Lights

[hillrep]

You see, I consider £70 to be expensive for bike lights...

I suppose in real terms, compared to income, allowing for inflation etc, they are actually cheaper than those enormous metal ones, with 4 x U2 batteries, that we used to use years ago!

Well, another possibility in the cheap end of expensive is
http://www.brightbikelights.com/
I have the Magicshine MJ-808 set (£90).

Very well built and terrifyingly bright at full power - I use it at a lower power setting in town.

It has also survived a full winter of commuting and a lot of use as a headlamp when running (on foot) off road.

 

[cyberknight]

I have the magic shine 900 lumen with the new sealed battery with battery power indicator, it cost me £53, and as above it has lasted the whole winter commute and is still going strong
from here

I run it with one of these as back up which i have had a good 18 months with no problem. £8 ish
My link

Back lights i run a 1/2 watt smart
£5.99

My link
and one of these on each seat post £2 ish

My link

As for rear brackets i have had lights fall off on expensive and cheap lights, the bracket is pretty much standard, to make it tight try gluing a slip of paper into the bracket to make it slightly thicker, it sounds daft but it works !

 

[Cubist]

I use an old Blackburn on the front, or a magicshine 900 or a magicshine 1400, or a cheapo chinese supposedly 5watt cree that's never seen 5 watts but is quite bright. Or else I sometimes use a pair of old tesco 3watt torches in a holder fashioned from a lock block, or a Aldi 3 watt torch on my helmet, or the pair of Blackburn 8XL system. I also have a Smart 1 watt front, a cateye that morphed its way into the house to be fixed from work, a brace of RAC front LEDs. You could safely say I've spent an absolute fortune, but when two of us ride offroad we have plenty of lights between us. I have a Topeak 5 LED on the back, together with a pair of Tesco Micro-LED's

When it all boils down the best value for money are tthe Tesco Micro-LEDs. They are small enough to be taped onto every pair of handlebars and every seatpost I own, so I'm never stuck for a be seen by light, and neither are the kids. They cost £4.50 for a pair and have an absolutely unmissable strobe light. They are fed on a diet of poundshop coin batteries so cost next to knack-all to keep up to. They also fit into helmet vents, ideal for these foggy mornings.

 

[BentMikey]

You see, I consider £70 to be expensive for bike lights...

I suppose in real terms, compared to income, allowing for inflation etc, they are actually cheaper than those enormous metal ones, with 4 x U2 batteries, that we used to use years ago!

...and there's the problem. If you want really bright lights with good performance and good build quality, then you need to pay.

My light setup is a bit outrageous, I must admit, and it's certainly possible to get something nearly as good for much less.
Exposure MaXx-D front
Dinotte 400L rear
Fibreflare top light for side visibility, mounted on my tailbox.

 

[Zoiders]

I run a C-Cell Tesco that has the P4 chip in it, that was about £12(free replacement for a borked AA I took back) that is backed up with a Wikos Polaris clone which I may have fished out of the bits bin at the recyling projext IIRC. I also wear a AAA Energizer headtorch that I picked up on sale for a fiver in sainsbury - this I might add seems to use good quailty Nichia LEDs in it so It works very well. Blinkies for the rear I have always had loads hanging about as disposable items, they get trashed/lost far too often so I buy em cheap whenever I see them on offer.

I think that's about £25-30 quids worth of lighting that has seen me through the last 2 winters without a hitch, all reliable kit.

If I wanted to get really pricey I could include the litexpress head torch I picked up for a tenner from TK Maxx as well, that one I save for off road stuff as it lives on the helmet.

Lighting you can trust for little money is do-able, just don't try and get it all in one go.

Starting from scratch again ona budget I would get an Alpkit gamma head torch, it's not a mega bright off road head torch but It's a solid unit for around town use and on the tow paths, plus it's cheap.

 

[Nebulous]

The current Lidl sale has a lightset. Front halogen one has 5 rechargeable AAs, rear has 5 leds and 2 disposable AAAs. They also come with a charger. Cheap and cheerful set at £9.99 The 5 rechargeable batteries would just about cost you that in some places. Not sure about waterproofing, so maybe sensible to run with a back-up.

James

 

[fossyant]

The Hope Vision 1 is the best 'commuter light' just about available. It's also mad bright if you need to turn up to 3/4 for off road.

Buy two....

 

[cyberknight]

The Hope Vision 1 is the best 'commuter light' just about available. It's also mad bright if you need to turn up to 3/4 for off road.

Buy two....

When i saw one i thought they were small but did not give as much light out as people raved about, certainly overpriced for what they do my p5 was very close in terms of light output even if they batteries would last a little less time.

 

[rusky]

It really depends on if you want lights to see with or to be seen.

If it's the former, then you will need to spend >£50 & get a Hope vision 1 or a Magicshine from China

If you just want a light for commuting on well lit roads, then the smart setup that's been linked to up thread will be fine.

I used to think that anything over £50 for bike lights was OTT & reserved for those with seriously deep pockets who wanted really bright lights for offroading at night but, in reality most sub £50 lights from cateye etc aren't of any use if you need to see where you're going.

 

[MacB]

If it's a commuting bike then I'd seriously consider dynamo wheel and front light, you could do this for about £50-60 for a B&M IQ Cyo from Germany and you can get dynamo wheels from about £60, thoguh I'd go for £80 upwards to get one of the newer Shimano hub models. If you have a rack you could also consider a dynamo rear but I'm not sure I'd bother again, but a light bolted to a rack is pretty stable. Front light bolts to fork crown, use some anti shake washers and it's pretty much fit and forget. I still use an additional battery front light, on flash mode, and an extra battery rear light, but only cheapo ones. If I ever move away from barend shifting then I quite fancy some of the Trek barend lights as well. I've really appreciated having a bike with lighting that doesn't require I think about batteries.

 

[Domeo]

Or you could do what I've done. Get wheel built up with a SON dynohub with decent front and rear lights running from it with a hope 1 and cheapy smart as flashers. It is all mainly fit and forget.

 

[sunnyjim]

I'm currently using one of these - it's a Ring 'Aurora' aftermarket DRL 5*1.5W LEDS & 'kin bright. A bit heavier than most 'bike' lamps, but bombproof . Around £50 for a pair, so you can share with a friend.
Powered from 12V 2300mAH LiFePO4 battery. Also a 95mm vehicle tail/stop lamp. I'm thinking of wiring the 5W LED stop lamp to come on if the speed drops below say 5mph.

 

[scouserinlondon]

The Hope Vision 1 is the best 'commuter light' just about available. It's also mad bright if you need to turn up to 3/4 for off road.

Buy two....

Do you have two, do you have a photo/beam shot, thinking of buying a second one.

 

[Flying Dodo]

Do you have two, do you have a photo/beam shot, thinking of buying a second one.

Come on the FNRttC - I normally run 2 Hope's AND a Cyo! Night becomes day.

If you're cycling 15 mph or faster on unlit country roads, you have to run the Hope at volume 2/3 to get sufficent spread to really see far enough ahead, which is why having 2 does make sense.

 

[scouserinlondon]

Come on the FNRttC - I normally run 2 Hope's AND a Cyo! Night becomes day.

If you're cycling 15 mph or faster on unlit country roads, you have to run the Hope at volume 2/3 to get sufficent spread to really see far enough ahead, which is why having 2 does make sense.

I'm actually thinking of doing an FNRttC or a Sunday ride, as I'm unfit and need a challenge.