Front light buying help needed

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HJ

Cycling in Scotland
Location
Auld Reekie
Length of commute = time, if you are doing a longer commute you don't want the lights to fail half way...
 

shouldbeinbed

Rollin' along
Location
Manchester way
HJ said:
Length of commute = time, if you are doing a longer commute you don't want the lights to fail half way...


ok, but decent batteries? also every battery is going to run out at some time so carry spares, or have a spare light if it's a 3 pin charge jobby. I'm dubious about the logic that a short commute means cheapo lights

cheapo lights = crappo lights (comparitively)= less visibility and more danger whether riding 1 mile or 20.
 

HJ

Cycling in Scotland
Location
Auld Reekie
shouldbeinbed said:
ok, but decent batteries? also every battery is going to run out at some time so carry spares, or have a spare light if it's a 3 pin charge jobby. I'm dubious about the logic that a short commute means cheapo lights

cheapo lights = crappo lights (comparitively)= less visibility and more danger whether riding 1 mile or 20.

I agree, which is why I use these, not cheap but well worth the money. I would like to see more people using such lights.

Then again the important thing is that people use at least some lights, even cheapo lights are better then no lights, although not by much...
 

Steve Austin

The Marmalade Kid
Location
Mlehworld
I don't want to split hairs HJ, as i think your lights are very good. but they are not road legal are they. and not visible from the side, so you'll need to run other lights in tandem with the lights you already have.

I use a £30 cateye to comply with Road laws, and then one or two tescos torches to give me the ability to see where i am going. if it was a long trip i might use my Hope Vison II, but i mainly use that for off road
 

HJ

Cycling in Scotland
Location
Auld Reekie
Yep they can be backed up by £5 "road legal" lights which have the light output of a candle in a jam jar.

What do you mean they are "not visible from the side"? This photo was taken from the side, do you have any difficulty in seeing them?

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You can't use you Tesco torch as a rear light, and if you want to get the same level of out put at the front you would need a Hope Vison IV...

I find they are also very useful for making my self more visible during the day.
 

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Steve Austin

The Marmalade Kid
Location
Mlehworld
I guess as long as you are riding alongside a white wall, you'll always be visible :tongue:

So how much does your light set up cost? Because i know for a fact that its beyond the pocket of most. I bet it costs more than peoples bikes..
 

HJ

Cycling in Scotland
Location
Auld Reekie
Steve Austin said:
I guess as long as you are riding alongside a white wall, you'll always be visible :smile:

No they illuminate the road, the rear one in particular is angled down to shine on the road directly behind the bike and highly effective.

Steve Austin said:
So how much does your light set up cost? Because i know for a fact that its beyond the pocket of most. I bet it costs more than peoples bikes..

Unfortunately at the present time there is no one stocking these lights in the UK, so have to order direct from the USA. When I bought mine I was caught out by a sudden drop in the pound, but at the end of the day after extras like Duty, VAT and the handling charge which the Royal Mail levy for collecting the Duty and VAT, they came to about £300.

I know of one person on here who bought a set after seeing mine in action. It really depends on what value you want to put on your life, I notice that drivers give me a lot more room on the road when I am using them.
 
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