It's that time of year again ...commuter lights (and things)

[Chris71]

This morning I had the grim realisation that it's now September. In a matter of days we'll be into autumn, and not long after that the clocks will change. Great.

I've more or less got into commuting by bike just as the ideal conditions are coming to a close, so what do I need to keep going through the autumn and winter? In particular, what lighting setup do you recommend? I've currently got a Lumicycle halogen system for mountain biking, but is that perhaps a bit too bright and a bit limited in terms of discharge time for regular commuting on lit roads?

[a11y_m]

I use these and find them very bright: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Smart_5_LED_Fron... - gives me good flashy front and rear LEDs

I also use another older Cateye rear LED on constant though, plus my Ay-Up MTBing LEDs on the front for added visibility - I've got a good bit of unlit offroad on my commute. The Ay-Ups are stupidly bright though but IMO you can't have too bright (within reason).

[anonymous-user]

it really depends on your route and what the street lighting is like but i use a flashing and solid rear LED and a flashing front. Both Cateyes around £25-30 each... they are not great but they are there to let others see me rather than for me to be able to see, the streetlights where i usually commute are very good so big rechrgeable lights are not required. i always run the front flashing as from expereince, these are easily spotted in rear view mirrors.

some of those snap wrist/ankle reflector strips arent a bad idea for your right arm/leg. i also saw some reflectors built into the end caps on the bars of a road bike once which was a novel touch, only works on drop bar bikes though!

i would recommend a pair of these as an emergency should your regular lights fail too.
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/knog/frog-led-...
they also do a rear...

[mackie1]

This bad boy has been recommended to me:

http://www.mtbbritain.co.uk/mountain_bike_lights_r...

I think I shall pick one up.

This'll be my first autumn/winter of cycling too, any recommendation for suitable attire welcome. I currently ride in normal cotton shorts and t-shirt which isn't really suitable for proper riding or inclement conditions.

[dubbs]

I have this:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Cateye_TL_LD1100...

And another small constant red on the rear (older Cateye)

On the front I have:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Cateye_HL_LD270_...

and

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Cateye_EL410_Fro...


The LD1100 Rear is superb, extremely bright and a few different light patterns so either row can flash whilst the other is constant or running a different pattern if you wish.

[Chris71]

I can't remember the last time I drove it in the dark TBH, but I suspect the route will be fairly well lit, so I will just be aiming to be seen. The main thing will probably be battery life and the ease of recharging/replacing them - otherwise I'll set off one morning having forgotten to charge them and run out halfway through. I did that on my MTB once and it's frightening enough without oncomming busses!

Some interesting thoughts on lights - more welcome! - but what about other autumn/winter kit, like mudguards and clothing?

[mackie1]

LED stuff lasts for ages unless it's stupidly bright (like the P7 I linked to). Just carry some spare batteries in your bag and don't worry about it.

[mackie1]

I'm pondering getting a front mud guard, not sure whether to get one that fits to the down tube or one that fits to the fork itself like this:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/THE_Pro_Series_L...

The thing that annoys me most in the wet is the spray that gets projected forward and up into your face.

[Rolls]

I'll be using my USE joystick on the front of the bike - VERY very bright so people won't be able to claim they've not seen me..

[Beyond Rational]

I've just gone for a Fenix LD20 - 180 Lumens for under £50, takes AA batteries, is very light and has lower powered settings for longer life.

http://www.fenixtorch.co.uk/led_torches/fenix_ld20...

[Mekon]

I've got one bike with a dynohub and a B&M IQ Cyo, and the other has got twin B&M IQ Ixons. I can't be arsed with lights with battery packs for commuting. Both setups put huge amounts of light on the road. On the rear of both I have a smart carrier light and a Superflash.

Beams shots for the Cyo and a single Ixon here:

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/headlights.asp

[CooperS]

A Joystick or the good value Hope LED would be a good way to go.

[Henry Hawthorne]

I have Knog front and rear LEDs. They're relatively cheap, very bright, have no stupid bracket to break/fit, and will last forever as they're LED. Can't fault them TBH.

[PomBstard]

Been using a Hope Single Vision for the past winter Down Under - excellent piece of kit that doesn't chew through batteries, unless you keep using the brightest setting. Dimmest is fine for roads with streetlights, brightest is good for wooded off-road. And the bracket stays with the light so you can swap between bikes easily.

Can get a linky thing to work but I got mine from Wiggle.

[SoliD]

I got the Blackburn Design Quadrant/Mars 3.0 combo pack recently and put it on my boardman, the front unit is quite large, but it has combined static/flash modes on the front and the rear has amber side lighting too. The front is very bright and I use it when cycling home from the pub in the dark and its good on its own.

[bleesh]

Cateye all the way for me - front I've got an EL320 which I use on flashing mode - on a dark road it lights up the road signs from about 300 yards!!
LD600 on the back on flashing and LD150 on steady.

If it's gonna be raining as well, I stick on old LED on the back of the saddlebag on flashing as well.

Sounds obvious but as you can't see what's coming from behind you can't really go overboard with rear lights.
On the front I stick with the flashing light as this (should) mean people see you - but if they don't you can usually react.

[Chris71]

What do people think about this?

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Cateye_EL530_And...

Overkill for commuting on lit roads?

[hondafanatic]

Chris71 said:

Overkill for commuting on lit roads?

No such thing as overkill. I've commuted with 3 powerful lights, all pointing level so as not to blind anyone and front flasher on my helmet (that just sounds wrong!), basically lit up like a Christmas tree and people still do daft manouvers infront of me...

[pdV6]

hondafanatic said:

Chris71 said:

Overkill for commuting on lit roads?

No such thing as overkill. I've commuted with 3 powerful lights, all pointing level so as not to blind anyone and front flasher on my helmet (that just sounds wrong!), basically lit up like a Christmas tree and people still do daft manouvers infront of me...

Agreed.

In fact, it's easy for your lights to blend in with car headlights behind you, so the more the merrier - preferably with at least one flashing away to stand out from the background clutter.