Cree illumination

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andrew_s

Legendary Member
Location
Gloucester
Cree make the LED itself.
The driver board will also be Chinese, but probably not the same company as the light.

The LEDs aren't noticeably* brighter for the same power then they were a few years ago. The main improvement has been in running at higher power for longer without burning out. That doesn't affect bike lights much as the batteries are the same.

* the way the eye works means that you need quite a lot of extra light (lux), like about an extra 50%, before you'll be able to tell the difference without side by side comparisons.
 

wbmkk

Veteran
Although I have been a cyclist ever since my first Carlton racing bike for my 12th birthday (1970) I have not been riding in the dark for quite a while now, so never really had a need for lights.

Now, with a bit of a keep fit (more like get fit) regime I'm going to be doing more evening rides .. the gym is OK, but think I prefer out 'n about.

I therefore need some decent lights. Although probably 90% of the time I'll be riding on roads with street lights, I will still opt for good, reliable lights. I don't think I need USB rechargeable lights, but will use rechargeable batteries in whatever lights I buy

I had never heard of Cree lights. Does anybody have a link please to where I can buy them.

I've noticed a lot of cheap lights, so might even buy a couple of extra cheapie rear lights ... my theory is the rear lights are more important, for the cyclist. Even without a front light it always pretty easy to see where you are going and not often will you be hit head-on.
 

Tizme

Veteran
Location
Somerset
Cycling to work one morning at 0500 on an unlit country lane, my front light picked out a pair of eyes just above handlebar height, as I got closer the deer took off! Nearly sh** myself!
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
I've noticed a lot of cheap lights, so might even buy a couple of extra cheapie rear lights ... my theory is the rear lights are more important, for the cyclist. Even without a front light it always pretty easy to see where you are going and not often will you be hit head-on.
Flawed theory, sorry. IIRC, the most common cyclist injury collisions are being left-hooked, right-crossed, sideswiped (overtaker pulls in too soon), doored and T-boned.

If you do get hit from behind, especially on a rural A road, it's pretty lethal, but it's thankfully rare. Motorists are meant to avoid driving into even unlit objects in front of them and almost all do. Rear lights are a nicety and misguided legal requirement that CTC campaigned against.
 

crazyjoe101

New Member
Location
London
I have owned around 4 'Cree-type' lights, the 2 bog-standard far-east ones I had took a lot of abuse and broke quickly - not to mention the batteries which were extremely poor as the vast majority of any Li-ion battery packs included with any cheap light are. Some people have good results, some do not. I think these lights are OK to get you going quickly and cheaply but have some backup lighting.

I then tried a headlamp from candb-seen.co.uk which is essentially the same thing but put together a lot better - even so it too eventually fell to the abuses of regular winter and distance riding but lasted me a good 18 months, albeit with a mediocre battery.

I now use this light from candb-seen.co.uk which has a revised design over the last one, it is a compact tidy package with 1 bulb (this is more than enough to illuminate the road ahead) and comes with a robust mount that can be added optionally - I recommend both the light and the mount. I also have this lens to give a better beam shape.
I use a battery holder like this and fill it with 18650 cells from Torchy on Ebay who has some of the best rechargeable batteries available, the pack isn't perfect but mine works well enough as long as you remember not to leave the batteries in as it drains unprotected cells and can kill them. You could use a different pack or make your own.
 

T.M.H.N.E.T

Rainbows aren't just for world champions
Location
Northern Ireland
Candbseen stuff is great, my 5yo 1200lm front and 500lm "commuter kit" is still rocking.

I used the city slicker front for a while and it was again great. Handy charged, not so handy to change battery
 

MrGrumpy

Huge Member
Location
Fly Fifer
Just been looking at the City Slicker combo and thinking, that might be worth a punt ? Was tempted to splash out on some Exposure lights, my experience of the cheap Chinese stuff has not been very good. Yep like most things it all comes from China, but quality varies massively.
 

guitarpete247

Just about surviving
Location
Leicestershire
Starting to get a little hazy and dull throughout the day. I have a set of Aldi's COB (Moon Nebula copies) to, hopefully, make me more visible during the day. I don't do any night riding any more but I have the Aldi High Lumen light
upload_2018-9-4_12-4-54.jpeg

It's in reserve for when SWMBO'd lets me out at night :whistle:.
 

biggs682

Touch it up and ride it
Location
Northamptonshire
My base camp lamp seems to have given up the ghost so treated myself to a one of these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12000LM-...var=452947622592&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 , it only took a couple of days to turn up which was good .

Turned up very lightly wrapped in bubble wrap stuffed in an mail bag , i put it on charge straight away and it was good to go in about 5 hr's first run out was Sunday am and on full power it lasted for about the 100 minute mark which i was quite happy with , going to give it a couple more full cycle runs then try it on the lower settings and report back .
 

Custom24

Über Member
Location
Oxfordshire
I have owned around 4 'Cree-type' lights, the 2 bog-standard far-east ones I had took a lot of abuse and broke quickly - not to mention the batteries which were extremely poor as the vast majority of any Li-ion battery packs included with any cheap light are. Some people have good results, some do not. I think these lights are OK to get you going quickly and cheaply but have some backup lighting.

I then tried a headlamp from candb-seen.co.uk which is essentially the same thing but put together a lot better - even so it too eventually fell to the abuses of regular winter and distance riding but lasted me a good 18 months, albeit with a mediocre battery.

I now use this light from candb-seen.co.uk which has a revised design over the last one, it is a compact tidy package with 1 bulb (this is more than enough to illuminate the road ahead) and comes with a robust mount that can be added optionally - I recommend both the light and the mount. I also have this lens to give a better beam shape.
I use a battery holder like this and fill it with 18650 cells from Torchy on Ebay who has some of the best rechargeable batteries available, the pack isn't perfect but mine works well enough as long as you remember not to leave the batteries in as it drains unprotected cells and can kill them. You could use a different pack or make your own.

The torchy link doesn't work. People always recommend him but I can never find him
 
OP
OP
Jody

Jody

Stubborn git
Forgot about this thread. After reading I'm going to get a single LED and a lense for road duties so I can continue to use my battery pack. Hoped there may be some improvements over the last few years but it doesn't look like it.

The torchy link doesn't work. People always recommend him but I can never find him

http://www.torchy.co.uk/

Turned up very lightly wrapped in bubble wrap stuffed in an mail bag , i put it on charge straight away and it was good to go in about 5 hr's first run out was Sunday am and on full power it lasted for about the 100 minute mark which i was quite happy with , going to give it a couple more full cycle runs then try it on the lower settings and report back .

Great light which has lasted me a few years already. Quality differs depeing on who made it but I've been impressed with mine. I wouldn't run it on full anywhere other than an unlit trail/woodlands. If you're on the road keep it pointed well down and on low.
 

MrGrumpy

Huge Member
Location
Fly Fifer
My base camp lamp seems to have given up the ghost so treated myself to a one of these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12000LM-LED-Bicycle-Front-Light-Bike-Headlight-with-Rear-Warning-Lamp-Reflector/153104627928?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:blush:T&var=452947622592&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 , it only took a couple of days to turn up which was good .

Turned up very lightly wrapped in bubble wrap stuffed in an mail bag , i put it on charge straight away and it was good to go in about 5 hr's first run out was Sunday am and on full power it lasted for about the 100 minute mark which i was quite happy with , going to give it a couple more full cycle runs then try it on the lower settings and report back .
lol to myself in the quoted lumens in that link.
 
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