler
Guru
- Location
- Half way there
hello @Blue Hills
which lidl lights do you have?
my experience was somewhat different unfortunately - mine dislodged after a few minutes and had to go back for a refund.
a mate of mine recently got hold of some cat eye 800s for £15 each and I bought one from him. genuinely from a reputable dealer. I think I may buy the aldi one too as a back up. if your Lidl one is different to the one I had, ill have a look in my local lidl as they still have some cycling stuff. its always good to get a first hand real world recommendation.
TIA
- Location
- London
The Lidl lights I have uphill struggler are:
2 that run off 4 AA batteries - I have ridden the Dunwich Dynamo on one of these.
Original price maybe about £9 or £10 though I think I got the second one for about £6.50
The other one is a USB one - came with a rear for about £12 - it's the one before the one they most recently sold.
It's the one that has an auto function where it decides how much light to chuck out after sensing the darkness. When I read the description this put me off as I distrust such things. But it turns out that you are not restricted to auto - that is just the mode selected by the first button press - you can manually select output on the other presses. I assume that in its infinite "smart" wisdom, when it's really properly dark, away from streetlights, it selects full power anyway.
The latest light set, sold a few weeks/.months has some sort of braking function on the rear.
Something I definitely don't need.
Much cycling stuff is over finessed these days in my opinion - you know it's a serious ***ed up thijg when even Lidl gets into it.
Still my lights are good.
And cheap.
Both of those lights use the same mount as used by the Smart Lunar front light range, as in the front here:
https://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/...MIztbYn5Xv5AIVwed3Ch22gw79EAQYBSABEgJQl_D_BwE
which is really handy for me as I have lots of those mounts.
I will watch Lidl's lights with interest - I just hope they don't get too barmy with each release - like connecting to the internet to figure out what time of day it is, which planet it is on, how dark it is likely to be, what the weather forecast is.
In short, I recommend them.
I think previous Lidl lights are often available on ebay.
edit - some of the earlier ones than my AA battery ones are lower power.
edit edit - I can add pics if you are interested and give me time.
2 that run off 4 AA batteries - I have ridden the Dunwich Dynamo on one of these.
Original price maybe about £9 or £10 though I think I got the second one for about £6.50
The other one is a USB one - came with a rear for about £12 - it's the one before the one they most recently sold.
It's the one that has an auto function where it decides how much light to chuck out after sensing the darkness. When I read the description this put me off as I distrust such things. But it turns out that you are not restricted to auto - that is just the mode selected by the first button press - you can manually select output on the other presses. I assume that in its infinite "smart" wisdom, when it's really properly dark, away from streetlights, it selects full power anyway.
The latest light set, sold a few weeks/.months has some sort of braking function on the rear.
Something I definitely don't need.
Much cycling stuff is over finessed these days in my opinion - you know it's a serious ***ed up thijg when even Lidl gets into it.
Still my lights are good.
And cheap.
Both of those lights use the same mount as used by the Smart Lunar front light range, as in the front here:
https://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/...MIztbYn5Xv5AIVwed3Ch22gw79EAQYBSABEgJQl_D_BwE
which is really handy for me as I have lots of those mounts.
I will watch Lidl's lights with interest - I just hope they don't get too barmy with each release - like connecting to the internet to figure out what time of day it is, which planet it is on, how dark it is likely to be, what the weather forecast is.
In short, I recommend them.
I think previous Lidl lights are often available on ebay.
edit - some of the earlier ones than my AA battery ones are lower power.
edit edit - I can add pics if you are interested and give me time.
Last edited:
uphillstruggler
Guru
- Location
- Half way there
Thanks @Blue Hills
I’m half tempted by one of those for my shed
PaulSB
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chorley, Lancashire
I have to say cyclists with huge bright lights angled straight ahead wind me up no end. I thought the point of a light was to illuminate the road?
We have guys in our club who ride with a bright front light no matter what the conditions. When doing a quick shoulder check it's very difficult to know if one is seeing a car or fellow cyclist. And this is supposed to be a safety feature?
MontyVeda
a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
- Location
- Lancaster... the little city.
Same here... and they'd be the first to complain if car drivers don't dip from full beam when approaching.
I used to say "dip that light" when passing them but I think it goes in one ear and out the other.
Racing roadkill
Guru
I’m all stocked up again. I went for 2 more light sets, base layer, 2 pairs of leggings, 1 jersey, and a pair of socks. 80 ( odd ) quid all in, job jobbed.
- Location
- London
Is it a good idea to have so many USB light sets the same on the go? Aren't they going to degrade together?
I popped out in a northern deluge (all snug in a previous generation £20 Aldi waterproof jacket which I prefer to my Gore and I fear whose like we will not see again - should have grabbed a £10 one they once sold at a discount).
Bought a merino base layer and the MTB (but narrowish) saddle which looks promising - will try it on a tourer and get more for some self builds if it performs well.
Looked at the lights - that front was impressively bright but I was put off by a pretty much total lack of info on the packaging - nothing on the battery size or the beam - either pattern or info on power by any scale at all. Also the rear mount wouldn't suit my needs. Prefer the Lidl set with its info and the modest looking but handy rear - little shield-shaped thing that will slot into cateye mounts.
May be tempted if I see a discounted one in the future - might have been handy for pothole/puddle-pond spotting in a rural night ride tomorrow.
Passed on the insulated jacket I referred to above - may also grab if it comes down in price - it has padded shoulders - what's all that about?
edit - on the lights - although they both supposedly had a flash mode (one of the few bits of info on the packaging) I couldn't get it to kick in on eiher. Maybe the secret code press was hidden inside.
I popped out in a northern deluge (all snug in a previous generation £20 Aldi waterproof jacket which I prefer to my Gore and I fear whose like we will not see again - should have grabbed a £10 one they once sold at a discount).
Bought a merino base layer and the MTB (but narrowish) saddle which looks promising - will try it on a tourer and get more for some self builds if it performs well.
Looked at the lights - that front was impressively bright but I was put off by a pretty much total lack of info on the packaging - nothing on the battery size or the beam - either pattern or info on power by any scale at all. Also the rear mount wouldn't suit my needs. Prefer the Lidl set with its info and the modest looking but handy rear - little shield-shaped thing that will slot into cateye mounts.
May be tempted if I see a discounted one in the future - might have been handy for pothole/puddle-pond spotting in a rural night ride tomorrow.
Passed on the insulated jacket I referred to above - may also grab if it comes down in price - it has padded shoulders - what's all that about?
edit - on the lights - although they both supposedly had a flash mode (one of the few bits of info on the packaging) I couldn't get it to kick in on eiher. Maybe the secret code press was hidden inside.
Last edited:
glasgowcyclist
Charming but somewhat feckless
- Location
- Scotland
My local Aldi had no cycling stuff on offer on Sunday.
