Lights

[Steve Austin]

I've ridden nightrides off road with two Tesco torches. i commute with them too. they work absolutely fine, and illuminate everything they are pointed at. the spread isn't great, but they are very cheap.
Best bike specific vfm bought light i've used it the Hope Vision I. works a treat and worth every penny.

 

[XmisterIS]

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.

Yep, you do need good lights for country riding at night, I tend to ride only on lit suburban roads at night.

The point I was making though was that a hi-viz tabbard is the first thing I see when I'm in the car at night and so I regard the wearing of a good hi-viz tabbard to be essential at night.

It would be interesting to hear the views in this thread of anyone else who drives as well as rides (MichaelM?) and what catches your attention first (i.e. a good rear light or a hi-viz tabbard).

 

[MichaelM]

It would be interesting to hear the views in this thread of anyone else who drives as well as rides (MichaelM?) and what catches your attention first (i.e. a good rear light or a hi-viz tabbard).

I'm not sure what catches my attention, I don't live in large built up area, and don't see that many cyclists at night.

Riding in the dark, I'm more concerned about being seen from bedind than anything else, I use a Cateye TL LD11 on the bike and a Blackburn Flea on the helmet. I bought what I thought was a bright top but it faded from dayglow green to dirty yellowishgreyishwhite after a few washes.

I'm always on the look out for a good top to wear (or tabbard) in the dark and would look at any recommendations.

 

[jonny jeez]

Flashing grabs my attention.

Ahem

 

[knonist]

I got a cateye EL530 last year and it it was fine for road use.
However, I have extended my commute from 5miles per day to 20miles per day (return), which included a stretch of 4 miles of un-lilted country lane each way.

I’m considering if I should purchase 2 tesco 3W to replace the EL530 or buy a fenix LD20 in conjunction with the EL530.
My concern is not being seen by drivers(as I’m sure I can be seen), but to have the light which is bright enough for me to see the road, I just don’t want to ran over an animal / their body or a pothole in the dark.

 

[Davidc]

3w torches certainly work, but be aware that they can dazzle divers as the beams aren't flat topped. Any lights which meet the UK or German standards won't dazzle drivers.

There are loads of threads on here about lights (search on lights or lighting should work) with suggestions.

I like to have dynamo + battery lights, and one steady + one flasher as a minimum front and rear.

I bought a Cateye EL530 for the front. It's good when on a decent mounting (like this one) , and I run it on NiMH batteries. It does however have one really annoying feature - when the batteries go down below a set threshold it goes into low power mode, and there's no way to get it out of that, so on unlit roads a spare set of batteries is needed.

That said, if I remember to put the batteries on charge after each use it's good for at least 4 hours.

The B&M LED front dynamo lights are good.

The Smart superflash 1/2 watt LED back lights are awesome.

Some of the cateye back lights look really impressive in use on other peoples bikes (but I haven't used them so no idea how they do on battery life etc.)

 

[XmisterIS]

I use a Cateye TL LD11

That looks like the funky sh1t! My rear light is OK-ish, I may well invest in a cateye.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

I got a cateye EL530 last year and it it was fine for road use.
However, I have extended my commute from 5miles per day to 20miles per day (return), which included a stretch of 4 miles of un-lilted country lane each way.

I’m considering if I should purchase 2 tesco 3W to replace the EL530 or buy a fenix LD20 in conjunction with the EL530.
My concern is not being seen by drivers(as I’m sure I can be seen), but to have the light which is bright enough for me to see the road, I just don’t want to ran over an animal / their body or a pothole in the dark.

I've got an EL530 on the front, with a smaller Cateye model (320, I think) that has a flash mode alongside it. On lit roads, I use the main one on steady and the smaller one on flash: the idea being that the flashing one draws attention and the steady one gives a fixed reference point for others.

On unlit roads, I used to use both on steady and that's good enough for my speeds.

I did find a slight issue on the short sections of off road on my way home in that the bar-mounted lights only point where the bars are pointing (no, really) and I like to look "through" the corners before I get to them .. due to the twisty nature of the bridleway I found there was a time when I was staring into darkness just before I got to the corner.

I experimented with positioning and angling of the Cateyes but couldn't really get it how I wanted, so I just bought one of those £8 Tesco torches and bodged it onto my helmet* with a couple of bits of old inner tube. It only gets used off-road and on the drop down the little lane into my village, 'cos that is narrow, tree-lined, unlit, dark and bumpy as a very bumpy thing.

The three together provide adequate light to give me confidence for 20+ mph down the lane and still avoid the craters. I just have to remember not to look anyone I met in the face when using the Tesco torch 'cos it tends to dazzle them a bit.

So you could get one (or two) of the Tesco jobs and use them to supplement, not replace, your existing Cateye.

* yep, I do worry a tiny bit what the implications would be should I come off and smack my head, but I kid myself that the torch would probably get torn off. Or not.

 

[garrilla]

I use a Cateye TL LD11 .

I have this on the back... Its a great light, very visbile and the 10-LEDs in two banks of five give you the option of static and flash/pattern. Its so bright for a rear light that I'm sometimes aware of its flood in my peripheral vision.

I've got a Cateye EL-530 on the front. In has a bright and sharp focus point but I think its too small and the flood it near useless - too wide and too weak to be of much use, although I suspect that it gives a good bright glow to oncoming traffic. I'll probably upgrade in about Oct when I'm fed up with it on a daily basis.

 

[HJ]

Yep, you do need good lights for country riding at night, I tend to ride only on lit suburban roads at night.

The point I was making though was that a hi-viz tabbard is the first thing I see when I'm in the car at night and so I regard the wearing of a good hi-viz tabbard to be essential at night.

It would be interesting to hear the views in this thread of anyone else who drives as well as rides (MichaelM?) and what catches your attention first (i.e. a good rear light or a hi-viz tabbard).

Well the first time I used my DiNotte 400L on a winding country lane at night, a driver coming in the opposite direction dipped it lights on a blind bend before being able to see that I was a cyclist and not the oncoming car which they had expected. I can't imagine a hi-viz tabbard having that effect. As for the rear light, there are a few here who can testify that it is clearly visible at over a mile in full sun light! At night it is not a hi-viz tabbard which draws attention, more that the road behind my bike appears to be on fire, which is probably why I don't get any close passes at night! This is not a cheap light set, but worth every penny

 

[BrumJim]

Looking at the Cateye Performance Comparison table, I note that the HL-EL450 light is waterproof up to 50m depth.

Why? If I was cycling in 50m of water, the performance of my bike headlight would be the least of my worries!!

 

[HJ]

Looking at the Cateye Performance Comparison table, I note that the HL-EL450 light is waterproof up to 50m depth.

Which, if you ken anything about such claims on watches, means that it is shower proof...

 

[Downward]

Could do with mine for the journey home, It's cold dark and Windy, Oh and a bit rainy too.

 

[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.

The torch came yesterday and it is fitted to the stem with parallel lock-blocks.

It is very bright with 4 settings (plus a strobe). It is equipped with 3x Cree R2 LEDs and the settings are changed by turning a ring on the torch head, not a clicky.

 

[mikeitup]

Ayups

+1

Had mine for 2yrs and they have been brilliant. Not cheap but glad I bought them.