Opinion on this light set ?

Invincible

Hi all,I'm looking for a set of lights for illuminating unlit roads,what do ye think of these,or have ye any recommendations?
Thank's for your comments.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Cateye_EL530_And_LD1100_Light_Set/5360025771/

Nietzschean

have you read: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055705708

tunney

Invincible wrote: »

Hi all,I'm looking for a set of lights for illuminating unlit roads,what do ye think of these,or have ye any recommendations?
Thank's for your comments.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Cateye_EL530_And_LD1100_Light_Set/5360025771/

To cycle on unlit roads you really really need to splash the cash.

There are people who wax lyrical about the Fenix this and that, but that only pumps out 280 lumen. Which is nice but for long unlit country spins on unlit country roads it doesn't come close to what is required.

Needless to say the cateyes are sufficient front or rear.

Gavin

tunney wrote: »

To cycle on unlit roads you really really need to splash the cash.

There are people who wax lyrical about the Fenix this and that, but that only pumps out 280 lumen. Which is nice but for long unlit country spins on unlit country roads it doesn't come close to what is required.

Needless to say the cateyes are sufficient front or rear.

Keep up to date Tunney, the Magicshine puts out around 650 lumens, real measurement. 55 quid from dealextreme.

72hundred

@OP; Fenix gives a good dense spot light and MagicShine a more diffuse light that's as bright as the fenix's spot.

I've both, but for you I recommend MagicShine. (BTW Fenix are built like tanks, so if you need the best reliability go with 'em)

tunney

Gavin wrote: »

Keep up to date Tunney, the Magicshine puts out around 650 lumens, real measurement. 55 quid from dealextreme.

I stand corrected, provided the pattern is okay 650 should do the trick nicely.

72hundred

tunney wrote: »

To cycle on unlit roads you really really need to splash the cash.

Haha. Classic boards.ie answer - you need to spend more money!!

tunney

72hundred wrote: »

Haha. Classic boards.ie answer - you need to spend more money!!

Well if you try cycling at 11 o'clock at night on country roads with crappy cateyes you'll quickly learn why quality lights are expensive.

blorg

tunney wrote: »

There are people who wax lyrical about the Fenix this and that, but that only pumps out 280 lumen. Which is nice but for long unlit country spins on unlit country roads it doesn't come close to what is required.

It's actually more like 240 lumen on high. It is entirely sufficient for long spins in the dark; I have done 150km in the dark with one across the country and over 60km/h on descents. I descended the Col de Marie Blanque with one in the dark, no problem. 650 lumens is nice (I have a MagicShine myself) but it is not entirely necessary. For one all round light the Fenix is a better bet as it has easily replaceable batteries and will give you longer run time as a result.

Agree those Cateyes are not sufficient.

streacy

I have that Cateye lightset and while it's fine around town, I would agree that the front light is not good enough for unlit roads. Tried it out on some of the back roads in the Phoenix park one evening and it was pretty useless... narrow beam that lights up about 1m diameter at a time.
I got an LED hub dynamo powered light in the end and the difference is night and day. The back light in that Cateye set is pretty good though, 10 LEDs in two bars, you can set one flashing and one solid at the same time...

72hundred

tunney wrote: »

Well if you try cycling at 11 o'clock at night on country roads with crappy cateyes you'll quickly learn why quality lights are expensive.

Ah sure I know! I've tk11, cateye (3led) and magicshine. I'd recommend the magicshine, I've used at 6am in morning with sleepy eyes that wouldn't see small imperfections that the tk11 doesn't pick up. Blorg would say different, but it's personal preference and the quality of the road you're on and if you're trying to avoid ice and stones!

blorg

It does depend on your eyesight as well, I know plenty of audax guys doing long rides at night with lights substantially dimmer than even the Fenix. So what may do for one rider may be insufficient for another with poorer night vision.

I certainly agree that the Magicshine gives more light and makes things generally easier as a result but for me anyway it is a luxury. It is not IMHO as suitable for long long rides as the battery life on high is too low and the batteries are not replacable.

Also if you are going to only have ONE light the Fenix is very reliable which I would not necessarily say about the Magicshine.

Invincible

Thank's for your thoughts lads,will probably go with Magicshine or Tk11 then,maybe use the Ld1100 on rear.
@ Blorg,are the 18650 cells not replaceable in the Magicshine?

Home:Ballyhoura

Invincible wrote: »

@ Blorg,are the 18650 cells not replaceable in the Magicshine?

The MagicShine comes with a battery pack of 4x18650 cells which comes with a UK wall charger for the 5 mode version I got anyway!

EDIT: Just to clarify, yes they are rechargable!

Invincible

Home:Ballyhoura wrote: »

The MagicShine comes with a battery pack of 4x18650 cells which comes with a UK wall charger for the 5 mode version I got anyway!

EDIT: Just to clarify, yes they are rechargable!

I have an Ultrafire charger,got an Eagletac T100C2 MarkII a few weeks back.

Is there a glare from it,have you to dim it as you met traffic?

Home:Ballyhoura

Well, I would imagine you would need to cover it or point it down (somehow reduce the glare for drivers) if it was on medium/high. Maybe you would get away with it on low but I'm not sure and that might not be enough for you to see as much as you might want. It is a bit of a balancing ace alright, a compromise between good visibilty and blinding drivers but don't get me wrong! This is one serious light and well capable of night mtb on its own.

The batteries in the pack are sealed in a sort of shrink wrap plastic with a chip soldered in to provide protection and prevent overcharging/discharging. Because of this you will not be using your Ultrafire charger if that is the question you are aksing

Invincible

That's good to know Ballyhoura!
I was wondering why Blorg said the batteries were'nt replaceable,as I had'nt known they were sealed together with chip.

blorg

Yes, it is a "battery pack" containing 18650s inside but you can't just replace with 18650s, that was my point.