advice on lights

Richard Burchmore

I'd like to set up better lighting on my commuting bike for this winter. I want lights to make me visible, as I ride on roads with street lights, but it would be good to have a front light that will illuminate potholes etc, and provide decent side-on visibility. I'm not bothered about weight and the lights can remain permanently attached. Rear can be mounted on a rack. Rechargeable would be good. I don't want spend a massive amount but need something robust and reliable.
Any advice on this would be welcome.
cheers

Richard

alfablue

If you can afford it, the Dinotte Ultra 5w LED is great, it is currently £85 from On-One, which is £50 off.



It is a very bright light, equivalent to roughly a 12w halogen, and it runs on 4 AA rechargeables for between 2 and 31/2 hours run time (depending on power level selected and battery capacity). The great thing is that you can easily cary a spare set of AA's so you should never get caught short.

For the very cheapest rechargeable, I reckon it's the Smart 10w + 2.4w halogen / lead acid for £24.99




from SJScycles (they probably bung £5 postage on top). These work fine, have a few hours run time if using just the 2.4w. Downsides are the lead acid battery is heavy (about a kilo) and the bracket is slightly flimsy so it bounces a lot on rough roads, but its reliable and will do the job. They have been a popular choice of roadies for many years, rather old-tech now.

Another £24.99 alternative is the Electron 5w halogen.



(it is half price at All Terrain Cycles (I think they are being discontinued). The battery fits in a bottle cage (which is a plus and a minus) and the system is quite neat. It is lighter than the Smart because it is an NiMH rather than lead acid battery, but the power (5w) is less, but may be just enough for you as you are using lit roads - you probably need at least 10w (or a 5w LED like the Dinotte) for unlit roads.

I have used all of these, obviously the Dinotte is my current favourite - so light, small and bright, it's a beauty!

Richard Burchmore

Thanks alfablue.
Very helpful
Richard

baudman

I go cheap. I worry about good things getting stolen. Just anything flashing with 5 LEDs on the front. The SMART one with the 5 LEDs in a row on the back are great. I favour AA battery units.

I use NiMH batteries which I charge with a solar charger.

I also have a few microlights (or 'Annoying Blinking Lights' ABLs as my mate calls them) on my helmet. The benefit of these is you are flashing at a driver when you make eye contact - it's very visible.

Finally, don't underestimate HiVis reflecto stuff. Clothing, packs, even tape stuck on your bike. It sticks out like dog's balls from quite a distance, once a driver's lights glance it.

misterben

Not wanting to hijack this thread, but with regards to lights, is it still the case that it is, stictly speaking, illegal to have blinking lights on your bike, but OK to have them on your body?

Yellow Cliff

I agree that the lights suggested will do the job very well. However, I always feel that backup lights are important and particularly rear lights as you don't know if they have stopped working.

I have had loads of different bike lights and almost all of them have been unreliable at some point or my rechargeable batteries have suddenly gone flat when it was pouring with rain and I didn't want to stop. I'd therefore recommend that you have 2 rear lights and 2 front lights just to be sure.

My preference is to go for one flashing light, one constant one. I also have a British Standard light front and back, just in case (even though these are not as bright as my other lights). There are lots of good cheap LED lights that make acceptable backups, so it shouldn't add much to the cost.

Yellow Cliff

misterben wrote:

Not wanting to hijack this thread, but with regards to lights, is it still the case that it is, stictly speaking, illegal to have blinking lights on your bike, but OK to have them on your body?

Nope - they changed that a few years ago. The regulations are summarised on the CTC page:
http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4071

There is a section on "flashers" part way down.

misterben

Yellow Cliff wrote:

misterben wrote:

Not wanting to hijack this thread, but with regards to lights, is it still the case that it is, stictly speaking, illegal to have blinking lights on your bike, but OK to have them on your body?

Nope - they changed that a few years ago. The regulations are summarised on the CTC page:
http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4071

There is a section on "flashers" part way down.

Wow - I have been away a long time..... thanks for the link

alaric@epicmtb

I think the law was changed recently and now permits the use of flashing lights. Also the use of LED lights, as the law used to specify a filament bulb only.

As a driver, though, I find that, whilst flashing lights are very visible on dark country lanes, in town a steady light attracts more attention.

With all the parked cars and other things to reflect your lights momentarily, one more flash of light doesn't necessarily register as well as a moving solid light.

Alaric.

alfablue

I agree about backups, for a backup I use an Electron Nano 1 Watt £26.99 from ATC.



It is very bright, has flashing and steady modes, runs for 40 hours plus on 4xAAA's, and is solidly built from anodised aluminium.

I run this flashing and the Dinotte steady.

For a rear, the Smart 1/2 watt LED can't be beaten for brightness or price (about £13)

, runs for about 40 hours on 2 AAA's.

As for flashing lights, it is legal to use them, however if it has both flashing and steady modes then it should be BS approved, and as far as I know, no such lights exist.

I don't worry too much about the BS (though I do have a BS rear reflector) as if I have my day in court I will demonstrate the efficacy of my lights if anyone claims they didn't see me!

andyp

I'd second what alfablue says - if you can afford the Dinotte lights then get them. They are superb; very bright, hard-wearing, easy to swap batteries for and simple to remove from the bike should you need to.

At the current price they are a steal.

misterben

andyp wrote:

At the current price they are a steal.

Even at the current price some of us could only afford to steal them.....

homercles

Interesting what the RVLR stuff on th CTC website says about pedal reflectors being a legal requirement too. Can't see myself ditching SPDs to meet this one somehow!

Yellow Cliff

homercles wrote:

Interesting what the RVLR stuff on th CTC website says about pedal reflectors being a legal requirement too. Can't see myself ditching SPDs to meet this one somehow!

I bought some one-sided SPDs this year (other side flat) which have reflectors on them because of this. Whilst I think it is ridiculous, I do so much riding in the dark that I want to make sure that there are no grounds for "contributory negligence" if I get hit. They were cheap from Lidl, although I do prefer double sided.

alfablue

I just bought some Shimano PD-M520 double-sided SPD's. They came fitted with reflectors, but it uses up one of the two sides. I ditched them, but I do share your concern about the contributory negligence thing. I still ride without them though because I really don't want to curtail my riding satisfaction because of misplaced rules. Yes, pedal reflectors are effective, but my shoes have reflective heels, I am well lit up at the back, and have reflectiveness on my jacket - I (maybe naiively) believe that in any court case I could demonstrate the superb visibility I offer and the minimal difference pedal reflectors would have made.

homercles

alfablue wrote:

Yes, pedal reflectors are effective, but my shoes have reflective heels, I am well lit up at the back, and have reflectiveness on my jacket - I (maybe naiively) believe that in any court case I could demonstrate the superb visibility I offer and the minimal difference pedal reflectors would have made.

Interesting point about shoes with reflective heels. Mine have these and as they are an 'integral' part of the pedal's operation I wonder if this would count as the necessary reflecting in the eyes of the law?

PHcp

1W LEDs seem to fit the bill. The best known is the Cateye EL530, around £30 from EBay, works fine with AA rechargeables. I didn't find it bright enough for dark lanes, but others have found it fine. They run for around 10 hours at full power then for days at a lower setting, so you get plenty of warning that they need charging. If you add a cheap white flasher you'll stand as good a chance of being seen as you would spending £100s. For a light to see by, the Smart above probably offers the best illumination per £, with the drawbacks alfablue mentions.
I like to run two rear lights, mainly as I might not notice if one goes out. Cheap LEDs are easily up to the job, one steady one flashing. Being hit from the rear is a rare occurrence, if you're in the right position and have any light you're going to be seen.

PHcp

alfablue wrote:

If you can afford it, the Dinotte Ultra 5w LED is great, it is currently £85 from On-One, which is £50 off.

The reason these have been heavily discounted is that Dinotte have recently changed the LED and lens and these are old stock. The new models are not only brighter with better focus, they also have longer run times.
I’m not suggesting the older model isn’t a good light, but it’s worth considering whether you’d rather have the discount or the improvements.

alfablue

PHcp wrote:

alfablue wrote:

If you can afford it, the Dinotte Ultra 5w LED is great, it is currently £85 from On-One, which is £50 off.

The reason these have been heavily discounted is that Dinotte have recently changed the LED and lens and these are old stock. The new models are not only brighter with better focus, they also have longer run times.
I’m not suggesting the older model isn’t a good light, but it’s worth considering whether you’d rather have the discount or the improvements.

Yes good point, I realised there would be an update, the best just gets better, but the likely £140 price would have put it out of reach. At £140 ish there are a couple of competitors possibly worth a look at.

Yellow Cliff

Yes - I hope that common sense should prevail with reflectors and lights, but I am not 100% on that. I guess we all just have to decide how much these things bother us (I am only doing this because I do so much night riding in the winter).

Back to the lights - the SMART 1/2 watt is great, although mine has sometimes played up in the rain (switching modes, although it has always remained on). There are lots of very bright rear lights at the moment - I have heard that the S-sun/BLT one you focus is good, as the the big Cateye ones (1100?).

I had a SMART rechargeable 10W headlamp for years (well I still have it, but the battery doesn't work now), with NiCAD battery. It was really reliable and I would recommend SMART again. I agree that if you really want to see the road 10W is a minimum, although when the tarmac is wet even that isn't enough.

I have recently found really cheap BS lights from Eurolight, but they are mucking up my order so I wouldn't recommend ordering on-line from Eurolight-marketing! No idea how good they will be either.

Yellow Cliff

homercles wrote:

alfablue wrote:

Yes, pedal reflectors are effective, but my shoes have reflective heels, I am well lit up at the back, and have reflectiveness on my jacket - I (maybe naiively) believe that in any court case I could demonstrate the superb visibility I offer and the minimal difference pedal reflectors would have made.

Interesting point about shoes with reflective heels. Mine have these and as they are an 'integral' part of the pedal's operation I wonder if this would count as the necessary reflecting in the eyes of the law?

I'm afraid that the reflectors have to be accredited to the British Standard, so heel reflectors (or ankle bands, which I use) don't count legally.

alfablue

Even the BS on lights is tricky, apparently Cateye have rear lights labeled as BS approved, but the approval relates to the reflector part of the light, not the bulb, so it is very difficult to be absolutely certain of what you have got.

I am not keen on Cateye anyhow, I had one of their 10w Halogen ABS 10 rechargeables (yes I have tried most of the lower-end lights!) and the mounting was badly designed and fell apart twice, each time losing a tiny spring. The importers (Zyro) just wouldn't answer my emails making a warranty claim (they answered my emails but made no aknowledgement at all to my repeated questions and assertions that it was a warranty issue - just ignored that completely) and insisted on charging me £3 for a minute spring. For a larger cost I would gone to town on them, but I paid up and gave up on the light after a while. With that level of design and support I won't buy their products again. I have heard others have had lights falling off due to poor mountings too. Grr - rant over!

PrettyBoyTim

Yellow Cliff wrote:

I agree that if you really want to see the road 10W is a minimum

It's funny to think back at the crap like lights we used to ride around the Norfolk countryside with in the dark when I was a teenager. They were the old ones that ran on two C or D cell batteries on some rubbish super-cheap torch bulb. It was a right pain on a dark night if a car was coming the other way, because you literally couldn't see anything but their headlights, and it would normally be some time before they got near enough to notice you and dip them. On straight roads I used to head directly between the headlights until they got close enough to light the verges on either side...

mtb.boy

PrettyBoyTim wrote:

I used to head directly between the headlights until they got close enough to light the verges on either side...

I do not fancy driving towards the middle of a car.

adifiddler

I use a Cateye LD600 on the rear and have done for a couple of years, its a nice bright light with 180 degree vision as i have mine going down the seat tube. I have recently been bought a cateye EL700 Tripleshot which i have not used yet but its nice and bright and cant see having any problems with it.

I have 3M retro-reflective red tape strips down the seat stays and have done this on all my bike since the early 90s it works well and i dont see the point in paying for batteries for a second light when i can use the light from car headlights to get better visibility. 3M tape is covered by BS EN 471 so should not be questioned in court and the reflective area is a lot larger than that is required by normal cycle reflectors.

I also use Shimano PD-M520 double-sided SPD peddles but they did not come with reflectors so i have stuck silver 3M tape to them but i believe the law states peddle reflectors should be orange. I have also got a strip of this tape around my bottle for side vision. My Adidas bike shoes have very small and not very reflective patches on the heal so i put some tape on the Adidas stripes that run around the heal, this has been very effective.

If the weather is very crappy or on colder night rides i wear a Polaris RBS long sleeve Jacket witch conforms to the BS EN 471/2003, Class 2 2.

With that lot i hope sense will prevail in court as the law is not written in stone but only a guide and i feel i can justify my position and that i exceed the requirements stated by law.

Hairy Jock

alfablue wrote:

PHcp wrote:

alfablue wrote:

If you can afford it, the Dinotte Ultra 5w LED is great, it is currently £85 from On-One, which is £50 off.

The reason these have been heavily discounted is that Dinotte have recently changed the LED and lens and these are old stock. The new models are not only brighter with better focus, they also have longer run times.
I’m not suggesting the older model isn’t a good light, but it’s worth considering whether you’d rather have the discount or the improvements.

Yes good point, I realised there would be an update, the best just gets better, but the likely £140 price would have put it out of reach. At £140 ish there are a couple of competitors possibly worth a look at.

Strange how people are happy to pay £500 for a bike or £200 for a jacket or £90 on helmet, yet bulk at at £140 for a set of lights which could really save you life (unlike the helmet). Now Lupine Edison 5 at £550 is expensive, unless you can afford to commute on a Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL2 '08...

Hairy Jock

Yellow Cliff wrote:

homercles wrote:

alfablue wrote:

Yes, pedal reflectors are effective, but my shoes have reflective heels, I am well lit up at the back, and have reflectiveness on my jacket - I (maybe naiively) believe that in any court case I could demonstrate the superb visibility I offer and the minimal difference pedal reflectors would have made.

Interesting point about shoes with reflective heels. Mine have these and as they are an 'integral' part of the pedal's operation I wonder if this would count as the necessary reflecting in the eyes of the law?

I'm afraid that the reflectors have to be accredited to the British Standard, so heel reflectors (or ankle bands, which I use) don't count legally.

Yea, but has anyone ever been prosecuted for not having pedal reflectors? This is a stupid law that has only remained on the statute book because it has never been tested in the courts. It is not something to worry about.

alfablue

Hairy Jock wrote:

alfablue wrote:

PHcp wrote:

alfablue wrote:

If you can afford it, the Dinotte Ultra 5w LED is great, it is currently £85 from On-One, which is £50 off.

The reason these have been heavily discounted is that Dinotte have recently changed the LED and lens and these are old stock. The new models are not only brighter with better focus, they also have longer run times.
I’m not suggesting the older model isn’t a good light, but it’s worth considering whether you’d rather have the discount or the improvements.

Yes good point, I realised there would be an update, the best just gets better, but the likely £140 price would have put it out of reach. At £140 ish there are a couple of competitors possibly worth a look at.

Strange how people are happy to pay £500 for a bike or £200 for a jacket or £90 on helmet, yet bulk at at £140 for a set of lights which could really save you life (unlike the helmet). Now Lupine Edison 5 at £550 is expensive, unless you can afford to commute on a Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL2 '08...

I presume you are joking...for street use all the lights in my arsenal are plenty more than adequate, and an extension of your point would be that I should buy every new improved model as it comes out!

£30 will get perfectly good lights, the advantages of spending more are brightness to see with (rather than being seen) particularly for unlit roads or offroad, light weight, battery life, improved ergonomics.

joe422

Hi!!

I believe that using battery lights on a commuting bike is not a good idea.
Due to their built in unreliability (aka batteries), they are OK for the occasional sunday ride but not useful for commuting.

I use the following equipment and I'm very satisfied with it:
- A hub dymano:

Best: SON (

www.nabendynamo.de)
Best value: Novatec (Search www.laufrad-shop.de for "nabendynamo nova tec"
Still OK: All the shimano hub dynamos

- A LED front light without sensor/switch but with capacitor. E.g.,

D'Lumotec Oval

http://www.bumm.de/index-e.html?docu/171y-e.htm
or BASTA Pilot Steady

- A LED back light with capacitor:

D-Light Plus:

http://www.bumm.de/docu/329e.htm


If you also use coax or twisted pair cabling, you will never need any maintenance.
Note that the switch is not needed since the additional load caused by the light is negligible.

jedster

you've got several excellent recommendations already on this thread so I'll just add a few comments:

1. the smart lead/acid rechargeable is OK but the battery life is not great and you have to be careful not to overcharge the battery as it begins to deteriorate. this is a pain because its OK to charge it overnight but if you dont cycle the next day and leave it plugged in then you will erode the battery. It's also really bulky when you take it off the bike.

2. that electron 1W light is very bright and light and runs well on rechargeable batteries. I don't think the beam width is adequate to use as a seeing (as opposed to a "be seen" light). I use one in winter strapped to my helmet as a secondary light - it means I can point it into turnings to help drivers see me!

3. I supect the dinote is excellent but I too have now gone down the hub dyno route. I bought a wheel built on a basic shimano 3w hub dyno on ebay (from a german shop that seems to build a lot of wheels) for £40 delivered. Thats connected to B&M lights front and back. It's excellent on unlit roads and I never have to think about it (no recharging, no spare batteries, never have to take it off the bike when I lock it up, it even has a light sensor which switches it on when its dull). I also use backup LED lights, generally flashing (the electron above and a Cateye 600 at the back) but if I forget these or run out of batteries then they dyno is good enough.

jedster

btw - the front B&M goes on the fork crown - gives you better view per lumen than a handlebar mount. Rear light bolts to the back of the rack which is neat and keeps it clear of paniers etc