Front light

[stumpy66]

Im looking for a front light for my tourer, an y recommendations. I have a handlebar bag so cant be bar mounted. Preferrably just a battery operated one, im not looking to use a dynamo hub etc

 

[samid]

I use B&M IXON (like this but I have an older model) which is not bad. There's also a bracket that is supposed to allow to mount it on the fork under the bar bag, I recently purchased it and am waiting for it to arrive, will let you know how it works when it gets here (hopefully within a week).

 

[Crankarm]

Exposure Max D Mk 3 or 4. Briiiiight! 1200 or 1400 Lumens. Can be mounted anywhere providing you have a suitable bracket.

 

[stumpy66]

Exposure Max D Mk 3 or 4. Briiiiight! 1200 or 1400 Lumens. Can be mounted anywhere providing you have a suitable bracket.

And a suitable credit rating

 

[Nick Stevenson]

I use a Cateye single shot plus like this;

Wasn't cheap at around £80 last year but is good enough on road and badly lit streets. Use a few tracks on my commute with no lighting and it gives a good spread of light, enough to react to folks walking their dogs and the like.

 

[aitch]

i use a torch(your choice)cable tied to my helmet it's high up so can be seen well above the height of parked cars,it's not in the way of anything either

 

[Norm]

i use a torch(your choice)cable tied to my helmet it's high up so can be seen well above the height of parked cars,it's not in the way of anything either

You need to be very careful with stuff like that, especially using cable ties. Done badly, it can render any protection a helmet could offer as useless by creating a pressure point which will go straight through the polystyrene n an impact and a snag point which will break your neck rather than slide if you fall off.

 

[aitch]

valid point norm,i use the thin ties which wolud break more quickly should i come off and the torch is one of the smaller of the breed but as you say things could turn nasty....if

 

[Norm]

I try not to pre-judge such set ups, aitch, not having seen it and not knowing where and how it's done.

I use a head torch mounted on a band myself, but I'm careful with the positioning and the band is both elasticated and closed with Velcro, so I hope it would come off in an accident. I still consider the benefits of a head torch outweigh then risks.

However, I do, I'm afraid, feel a need to point it the potential risks, whether for people who already use helmet-mounts or for people who read about them and set something up for themselves.

 

[bof]

Unless you are planning long days' rides outside of summer, surely you only need a torch for your tent or to navigate your way to and from the pub? A head-torch with decent LEDs can be had for a few quid. Head-mounted lighting is not very good for cycling distances though - you want the source of light to be far away form your eyes as possible so you get to pick out shadows of things like potholes.

An alternative to bike lighting is FENIX torches for which you can buy a mount or tie it down with plastic ties (possibly) to your handlebar bag. £40 or so plus under a tenner for a mount buys you something with plenty of power, a range of illumination settings, decent battery life using AAs and ruggedness - personally I will never buy a flimsy Cateye again.

 

[stumpy66]

Thanks for the replies guys

 

[The Brewer]

I read THIS and bought THIS.

It arrived today and seems to be the bees knees

 

[BalkanExpress]

Im looking for a front light for my tourer, an y recommendations. I have a handlebar bag so cant be bar mounted. Preferrably just a battery operated one, im not looking to use a dynamo hub etc

Stumpy,

If you bar bag uses a Rixen and Kaul (Klickfix) fitting you can get an add on for the bracket which lets you mount the light above the bag (provided the bag is on the horizontal)

 

[stumpy66]

Stumpy,

If you bar bag uses a Rixen and Kaul (Klickfix) fitting you can get an add on for the bracket which lets you mount the light above the bag (provided the bag is on the horizontal)

Sounds good, its an ortilieb bar bag so should be ok, ill check it out, thanks

 

[BalkanExpress]

Sounds good, its an ortilieb bar bag so should be ok, ill check it out, thanks

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/rixen-and-kaul-accessory-holder-prod22905/

It helps if the bar bag is horizontal. When I first fitted mine, I had the bracket as 30ish degrees as the instructions say and the beam of the light did not clear the top edge of the bag .

However, in use the bracket moves down, until the slack in the wire is taken up and holds everything in place, and it now works fine

[edited for the right link]