Light recommendations
Discussion
With winter coming I'm hoping to keep cycling to work a couple of times a week, but need to invest in some new lights. My commute is 15k along mainly unlit A road and country lanes, so they'll need to be quite powerful I guess. Wouldn't mind something that are rechargeable and value for money, within reason.
Any recommendations?
Any recommendations?
I've just bought a 3000 lumen from Torchy the battery boy (strange name but knows his lights)...absolutely superb. Mounted on my lid, gives 2.5hrs on full beam but there's not a lot that you won't see with this or worry that you will be seen. Solid light, not heavy and I keep the battery in my backpack (rechargeable) and reaches with the extension cable provided without any problem. Going to get another for a mate who wants one aswell.
I like Exposure stuff myself. Not au fait with their latest kit, what with the 2012/2013 releases, mind. They're f. bright, rechargeable, and of an "all-in-one" design which wins it for me. Not the cheapest, however.
Got 1 x Joystick, 1 x MaxxD and 2 x rear lights that plug into the Smart Port.
THAT SAID, I am finding myself looking at the Hope range of lights, come the Exposures eventual replacement.
Got 1 x Joystick, 1 x MaxxD and 2 x rear lights that plug into the Smart Port.
THAT SAID, I am finding myself looking at the Hope range of lights, come the Exposures eventual replacement.
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/p7-water-resistant-ss...
Get a couple of these. I've got one and the light off it is awesome so I'm getting another for my helmet.
Get a couple of these. I've got one and the light off it is awesome so I'm getting another for my helmet.
If you are not a brand snob I can highly recommend the MJ-872 from these guys; http://www.magicshinebikelights.co.uk/
It has 4 settings, on lit roads you only need it on the lowest setting and it gives plenty output to light up the drain covers and potholes, plus other road users can see you - on the lowest setting it will last for many, many hours!
On unlit roads I have only ever needed the second setting, again very bright and even on this setting it will last for hours on end.
I have only ever used the top two settings offroad while MTB-ing, using it on the road would remove paint from cars and induce serious injury to oncoming drivers eyes - I suspect that on full power you can be seen from space!
I have had mine for well over a year with no issues at all and have ridden in the rain, snow, heavy fog with no misting or water ingress.
It has 4 settings, on lit roads you only need it on the lowest setting and it gives plenty output to light up the drain covers and potholes, plus other road users can see you - on the lowest setting it will last for many, many hours!
On unlit roads I have only ever needed the second setting, again very bright and even on this setting it will last for hours on end.
I have only ever used the top two settings offroad while MTB-ing, using it on the road would remove paint from cars and induce serious injury to oncoming drivers eyes - I suspect that on full power you can be seen from space!
I have had mine for well over a year with no issues at all and have ridden in the rain, snow, heavy fog with no misting or water ingress.
MadDad said:
If you are not a brand snob I can highly recommend the MJ-872 from these guys; http://www.magicshinebikelights.co.uk/
It has 4 settings, on lit roads you only need it on the lowest setting and it gives plenty output to light up the drain covers and potholes, plus other road users can see you - on the lowest setting it will last for many, many hours!
On unlit roads I have only ever needed the second setting, again very bright and even on this setting it will last for hours on end.
I have only ever used the top two settings offroad while MTB-ing, using it on the road would remove paint from cars and induce serious injury to oncoming drivers eyes - I suspect that on full power you can be seen from space!
I have had mine for well over a year with no issues at all and have ridden in the rain, snow, heavy fog with no misting or water ingress.
Cheaper on here though:It has 4 settings, on lit roads you only need it on the lowest setting and it gives plenty output to light up the drain covers and potholes, plus other road users can see you - on the lowest setting it will last for many, many hours!
On unlit roads I have only ever needed the second setting, again very bright and even on this setting it will last for hours on end.
I have only ever used the top two settings offroad while MTB-ing, using it on the road would remove paint from cars and induce serious injury to oncoming drivers eyes - I suspect that on full power you can be seen from space!
I have had mine for well over a year with no issues at all and have ridden in the rain, snow, heavy fog with no misting or water ingress.
http://www.magicshineuk.co.uk
mrmr96 said:
MadDad said:
If you are not a brand snob I can highly recommend the MJ-872 from these guys; http://www.magicshinebikelights.co.uk/
It has 4 settings, on lit roads you only need it on the lowest setting and it gives plenty output to light up the drain covers and potholes, plus other road users can see you - on the lowest setting it will last for many, many hours!
On unlit roads I have only ever needed the second setting, again very bright and even on this setting it will last for hours on end.
I have only ever used the top two settings offroad while MTB-ing, using it on the road would remove paint from cars and induce serious injury to oncoming drivers eyes - I suspect that on full power you can be seen from space!
I have had mine for well over a year with no issues at all and have ridden in the rain, snow, heavy fog with no misting or water ingress.
Cheaper on here though:It has 4 settings, on lit roads you only need it on the lowest setting and it gives plenty output to light up the drain covers and potholes, plus other road users can see you - on the lowest setting it will last for many, many hours!
On unlit roads I have only ever needed the second setting, again very bright and even on this setting it will last for hours on end.
I have only ever used the top two settings offroad while MTB-ing, using it on the road would remove paint from cars and induce serious injury to oncoming drivers eyes - I suspect that on full power you can be seen from space!
I have had mine for well over a year with no issues at all and have ridden in the rain, snow, heavy fog with no misting or water ingress.
http://www.magicshineuk.co.uk
Gizmoish said:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/p7-water-resistant-ss...
Get a couple of these. I've got one and the light off it is awesome so I'm getting another for my helmet.
These, and a lot of the other bike lights on the Deal Extreme website, are bloody brilliant.Get a couple of these. I've got one and the light off it is awesome so I'm getting another for my helmet.
fid said:
Gizmoish said:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/p7-water-resistant-ss...
Get a couple of these. I've got one and the light off it is awesome so I'm getting another for my helmet.
These, and a lot of the other bike lights on the Deal Extreme website, are bloody brilliant.Get a couple of these. I've got one and the light off it is awesome so I'm getting another for my helmet.
fid said:
fid said:
Gizmoish said:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/p7-water-resistant-ss...
Get a couple of these. I've got one and the light off it is awesome so I'm getting another for my helmet.
These, and a lot of the other bike lights on the Deal Extreme website, are bloody brilliant.Get a couple of these. I've got one and the light off it is awesome so I'm getting another for my helmet.
Cree and SSC make the actual emitters, I think the rest if the kits are put together by companies (/individuals) you've never heard if and can't pronounce anyway. Bloody good though.
Gizmoish said:
fid said:
fid said:
Gizmoish said:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/p7-water-resistant-ss...
Get a couple of these. I've got one and the light off it is awesome so I'm getting another for my helmet.
These, and a lot of the other bike lights on the Deal Extreme website, are bloody brilliant.Get a couple of these. I've got one and the light off it is awesome so I'm getting another for my helmet.
Cree and SSC make the actual emitters, I think the rest if the kits are put together by companies (/individuals) you've never heard if and can't pronounce anyway. Bloody good though.
http://www.magicshineuk.co.uk/products/Magicshine-...
And these:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/p7-water-resistant-ss...
both say "P7" so I presume that the emitter is made by SSC and is the same in both?
Loads more here too:
http://www.dealextreme.com/c/bike-light-1644?page=...
I would question the need for a super-bright front lights for roads. I have a P7 (eBay) that I use for night mountain biking. When our route goes onto the occasional road I switch to the low power setting.
On full power they are ludicrously bright and can actually dazzle oncoming vehicles. Yes drivers will see you but they would still see you just as easily with less than half the brightness. Secondly you simply don't need that much light to see where you are going. Yes off-road, on twist singletrack at high speed, but certainly not on a road even if unlit.
Batteries don't last very long so you'll be charging batteries at least every couple of days.
On full power they are ludicrously bright and can actually dazzle oncoming vehicles. Yes drivers will see you but they would still see you just as easily with less than half the brightness. Secondly you simply don't need that much light to see where you are going. Yes off-road, on twist singletrack at high speed, but certainly not on a road even if unlit.
Batteries don't last very long so you'll be charging batteries at least every couple of days.
This is the light I bought, on a friend's recommendation:
http://dx.com/p/ha-iii-ssc-p7-c-sxo-3-mode-900-lum...
$77 rather than $44 - think it converts to about £44
Still an absolute bargain when compared to lights sold in UK bike shops. 2 brightness levels, the lowest is fine for cycling through lanes at night with on-coming traffic, and also the flash setting.
US to UK plug adaptor needed, cost £7 from Play.com or Amazon I think.
http://dx.com/p/ha-iii-ssc-p7-c-sxo-3-mode-900-lum...
$77 rather than $44 - think it converts to about £44
Still an absolute bargain when compared to lights sold in UK bike shops. 2 brightness levels, the lowest is fine for cycling through lanes at night with on-coming traffic, and also the flash setting.US to UK plug adaptor needed, cost £7 from Play.com or Amazon I think.
Cheers for teh link and the info.
To the other guy; I ride a mixture of roads/cyclepaths and some of the cycle paths are unlit basically cross country which can be reasonably fast on the downhill bits. So being able to see where I'm going is a high priority!
But I do recognise that there's a distinction to be made between "lights so other vehicles can see you" and "lights so you can see where you're going.". I don't expect you'd really need much more than lights for others to see you on a lit road with street lamps, but on unlit sections you need an equivalent to a car's main beam really.
To the other guy; I ride a mixture of roads/cyclepaths and some of the cycle paths are unlit basically cross country which can be reasonably fast on the downhill bits. So being able to see where I'm going is a high priority!
But I do recognise that there's a distinction to be made between "lights so other vehicles can see you" and "lights so you can see where you're going.". I don't expect you'd really need much more than lights for others to see you on a lit road with street lamps, but on unlit sections you need an equivalent to a car's main beam really.
I've had a couple of cheapo Chinese ones off Deal Extreme. They're great for as long as they last, but tend not to last for too long. I'm not talking about the ones with separate battery packs as others have posted up, but rather the torch lights which clip into a helmet holder. When the last one broke the day I wanted to go on an off-road night ride, I got an Exposure Joystick from the LBS instead. Far more expensive, but bloody lovely, and superb quality.
Just one word of caution. Depending on what sort of terrain you're going to be riding on, I'd suggest you consider getting a stronger light for the handlebars, and a weaker one for your helmet.
Having them only on the bars means you can only see where the bike is pointing, but having them on the helmet only can make potholes vanish! The reason for this is that the light is coming from above your line of sight, so you can't see any shadow inside the pothole.
Just one word of caution. Depending on what sort of terrain you're going to be riding on, I'd suggest you consider getting a stronger light for the handlebars, and a weaker one for your helmet.
Having them only on the bars means you can only see where the bike is pointing, but having them on the helmet only can make potholes vanish! The reason for this is that the light is coming from above your line of sight, so you can't see any shadow inside the pothole.
Viperzs said:
I would hate to use a MagicShine. They look like they would only last a couple of months. It seems people only buy them because of the lumen claims of the LED they use...
I would rather pay good money for a good light.
There only seem to be about two companies who make led bulbs and around 5 who make battery packs. The rest is just basic electronics & wiring. So i'm not seeing where the big difference will be from a premium light.I would rather pay good money for a good light.
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