I've used NiteRider lights and most recently the MiNewt ones for many years. They are top quality lights with a good reputation and my oldest set - a halogen 12+20W set with bottle cage battery - are still going strong after must be 12 years.
Perfect commuting light – MagicShine or Cateye?
- Thread starter mrmacmusic
- Start date
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I've used NiteRider lights and most recently the MiNewt ones for many years. They are top quality lights with a good reputation and my oldest set - a halogen 12+20W set with bottle cage battery - are still going strong after must be 12 years.
Cubist
Still wavin'
- Location
- Ovver 'thill
Just Googled 'lockblocks' and they look like an interesting solution, and these 900-lumens (cough) torches wouldn't exactly break the bank..... remind me why I'm looking at expensive lights again
Just remembered... you usually get what you pay for
Check that those Ultrafire have batteries included, and a charger! With only one battery you'll get an hour from a full charge at best.
The old Tesco 3w aren't available any more unfortunately, but I have three or four knocking about... they make good helmet lights.
OP
OP
mrmacmusic
Veteran
- Location
- Tillicoultry
Don't think battery or charger is included.... the budget torch idea sounds good in principle, but it's a false economy I reckon at the end of the day.
OP
OP
mrmacmusic
Veteran
- Location
- Tillicoultry
Thanks – they do look like a quality product that's well made, but I have zero experience of them. Good to know
albion
Guru
- Location
- South Tyneside
That's mine. I certainly would only use it on-road when there is zero traffic. I'm half tempted to try and transfer the circuitry to my legal LIDL light.
OP
OP
mrmacmusic
Veteran
- Location
- Tillicoultry
What's yours?
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
It will be next winter before you've made your mind up at this rate.
OP
OP
mrmacmusic
Veteran
- Location
- Tillicoultry
It will be next winter before you've made your mind up at this rate.
albion
Guru
- Location
- South Tyneside
My other is that ultrafire one. It has far to much uplight.I'm quite certain we will eventually see police prosecutions for them being a menace to oncoming traffic.
OP
OP
mrmacmusic
Veteran
- Location
- Tillicoultry
Ah... cheers Albion! I agree - is it really a good thing to be blasting 1000's of uncontrolled lumens all over the place? Not on the commute (unless of course your route takes you off-road onto the trails
)I hadn't looked at it until it was mentioned earlier in this thread, but it seems the B&M Ixon IQ is the only light that is deliberately engineered to have a beam cut-off. Perhaps it is the perfect commuting light?
With respect to all the other super-bright lights (including the MJ808e), is it not possible to effect a rudimentary beam cut-off using black tape on the light lens, like what you used to do with car headlights for driving on the continent?
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
No reason why you can't stick some tape on the top of the beam, but light travel in linear, so will go everywhere, but over the top will stop some spill. Ideally you angle just down, so the main beam hits 30 foot in front of you.
I've only ever got flashed running the hopes on max (level 4) down dark lanes - never in traffic on level 2. And then you can change aim, left/right and up/down.
I've only ever got flashed running the hopes on max (level 4) down dark lanes - never in traffic on level 2. And then you can change aim, left/right and up/down.
OP
OP
mrmacmusic
Veteran
- Location
- Tillicoultry
Cool - thanks again fossyant
albion
Guru
- Location
- South Tyneside
I had used some old innertube so mine is now has a hoody top. It helps.I bought that LIDL 3W bike light which has a correctly engineered beam.
cyberknight
As long as I breathe, I attack.
- Location
- Land of confusion
The torches , do they come with a charger though?
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/oem-2-18650-lithium-battery-charger-110v-240v-ac-13820
If not i am not sure you can bung the batteries in a standard charger so you will need to budget for that , i have tried torches in the past and the beam they throw is a bit narrow for a bike light as you need to have light to see the side of the road as well as a nice bright spot in the middle.
At the end of the day any light thread will have people who have their favourite light based on their own experiences , i am in the MS camp but i am sure everyone's light solution works for them.
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/oem-2-18650-lithium-battery-charger-110v-240v-ac-13820
If not i am not sure you can bung the batteries in a standard charger so you will need to budget for that , i have tried torches in the past and the beam they throw is a bit narrow for a bike light as you need to have light to see the side of the road as well as a nice bright spot in the middle.
At the end of the day any light thread will have people who have their favourite light based on their own experiences , i am in the MS camp but i am sure everyone's light solution works for them.
Wobblers
Euthermic
- Location
- Minkowski Space
The beamshots I've seen of the 816 are very floody - a large spread of light that will illuminate the hedge next to you as much as the road! (Okay, that's a slight exaggeration... ) The 808E gives a beam with more "throw", if user comments are to be believed, so more light will be projected down the road rather than into oncoming motorists' eyes - provided it's angled down and aimed properly. I'm thinking about getting an 808E myself.
The asteri 6 would probably be fine at speed if you aim one lamp down close, say ten feet in front of you. It's close enough that you could just run it on the low power setting. Aim the second lamp further out and run it on high - that'll let you spot that pothole with enough time to avoid it!
I had a B&M Ixon IQ - in fact, I still have it. In pieces, in a desk drawer. It had a lovely beam pattern and was almost the perfect commuter light but unfortunately it's fragile - mine died after it fell off the mount (it wasn't clicked in properly, and the mount doesn't really give you positive feedback about when the light's securely in place). If they bring out a more robust version with more modern LEDs (brighter!) I'd get another one in a flash - if you'll excuse the pun
