Night Riding

[nosherduke996]

Can anybody recomend a good rechargeable light set up, as those dark nights are looming closer.I do not want to spend a fortune but i would still like something bright that lasts for a few hrs.
Any suggestions please

 

[Panter]

Can anybody recomend a good rechargeable light set up, as those dark nights are looming closer.I do not want to spend a fortune but i would still like something bright that lasts for a few hrs.
Any suggestions please

There's a lot to read here and further into the thread are all the details of the ultimate, cheap lighting option.

Unfortunately, good quality off-road lights and affordable budget don't often feature together.

I can highly recommend the Hope vison 1. Some people don't rate them but, IMHO, they represent excellent value for money and have a long burn time if not on full power.
In fact, I rate them so highly that I bought a second shortly after buying the first for use as a helmet mounted light

Again, they are not rechargeable but of course the advantage is that if you forget to charge them, or your charger fails, you can just nip into a garage and pick up some spares.
I use high capacity rechargeables and have found them to be outstanding and also carry spares in my saddle bag to give me massive runtimes. Far in excess of what my legs give me anyway

 

[Aperitif]

There's a lot to read here and further into the thread are all the details of the ultimate, cheap lighting option.

Unfortunately, good quality off-road lights and affordable budget don't often feature together.

I can highly recommend the Hope vison 1. Some people don't rate them but, IMHO, they represent excellent value for money and have a long burn time if not on full power.
In fact, I rate them so highly that I bought a second shortly after buying the first for use ah a helmet mounted light

Again, they are not rechargeable but of course the advantage is that if you forget to charge them, or your charger fails, you can just nip into a garage and pick up some spares.
I use high capacity rechargeables and have found them to be outstanding and also carry spares in my saddle bag to give me massive runtimes. Far in excess of what my legs give me anyway

Used mine last week for the Friday Night Ride...excellent and solid - didn't shake around like my EL530. Easily removable by you, when scoffing in the café etc and it is also a good 'be seen' light in flashing mode.
Agree with Panter.
And of course there are plenty of brighter ones out there...sky's the limit!

 

[Globalti]

There are some very expensive lights and some real bargains, which are only slightly less bright. For 6 years I rode with a dim 2.5w and a 10w Smart tungsten light and had no problems. Now I have a £280 HID light, which is extremely bright but I bought at the end of HID technology and some fellow club riders are now getting similar output from LEDs.

 

[ACS]

There are some very expensive lights and some real bargains, which are only slightly less bright. For 6 years I rode with a dim 2.5w and a 10w Smart tungsten light and had no problems. Now I have a £280 HID light, which is extremely bright but I bought at the end of HID technology and some fellow club riders are now getting similar output from LEDs.

May I ask which make and model?

 

[User482]

Get a second hand set of Lumicycle halogen lights. Simple, reliable, and extremely bright.

 

[mr Mag00]

i second User482!

 

[dellzeqq]

Can anybody recomend a good rechargeable light set up, as those dark nights are looming closer.I do not want to spend a fortune but i would still like something bright that lasts for a few hrs.
Any suggestions please

it really depends where you're going to be cycling. In town there are any number of nigh-on waterproof lights that give off an intense flash. If you're going out of town then the Hope and the Cateye 530 are pretty decent, and don't ship water.

 

[GilesM]

I can highly recommend the Hope vison 1. Some people don't rate them but, IMHO, they represent excellent value for money and have a long burn time if not on full power.
In fact, I rate them so highly that I bought a second shortly after buying the first for use as a helmet mounted light

I have a Hope vision 1, very good. I bought a couple of battery holders from Maplin and modified them slightly, I carry one fitted with 4 charged AA batteries with me, then it's really quick and easy to change the batteries even on a cold dark night with thick gloves on.

 

[Globalti]

I can't remember the brand of my lights. I got my brother in the USA to buy them thinking they'd cost less but by the time they got through my letter box they cost exactly the same as they would have done in the UK!

Have a look at this site: http://www.lumicycle.com/pages/default.aspx

 

[RedBike]

The Hope vision 1 is good, it's very good infact, but IMO it's not good enough for MTBing at night.

You want to get yourself one of those cheap chinese helmet mounted lights 3w, 200lumen thingy-me-bobs and for the main light if 2/3hours is a long enough run time then your probably best off looking at 'old techology' in the form of a Halogen light,

I've seen the light and motion solo around for about £70. This is easily brighter than most of the budget LEDs.

You really need to stretch your budget up to £150/£200 to get 6hrs + runtime and a light bright enough to use off-road.

 

[User482]

if 2/3hours is a long enough run time then your probably best off looking at 'old techology' in the form of a Halogen light,

That was my conclusion, so I picked up a s/h lumicycle and spare battery for less than £100. I use it with a 35W bulb and it's brighter than nearly all of the new-fangled systems on the market, plus the colour temperature is nicer too. Downsides are weight and the need to carry a spare battery. Not a problem for midweek social rides though, and I even used it on a 24h team endurance race earlier this year.

 

[billflat12]

bright lights on the cheap

Can anybody recomend a good rechargeable light set up, as those dark nights are looming closer.I do not want to spend a fortune but i would still like something bright that lasts for a few hrs.
Any suggestions please

Twofish mounts with £10 tesco mini maglite with single 3w cree led. takes 2 rechargeable aa batteries



OR IF YOU LIKE TO OUTSHINE EVERTHING ON THE TRAILS USE 2 900 Lumens P7 LED Flashlights

well outshines mates £300 hope setup, causes nightblindness to anyone in front on full so you may be unpopular , some even move over thinking its car headlights ?

TBH I only ever use a single p7 mte with a c bin emitter, on high or low setting , carrying a second battery does me for 2 hours using full beam.
using low beam for any fireroads also extends battery life further, other more expensive models have up to 8 settings with strobe & sos emergency mode. for helmet mount i use my tesco torch with a velcro inline gun mount avail from dealextreme.com
would advise you steer clear of any plastic mounts available if you do the Knarley stuff as i find they just crack under stess.

for info. just google away P7 torch , ebay & dealexteme. sell them
or see www.mtbrider.com/mtbr/showthread.php?t=18591http://www.mtbrider.com/mtbr/showthread.php?t=18591

 

[GilesM]

The Hope vision 1 is good, it's very good infact, but IMO it's not good enough for MTBing at night.

I agree, fine for tracks and lanes, but single track and rocks, not enough, for that, put the Hope 1 on your helmet, and a hope vision 2 on the bars, expensive, but loads of light.

 

[BigSid]

I find my Lumicycle setup does not limit my speed at night either off-road or on-road. I have a 12watt spot and 20watt flood.