lights for commuting

biomed32

Hey guys, been a while. Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for lights for commuting. Will be on some dark roads over the winter and fed up of three hour commutes with the bus strike. Thanks!

jon1981

recent thread...


http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=100990596

biomed32

jon1981 wrote: »

recent thread...


http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=100990596

My apologies! I must have missed it while bowsing. Thanks

Milly33

As many lights as you can!! Watch out in Aldi and Lidl coming up to Winter they do great sets for around €7 - €9 I think. Back light, Front Light, mini ones they are great. I use them for ghost hunting haha all the time and they never let you down.. I spotted these today https://www.amazon.co.uk/CKB-Ltd-Signalling-Wireless-Indicators/dp/B00F4YQCWW it wasnt amazon i found them on but just for example.. Always a Hi vi vest too

CatFromHue

I'd go for quality over quantity for lights.

You do see some people with these little lights all over the place (helmet, back pack, various parts of the frame) but a good front light on the handlebars and back light just below the saddle would be far more illuminating.

ted1

I'm a huge fan of hub Dynamo lights. Rise bikes have a good range of wheels and B&m lights

PaulT21

Milly33 wrote: »

As many lights as you can!! Watch out in Aldi and Lidl coming up to Winter they do great sets for around €7 - €9 I think. Back light, Front Light, mini ones they are great. I use them for ghost hunting haha all the time and they never let you down.. I spotted these today https://www.amazon.co.uk/CKB-Ltd-Signalling-Wireless-Indicators/dp/B00F4YQCWW it wasnt amazon i found them on but just for example.. Always a Hi vi vest too

This Thursday in Aldi, all the cycling gear is in including lights. There is a thread on it already.:)

Dermot Illogical

I use a Cateye nano shot el620rc for unlit roads on my commute. I've had it a few years and find it very good. Compact, takes up very little space on the bars. Rechargeable, so I plug it into my desktop at work and it's good to go on the way home again. 250 lumens, which I point downward so it lights up the road nicely. It doesn't have enough battery for longer spins at night, but ideal for commutes. Mine are around 60 to 70 minutes at night and it's never come close to giving out. Flashy settings on lit roads, solid on unlit.
It was expensive enough (around 100) a few years back, but has more than paid for itself by now.

On the quantity over quality thing, I use both. One solid, one flashing on the front. Same again on the back. Higher quality lights on solid. I think the rear solid is around 60 lumen on full. The flasher is around 30.
On the front the Cateye 250 lumen on solid, and a 60 lumen flasher.

alexinkildare

I got the Lidl ones and they were the brightest lights on the spin last night. Got a couple of cars flashing at me aswell so they must be bright.

13 quid I think and rechargeable..

lennymc

got a hub dynamo and led light a couple of years ago and it's been great. Fully recommended.

triggermortis

ted1 wrote: »

I'm a huge fan of hub Dynamo lights. Rise bikes have a good range of wheels and B&m lights

Shouldn't that be Rose bikes?

Carawaystick

alexinkildare wrote: »

I got the Lidl ones and they were the brightest lights on the spin last night. Got a couple of cars flashing at me aswell so they must be bright.

13 quid I think and rechargeable..

I got one of these a few months ago and cycled from Drogehda home on back roads at night and it was super, its much lighter than the last lidl light which took 4 AA batteries.
The aa's lasted much longer than the usb rechargable though.

ted1

triggermortis wrote: »

Shouldn't that be Rose bikes?

It should , I guess my fingers are too fat for the small keyboard on the phone

fletch

Personally I think redundancy is very important particularly on the back light as if the battery runs out, you might now know about it until it's too late. So I always have at least 2 lights pointing in each direction.

Fian

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Bicycle-Light-7-Watt-2000-Lumens-3-Mode-CREE-Q5-LED-cycling-Front-Light-Bike-lights/32442972668.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.PCA1JG

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/5LED-2Laser-Cycling-Bicycle-Bike-light-7-Flash-Mode-Safety-Rear-Lamp-waterproof-Laser-Tail-Warning/32455041908.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.PCA1JG

My recent purchases from Aliexpress. Though judging from teh amount of light the front light puts out i expect battery replacement may be more frequent that I am used to.

Next time i buy a commuting bike i will probably want a hub dynamo though.

shamrock2004

Ordered these today: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/lezyne-macro-front-micro-rear-light-set-2015/rp-prod127928

Will let you know what they are like (but the reviews seem good)

secman

shamrock2004 wrote: »

Ordered these today: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/lezyne-macro-front-micro-rear-light-set-2015/rp-prod127928

Will let you know what they are like (but the reviews seem good)

And keep them out of the bed ....:)

shamrock2004

secman wrote: »

And keep them out of the bed ....:)

They arrived. First impressions, very good! Nice array of lighting options, you can adjust the intensity and charge then via usb. Very nice fit on the seat post considering I have an aero seat post. Am off the bike next week so won't get a chance to use them until then, but will try them out in the bedroom with the lights out tonight and see what quirky shadow puppets I can make on the wall.