Light recommendations

zil

The dealextreme lights are amazing when it comes to light output and battery life but the soldering can be a bit suspect so it's quite easy to sever the connections with repeated plugging and unplugging. If you've got access to a soldering iron they'll last forever but if not you'd be lucky to get two winters out of them.

studiorat

zil wrote: »

The dealextreme lights are amazing when it comes to light output and battery life but the soldering can be a bit suspect so it's quite easy to sever the connections with repeated plugging and unplugging. If you've got access to a soldering iron they'll last forever but if not you'd be lucky to get two winters out of them.

Shouldn't be too hard, all the spares are available as well. Two years you'd probably have a better light for lower power anyway.

I wouldn't be able to resist popping them open for a snoop around, so the soldering and heat-sink improvements would probably happen anyway.

BostonB

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

I'm quite the fan of Smart. They are cheap, bright and the build quality seems to be excellent. I know my two local LBS stock them and they are also available online.




http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=56539

Have to agree with this, I think the Smart lights are vastly better than the Cateye ones. I have Smart (slighter older than these) and think they are great.

However these lights are mainly for being seen. They aren't strong enough to light a road/path where there isn't street lighting. So I also have some cheap 1W lights from Deal Extreme, which are much brighter (and still cheap) and use the smarts as my flashers.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/1w-2-mode-50-lumen-led-bike-light-with-mount-4-aaa-18307

That said, I haven't used them much, so I'm not sure who good the battery life is, they uses AAA's which isn't ideal, or how they'll stand up to a wet winter. My Smarts have no problem in the rain. I should probably get some rechargeable batteries for them. But I find normal battery last a good long time on these LED lights. I'm not commuting everyday though.

If I had more money I'd consider something like this. http://www.bike24.com/p214244.html

You also want to watch that you don't let the lights go too dim on a low battery before changing them. The point is to be seen not save on batteries.

This was a fairly decent light too.
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/bright-5-led-5-mode-red-safety-rear-light-with-mount-for-bike-2-aaa-39442

I tend to have one flasher, one steady light, front and rear. So 4 lights. Then another light, flasher on my back somewhere. Because I noticed people which lights in different locations, seemed to stand out more.

Lumen

BostonB wrote: »

If I had more money I'd consider something like this. http://www.bike24.com/p214244.html

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?287452-Philips-LED-bike-light

BostonB

This is a bit pricey, but I'd love to try it.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/rechargeable-7-mode-red-5-led-safety-bike-tail-light-with-7-mode-2-red-laser-beam-35mw-90117

Kintarō Hattori

studiorat wrote: »

And my favorite, Rear light with laser beams!! with USB and mains charger.

Crazy stuff but surely it can't be legal?

BostonB wrote: »

However these lights are mainly for being seen. They aren't strong enough to light a road/path where there isn't street lighting. So I also have some cheap 1W lights from Deal Extreme, which are much brighter (and still cheap) and use the smarts as my flashers.

Well that's it, I use my lights just to be visible and they are great for that. As you mention battery life is superb.

I forgot to mention that I also use these for added side visibility by placing them on the forks:

cdaly_

studiorat wrote: »

And my favorite, Rear light with laser beams!! with USB and mains charger.

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Crazy stuff but surely it can't be legal?

The lasers are pointing at the ground and are drawing a 'lane' so they should be fine legality wise. The dangerous aspect of laser light is when shone steadily into your eye, not when being waved around at the ground...

Kintarō Hattori

cdaly_ wrote: »

The lasers are pointing at the ground and are drawing a 'lane' so they should be fine legality wise. The dangerous aspect of laser light is when shone steadily into your eye, not when being waved around at the ground...

Hmnn interesting... I'd consider buying it in the future just to try it out as it seems like a mad concept.

kenmc

studiorat wrote: »

And these : Super Cheap lights from china 900 Lumen etc... .

These 900 lumens look suspiciously like these, even the same product code!

zil

kenmc wrote: »

These 900 lumens look suspiciously like these, even the same product code!

I'd say they're almost certainly the same. I know there's one or two uk resellers of the magicshine lights who charge quite a bit more than dealextreme but provide a superior warrenty service so maybe this is something similar.

studiorat

zil wrote: »

I'd say they're almost certainly the same. I know there's one or two uk resellers of the magicshine lights who charge quite a bit more than dealextreme but provide a superior warrenty service so maybe this is something similar.

Magic shine is run from a fella's house in Northampton, you can basically order through Deal Extreem through their "UK warehouse", which I'd imagine is the same thing. I suspect Deal Extreem is a portal site to lots of dealers.

The warranty service would most likely depend on stock levels at the time IMO.

brayblue24

droidus wrote: »

These look good: http://fibreflare.com/

I have one of these. Absolutely terrific. I even get motorists asking me where I got it

Crow92

brayblue24 wrote: »

I have one of these. Absolutely terrific. I even get motorists asking me where I got it

Did you purchase it in ireland?

blorg

Magicshine and all the others are generic lights made in China.

DX are Hong Kong basically shipping direct from source.

Yer man in Northampton is importing from China and selling on, DX are not buying from him!

My own take on it: the DX stuff is extremely cheap but QA is lacking. If you are willing to fix can be a good option. My own Magicshine broke (the mount, so soldering wouldn't help) and DX weren't a lot of help. I actually got as far as posting the mount back but never heard any more. But hey, it was cheap, and I can still attach it albeit less securely with a LockBlock.

Fenix are also made in China but have good QA and are reliable. So if you want it to keep working, that is the best choice. There are several other Chinese brands with excellent reliability- Candlepower forums is the place to look.

Secondly, 900 lumens is overkill for road riding and without a shaped beam you won't be able to use it without dazzling traffic. 200-250 lumens is more than you will ever need on a road, I have done 70km/h descents with this (Stocking Lane.) I actually use my Fenix on medium (60 lumens) for much general road riding for longer battery life. Here in Asia I have been surviving on I think a 10 lumen general/60 lumen Turbo light as I don't want the weight/charger of the Fenix and it is OK.

Also remember the tradeoff, brighter light means shorter run time or more/heavier batteries. Magicshine uses 4 18650s for same runtime on 1 in a TK11.

If you spend more you can get a shaped beam from the likes of B&M. More money for less light but it is being used more efficiently.

TL;DR: having tried a few options, for value/lumens/battery/reliability my preference is a Fenix TK11.

studiorat

Should have made that clearer. The company in KenMc's link is yer man in Northampton. DX are an outlet/warehouse in Hong Kong apparently.

Well, I pulled the trigger on a couple of different types Seoul Semiconductor and Cree LED's including one similar to the Fenix and threw in some different types of mounting hardware.

The plan is to use these for night-time MTB trips, so I'm hoping I won't need more than 2 or 3 hours at a time.

Will probably receive them next March! will keep you posted.

cityhunter

how about this one？
http://www.focalprice.com/LH059X/10_LED_AllPurpose_Bike_Warning_Light.html
Good quality.
Lighters are very good!!
It takes 4 battery AAA on fordward light and 2 battery AA on backward light.

Kintarō Hattori

cityhunter wrote: »

how about this one？
http://www.focalprice.com/LH059X/10_LED_AllPurpose_Bike_Warning_Light.html
Good quality.
Lighters are very good!!
It takes 4 battery AAA on fordward light and 2 battery AA on backward light.

It looks like a cheap generic Chinese light set. I would imagine the build quality is pretty woeful.

langdang

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

It looks like a cheap generic Chinese light set. I would imagine the build quality is pretty woeful.

Ya, if it's not from a reputable brand OR doesn't mention the brand of LEDs (Cree, SSC or whatever) then it's a front light that might be OK for being seen, but won't help you see much. That's a complicated way of saying what KH said already

BostonB

Some cheaper of the branded lights sub €50 aren't that made that well either. Or to put it another way, they are made well enough for most people, and the branded products are often no better made than the unbranded ones. I had something similar to those LH059X lights I think its a generic design thats copied and branded by a few other well know brands.

When you buy more expensive lights though, you are probably getting customer support and a warranty that you don't get with the cheaper lights.

But I'd have to echo what was said, they are mainly best at being seen. Perfect for that. But not really powerful enough to see an unlit road or path.

BostonB

People should really look at the power output of the lights and even online reviews. You can pay 50 for a dire light or a very good one.

DisasterIRL

Great set of lights imo
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/cateye-hl-el320-and-tl-ld610-light-set/

These are great as well if you don't mind charging them every week or so:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=46579
Despite their tiny size they give off some amount, good enough to light up the road too. Lifetime guarantee, what more could you ask for

BostonB

I have the TL-LD610 but its not as good as my Smart below. But I have both on my bike at the moment.

https://www.eurocycles.ie/Smart_1-or-2_watt_-and-_3_LED_rear_light/4630_p.aspx
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/lights/back/product/review-smart-1-2-watt-led-rear-light-29688

Smart also do better ones than the one I have. The Smart Lunar R1 and Smart Lunar R2.

langdang

That Cat Eye back light is very good. Very noticeable and very good on batteries.
I have the deal extreme copy of that smart back light and it's good, don't have a Smart to compare it tho.

cdaly_

I have lost a number of Cat Eye lights to vibration over the years. They come out of the holder and then smash on the road or the little plastic retaining nipple breaks so they won't latch into the holder.

BostonB

I've also got one of these the HL-EL530 which was meant to be the most powerful LED from Cateye at the time. I did me for a year, but the beam is poor.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/lights/front/product/review-cateye-el530-35724/
http://www.cateye.com/en/products/detail/HL-EL530/

It did noticeably stop people from pulling out across me from side roads, so its bright. But the beam is poor for seeing the path. So I've shelved it for a cheap 1W from deal extreme light that I linked to earlier. Its brighter with a much better beam. Not been out in the dark with it this year yet though. It also has a flasher which the HL-EL530 didn't.

I was considering modding the HL-EL530 as per this thread...
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?167551-CATEYE-HL-EL530-SSC-rules-!/page2

But I think I'd just brick it. So might just sell it instead.

BostonB

cdaly_ wrote: »

I have lost a number of Cat Eye lights to vibration over the years. They come out of the holder and then smash on the road or the little plastic retaining nipple breaks so they won't latch into the holder.

I think you can pick up different holders on the web. Your light might fit more than one holder. Some are better than others. I got a different one off the web for the TL-LD610 so I could mount it to the back of the rack.

BostonB

langdang wrote: »

...
I have the deal extreme copy of that smart back light and it's good, don't have a Smart to compare it tho.

Some times if I see a really good light on a bike, I make a point of checking out what it is, at the lights.

tomasrojo

I quite like the EL-530, but the beam is very narrow, so if you're cycling in total darkness, you really have to concentrate to make a mental picture of the terrain from the keyhole view. So you have to cycle at a very moderate pace.

But it is bright and has quite a large face, so I think it does make you quite conspicuous in traffic, in much the same way as the dublinbikes are conspicuous.

seamus

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=51662

Great rear light. Much brighter than you would think for their size, especially on flashing mode. Hence the name "strobe". Don't really need any other rear light.

Only problem is that the batteries don't last very long - around 10 hours or so - and they have a tendency to get activated when you throw them into a pocket, so I just leave them on the bike.
The coin cell batteries are insanely expensive in shops considering how often they have to be replaced - they're around €2.50 per cell, and the light takes two. But you can get them in bulk online for like 50c each.

BostonB

I like the idea of the Knog's, but they don't seem that bright.