Light Recommendations (formerly Front Light For Dark Country) Road Commute

moonshadow · 23-01-2017 08:48PM

I use a leyzene 800 XL and it's perfectly fine for 3 hrs at high beam on the country roads I use....

Takca · 23-01-2017 11:22PM

I'm curious, do any of these options have concepts of a Full beam and dipped beam?

I know a lot of them have strengths including eco, low, medium, high etc... but do any of them have a simple way of toggling between high and medium without going between other options?

basically I'm worried about the possibility of blinding a oncoming car(some of the lights being discussed here seem to be brights enough to worry about this) and would like to be able to quickly "dip" the full beam and then switch back without selecting various other options.

Kaisr Sose · 23-01-2017 11:51PM

CatFromHue wrote: »

be careful with a 1000 lumen light as you will blind people with it

Agreed. Totally OTT to use a 1000lumen light on a bicycle on public roads. You may as well shine a laser at motorists. Same effect!

ted1 · 24-01-2017 12:22AM

Kaisr Sose wrote: »

Agreed. Totally OTT to use a 1000lumen light on a bicycle on public roads. You may as well shine a laser at motorists. Same effect!

Yep poorly designed lights tend to measure in lumens where as well designed , purpose built lights tend to use lux.

For cycling Good lux beats high lumens.

The tax man · 24-01-2017 01:43AM

Takca wrote: »

I'm curious, do any of these options have concepts of a Full beam and dipped beam?

I know a lot of them have strengths including eco, low, medium, high etc... but do any of them have a simple way of toggling between high and medium without going between other options?

basically I'm worried about the possibility of blinding a oncoming car(some of the lights being discussed here seem to be brights enough to worry about this) and would like to be able to quickly "dip" the full beam and then switch back without selecting various other options.

The Lezyne lights in "over drive" mode will cut out all the other options and leave you with two choices, max and economy outputs. Cuts out the other 4/5 modes.

cdaly_ · 24-01-2017 11:03AM

ted1 wrote: »

Wouldn't say no use, I get 7 minutes of light from the smaller LEDs on the front.

Yeah but you can't shine that on the rear mech as you try to fix it. I carry a small Fenix E12 torch strapped to my helmet. Useful for reading speedo/route sheet/map in the dark and very handy for mechanicals. Takes one AA battery.

Takca wrote: »

I'm curious, do any of these options have concepts of a Full beam and dipped beam?

I know a lot of them have strengths including eco, low, medium, high etc... but do any of them have a simple way of toggling between high and medium without going between other options?

basically I'm worried about the possibility of blinding a oncoming car(some of the lights being discussed here seem to be brights enough to worry about this) and would like to be able to quickly "dip" the full beam and then switch back without selecting various other options.

Have a look at lighting on Rosebikes.com . Being a german firm, they pretty much only stock street legal in Germany lights. These are designed to light the road much like a car's dipped beam. You don't really need a high beam on the bike except for night-time descending and many of the higher-powered street-legal lights will suffice.

Alanstrainor · 24-01-2017 11:28AM

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

http://www.candb-seen.co.uk/

For value for money hard to beat this guy. Great follow up service. Triple Cree light with long life battery gives you all night light, middle setting about 15 hours, top setting over 4 hours.
When I got mine I switched it on to fully discharge before fully charging, it took over 24 hrs to empty....

So I picked up this one:

http://www.candb-seen.co.uk/product-black-1000-lumen-bike-light-kit.html

Ordered on Friday and it landed in parcel motel on Saturday night. So far my first impressions are good. Nice quality light, seems well built, and it came with a couple of mounting options which was nice. I have it mounted to my bars with the battery pack velcroed to the top tube as far forward as it'll go. I'll probably try a few options with the battery pack positioning, but so far so good. The light is very bright, I have it dipped and pointed down to keep it from dazzling drivers. The middle setting seems to be the sweet spot for me.

So far I'm happy, nice light for not too much money. And plenty bright for even the darkest of stretches.

ford2600 · 24-01-2017 09:39PM

Weepsie wrote: »

Somehow managed to not complete my order.

Is it worth getting a rear light as the supernova I was ordering as a rear wire as standard so I'd nearly need one.

I'm back to the drawing board a bit. Supernova are not compatible with other brands either

"It is Weepsie who are Hamlet"

ted1 · 24-01-2017 10:57PM

Weepsie wrote: »

Somehow managed to not complete my order.

Is it worth getting a rear light as the supernova I was ordering has a rear wire as standard so I'd nearly need one.

I'm back to the drawing board a bit. Supernova are not compatible with other brands either

Yes. Absolutely most hubs are 6V and 3W. Front lights are generally 2.4W and the back is .6W

For the fit and forget convinence it's worth it.

When you say not compatible how do you mean?

Lumen · 24-01-2017 10:59PM

Weepsie wrote: »

Somehow managed to not complete my order.

Is it worth getting a rear light as the supernova I was ordering has a rear wire as standard so I'd nearly need one.

I'm back to the drawing board a bit. Supernova are not compatible with other brands either

I went through that a couple of years ago, couldn't be bothered to work out the compatibility issues so went back to Shimano and B&M.

A rear dyno light is handy, mostly as a backup to a rechargeable flasher.

clod71 · 27-08-2018 12:29PM

I'm looking for something suitable for riding at night this Winter without breaking the bank and without going into the dynamo market. I wouldn't mind a battery pack attached to the top tube. I'd like to have at least 1000 Lumens to ride comfortably even at 30 km/h for
Use would be mostly Road, around rural roads.
Can anyone suggest a particular light?
This one on CRC seems to tick all the boxes, but I'm not sure about the Lifeline brand...
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/lifeline-ara-2000l-external-battery-front-light/rp-prod161246

07Lapierre · 27-08-2018 12:49PM

If your OK with spending that much on one light, i'd recommend this one...

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/hope-r2-vision-led-front-light/rp-prod140450

I have the older version (R4) and it's a great light. Battery life might also be a consideration...with my R4 on the Medium setting i get about 2 hours out of it.

Mefistofelino · 27-08-2018 12:51PM

CatEye Volt 1600 / 1700 works for me.

https://www.cateye.com/intl/products/headlights/HL-EL1020RC/

Places like Probikekit should have the newer version (1700) for around €130. You may find the 1600 for less

Single piece unit, huge range of brackets available, can get a spare battery (though disproportionately expensive) and a known brand.

nilhg · 27-08-2018 01:01PM

I used this below for the night leg of the 24HR TT recently, no problems riding at up to 50 km/hr on the downhill bits using the 450 lumen setting and got 6 hrs 37 mins from the combination of light and battery pack (supposed to be 9hrs according to the brochure), it died just as dawn broke.

In fairness I'd be very happy with it for what I paid for it, which was a bit less than the current price.

https://www.probikekit.co.uk/cycling-accessories/lezyne-power-drive-1100i-loaded-front-light-black/11509389.html

Taxuser1 · 27-08-2018 01:50PM

Mefistofelino wrote: »

CatEye Volt 1600 / 1700 works for me.

https://www.cateye.com/intl/products/headlights/HL-EL1020RC/

Places like Probikekit should have the newer version (1700) for around €130. You may find the 1600 for less

Single piece unit, huge range of brackets available, can get a spare battery (though disproportionately expensive) and a known brand.

used over the winter in the pitch black wicklow hills. could see deer miles ahead. brilliant light but takes a day to recharge fully so recharge as soon as home.

https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Cateye/Volt-1200-Lumens-USB-Rechargeable-Front-Light/2V9H?&co=IRL&cu=EUR&glCountry=IE&id=133829&gclid=CjwKCAjwwo7cBRBwEiwAMEoXPBvfwO2QqdmsVTf24e6R8JYXCJA8p_POT056wk_mwnyApsBd0lOOJxoCzdQQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

cdaly_ · 27-08-2018 02:15PM

clod71 wrote: »

I'm looking for something suitable for riding at night this Winter without breaking the bank and without going into the dynamo market. I wouldn't mind a battery pack attached to the top tube. I'd like to have at least 1000 Lumens to ride comfortably even at 30 km/h for
Use would be mostly Road, around rural roads.
Can anyone suggest a particular light?
This one on CRC seems to tick all the boxes, but I'm not sure about the Lifeline brand...
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/lifeline-ara-2000l-external-battery-front-light/rp-prod161246

For that sort of money you'll get a decent 80lux front light and dynamo wheel and you never have to worry about charging or running out of battery again. You also get a light that will put all the light on the road rather than on the hedges and treetops...

clod71 · 27-08-2018 04:14PM

cdaly_ wrote: »

clod71 wrote: »

I'm looking for something suitable for riding at night this Winter without breaking the bank and without going into the dynamo market. I wouldn't mind a battery pack attached to the top tube. I'd like to have at least 1000 Lumens to ride comfortably even at 30 km/h for
Use would be mostly Road, around rural roads.
Can anyone suggest a particular light?
This one on CRC seems to tick all the boxes, but I'm not sure about the Lifeline brand...
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/lifeline-ara-2000l-external-battery-front-light/rp-prod161246

For that sort of money you'll get a decent 80lux front light and dynamo wheel and you never have to worry about charging or running out of battery again. You also get a light that will put all the light on the road rather than on the hedges and treetops...

I want something that I could easily move between different bikes...
Are you saying that type of light is more for off-road use (symmetrical) or are you referring at the position of the light (close to the fork crown rather than the bar) ?

ford2600 · 27-08-2018 04:21PM

cdaly_ wrote: »

You also get a light that will put all the light on the road rather than on the hedges and treetops...

That's not power source dependant....

https://www.rosebikes.com/bike-parts/bike-lights/battery-powered/headlights?sort=price_desc&brand%5B%5D=B+%2B+M&brand%5B%5D=Trelock

There's a list of StVZO approved battery powered lights from B&M and Trelock.
100 lux B&M lights are really good. I'd love to see the 150 lux in action.

You'll get a lot of light if you are prepared for top tube battery for a lot less than your budget

cdaly_ · 27-08-2018 04:33PM

I'm wary of fixed battery rechargeable lights, particularly those with micro-usb connectors as these have plenty of opportunity to corrode or short. You also have to stop for recharging which doesn't work in audax.

I used to use a Fenix BT20 which uses 18650 replaceable, rechargeable batteries. On a long ride, a second set of batteries keeps you going for 24+ hours without having to stop for a few hours to charge your lights. I've stopped using it since I got the dynamo but then again, I don't suffer from N+1...

saccades · 27-08-2018 09:05PM

Exposure Strada, second hand if it's above your budget (they also do factory seconds with full warranty).

Excellent kit with excellent support.

Edit to say, factory second currently on sale for £212, either duff anodising or etching on brand name.

benneca1 · 27-08-2018 09:47PM

Exposure strada is job expensive but works.

ted1 · 27-08-2018 10:09PM

Honestly if it’s for daily use during the winter a dynamo is the way to go.
I put mine on in about October and take it off in March. No worrying about batteries and riding about 2.5 hours a day

sullzz · 27-08-2018 10:58PM

Any links to a decent dynamo one ?

ted1 · 28-08-2018 12:30AM

sullzz wrote: »

Any links to a decent dynamo one ?

https://www.boards.ie/b/thread/2057895134/2#107851293

clod71 · 28-08-2018 08:16AM

ted1 wrote: »

Honestly if it’s for daily use during the winter a dynamo is the way to go.
I put mine on in about October and take it off in March. No worrying about batteries and riding about 2.5 hours a day

I've got lights for commuting during the day/evening...
I was looking for something more powerful and with a better lasting battery for the occasional Audax or specifically for an after dinner ride... 2/3 hrs exploring unlit back roads

Borderfox · 28-08-2018 09:38AM

I got a raveman pr1200 20 hours on a low but very usable setting. Comes with a handlebar mounted full power button. Can also charge other devices eg Garmin

ILIKEFOOD · 28-08-2018 11:45AM

anyone use the cheapo ones with external batteries on the likes of aliexpress?

i wouldn't mind one for a couple of uses during winter but it's not likely to get used more than a handful of times.

Macy0161 · 28-08-2018 12:21PM

ILIKEFOOD wrote: »

anyone use the cheapo ones with external batteries on the likes of aliexpress?

i wouldn't mind one for a couple of uses during winter but it's not likely to get used more than a handful of times.

I have used a relatively cheap cree one, but I didn't appreciate (despite what people said on here!) the impact of the wide dispersal beam until I met a few salmon on my commute and got blinded.

They're great for off-road, but not appropriate for on-road, and potentially unsafe for you if you dazzle a driver.

clod71 · 28-08-2018 04:43PM

http://www.magicshineuk.co.uk/bike-lights/front-bike-lights/magicshine-mj-902b-smart-usb-bike-light-bluetooth-app-version.html
This one seems to get a good enough review here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DPyg5EIrA0 
I like the fact that you can also plug in your Garmin. After 200 km the battery on my one goes...
Not sure what to do... whether go with the battery pack or with a normal torch...

Justwinginit · 28-08-2018 04:58PM

I have a cheap cree one and tape off the top half of the light with black insulating tape.. Stops light from blinding peeps and driving into me. Battery lasts for hours and lights up everything on the dark back roads...

Light Recommendations (formerly Front Light For Dark Country) Road Commute

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