Front lights with 4+ hr life on full beam

[fossyant]

The Hope 1 is enough on Level 2 to see on a road.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

No longer have it but I always found the light output of the Hope Vision 1 plenty good enough for proper dark riding. 4 spare AAs are easy enough to carry but I did have a couple of niggles that saw me replace it.

1: a decent size pothole or bad road surface could see the battery hopper lose contact momentarily and cut the light.

2 there was no warning for the batteries going, one moment full light, next darkness, no tail off in intensity or flashing warning to give you chance stop and get the spares out.

 

[Dogtrousers]

there was no warning for the batteries going, one moment full light, next darkness, no tail off in intensity or flashing warning to give you chance stop and get the spares out.

Mine flashes when the battery is going. May be a more recent model.

 

[fossyant]

Mine flashes when the battery is going. May be a more recent model.

The newer model does tell you of a low battery.

 

[si_c]

I use a fenix bc-30 for commuting, it uses 2x18650s which last between 11-20 hours on low/medium, and at 500 lumen it lasts around 5 hours. Plus I can carry a spare set of batteries with me too, 500 lumen is more than enough, and most of the time I run at 200.

 

[Blue Hills]

I use a Hope Vision 1 on Friday Night rides to the Coast. It takes AAs but I've never had it run out on me, even on winter night rides. I only put it on full beam when needed, which isn't all that often. I'm afraid I don't know how many lumens it does.

I've never done the Dun Run itself but I have cycled the Dun Run route at night, and my Hope Vision one was fine.

PS I did the FNRttC Cardiff-Swansea this weekend with a Cateye Volt, (as the Hope won't go on skinny Brompton handlebars) which was quite cheap and was fine. But it was a very short night.

Plus 1 to all of this. I have used the old vision 1 on a dun run, didn't actually need full power for all of the run. One battery pack easily lasted all night - after all it comes light very early. I had a spare pack (just slots in) all charged up - no need to faff around with mid ride usb charging. And i didn't need the second pack anyway. And of course the current vision 1 lasts longer than the one i used. Often available at a good price from ribble, particularly when you can apply one of their general discounts to it. A light for life. Rekax, brains, your search is over.

 

[Blue Hills]

Only drawback of the Hope is the mounting system can be a little fiddly if you want to use it on bikes with different diameter bars. I like Lezyne's stretchy plastic mounting for that.

I agree that the vision 1 mount needs sorting pronto. A bit of a lab prototype lab bodge in my view. I'd still, like you, recommend it though.

 

[Ajax Bay]

I said I had old Magicshine (MJ808). The Road cc review page I've linked to has a useful 'what does the illumination really look like' comparison function. Try the Magicshine 900 (£50 maybe) against the Hope 1 (edit: price less than it was).

 

[Blue Hills]

Not sure where you get that pricing from on the hope.

https://www.evanscycles.com/hope-vi...esvaid=50080&gclid=CPvn4pPOy80CFdUW0wodsmEFSg

Though i noticed that ribble no longer sell it but now sell more expensive overkill for many applications hope lights. Possible that like so much decent bike stuff it is set to be discontinued?

 

[Wobblers]

As others have said, you really don't need 600 lumens. I'd uggest the Dusch & Muller Ixon IQ Premium - it will last 4 to 5 hours on a set of decent nickel metal hydride AA batteries. Since it complies with the German regulations, it has a nice shaped beam that puts the light on the road where you need it. I'm quite happy to do 30 mph+ descents with just it. It cheaper if you import it from Germany (only trouble is, it's not quite so cheap now that the pound has fallen against the euro....)

The Hope Vision 1 is another good AA powered light, as has been said. It will certainly last about 3 hours on full, except you're unlikely to need that much light. Going down one or two steps will still give you plenty of light and the batteries will last all night. The new model does have a low battery warning

It's a very good idea to have a second light as backup. It doesn't need to be that expensive, something like the Smart Lunar 60 would be fine: it's almost good enough on its own. I think you can still get them cheaply from Planet X.

 

[Blue Hills]

+1 to pairing with that smart light.

 

[Brains]

OK having spent an evening going through ALL your recommendations, for which many thanks, I've finally gone with the "Hope Vision 1"
(£64 from Evans was cheapest)

I'll take a couple of sets of spare AA's so I can keep it on full power if I want all night
And I'm taking a head torch as well

 

[Milkfloat]

OK having spent an evening going through ALL your recommendations, for which many thanks, I've finally gone with the "Hope Vision 1"
(£64 from Evans was cheapest)

I'll take a couple of sets of spare AA's so I can keep it on full power if I want all night
And I'm taking a head torch as well

You can get it cheaper and with the charger and batteries at:

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/p...on_1_LED_2013_Light_Batteries_and_Charger_Kit

 

[Dogtrousers]

And I'm taking a head torch as well

Head torch is extremely useful if you have a mechanical but do remember that you are wearing it and don't point it into people's faces unless you want to be unpopular.

 

[Brains]

You can get it cheaper and with the charger and batteries at:

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/p...on_1_LED_2013_Light_Batteries_and_Charger_Kit

That is the rechargeable battery version. I have gone for the version that runs on conventional AA's