Front light for seeing with?

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HovR

Über Member
Location
Plymouth

all i am sure is i dont want a battery pack on the bike !

The one you've linked unfortunately has a battery pack strapped to the bike, however the one I've linked above uses the same emitter but with no external battery pack.
 

biggs682

Itching to get back on my bike's
Location
Northamptonshire
The one you've linked unfortunately has a battery pack strapped to the bike, however the one I've linked above uses the same emitter but with no external battery pack.
i looked at the one you linked but just not happy with it voming that far and all the aggro if it gets lost all last a couple of weeks never mind the charger, and i need it sooner rather than later .

and re battery pack is a pain but they get some very good reviews on singletrack forum that a mate goes on so will see
 
I picked up the Smart 35 lux for £20 or so; didn't expect much but I was very pleased with its illumination levels for the price and I do a reasonable amount of riding on unlit country lanes. I do tend to have second (weaker smart Polaris) on flashing alongside, wheter or not it helps :wacko:
 

musa

Über Member
Location
Surrey
buy a better battery bag and strap it to the under of the stem thats what ive done but my t6 is knackered but functional cant justify another 30 quid when all i need is the light unit itself
 

Crankarm

Guru
Location
Nr Cambridge
Hello

What's the smallest amount I can expect to pay for a decent light?

I need something to illuminate a dark road. My current led lights are only really for being seen...

Ta

These threads make me LoL. The saying is buy cheap by twice. Get yourself a powerful UK light such as made by Lupine, Hope or Exposure, there are other good makes as well. But you ain't going to get a good or partciularly long lasting one for £25 - 30 ! LoL. The Cateye Nano+ looks interesting but at only 600 Lumens it is mere a candle in comparison to a Lupine, Hope 4 or Exposure Max D. There is no substitute for quality.
 

HovR

Über Member
Location
Plymouth
i looked at the one you linked but just not happy with it voming that far and all the aggro if it gets lost all last a couple of weeks never mind the charger, and i need it sooner rather than later .

Fair enough, but I back up the seller and quality of the torch + charger.

Even after I dropped the torch from head height on to solid concrete there was nothing but superficial paint damage, and I've taken apart the charger (which I've been using for the past 10 months no issues) and the workmanship and soldering is of reasonable quality (no tails left long, nice solid connections).

I believe it was @Arjimlad of this parish who bought another model of torch from the same seller, and when his had a fault they replaced it free of cost without requesting he send the faulty one back. Top notch service. :smile:
 

Crankarm

Guru
Location
Nr Cambridge
I picked up the Smart 35 lux for £20 or so; didn't expect much but I was very pleased with its illumination levels for the price and I do a reasonable amount of riding on unlit country lanes. I do tend to have second (weaker smart Polaris) on flashing alongside, wheter or not it helps :wacko:

Yeah I bought one of these, three actually, 2x on the handlebars and one as a spare. I thought they were good ................ until I bought my Exposure Max D. Wow! The contrast is like night and day. A couple of days ago I left my Max D at home and used the old Smart lights to get home as I carry them as back up just in case (never needed them in 8 months but they double up ok as a torch when going through my pannier in the dark) anyway I could hardly see anything riding home with the Smart 35 luxs which are really quite weedy now I have a proper light. You carry on HLab, but you have yet to see the light so to speak. When I was knocked down I had x2 SMart Luxs on my bike. I guess they weren't bright enough. A Max D Mk5 1600 Lumens is. And a genuine 1600 Lumens. It gets you noticed even on the minimum setting. Most comments on seeing it are "F*****g hell that's a bright light!" My reply is "That's the idea mate/luv!"

I also just purchased an Exposure Rear Red Eye light which is fantastic. Wowweeee bright! It's like a car fog light on steroids. I have several Astrium 1/2W rear lights which are pretty bright but this Red Eye is something else. I plug it into one of Exposure's triple cell batteries so it could last months before dimming. It is so small as well but if you are approaching it it looks a lot larger as it has a diffuser lens cover.
 

HovR

Über Member
Location
Plymouth
These threads make me LoL. The saying is by cheap by twice. Get yourself a powerful UK light such as made by Lupine, Hope or Exposure, there are other good makes as well. But you ain't going to get a good or partciularly long lasting one for £25 - 30 ! LoL. The Cateye Nano+ looks interesting but at only 600 Lumens it is mere a candle in comparison to a Lupine, Hope 4 or Exposure Max D. There is no substitute for quality.

With the 'powerful UK lights' at the prices they are, I honestly don't mind buying twice!

For the price of some of the big lights you could buy 15 Keygos KE1's, and if they only last a year each.. Who cares? Within less than 5 years lighting technology will have moved on and a £300 light bought now will be old tech. :thumbsup:
 
Yeah I bought one of these, three actually, 2x on the handlebars and one as a spare. I thought they were good ................ until I bought my Exposure Max D. Wow! The contrast is like night and day. A couple of days ago I left my Max D at home and used the old Smart lights to get home as I carry them as back up just in case (never needed them in 8 months but they double up ok as a torch when going through my pannier in the dark) anyway I could hardly see anything riding home with the Smart 35 luxs which are really quite weedy now I have a proper light. You carry on HLab, but you have yet to see the light so to speak. When I was knocked down I had x2 SMart Luxs on my bike. I guess they weren't bright enough. A Max D Mk5 1600 Lumens is. And a genuine 1600 Lumens. It gets you noticed even on the minimum setting. Most comments on seeing it are "F*****g hell that's a bright light!" My reply is "That's the idea mate/luv!"
I expect they are weak in comparison to something more expensive but they are certainly more than adequate for me; with some prats out there, I doubt you can blame your accident on them however. Safe Riding
 

Crankarm

Guru
Location
Nr Cambridge
With the 'powerful UK lights' at the prices they are, I honestly don't mind buying twice!

For the price of some of the big lights you could buy 15 Keygos KE1's, and if they only last a year each.. Who cares? Within less than 5 years lighting technology will have moved on and a £300 light bought now will be old tech. :thumbsup:

Yeah, but how wide are your bike's handle handle bars?
 

Crankarm

Guru
Location
Nr Cambridge
I expect they are weak in comparison to something more expensive but they are certainly more than adequate for me; with some prats out there, I doubt you can blame your accident on them however. Safe Riding

Fair enough HLab. You are a good sort so if you are happy with your lights then that's fine.

But ..........
 

HovR

Über Member
Location
Plymouth
Yeah, but how wide are your bike's handle handle bars?

Wide enough to fit two KE1's on, which is more than adequate probably over the top - In fact bordering on illegal (if both were on high mode, angled up) due to dazzling when on the roads. I use one as high beam and one as dipped beam. :smile:
 

Crankarm

Guru
Location
Nr Cambridge
With the 'powerful UK lights' at the prices they are, I honestly don't mind buying twice!

For the price of some of the big lights you could buy 15 Keygos KE1's, and if they only last a year each.. Who cares? Within less than 5 years lighting technology will have moved on and a £300 light bought now will be old tech. :thumbsup:

Yeah, but by your reasoning the future new tech will be postively awesome, lights powerful enough even to melt ice and snow so you don't need studded tyres in winter making roads and cycle paths much much safer. You could also vaporise taxis, WVM or buses that close pass, pull out on you or cut you up ;). The point is having a proper light that you can properly see by and be seen. If you commute/ride everyday in all weathers it makes sense to buy something high spec and up to the job.
 

HovR

Über Member
Location
Plymouth
Yeah, but by your reasoning the future new tech will be postively awesome, lights powerful enough even to melt ice and snow so you don't need studded tyres in winter making roads and cycle paths much much safer. You could also vaporise taxis, WVM or buses that close pass, pull out on you or cut you up ;).

Or perhaps a light that's as bright as current top end lights, with a proper beam pattern suited to the road, and a proper dip switch/cutoff for the high beam. Far fetched, right? These £300 MTB lights we are marketed really aren't properly suited to the road.

The point is having a proper light that you can properly see by and be seen.

Yup, mine tick those boxes. :smile:
 
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