I know everyone will be starting lights threads but...

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palinurus

Velo, boulot, dodo
Location
Watford
My Dinotte 140L (rear) seems to be buggered. It's pretty old and it's been sent off to the US for repair at least once.

What else is good and bright and preferably available in the UK? Seatpost mount, must be easy to switch between bikes immediately.
 

siadwell

Guru
Location
Surrey
Exposure Tracer. 75 lumens max pulsing over lower brightness constant. Constant or flashing? Have both - very visible. Long runtimes. Fuel gauge of sorts. Can buy additional seatpost or under-saddle mounts. And lovingly handcrafted in the UK.

http://www.cyclingweekly.com/reviews/lights-reflectives/exposure-tracer-49-95
 

Jason

Senior Member
Location
Carnaby Street
Slightly different question in relation to rear lights - I have many from Moon COB lights to the Fly6 (v).
do you guys (and gals) have a saddle bag, and if so doesn't it mask the light to a small extent?
I'm wondering if the 2nd bottle cage would be better suited to holding the mandatory tube,levers and multi-tool in a custom pouch tool_bag.JPG
 

MichaelO

Veteran
Can't recommend Exposure lights enough. I bought the Strada a couple of years ago - best money I've spent. The stem mounted bracket also keeps the handlebars clear of clutter!
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
What else is good and bright and preferably available in the UK? Seatpost mount, must be easy to switch between bikes immediately.
Lidl probably still have some of their sets on sale if you can find any in stock locally. I think the rear was still on a holy-rubber-band-and-peg type mount, which isn't difficult to switch between.

Exposure Tracer. [...] lovingly handcrafted in the UK.
Which makes the insufficiency to satisfy the UK Road Vehicle Lighting Regs all the worse. Not that anyone will care for the forseeable, but it makes light-buying into a lottery. :sad:

do you guys (and gals) have a saddle bag, and if so doesn't it mask the light to a small extent?
I have a saddlebag. My lights are mounted on the seat stay or rear of the rack (depending on bike - on one, it's hooked through cable ties that's loosely around the rear reflector). I don't like them on the seatpost because it's too easy for a longer-than-usual coat or bag to hide them, plus it's too high and too far forwards from the back of the bike.
 

Sharky

Guru
Location
Kent
In addition to a couple of rear leds, I would recommend slap bands round the ankles. They really show up in the dark.
 
I liked my exposure flare, great output and side visibility but the build quality wasn't great. I had one fail within a few weeks of purchase, but the replacement kept going for a couple of years, don't expect long service with any modern tat though.

Call me cynical, but stuff isn't built to last these days, the manufacturers want it to fail within a year or two, so you come back for the next model, and that you will as you likely sunk money into their proprietary mounts, charging docks, etc etc.

The seat post mount that was supplied with my Flare was a bit rubbish and rotated around the post, even after wrapping an older inner tube for a bit more grip. Eventually I forked out for the saddle rail mount which was miles more stable but the plastic snapped after one winter so that ended up in the bin. Rather than spend another £12 on a mount, I bought a Moon Nebula. Their units are unreliable too based on my bitter experience, the charging port and/or control boards failed just after a year of ownership and they wanted me to post to China for repairs, not worth the expense or hassle tbh.

I gave up with battery lights and installed a dynamo system instead on my commuter, and use cheapo cateye stuff for the rare occasion I ride my road bike after dark.
 
OP
OP
palinurus

palinurus

Velo, boulot, dodo
Location
Watford
I gave up with battery lights and installed a dynamo system instead on my commuter, and use cheapo cateye stuff for the rare occasion I ride my road bike after dark.

I have a good dynamo system on my commuter (front and rear) but I have rechargeables for when I ride something else. I like the Dinotte for fog especially, but not enough to shell out for another one.
 
OP
OP
palinurus

palinurus

Velo, boulot, dodo
Location
Watford
Call me cynical, but stuff isn't built to last these days, the manufacturers want it to fail within a year or two, so you come back for the next model, and that you will as you likely sunk money into their proprietary mounts, charging docks, etc etc.

Certainly my experience with most rear blinkies but my B&M IQ Cyo and Toplight have been going for eight years now, had to fix the Cyo with some Sugru last year because the mounting eye broke- although I was hit by a car so I won't grumble about that too much. I think the Dinotte might be a bit older and it's only recently failed (I'm going to dismantle it and check to see if it's serviceable, i've got a lot of soldering gear at work)
 

KnackeredBike

I do my own stunts
I have an Aldi set of rechargeable lights which have been excellent, they were £10 in Aldi but there are identical looking Ascher ones on Amazon for a little bit more.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ascher-Rechargeable-LED-Bike-Lights/dp/B01EJ6LKPY

The front light casts an acceptable beam to see on unlit roads, the only better ones I have had have been with external battery packs.

Only take a second to clip and unclip and they have a thick rubber band, which was always the weak point on my Knog lights.
 

DRM

Guru
Location
West Yorks
I have an Aldi set of rechargeable lights which have been excellent, they were £10 in Aldi but there are identical looking Ascher ones on Amazon for a little bit more.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ascher-Rechargeable-LED-Bike-Lights/dp/B01EJ6LKPY

The front light casts an acceptable beam to see on unlit roads, the only better ones I have had have been with external battery packs.

Only take a second to clip and unclip and they have a thick rubber band, which was always the weak point on my Knog lights.

Our local Aldi had some of those left, I think they were reduced, I got some at full price when they came in & was pleased with them.
 

oldstrath

Über Member
Location
Strathspey
Lidl probably still have some of their sets on sale if you can find any in stock locally. I think the rear was still on a holy-rubber-band-and-peg type mount, which isn't difficult to switch between.


Which makes the insufficiency to satisfy the UK Road Vehicle Lighting Regs all the worse. Not that anyone will care for the forseeable, but it makes light-buying into a lottery. :sad:
.
So in what way is the Tracer " insufficient " to satisfy the regulations? Or do you just mean it hasn't been certified to comply to an standard that is obscure, old and not readily available?
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
So in what way is the Tracer " insufficient " to satisfy the regulations? Or do you just mean it hasn't been certified to comply to an standard that is obscure, old and not readily available?
So obscure and unavailable it's sold online, and as for old, has the nature of light changed since 2003? Or it could meet an equivalent standard such as the German one, or they could disable steady mode and only need to meet the weaker "two Ronnies" requirements of the 2005 amendment. But yes, that's what it means and it doesn't seem anyone cares much for now, but it's part of why there are so many what-lights threads IMO.
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
[QUOTE 4949964, member: 9609"]is there any rear lights you can switch on from the front when riding (preferably with some sort of feedback on the switch to confirm they are on or off)[/QUOTE]
Dynamo lights with an motorcycle switch in the circuit. You can tell when the back's not lit correctly because the front light suddenly gets brighter :laugh:
 
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