front light?

[young Ed]

so as the days draw shorter i need a real front light as in one that lets me see the road etc rather than just let drivers see me
would this be any good?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4X-CREE-X...K_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item4acc1a495d
anyone got one? would it let me ride in pitch darkness and/or midnight?
Cheers Ed

 

[Shut Up Legs]

I've been using the Moon X-Power 500 for several years, and it's bright, waterproof and reliable. This model is no longer available, now superseded by the X-Power 700. It costs about £72, and is worth the price.

 

[KneesUp]

As I understand it the multiple LED ones are far too bright to use on-road without risking blinding oncoming traffic. Of course if you're hooning about off-road as you young types do, it'll be great.

 

[potsy]

Overkill for road use Ed, plus the battery life would be short.
Look at the Solarstorm type ones or as Victor says a decent light like Moon.

 

[Kestevan]

Just bought one of these for Mrs Kes:
http://www.7dayshop.com/products/7d...av&utm_source=tms&tmcv=52&tmcs=srvvymo&tmty=e

It's plenty bright enough to hoon around on unlit roads/trails, and the build quality appears excellent for the money (the connectors and battery pack are well sealed, and the mounting straps are sturdy unlike some of the other Chinese lights I've seen).

 

[jowwy]

I've been using the Moon X-Power 500 for several years, and it's bright, waterproof and reliable. This model is no longer available, now superseded by the X-Power 700. It costs about £72, and is worth the price.

I use two moon 300's, cracking lights at £45 each at the moment

 

[F1fan]

As I understand it the multiple LED ones are far too bright to use on-road without risking blinding oncoming traffic. Of course if you're hooning about off-road as you young types do, it'll be great.

I have 2 Gemini Xera lights on the front of my bike both up to 800 lumens. Slight overkill you may think as I ride on light roads but I have never had a complaint about the brightness of them dazzling other road users, as long as you have them at the right angle facing downwards there shouldn't be a problem, they are very pricy but worth it, very long battery life.

 

[young Ed]

what about something like this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007ZXUUOG/ref=sr_ph?ie=UTF8&qid=1412103645&sr=1&keywords=torch
and this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Holder-Bicy...n-Cycling/dp/B00ADLUDSA/ref=pd_bxgy_diy_img_y

my brother has this particular torch and it's bright and doesn't seem of a bad build quality
Cheers Ed
P.S: oh and yes this is for road use

 

[KneesUp]

I'm going to order one of these I think

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140744146377

 

[young Ed]

I'm going to order one of these I think

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140744146377

please do and then tell me if i should order one!
Cheers Ed

 

[mjr]

As I often seem to ask around this time of year, why not buy a good German- standards compliant light? Fairly cheap, easy to see with and legal on their own AFAIK, unlike many of the off road lights sold in the UK now which have to be aimed downwards and used with something else to satisfy the legal requirements.

 

[maltloaf]

I'm going to order one of these I think

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140744146377

I have two of those on different bikes (although not from that seller) and love them. The beam is amazing for the money.

I rode all last winter on them in all weathers and at the price only expected them to last one season but they are still as good as new.

I had no problem riding completely unlit country roads on them. There's a "well" of light which I angle a metre or so in front of the front wheel which allows me to see potholes etc plus the main beam is off into the distance.

 

[young Ed]

As I often seem to ask around this time of year, why not buy a good German- standards compliant light? Fairly cheap, easy to see with and legal on their own AFAIK, unlike many of the off road lights sold in the UK now which have to be aimed downwards and used with something else to satisfy the legal requirements.

could you link me to a such light?
Cheers Ed

 

[mjr]

could you link me to a such light?
Cheers Ed

I'm not up to date with current models but http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/...ng-set-234688?currency=3&delivery_country=190 is one possibility.

The other way is to wait for a German supermarket to do a bike special offer event and check the boxes for K numbers and German-standard Lux ratings (I'd want over 30 IMO).

I'm surprised to see sets from Sigma (Lightster LED + Cuberider II) and Cateye (HL-EL 340 G RC/TL-LD 260 G) also in the Bike-Discount category now. Those should be available easily in UK stores but the HL-EL 340 in some looks like it may have a different lens (so not meet the standard). Wiggle want about as much for the G version as Bike-Discount wants for the whole set. This really shouldn't be so fiddly, but I don't think many UK riders care about the lighting laws and the police don't enforce them at the moment as far as I know, so it'll only come up if you crash and any other party's lawyers realises your lights weren't legal. :-/

 

[Easytigers]

I have two of those on different bikes (although not from that seller) and love them. The beam is amazing for the money.

I rode all last winter on them in all weathers and at the price only expected them to last one season but they are still as good as new.

I had no problem riding completely unlit country roads on them. There's a "well" of light which I angle a metre or so in front of the front wheel which allows me to see potholes etc plus the main beam is off into the distance.

Also have one of these and they are really good value for money...mine has lasted the last two winters