Lights for winter night rides

[bikenut2010]

Anyone have advice? I don't really want to spend more than 100 quid, seen some scary prices in LBS, recommendations?
( already have a cheap 20 quid front lamp and a multi led rear etc )

 

[monty dog]

Search for Magicshine or Cree XML on ebay - there are some UK sellers. Don't expect Hope quality or durability, but what do you expect for £40?

 

[Ross 1964]

There are some pretty good (and lo o o ong!) threads on this subject on the BikeRadar forums (Road and Commuting sections).

There are some extremely attractive price deals on Hong Kong sourced gear (seems too cheap to be good quality if you ask me) or US/UK brands offer high quality engineering at a higher price.

I do a lot of night riding both commuting and training, all unlit rural roads, so I bit the bullet and spent 200 notes on an Exposure Toro. Unbelieveable brightness (900 lumens), you can ride at normal speeds in pitch dark, no spare battery pack, single sealed waterproof self-contained unit that charges via USB and gives 3hr on full. It really is like having a car headlight, it's that good.

I too started with a £100 budget. I am far from being wealthy (my only bike is a 1984 Raleigh Gran Tour) but I do not regret a penny of my spend on the light. And it makes a superb torch for dog walking etc!

 

[Ross 1964]

Magicshine, Monty Dog, that's what I was trying to remember. I think they claim the same brightness as my UK-made exquisitely-engineered £200 light.

You have to wonder what corners are cut to get the price that low. I wouldn't criticise anyone for buying one (it's very tempting for sure) but personally I would not buy cheap in this area as the consequences of a failure several miles from home on a rainy night don't bear thinking about.

I think of it as a one-off insurance outlay for my own safety. At least that's how I sold it to the missus!!

 

[Goldie]

Search for Magicshine or Cree XML on ebay - there are some UK sellers. Don't expect Hope quality or durability, but what do you expect for £40?

Are Hope good monty dog? I need a new light, as my weeknight rides are usually on unlit roads, and I'd like to buy one manufactured in the UK. It'd be good to have an owner''s views.

 

[mattsccm]

Surely you should be looking at those old flat wonderlamps or something equally retro

 

[bikenut2010]

Surely you should be looking at those old flat wonderlamps or something equally retro

and rig up a retro trailer for batteries / dynamo etc... excellent idea!

 

[monty dog]

I was contemplating buying a Hope or an Exposure but my LBS offered me a killer deal on a Lupine Piko which suits my needs perfectly. I've also got a Dinotte and one of the Planet-X Luu lights. When you consider than all the LEDs come from the same factory and cost about a fiver, add in a PCB for a quid or two, a tenner's worth of rechargeable Li-ion batteries and you do start to wonder at the silly prices people are charging. For those MTB guys riding 24 hour enduros, then maybe there's a justification for spending £400 on a light. For road use, 600 lumens is enough - any more and it can start annoying oncoming drivers. The Piko on the bike and the Dinotte on the helmet is more than adequate for singletracking through the trees.

 

[Ross 1964]

For road use, 600 lumens is enough - any more and it can start annoying oncoming drivers.

You could be right, but notwithstanding that there is a lot of willy-waving to be heard on webforums about how many lumens Tom, Dick or Harry have, I wouldn't like less than the 900 lumen light that I have, for serious and regular fast riding in the dark.

What doesn't often get mentioned is the difference in perceived brightness on dry roads vs wet. A wet, muddy tarmac road, in pitch dark, needs a huge amount of light to make it bright enough to ride safely at speed, compared to dry tarmac which seems to glow almost white with reflected light, by comparison. On dry roads I use the mid-beam setting.

As for blinding drivers, I agree that 900 is far too bright, which is why the Exposure (and others too) come with a quick-to-use switch that effectively dips the light to a lower level.

 

[tonyf39]

okay, I bought one of these from the far east, widely sold ont fleabay at £5.60 incl postage & yah gets a rear flasher too. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-Watt-LED-Fl ... 255a6fb1e3
Yup, it's only my stairs at home but you get the picture.
I've got a very similar LED light with more of a spot and together they are more than ample for unlit road riding even up to 30mph down a potholed back road near me.
Takes 3AAAs, sure it doesn't go on for much over an hour(i haven't put in Ansmann's yet!), it wouldn't be suited for 'proper' off road but for on road at a budget you could buy 2 lights, an ultra fast charger + 8x1100 Ansmann AAAs for £36..bargain