Reasonable front light.

[spokeweasel]

Evening.

I do have some front light that came with the bike from Decathlon which are battery powered. Looking for something reasonably cheap. Let others know I’m on the road and which will allow me to see about 15-20 feet ahead? Are there any recommendations because I checked Amazon and I couldn’t decide with all the lumens? (I know more lumens = more bright but no idea what do I require as a minimum.) Will try and take a picture of the present light when I go riding later!.

Also, is this website any good for cycling pants ? looking to buy some tights and base layers as the sale is still on.

https://fdxsports.co.uk/pages/men-collection

 

[DCLane]

A couple of thoughts:

Are you looking for USB or battery powered? I use Cateye Ampp lights - the 800/900/1100 lumens versions - and they're easy to charge and swap.

Kit-wise FDX is OK, but quite basic. Galibier are great value, although living in Yorkshire I do tend to buy when it's on sale / advertised on Facebook at a discount - https://www.galibier.cc/

 

[spokeweasel]

Battery is better for me (unless I’m being silly) as I don’t have to worry about carrying a usb charger and all that jazz (type C or a power bank) that goes with USB powered equipments.

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

Someone here (ColinJ?) alerted us to Amazon selling the Magicshine RN1200 for ~£26 earlier this year so I grabbed one, having missed the previous PSA on the same light a month or two earlier. I liked the option of using it as a powerbank, as well as a front light... Yet to fit it!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magicshine-Powerful-Rechargeable-Waterproof-Headlight/dp/B09PHDT7DM

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Someone here (ColinJ?) alerted us to Amazon selling the Magicshine RN1200 for ~£26 earlier this year so I grabbed one, having missed the previous PSA on the same light a month or two earlier. I liked the option of using it as a powerbank, as well as a front light... Yet to fit it!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magicshine-Powerful-Rechargeable-Waterproof-Headlight/dp/B09PHDT7DM

I did fit it, used it all winter.
It's a good light, even excellent, but the OP would like battery operated.
@spokeweasel look on Ebay for oldeer model of the CatEyes.
I used to run a couple of battery operated front CatEyes, they were good, but eventually I switched to USB rechargables.
If I think one charge won't last the ride, I just carry an extra light.

 

[Tom B]

I have an array of Cateye Ammp 400 to 1200.

I've tried others and come back to Cateye.

Didn't rate lezyne, despite their claims about engineering they were not durable

 

[si_c]

Batteries in my experience are a bit of a mixed bag as USB rechargeable is generally much more convenient. Unless you are riding with the lights on maximum, getting a more powerful light and running it at a lower power output (generally I find 200-500 lumen output perfect for general riding) you get several hours. My Lezyne 1300 gets 8 or so hours at 500lm which generally is enough for me.

Didn't rate lezyne, despite their claims about engineering they were not durable

I've had the opposite experience, I have quite a few lamps and they've all been very durable. All have been repeatedly dropped, kicked and generally abused and aside from some minor scuffs still work after many years.

If you're after battery powered lights though avoid AA as the drain at higher outputs means battery life is poor. Look for 18650 lamps, which also means you need a suitable charger. I've been using a Fenix BC30 for about 12 years, and it's a fabulous light, really bright but more importantly the optics put the light where it's needed rather than just illuminating the sky which is what cheaper lights tend to do. You can swap out batteries in a few seconds and if you get 3400mAh batteries you get about 8 hours of life out of a charge on the medium output.

 

[oldandslow]

I have an array of Cateye Ammp 400 to 1200.

I've tried others and come back to Cateye.

Didn't rate lezyne, despite their claims about engineering they were not durable

Same here. Even the 400 is pretty good on unlit roads, and the one I use most often. The 1200 is arguably too bright, and better for off-road. Brackets are very widely available, which is great when you have multiple bikes.

 

[a.twiddler]

I've had an AMPP 400 for a good number of years but didn't get the most out of it until I got into recumbent riding about six years ago and started doing much longer summer rides, not getting back until well after dark. I'd had a few budget battery lights from the likes of Lidl and Aldi, and an older Cateye battery lamp for several years until it died. I think the AMPP 400 is perhaps the best balance of cost and effectiveness, having looked at the AMPP range with a view to upgrading. The beam pattern seems decent enough. The higher rated lights don't necessarily have a good battery life at maximum output, and I wouldn't be surprised if most users seldom used the high power settings in the interests of stretching out the battery life. I'd never got to the stage where the 400 got close to running out, usually using the lower light setting, which looks good to me. At 2 am on an August night last year instead of going into flash mode as anticipated to give some warning to change the lights over, I was plunged into complete darkness on a country lane with no moon, and cloud cover. I had a spare, with a different mounting bracket, but it wasn't as good as the Cateye.

This was an unexpected event, and might be something to watch out for as your AMPP model ages. The battery life seems as good as ever, so it's a bit of a mystery. One thing about the Cateye range is that different models will fit the same mounting bracket, so it's easy enough to carry a spare, or use the same lights on different bikes, as the brackets are available separately.

Everyone has different needs and new versions with upgrades to light power and battery life are released from time to time. It seems that whatever you choose, it's probably a good idea to standardise so that you can carry a spare and can swop over quickly if needed. You don't really know what works for you until you've tried a few.

I suppose that if a light has a good beam and replaceable batteries I would buy it, but I've become amenable to USB rechargeable lights now. It's more to do with what's available at an affordable price nowadays. I still have memories of blundering about in the dark with the Ever Ready things of decades ago, or Wonderlights where you wondered if you had enough spare batteries to get you to your destination. Modern bike lights might not be perfect but we do at least have plenty of choice now.

 

[Alex321]

Battery is better for me (unless I’m being silly) as I don’t have to worry about carrying a usb charger and all that jazz (type C or a power bank) that goes with USB powered equipments.

Unless you are touring, or riding for several hours at night, you don't need to carry any charging paraphenalia.

UI use USB rechargeble lights, front and back. I can just about do the return commute (14.3 miles each way) on one charge of the front light, though I do havee USB C cables in the office, and usually recharge it. The rear lasts at least a week.