Darkness descending on us all.

[dudi]

I'm not being bleak, but they days are getting shorter, and it won't be long until I am commuting in the dark again.

I want to buy some new lights, decent-ish ones. nothing too big or fancy though. The majority of my journey is on well lit roads, but there is a section of poorly lit, fast roads that I go on in the mornings.

I quite like the look of the Topeak Combolite set, but fear they are not going to be bright enough... Ideally I am looking for a light that is secure enough to be mounted upside down on the bars, as I have aero bars fitted which restrict the mounting options.

Anyone got any suggestions for a nice, bright set of lights??

 

[hackbike 6]

Eh? I had my lights on all year round.

 

[Plax]

I have Smart 10w and 5w halogen lights. Bright enough for me on rural roads and they are currently resifing on the Minoura space saver I have.

 

[wafflycat]

I have 2 x Cateye EL530s and they are plenty bright enough. By shopping around online I managed to get the pair for only £10 more than buying a single one.

 

[HLaB]

I just bought some BSpoke lights, I am impressed with their output, especially the 1/2 watt front light, though if money was no issue I think I'd go for Ayups and dinotte.

 

[MrGrumpy]

from my own experience if your only pootling along some of these low cost LED type lights are all you will probably need, however if you cruise along at 18mph+ i`d suggest something along the lines of the ayups or something of similar light output. Me myself got a set of Cateye tripleshots last year in the sale much much brighter !

 

[BentMikey]

Serious lighting would be either the Ayups, or two x Fenix P3D or L2D. I have two of the Fenix, and they are amazingly bright. Chris N and I had similar-ish lighting setups on the Dun Run, and we were probably amongst the very brightest of the setups there that we saw. Riding together side by side, the lighting levels were like being sat in a car. 30mph descents, no problem.

 

[papercorn2000]

Ayups.

Otherwise, there's a decent light review in this month's C+ magazine.

+1, tiny but very bright. Choice of colours and the battery lasts for ages between charges.

 

[HJ]

+1, tiny but very bright. Choice of colours and the battery lasts for ages between charges.

Having seen Goo's AyUps today, I can conferm they really are tiny...

 

[PBancroft]

I have 2 x Cateye EL530s

Same here.

Actually, I have 1 x EL530 and I intend to purchase a second one before it gets really dark.

I also have an LD1100 for the rear... again, I intend to get a second one.

At the moment, my secondary lights are the Topeak Highlite combo, which I will probably leave on anyway. The redlite is fixed to my helmet, the front light to my stem.

 

[mikeitup]

re

Ayups all the way!!!

 

[BentMikey]

Cateye EL530's are like a candle in the rain compared with either the Ayups or Fenix lights. I have 2 x EL530s and 2 x Fenix P3D. No contest, not even slightly close. One Fenix is not only brighter, but it's a much better spread of light, rather than the tight spot of the EL530.

 

[dudi]

Cheers guys, been looking at your suggestions.
Bent Mikey, what setting do you use on the p3d? how bright is 12 lumens?

I think ayups are just too pricy for me.

 

[BentMikey]

Push one is fine for urban riding, but if I'm going on some dark lanes I'll go with push 2 (53 lumens) or 3 (120 lumens). Push 1 is not as bright as an EL530, but the other two are more bright.

BTW, I seem to remember reading that Tescos do a version of the Fenix L2D for like a tenner. That would be my first choice on a budget, plus it uses normal AA batteries rather than the lithium ones the P series use. The lithium ones aren't too expensive though, I get a pack off eBay for not very much.

 

[Piemaster]

Cheers guys, been looking at your suggestions.
Bent Mikey, what setting do you use on the p3d? how bright is 12 lumens?

http://www.glowgadgets.co.uk

'Doc' has some videos on his site comparing outputs and settings of various (Fenix) torches.

I got my Fenix, rechargeables and lockblocks from him. Pleasant guy to deal with as well.

edit: If you want to stick to AA batteries the L2D has almost identical output except for the 'turbo' mode to the P3D (180 / 215 lumens)