Bicycle lights - HOW MUCH!!?!?!?!?!???!!

[andy400]

Looking for some bike lights, picked up a catalogue from a place (forgotten the name) that's sort of inside 'Snow & Rock' in Bristol. Having a flick through it on the way home (I wasn't driving), first noticed that their basic light was, whilst affordable, quite pricey. Then noticed increasing prices as looked through their range. Gasped as we got into the £hundreds. Deep shock at price of the 'top of the range' light for a push-bike:

£750

Am I missing something? It appears to have 12 LEDs and is rechargeable, but I'm pretty sure neither LEDs or rechargeable batteries would justify a price of £750!! Frankly, I'd want it diamond-studded at that price!

Is this just for those with too much money, to give them something to buy and willy-wave about, or is there some reason why a bike light could be £750?

[littleandy0410]

Stop moaning you cheapskate, I've got two of them mounted on one of my bikes, this is the one:

http://www.kudubikes.co.uk/cgi-bin/trolleyed_publi...

[andy400]

littleandy0410 said:

Stop moaning you cheapskate,

Cheapskate!!?

Hmmm, I guess it's all about priorities, but I'd still like to know why so much!!?

As I said to the missus this morning as I read about some bespoke luggage that costs about £55,000 per suitcase:

"Not even if I had millions would I spend £55k on a firkin' suitcase......"

Delete and add £750, bicycle light, as appropriate.

[Mekon]

Sure, the led ones can be replicated cheaply if you have the time and inclination. Whether lights are worth spending money on is subjective; do you really need to see / be seen?

[rolex]

Mekon said:

Sure, the led ones can be replicated cheaply if you have the time and inclination. Whether lights are worth spending money on is subjective; do you really need to see / be seen?

And blind approaching traffic.Can you dip those things?

[dhutch]

rolex said:

And blind approaching traffic.Can you dip those things?

Well, if you hurtling down the northface of nowhere there wont be any cars!

Seriously.
- Ive never been properly biking at night, but if did i would want some mega power, on my bike, and mounted on my head.

However at the same time, i agree that the prices at the topend, infact, thoughout the ranges. Are stupidly high.

My bike cost £650 but i cant afford any lights.


Daniel

[littleandy0410]

andy400 said:

littleandy0410 said:

Stop moaning you cheapskate,

Cheapskate!!?

Hopefully you'll have realised my sarcasm in that post - I don't own a £7k+ bike, nor do I own 2 sets of £750 lights! My road bike cost less than one of those lights, and my lights are 2x tesco 3w LED torches at £10 a time! I have just splashed out £10 on a Smart 1/2 watt LED rear light, and all I can say is WOW! It's sreiously bright! Nothing will dare overtake me now!

[Matt H]

I bought a £12 light - just to be seen on my road bike as I was using it to get to work yesterday. It was this biggist pile of crap ever! The only thing I could see was my own gloves, must try & find my old MTB lights.............

[JPJ]

I think the main thing to realise here, is there is a market for them, although it's certainly not widespread. As with that Scott Genius, it's about what the market might stand. Recently, biking has attracted a lot of interest and there are people prepared to spend big money on bikes and components. Whether they're any good when riding them is a different matter! ;-)

However, there is a lot of technology that goes into those lights. They often use HID bulbs (similar to car xenons) or new technology LED's to provide massive amounts of light, and with ever reducing battery sizes, or increased battery output, which of course trickles down to more normal models over time.

I think if you look at it as a pure light for 'commuting/general riding' then they would be massive overkill, but for off road riders looking to train solidly through the winter, or for those involved with 24 hour racing, they might be worth the spend, assuming they're the type of person who already has spent big on the bike and accessories.

I've recently invested in a light at about a third of the price of the one you mention, and it is fantastic for night riding on off road trails. Some people would view that as a lot of cash to spend, but if I want to ride through the winter darkness and get hours in outside of work, then I need something to see with, plus I swap it on to my commuting bike for normal purposes.

[Roop]

I have a couple of Cateye HL-EL520's up front as below:



Plus my older set of Cateyes as well, a filament based headlamp plus multi-mode 5-LED rear. With the three lamps on up front, it's plenty good enough for road riding or, provided you are taking it easy, trail riding. No good fo anything serious, but then again, I am not a serious rider.

A couple of hundred on a HID system, I can see the point but £750. Far out man.

[gbbird]

I too agree that the price of even low to mid range decent lights is an absolute rip off for what they are. it really is ridiculous money for what are essentially torches. there is no new technology at play here. I wonder what the manufacturing unit price is for these units?

But i guess they have the market cornered, so it is us, the poor cyclists, who suffer in the wallet department. I am about to spend about £180 on a front light - i begrudge it totally, but i do need one, so in for a penny and all that!

g

[shalmaneser]

gbbird said:

I too agree that the price of even low to mid range decent lights is an absolute rip off for what they are. it really is ridiculous money for what are essentially torches. there is no new technology at play here. I wonder what the manufacturing unit price is for these units?

But i guess they have the market cornered, so it is us, the poor cyclists, who suffer in the wallet department. I am about to spend about £180 on a front light - i begrudge it totally, but i do need one, so in for a penny and all that!

g

With respect, bks.

These are low run products, economies of scale are minimal. Rest assured it is a very competitive marketplace!

I wonder how many £750 lights are actually sold globally? Not very many.

A £200 light will be a fantastic piece of kit that will last forever if well looked after.

[Saddle bum]

Build your own bike lights.

[Parrot of Doom]

When you see the light output that a decent LED light can emit, for a couple of hundred quid you can't really complain. The lights you would have been looking at would have been HID lights, and the price sounds quite reasonable. They'll sell no more than a few hundred per year so will be priced accordingly.

[zagato]

Lights are just dead weight. Even £750 quid ones for loons. After using various cateye and smart models I have gone ultra light weight now, using these frogs... bright as hell if you look into them, cheap and disposable if they take a big knock, can attach anywhere with no brackets, small as a keyring. Save your money for better bike components which make a difference! Not for forest riding, but bright enough flashing to be seen a mile away on the roads...

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/knog/frog-led-...

ps they do front and rear

Edited by zagato on Sunday 26th October 13:27

[mchammer89]

zagato said:

Lights are just dead weight. Even £750 quid ones for loons. After using various cateye and smart models I have gone ultra light weight now, using these frogs... bright as hell if you look into them, cheap and disposable if they take a big knock, can attach anywhere with no brackets, small as a keyring. Save your money for better bike components which make a difference! Not for forest riding, but bright enough flashing to be seen a mile away on the roads...

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/knog/frog-led-...

ps they do front and rear

Edited by zagato on Sunday 26th October 13:27

+1

My friend has these and they are very good, and for that price, they are fantastic value.

[Parrot of Doom]

Not much good for spotting wet tree roots at 15mph off road though.

[medicineman]

Depends on your riding. I night ride twice a week now around Sheffield, around Eccleshall Woods, Blacka Moor, Porter Valley etc - all very dark all well worth the Hope led 4's I have.

[pdV6]

The £750 ones are most likely top of the line Lupine lights. e.g. these

No, you don't need to spend that much money on lights but they'll be a seriously good bit of kit.

Lupine have consistently managed to get more light and longer run-times out of the same basic components as other manufacturers and the build quality is second to none.

For that particular model, there's probably 2 specific markets:

1. 24hr racers. Run it at half power ("just" about as bright as a decent car headlight!) and you can use it all night long without needing to stop for a recharge.

2. People with a lot of disposable income who want the best that money can buy.

So no, I suspect that they don't sell too many of that model.

[CooperS]

pdV6 said:

The £750 ones are most likely top of the line Lupine lights. e.g. these

No, you don't need to spend that much money on lights but they'll be a seriously good bit of kit.

Lupine have consistently managed to get more light and longer run-times out of the same basic components as other manufacturers and the build quality is second to none.

For that particular model, there's probably 2 specific markets:

1. 24hr racers. Run it at half power ("just" about as bright as a decent car headlight!) and you can use it all night long without needing to stop for a recharge.

2. People with a lot of disposable income who want the best that money can buy.

So no, I suspect that they don't sell too many of that model.

I've got the Wilma 4's not the more expensive Betty's 8 / 12 which i presume is the price for them.

Think mine were around £300...

I value good lights up with a good helmet, tyres/brakes and regular servicing. Never scimp on safety it could all end in tears if not.

I think mines a good comprimise for off road as well as on . You'd only need Betty's if your seriously hitting the trails a couple a nights a week.

Dont forget these come with multiple light settings and will run forever (full run mine will lat over 3 hours) and be very durable.

However if you ride with mates with lesser lights expect some jip off them as you flood them in darkness behind them and annoy the heck out of them when decending.