mrs fry
New Member
- Location
- Tamworth, Staffordshire
Can anyone recommend good front and rear lights at a decent price?
Light recommendations?
- Thread starter mrs fry
- Start date
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summerdays
Cycling in the sun
- Location
- Bristol
One of the cheapest rear lights is the Smart Half Watt Superflash - got my last one for about £8. Rated better than some more expensive than that.... Blackburn Mars 4 also gets good reviews I think but I haven't got it.
+1 on the Smart 1/2 Watt for the rear. I've done about 30 hours with mine and I'm still on the first set of batteries.
Front lights, though, are a little more difficult. What sort of roads are you on? If you need the lights to see with, then a decent light at a decent price starts at the Hope 1s at around £80.
Front lights, though, are a little more difficult. What sort of roads are you on? If you need the lights to see with, then a decent light at a decent price starts at the Hope 1s at around £80.
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
Front lights fall into two categories ime, those to see by and those to be seen by
if you ride on dark/unlit roads you may need lights from both 'camps', otoh if in brightly lit towns then only the latter are essential.
if you ride on dark/unlit roads you may need lights from both 'camps', otoh if in brightly lit towns then only the latter are essential.
GrasB
Veteran
- Location
- Nr Cambridge
I'd also say to be safe you want at least 2 lights from & rear. The Smart 1/2w does look rather good (without owning one that is) but I would also want a second light that was long, this helps approaching traffic to estimate the closing speed (& distance to a lesser extent). So say a Smart 1/2w + a Cateye LD610.
For front lights, I'm not really up with the current lights to be seen by & what I have been looking at recently is probably well out of your price range (£150-£250)
For front lights, I'm not really up with the current lights to be seen by & what I have been looking at recently is probably well out of your price range (£150-£250)
HJ
Cycling in Scotland
- Location
- Auld Reekie
mrs fry said:
Rather depends on what you call a decent price...
If you can get one get a smart 1/2 watt. Had that and a cateye el1000 and a smart 1/2 watt and mars 4 (clip broke) and it's the best value by far. I'd recommend the 1/2 over the 4 anyway, the 1/2 has better all round visibility. Alternatively the smart 7 LEDs are doing the rounds at the moment, I got mine for £4 and it's basically the smart 1/2 watt on a diet.
Big John
Guru
The light on the back nowadays is usually a bright, flashing mode, LED. May not be absolutely legal but that's what people use and the aim is to be seen as far as back lights are concerned.
Front light - as suggested above. You either want the light to actually see with or, if the road lighting is OK, then to be seen with. I use a Tesco 1W cree LED torch with a couple of plumbing plastic brackets to hold the light on the bars. The light is awesome, allows you to see AND be seen and is cheap as chips - under a tenner. Runs on a couple of AA batteries or rechargeables if you've got them.
Front light - as suggested above. You either want the light to actually see with or, if the road lighting is OK, then to be seen with. I use a Tesco 1W cree LED torch with a couple of plumbing plastic brackets to hold the light on the bars. The light is awesome, allows you to see AND be seen and is cheap as chips - under a tenner. Runs on a couple of AA batteries or rechargeables if you've got them.
HJ
Cycling in Scotland
- Location
- Auld Reekie
Flashing lights are legal and have been so since 21st October 2005...
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
mrs fry, all the posters above give excellent advice, but I'll lob in my two cents anyway.
I ride a bit in heavy urban traffic, and also on towpaths and through parks, so I have a quite bright front light for the non-road stuff, and a really bright rear light so that I can be seen from the rear on the road. As people have said, it is a good idea to have a back-up light front and rear, in case you lose a light, for what ever reason...(eg, dud battery, or light falls off)..
Here is the stuff I use. I'm not saying it is optimal, but it is about the minimum I would be happy with.
Rear light. Cateye TL-LD 1100...£24
Front light. Hope Vision 1....£72
Back-up lights are some £15 light package from Argos, not great, but better than nothing.
I suggest you stick to one battery size, to keep things simple. I use AA rechargeable Eneloops, £20 for 12 batteries. They should be good for 1000 cycles, but the manufacturers are usually a bit optimistic.
The charger is a Technoline BL-700, about £28 from BatteryLogic.
Yes, that all adds up to a horrendous amount of money, but I just want to stay alive, and being unseen in traffic is very bad news indeed.
Ride safely.
Edit: You can probably use a much less expensive front light than the Hope Vision 1.
I ride a bit in heavy urban traffic, and also on towpaths and through parks, so I have a quite bright front light for the non-road stuff, and a really bright rear light so that I can be seen from the rear on the road. As people have said, it is a good idea to have a back-up light front and rear, in case you lose a light, for what ever reason...(eg, dud battery, or light falls off)..
Here is the stuff I use. I'm not saying it is optimal, but it is about the minimum I would be happy with.
Rear light. Cateye TL-LD 1100...£24
Front light. Hope Vision 1....£72
Back-up lights are some £15 light package from Argos, not great, but better than nothing.
I suggest you stick to one battery size, to keep things simple. I use AA rechargeable Eneloops, £20 for 12 batteries. They should be good for 1000 cycles, but the manufacturers are usually a bit optimistic.
The charger is a Technoline BL-700, about £28 from BatteryLogic.
Yes, that all adds up to a horrendous amount of money, but I just want to stay alive, and being unseen in traffic is very bad news indeed.
Ride safely.
Edit: You can probably use a much less expensive front light than the Hope Vision 1.
bauldbairn
New Member
- Location
- Falkirk
Another here who would recommend the Smart 1/2 Watt 3 LED rear light(one of the few certified...meets legal regs). I have two fitted - one I have on steady and the other on flash(the reason most of us run two or three is incase one fails you still have one/two on). This maybe doesn't sound bright - but it is a very intense light with two modes flashing and steady. This can be bought for £10 / £12(do a Google search before you decide) from ChainReaction / Wiggle / Ribble / Evans etc,etc.
As others have mentioned front lights come in two categories - see / be seen. See, to light up the road in front - on dark unlit country roads - and tend to be very expensive. Be seen, light you up - so other road users can see you - and with modern LED's is the cheaper alternative. Personally I don't ride many unlit roads, therefor have three "be seen" LED lights and ride with two on steady and one on flash(day and night).
I have two Smart 1/2 Watt LED(BSpoke) front lights - currently unavailable but similar to 3/5 LED Smart Polaris for £5 / £10, and an EBC five LED flasher available for £5 / £10.
It's all down to budget Mrs Fry - I'd recommend having a look at the light reviews on Chain Reaction Cycles. This will give you an idea of what's out there, the prices etc - and you can see what other purchasers thought. Then once you decide - come back on here and we'll tell you what we think. You don't have to buy from CRC(although I do) but they have a comprehensive range from cheapest to dearest, from best to worst.
Good luck - let us know how you get on.
As others have mentioned front lights come in two categories - see / be seen. See, to light up the road in front - on dark unlit country roads - and tend to be very expensive. Be seen, light you up - so other road users can see you - and with modern LED's is the cheaper alternative. Personally I don't ride many unlit roads, therefor have three "be seen" LED lights and ride with two on steady and one on flash(day and night).
I have two Smart 1/2 Watt LED(BSpoke) front lights - currently unavailable but similar to 3/5 LED Smart Polaris for £5 / £10, and an EBC five LED flasher available for £5 / £10.
It's all down to budget Mrs Fry - I'd recommend having a look at the light reviews on Chain Reaction Cycles. This will give you an idea of what's out there, the prices etc - and you can see what other purchasers thought. Then once you decide - come back on here and we'll tell you what we think. You don't have to buy from CRC(although I do) but they have a comprehensive range from cheapest to dearest, from best to worst.
Good luck - let us know how you get on.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
RSP Astrum - £15 Merlin, by far the best 'cheaper' rear (i.e. not exposure leagues) light. Mars 4.0 next because of power and waterproofness, then the Smart 1/2 watt. MArs 3.0 also good, although not as bright as the other 3.
Front.....ohh read above...
Front.....ohh read above...
Rob3rt
Man or Moose!
- Location
- Manchester
I have a set of 3-LED cateye's. They cost £20 for the set including batteries. They are bright enough in my opinion if they are just for being seen on city streets (my pale legs go a long way in being visible at night 
- joke btw!), but if you need lights to see the road ahead, the front light just wont cut it.
- joke btw!), but if you need lights to see the road ahead, the front light just wont cut it.scouserinlondon
Senior Member
- Location
- streatham, London
I was guilty of false economy twice. Firstly on my cateye opticube which I bought with my bike (first bike for a decade) and then with two DX $11 torches. The Cateye is feeble, the DX torches are unreliable.
Even though I ride in London, I do a chunk of my commute across parks AND I want to shine like a Christmas tree on the roads. So I've got a Hope 1 & the cateye opticube on the front of the bike. A fenix torch on my head. On the rear I have a cateye LD600 and a blackburn Mars 4.
That's quite a lot of light for London cycling but as I say, I want to be seen.
Even though I ride in London, I do a chunk of my commute across parks AND I want to shine like a Christmas tree on the roads. So I've got a Hope 1 & the cateye opticube on the front of the bike. A fenix torch on my head. On the rear I have a cateye LD600 and a blackburn Mars 4.
That's quite a lot of light for London cycling but as I say, I want to be seen.
