Lights

[Funk-Meister]

Thinking ahead, can i have some recommendations on Lights. I have a couple of cateyes, but having changed my route from cycle path to road was looking to achieve brighter safer lights. Enduro maxx @£200 plus is not really justifiable. Can anyone please recommend any bright front lights, preferably self contained i.e. no onboard battery packs, around the £100 mark

Thanx in anticipation.

 

[Manonabike]

I would recommend a Fenix torch - for under £40, I have a P3D and it's brilliant. The batteries don't run very long though, 90 minutes for a set of rechargeable batteries.

I bought one of those sold at Tesco that people have been recommending here and the truth is that not even 4 of those would beat my Fenix P3D

 

[threefingerjoe]

I've had good luck with the Busch & Müller Ixon IQ.

 

[XmisterIS]

Personally, I think the best thing you can do if you're on a limited budget is get a hi-viz tabbard and a cheap set of lights with a rear light that flashes.

As a driver at night, the first thing I see is the hi-viz and then the flashing. A driver is more likely to notice a large shiny thing than a small flashing thing.

That being said, you can never make yourself totally safe - some people will quite happily pull out in front of a double-articulated lorry, because they "didn't see it".

 

[u9ge]

look at the lights thread on the commuting section of bike radar

 

[HJ]

See this review of lights, no need to bother with bike radar (there is a good reason why so many of us here left there)...

...I have a couple of cateyes, but having changed my route from cycle path to road was looking to achieve brighter safer lights. Enduro maxx @£200 plus is not really justifiable. ...

Depends on how you try to justify it, you want to have something brighter to be safer, that is fair enough. You can have any two of the following: cheap, bright, longer battery life, but there is no way you will get all three. Sadly if you want a bright light with longer battery life for commuting, your are going to have to pay for it. That is just the life is...

 

[Origamist]

I've just ordered this:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=232725

I'm still waiting for it to arrive and am currently working on a handlebar/stem bodge. If it works, I'll get another Eagletac (but the P7 version) and this dual set-up will outshine all Hope, Exposure, Fenix, Ay-Up etc light sets.

 

[Manonabike]

See this review of lights, no need to bother with bike radar (there is a good reason why so many of us here left there)...



Depends on how you try to justify it, you want to have something brighter to be safer, that is fair enough. You can have any two of the following: cheap, bright, longer battery life, but there is no way you will get all three. Sadly if you want a bright light with longer battery life for commuting, your are going to have to pay for it. That is just the life is...

That review is very limited for what this person is looking for.

Also, I don't see anything wrong with the Bike Radar forum.

 

[april74]

Personally, I think the best thing you can do if you're on a limited budget is get a hi-viz tabbard and a cheap set of lights with a rear light that flashes.

As a driver at night, the first thing I see is the hi-viz and then the flashing. A driver is more likely to notice a large shiny thing than a small flashing thing.

That being said, you can never make yourself totally safe - some people will quite happily pull out in front of a double-articulated lorry, because they "didn't see it".

I agree. And I'm not on a budget. Cheap LED lights from Tesco's or other suprmarkets are now so bright that they are all you need. £10 or less for the lights, £10ish for the hi-viz.

This assumes that the roads are urban and lit and that the front light is not needed for lighting up the road ahead.

 

[fossyant]

Hope Vision 1's if you fancy AA battery compatibility. Torches for cheapness/power.

 

[downfader]

Tesco do an AA hiviz bib, better than some of the cheap cycling ones as there is a lot of 3M on there. Cost me £3. Many Poundshops do them too, but test them out in the dark before regular use, as some of the cheaper reflectives aint that great!

With tesco torches, they're a bit hit and miss with the QC but try a few out in the shop to compare them. Mount them with two-fish lockblocks (get them from dogcamsports), but be careful not to shine them into driver's eyes as some fools here did last year.

There are 3 sizes of tesco torch using the 3w cree LED. The two bigger sizes have the best spread of light with a good spot in the middle. The smallest one is basically spot only.

 

[HJ]

That review is very limited for what this person is looking for.

Which serious bike lights are missing from it?

Also, I don't see anything wrong with the Bike Radar forum.

But then you are new around here...

maybe the Bike Radar forum has changed, but there are a lot of us who wouldn't go back...

 

[Manonabike]

Which serious bike lights are missing from it?



But then you are new around here...

maybe the Bike Radar forum has changed, but there are a lot of us who wouldn't go back...

The man said he was looking for lights around the £100 mark - there are only two lights in that review that are within budget.

I haven't been there in a while (I forgot my password and I'm too lazy to start a new account ) but from what I remember it was a good forum, with lots of threads containing good helpful advise and with fewer pointless threads which are becoming ever more popular in this forum.


Getting back on topic, I bought one of those Tesco 3w lights for a tenner the other day and I just cannot understand what the fuss is all about.... you certainly cannot trust it in an unlit road.

 

[jimboalee]

The man said he was looking for lights around the £100 mark - there are only two lights in that review that are within budget.

I haven't been there in a while (I forgot my password and I'm too lazy to start a new account ) but from what I remember it was a good forum, with lots of threads containing good helpful advise and with fewer pointless threads which are becoming ever more popular in this forum.


Getting back on topic, I bought one of those Tesco 3w lights for a tenner the other day and I just cannot understand what the fuss is all about.... you certainly cannot trust it in an unlit road.

I have one and I ride the unlit A4100. Its fine. I see twigs and branches OK.
Then again, some people have better 'night vision' than others so I guess the Tesco 3W torch is on the borderline of human capability.
I seem to be able to see better in the dark than others

 

[MichaelM]

I agree. And I'm not on a budget. Cheap LED lights from Tesco's or other suprmarkets are now so bright that they are all you need. £10 or less for the lights, £10ish for the hi-viz.

This assumes that the roads are urban and lit and that the front light is not needed for lighting up the road ahead.

I disagree - I use 2 fenix torches myself, but can admit that the tesco torch gives a bright but narrow spot. As for being a light to be seen by though - it'd hardly that. OK for looking ahead on an unlit country road though.