Front lights

[goo_mason]

Ay-Ups. Been running mine for three years now all year round, and other than a wire that broke where it connected with the battery after a year (which Ay-Up replaced without a quibble), they've performed faultlessly.

 

[Gandalf]

I'm also very happy with Ayups, the built quality is superb.

My only slight grumble is the lack of any led or some other means to determine how much charge is left.

I also think they could do with a less bright 'commuting' setting to prolong battery life.

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

EDIT: Candle power != Lumens.

Annoying, isn't it. My front lights are rated by the manufacturer in Lux, but it doesn't even state at what distance, let alone over what angle, so the figure is totally bl**dy meaningless.

What I want to know is "how many watts?" and "over what angle?" (both vertically and horizontally), then I would have some basis for comparison. Does any manufacturer or supplier actually tell you this?

 

[clutterydrawer]

I don't know if this is any use to anyone...but I got a few 21-LED torches from Maplins, made my own brackets, and fixed them all along my handlebars. My route is entirely unlit country roads and I find them very effective. Also cheaper and more reliale than the other cycle lights I've used.

 

[semislickstick]

...and to chuck another light in for you to consider if you want to use AA batteries...

Busch & Muller Ixon IQ £55-£80

depending where you get it (bike24 was good when I got mine)

I cycle mostly on unlit country roads and paths, in lots of rain, I'm happy with it, good rectangular beam pattern, two settings, first one is the German minimum cycle requirement 10 lux, still ok enough to get you through unlit areas, claimed 20 hours, high setting 40 lux lasts 4-5 hours, very good for unlit roads. Good thing is it reverts to the low setting when the batteries get low, giving you at least 20 mins on 10lux, could have been an hour, it's never gone out on me. (it also has the same light bracket as the smart lunar)
They also do a model that comes with rechargeable batteries and a plug and jack to charge the light directly.

 

[dellzeqq]

Really? Wow. My Hopes have been absolutely drowned in wet weather, Brighton fnrttc for a start and never had any problems.
The guys & customer service at Hope are are second to none. I am sure they would want to hear about that and would be very helpful.

I've sent it back.......

I know the Cateye 530 isn't as bright, but I've had one of mine for five years, and it's done all kinds of mileage in the wet without complaint.

 

[Cubist]

If you want seriously bright, dimmable, versatile light, go for the Magicshine 816 1400. Follow this link and scroll right down to the bottom picture of the first post. It shows the mainP7 emitter beam plus the two XPE mouse ears on. They give a wide flood with he main burn in the middle. You will not spend a better 80 quid if you ride where it's pitch black. The dimmer switch function makes it more suitable on road than its 900 stablemate.
http://forums.mtbr.c...ted-601973.html

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

Cateye do the Single Shot Plus - EL610. I've got one and it's pretty good for unlit paths. It's fine for about 25mph. You could probably go faster with it, but I'm the cautious type.

Having said that, for that sort of price, there are alternatives - the Magicshine's get good reviews on here though I've never used them.

The EL610 was the reason I bought the MagicShine (Hawking - Same Thing)

My EL610 rattles about on its bracket to the extent that it has even switched itself off over a pothole - I thought for the money, a rattly mounting was abysmal, and I have been put off any Cateye lights in future

 

[fossyant]

Really? Wow. My Hopes have been absolutely drowned in wet weather, Brighton fnrttc for a start and never had any problems.
The guys & customer service at Hope are are second to none. I am sure they would want to hear about that and would be very helpful.

+1 - Both mine have been drowned many times. Had one switch fail on one of them just after purchase, and Wiggle exchanged. No trouble in last 2.5 years

 

[Bay Runner]

Thanks for your views guys.
I will let your know how I get on.

Cheers

 

[Parrot of Doom]

I've been using my Hope Vision 2 LED since 2007/2008, it is exceptional. Very easy to keep clean and service (allen bolts if you need to get inside it), and the battery pack lasted about two years before it died. That's probably about 500 recharges, so I can't complain. I took it to bits, found out who made it for Hope, and ordered a replacement direct from them.

The cheapo lights are all very nice but on every one I've seen the beam is quite narrow - the Hope spreads the light nice and wide, and is thus ideal for nighttime offroading.

 

[tincaman]

For a tenner, it's worth a punt. I'm considering it...

Looks like this one:
My link

I don't think you can get the current draw for 800lumen from 3aaa batteries

Lumens do not directly correlate to candlepower, if you measured a flashlight at 50cm and 5 metres, then the lumen value would be fairly constant but candlepower completely different at the two distances.

If a powerful P7 front light runs at 8.2v and draws around 2.8A at max output then the power rating is around 20W, compare that to the 1W of this front light.

 

[albion]

Lux looks meaningless really where the worst performers can actually have the highest rating.Lumens 'is the new metric' and is best used instead for watts. Though a very rough guide that £9 3W LED light set will no doubt be somewhere close to a 15W battery bulb for 5 times the overall power of your old fashioned dynamo light.Of course if the LED is directional then that 5 times power will appears higher at focus and lower ahead of focus.LED efficiency can vary as can CFL bulbs and thus why lumens is a more important rating.What I do wonder is considering single colour LED's are much more efficient is there anything wrong with bicycle lights all using blue LEDs?

Interestingly there now has to be a lot of old junk out there.
'Efficient lighting is needed for sustainable architecture. In 2009, a typical 13 watt LED lamp emitted 450 to 650 lumens.[107] which is equivalent to a standard 40 watt incandescent bulb. In 2011, LEDs have become more efficient, so that a 6 Watt LED can easily achieve the same results'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-emitting_diode#Efficiency_and_operational_parameters

 

[BentMikey]

I'm a big fan of Exposure lights - I have a MaXx-D and a joystick. Both are excellent lights, but you'll be paying for that sort of quality and reliability. If I didn't get one of these I'd be most tempted by a Hope, followed by a magicshine for value.

If I had any spare money this year, I might have bought an Exposure six pack.

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

Looks like this one:
My link

I don't think you can get the current draw for 800lumen from 3aaa batteries

...

For a build quality perspective it's worth pointing out that the same housing is used on the little white LED head torches sold in Poundland