Best back up Audax light?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
I know this forum is mainly about rides rather than kit but I would like advice from experienced Audaxers please.

I am getting my 'Audax bike' in the spring and it will have a dynohub driven front light - probably a Schmidt Edelux. I have one already on my tourer and love it. However, I also want a good front light I can use at present for night rides on my road bike which will serve as a secondary/back up light on the audax bike in the future. I don't want to be reliant on mains recharging for this light so it needs to be able to run on alkaline AAs if pushed. I suppose the main contender is a Hope Vision One but wondered if there were any other lights I should consider. Also, does anyone know how running a HV1 on alkaline cells compares to NiMH cells?

Thanks
 

vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
I use a Cateye TLD1100. It does the job admirably and does not noticeably deplete the cash reserves.
 
OP
OP
middleagecyclist

middleagecyclist

Call me MAC
"The one you've got with you" is the obvious answer. I've now used a 3W LED light I bought from 7dayshop.com on a couple of night rides. It's the business. I paid a fiver, but you'll have to stump out £6.49.
http://www.7dayshop.com/7dayshop-bike-light-and-hand-torch-ultra-high-power-3-watt-cree-led-front-bicycle-flashlight-with-mount-blue-ring?q=bike lght&sl=sl
£6.49!! Seems to good to be true and what a great price. I've got to wonder though do you lose anything with reliability/quality compared to more expensive units?
 

potsy

Rambler
Location
My Armchair
If you want something reliable and easy to use then the HV1 is ideal, bit pricey for the lumens of light it produces compared to some others though.
I have 2 which have served me well for nearly 3 years, have only recently got myself a more powerful main light and now have the Hopes as back-up :thumbsup:
 

srw

It's a bit more complicated than that...
£6.49!! Seems to good to be true and what a great price. I've got to wonder though do you lose anything with reliability/quality compared to more expensive units?
Page dellzeqq of this parish. He's the guru of night riding, and recommends one.
and, finally, if you can find one of these you've got yourself a bargain....From time to time front lights with 3w Cree emitters turn up. This one, from 7dayshop, is about six pounds. It's well able to light your way, but you'll need to carry spare batteries.
http://fnrttc.blogspot.co.uk/p/lights.html
And, for what it's worth, I think he's wrong about the batteries - though 3 AAAs take up no room and weigh nothing in an audax context.

The quality isn't as good as something more expensive, but then again you won't need it. Your main light needs to break down first, and if you're running a hub dynamo that won't happen quickly. Where you lose out is first of all the ethics of manufacture (though I probably wouldn't enquire too closely about the factories Cateye uses) and secondly the quality of the beam - there's not much effort to focus and direct all the light that's produced.
 
OP
OP
middleagecyclist

middleagecyclist

Call me MAC
"The one you've got with you" is the obvious answer. I've now used a 3W LED light I bought from 7dayshop.com on a couple of night rides. It's the business. I paid a fiver, but you'll have to stump out £6.49.
http://www.7dayshop.com/7dayshop-bike-light-and-hand-torch-ultra-high-power-3-watt-cree-led-front-bicycle-flashlight-with-mount-blue-ring?q=bike lght&sl=sl
Ahh, bugger it. I've just ordered two. If they don't do they job for me they'll make great Christmas pressies!

Thanks
 

vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
Thanks Vernon but isn't the TLD1100 a rear light?

In which case the matching front light the EL 500 or 530 does a half decent job. I am too trusting perhaps and don't take a backup front light apart as there's next to now to go wrong. I know that I'm tempting fate but the Shimano and SON hub dynamos that I use have good reputations for reliability as do the lumicycle lamps.
 
OP
OP
middleagecyclist

middleagecyclist

Call me MAC
In which case the matching front light the EL 500 or 530 does a half decent job. I am too trusting perhaps and don't take a backup front light apart as there's next to now to go wrong. I know that I'm tempting fate but the Shimano and SON hub dynamos that I use have good reputations for reliability as do the lumicycle lamps.
Yep. I've got a SON and Schmidt Edelux on my tourer/commuter and it is fit and forget. Thing is it's rarely used anywhere it is completely dark so if it did fail a little blinkie would suffice to get me home. I want to put a bike and kit together for night rides in the middle of nowhere including the LEL. I would feel better with a back up light 'just in case'. And anyway, I still need a decent battery light for night rides on my road bike until the Hewitt becomes mine!
 

vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
Yep. I've got a SON and Schmidt Edelux on my tourer/commuter and it is fit and forget. Thing is it's rarely used anywhere it is completely dark so if it did fail a little blinkie would suffice to get me home. I want to put a bike and kit together for night rides in the middle of nowhere including the LEL. I would feel better with a back up light 'just in case'. And anyway, I still need a decent battery light for night rides on my road bike until the Hewitt becomes mine!

After a weekend purchase of a an almost new dynamo hubbed front wheel and light , all three of my road going bikes - a tourer/expedition, a Dave Yates' Randonneur audax bike and a Trevor Jarvis Flying Gate replica are all now fitted with dynamo hubs and I can now take any of them out for late night riding in total darkness. There will be a couple of occasions where protracted faffing will see me scurrying through the pitch black byroads of North Yorkshire November/December/January. It's a great experience.
 
OP
OP
middleagecyclist

middleagecyclist

Call me MAC
Right. As per the above comments I've now got two of these:

prod_112868.jpg

For the cost I think they are great little bits of kit. The majority of time I'll use them for night rides on the road bike with rechargeables and I'll take one as a spare on dark audax rides. What rechargeable cells are people using with these lights for best effect please?
 
Top Bottom