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

Lumen

I think 1W is fine for a constant rear light but maybe too much for a flasher. 1/2W is perfect for a rear flasher.

dooverylittle

G rock wrote: »

i agree with j madone,

check it out before committing to the magicshines.

now i don't have much to compare the phillips with but i doubt VERY much you'd need any more light than what the high power on it throws out.

plus it seems to be well focused on the areas you need most light without flooding everywhere

plus you can have it within about 4 days.

minus: less than two hours life on high power, but unless you're riding a lot in absolute pitch darkness you won't even need the high power beam

+1. In pitch black climbing salygap lower setting is perfect. You only need full beam decending at speed.

quenching

G rock wrote: »

+1

just received mine last week from rosebikes and took it on its maiden nighttime voyage on wednesday night.

just brilliant. especially since before this i was just using a crappy cateye.

I've had my Philips LED bike light for a couple of weeks now and can't recommend it highly enough. It lights up the road like a car headlight, plenty of distance and nicely focused, doesn't blind oncoming traffic. I run it for 30 minutes each morning and it last for 2 hours or so on the high setting before recharging. Its well made and good value for €100, a better choice for road use than the torches I've also got from Dealextreme which can be blinding to oncoming traffic. If you need a powerful front light for road use then look no further, really!

Got mine from RoseBikes too, excellent service and delivered in about 4 days.

smile!

go with the cateye range....reliable and models around the 80euro mark are quite bright. brackets are not as good quality as other brands but light itself excellant!

M cebee

i had a 12volt 50watt halogen hooked up to a 12volt7ah sealed lead-acid rechargeable

great for the country roads

i must hook one up again shortly for the winter:)

tomasrojo

Lumen wrote: »

I think 1W is fine for a constant rear light but maybe too much for a flasher. 1/2W is perfect for a rear flasher.

Maybe appropriate for foggy conditions when set to flashing.

BostonB

I have both the Cateye TL-LD600 rear and the Smart Superflash 1/2 Watt Rear on my bike.

Personally I think the Smart is vastly more noticeable and brighter than the Cateye. Not just on my bike, when I've seen them other bikes and from a distance I've thought the same.

tomasrojo

BostonB wrote: »

I have both the Cateye TL-LD600 rear and the Smart Superflash 1/2 Watt Rear on my bike.

Personally I think the Smart is vastly more noticeable and brighter than the Cateye. Not just on my bike, when I've seen them other bikes and from a distance I've thought the same.

I definitely think the 1W is very, very noticeable. I've rationalised my rear lights down to just a single 1W for the city. I don't know whether I'd be happy with that on a dark country road, as this thread title puts it, but for the city I think it's just fine on its own, on constant.

Civilian_Target

[QUOTE=Home:Ballyhoura;75060575
Unfortunately one was stolen and I don't want just a single rear light for night riding.

Would ye recommend the same again? Was looking at something maybe like its bigger brother, the 1 watt version, or maybe somthing like a similar priced but different style CatEye strip light the TL-LD600, or this more expensive Cateye TL-LD1100.

Any advice or anyone used these before or have any comparisons to make? Do ye see the need for some of the 50 euro plus rear lights like this one? Thanks in advance![/QUOTE]

I recently bought the dynamo version of the B&M Toplight Line rear light ( http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/taillights-bat.asp ) and while it's not that bright, it basically illuminates in a big plaque like the tail light of a car, making it very visible at night. I'd definitely recommend it - I think consumes about 0.4W.

I have it coupled with a seat-post mounted Blackburn Mars 3 (see the wiki) which I've had for years - it's bright enough and very resistant. I had 2 Smart 0.5W before, and I love their light output, but they're not very visible from the sides.

Ryath

J Madone wrote: »

Bought a Philips LbL light from bike24. Lumen posted a link to it( thanks),
It's absolutely brilliant and ticks all your boxes. Cost around 100 euro
Huge praise for this lamp on candlepowerforums.com
Beats lights many times it's price
Jm

G rock wrote: »

+1

just received mine last week from rosebikes and took it on its maiden nighttime voyage on wednesday night.

just brilliant. especially since before this i was just using a crappy cateye.

Hummed and hawed over getting the Philips myself for a good while. Really seems like a great light but was concerned about the runtime. Using needing 4AA batteries and a hex key to change would certainly be a nuisance. Pity it doesn’t have a medium setting to extend the runtime. It also is a little bigger and heavier than I would like.

Was all set on getting a fenix tk15 as the longer run times and convenience of needing just one 18650 battery and no tools to change were a big plus to me. Then these appeared on the market
http://www.lezyne.com/led-lights#panel-1

Seemed to have all the advantages of the fenix in a smaller bike specific form and usb chargeable which is a big plus as having phone garmin and camera all charged by usb I just need one charger and the cables when traveling. Very little info online put specs seemed very good so decided to take the plunge on it. €90 for the Super Drive from bike24 was the best price I’ve seen but was out of stock by the time I decided to buy so got it from wiggle for £90 with a discount offer. Took 12 days but finally arrived yesterday

First impressions very compact and well-made. Bracket is very heavy plastic and feels much more secure than the cateye el320 I’ve been using. Bloody hell it’s bright nearly blinded me when I turned it on it’s like looking a car headlight on full. Even at 100lumens it blows the cateye out of it. The cateye had a tiny little hotspot and the light outside of this was next to useless I got stuck using it in full darkness a few times and it really is about the minimum amount of light you would need on an unlit road and even then only if you knew where the potholes were. The Lezyne has an even wide beam with a very wide hotspot that lights up the whole road even at 100 lumens. At the medium setting of 300 lumens to my eyes seems perfect for cycling. Going to the full 450 lumens seems only marginally brighter with a bit more throw but you would never be aiming the light that high on the road to make use of it. This was only from walking out on the road with it last night looking forward to my spin tonight to give it a proper test.

They really seem like a great light and I reckon the cheaper lights in the range are great value Power Drive with 300 lumens for €75 is probably as much light as you need for the road going by the mid setting on mine. The mini drive with for €55 would probably make great commuter light with enough power on full for short unlit sections. Really thinking of picking up one of them as a backup / supplementary light.

Will try and post a few pics and beamshots tomorrow night if I get a chance.

cdaly_

Ryath wrote: »

Seemed to have all the advantages of the fenix in a smaller bike specific form and usb chargeable which is a big plus as having phone garmin and camera all charged by usb I just need one charger and the cables when traveling.

I reckon I could hack a couple of USB ports into my 18650 charger and achieve the same effect...

Diarmuid

Ryath wrote: »

Then these appeared on the market
http://www.lezyne.com/led-lights#panel-1

Wiggle have a comparison on their website of a lot of their lights. The Lezyne comes out very well.

Ryath

cdaly_ wrote: »

I reckon I could hack a couple of USB ports into my 18650 charger and achieve the same effect...

Think you're missing my point I don't need a charger the lezyne light takes a 18650 cell and charges in the light I just need a mini usb cable of which I have accumalated several at this stage. So one each for home work and the car heck I could even keep a spare in my saddle bag:). By charger I meant a wall usb adapter and even that most of the time is not an essential.

Diarmuid wrote: »

Wiggle have a comparison on their website of a lot of their lights. The Lezyne comes out very well.

Thanks for that don't know if that was up when I was researching the lights but it certainly makes an interesting comparison. Holds up well compared to some much dearer lights. Very little info online bar product launch details and one less than favorable bikeradar review which I took with a pinch of salt as it was written for mtb off roading and completly missed the point that you could change the battery to extend your ride time.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/lights/front/product/review-lezyne-superdrive-front-light-11-45302

J Madone

Ryath wrote: »

Hummed and hawed over getting the Philips myself for a good while. Really seems like a great light but was concerned about the runtime. Using needing 4AA batteries and a hex key to change would certainly be a nuisance. Pity it doesn’t have a medium setting to extend the runtime. It also is a little bigger and heavier than I would like.


It puts out 1.5 hours on full and then 2 hours on lower setting. More than enough time for me at the moment. Weight is not bad, its beam is one of the best.

Kintarō Hattori

http://avslgroup.com/en/product/410.338UK

I've been considering something like the Magicshine for a few weeks now but in the meantime I decided to get something to tide me over and I got the above. I noticed that one of our suppliers in work stocks other products from this manufacturer (Mercury) so I asked them to get one in for me. Worst comes to worst if it was crap I'd just send it back.

I only tried it on the short commute from the station to home but I was reasonably impressed. It was more than enough to light up the road in front of me on a dark country lane and the beam can be focused. I particularly like the little green bit of plastic which lights up very brightly to give you a little bit of added side visibility.

I noticed some cars dipping their headlights which normally didn't happen. On low and full settings it's bright but the strobe/flashing option in my opinion happens too quickly making it a possible distraction for motorists.

If the runtime isn't too shabby and the weatherproofing claim holds true then I'll be very happy as I paid €19 for it.

Wheely GR8

Can anyone reccomend the small exposure light set ? I wasn't sure about the small elastic fixings they come with.

keno111

Any advice on a good front light for unlit country roads. Don't want to pay over 120 euro. thanks

Balfie

I was lookin at some lights last night for my bike, I searched on adverts.ie for bicycle lights and seen a few good ones, the one I'm gonna get is like 15 euro, has 5 led lights, and can be used as a hand torch, as far as I can remember reading..

That might be what ya are lookin for.. I can't remember the name of it tho, and I'm on my phone so can't link ya,

But I know its 15 euro,

minterno

theres a good thread halfways down the first page about lights,http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055705708
there a philips light that looks the busniess and is discussed in the thread and there is a youtube link showcasing the brightness and it looks to be as good as a mororbike light,regards

mp31

Check this out... the first site that I've seen that actually shows a comparision between different lights.

http://road.cc/content/news/46538-big-roadcc-lights-test-data

On second thoughts, I think wiggle have something similar but can't seem to find it now.

Raam

The fenix stuff gets good reviews. I have the TK11. I'd only use it on the darkest of roads. You are welcome to try it out for a week.
http://thephotonshop.co.uk/page15.htm

I also have this Light & Motion one for urban areas.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=74794

It might be fine for the dark roads but I've only had it a few weeks so not had a chance to test it out too much.

Beasty

Threads merged

Beasty

Zorba

Raam wrote: »

The fenix stuff gets good reviews. I have the TK11. I'd only use it on the darkest of roads. You are welcome to try it out for a week.
http://thephotonshop.co.uk/page15.htm

I'm torn between the Magiclight 808 and something like the fenix, which fenix one did u get Raam the 225 or the 258 lumens one and would there be much difference.

Has anyone ordered the Magiclight from dealextreme and if so how long did the shipping take, seen it could take months :eek:

Raam

My order email says: TK11R2-Fenix TK11 Cree R2
So, eh, to answer your question...

Lumen

Raam wrote: »

My order email says: TK11R2-Fenix TK11 Cree R2
So, eh, to answer your question...

The original Fenix used a Cree Q5 emitter rated at about 225 lumens.

The R2 edition uses the Cree R2 emitter rated at about 250 lumens.

Reports on candlepowerforums suggest the R2 is a tiny bit more efficient and a tiny bit brighter, but it varies a bit from part to part, and temperature/cooling issues play are large factor (LEDs become much less efficient as they heat up).

10% more lumens doesn't mean 10% more perceived illumination, so I'd say the actual difference is negligible.

G rock

Zorba wrote: »

I'm torn between the Magiclight 808 and something like the fenix, which fenix one did u get Raam the 225 or the 258 lumens one and would there be much difference.

Has anyone ordered the Magiclight from dealextreme and if so how long did the shipping take, seen it could take months :eek:

i have the 258 lumen one.

i think there may be a difference in the low power setting between the 258 and the 225 versions

for some reason the 225 lumen version runs with 60 lumens on low, while the 258 runs with 48 (i think)

i have it mounted on my helmet (thanks to cdaly and kenmc for the recommendation) and with low setting it's more than enough.

i have the phillips on the bar, and if i was to only get one light, it'd be the phillips, far better beam pattern than the fenix

Zorba

Thanks for the replies, reread this thread last night and i'm gone off the magiclight now, reliability issues and 5 wk waiting time.

Thinking of going for something like this now:

http://www.bike24.net/1.php?lang=2;content=8;navigation=1;menu=1000,5,66;product=25299;mid=0;pgc=0;page=1;ID=11bbedd60dd82b09c93d2a83d3110e79

Gets good reviews here

http://road.cc/content/review/47544-lezyne-super-drive-led-front-light

and on bikeradar, anyone any experience with it ?

Just have to decide on the back light now !

ray o

I got the powerdrive from wiggle a couple of weeks ago for €75 with their discount code. I wanted something powerfull enough for evening rides but it's main purpose is for my commute. I have it mostly on the flash setting and it's impressive to see how well it illuminates the large road signs as I'm passing them. Thats in comparision to a basic cateye I used previously. I think it's a great all round light for general road use.

langdang

Was out for my first spin in the dark last night.
Very happy* with my Hope Vision One - plenty bright on its own for road use.
Good long beam, while still casting a shadow from the front wheel.

*I suppose you'd hope to be happy with it after paying 90odd euro!

Plastik

Just ordered a Philips from RoseBikes, should I expect quick delivery?