lights for commuting
mrgenesis
Posts: 9
Can anybody recommend a good front light for commuting along a few miles of unlit country lanes? I need to be able to see where I am going, not just be seen.
Budget = £100
Thanks
Budget = £100
Thanks
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Comments
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my local lbs in oxford (Warlands)is selling cateye tripleshots leds for 100!
I bet most of selling off at a simillar price.0 -
At the risk of hijacking this thread, does anyone use the Use Enduro lights?
I'm quite tempted by the Race Turbo...0 -
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I'm a man of simple needs. Expensive but still simple.0 -
I think two lights are a good idea. A decent fixed light and a flasher. fixed to see by, and flasher to be seen.
I used a Catseye Opti cube and a Blackburn. The Blackburn is good, offering fixed, fixed and flashing and all flashing. On all flashing some drivers and scotter riders get out the way thinking an emergency vehicle is coming! Only problem with the Balckburn is that it fell off it's mounting a few times. No damge until eventually ir got run over by a lorry. it still works, even though the casing is a bit crakced and broken. My Catseye fell off once (due to failur eof the mounting brakcet replaced by shop) and stopped working immediately. I think I'll go for two Blackburns for the coming winter.
MarkMark0 -
On-One have just started selling the 2008 version of the Dinotte. It’s one of the first lights to use the newer LEDs. Compared to the older model, it has twice the output, longer run times and at £99 it’s a bit cheaper. Have a google and you’ll see how impressed everyone was with the old model, I doubt you’d find anything else as bright as the new one for the money.
I’d also agree with markinengland about running two lights. If one of them is a good one the other need only be cheap.0 -
Option Click wrote:At the risk of hijacking this thread, does anyone use the Use Enduro lights?
I'm quite tempted by the Race Turbo...
No experience.
But note it's another light that'll be using the newer LEDs in the 2008 range. As above it'll have twice the output and longer runtimes. Don't buy a 2007 model without comparing them.0 -
I have the old Dinotte 5w AA, its fab - the new ones should be unbeatable at the price. Run times with 2800mah NiMH AA's is very good. The light is very small and neat, I run an Electron 1w (4 AAA's) as backup or to provide extra flashing in town, run time 40hrs.PHcp wrote:On-One have just started selling the 2008 version of the Dinotte. It’s one of the first lights to use the newer LEDs. Compared to the older model, it has twice the output, longer run times and at £99 it’s a bit cheaper. Have a google and you’ll see how impressed everyone was with the old model, I doubt you’d find anything else as bright as the new one for the money.
I’d also agree with markinengland about running two lights. If one of them is a good one the other need only be cheap.0 -
Just back from Eurobike, two suggestions B&M Ixon IQ and Exposure Joystick Maxx. These are both v bright lights. The B&M can be seen at www.bumm.de (honest) and the new Exposure is due to market in the next couple of weeks but will stretch your budget. If you really want to push the boat out and have a lighthouse on the front of your bike check out the B&M Big Bang you have to have a filter on it to make it road legal. A snip at approx £500.Neil
Help I'm Being Oppressed0 -
Funny you should say that about the Blackburn, markinengland. I just got one and am impressed with how bright it is, but the bloody thing thing just fell off on my way home. Now granted I was a bit distracted when I put it on the bracket so maybe it was my fault for not pushing it on properly, but luckily it happened on a quiet road and it is still working.
My mum saw me riding along with it when she was in her car at night and commented on how bright it was. I usually have it on solid/flashing mode. It's a shame they can't make the bracket a bit more sturdy as it's a good light otherwise.0 -
I wonder if it would be a good idea to glue the Blackburn into it's holder. Not too hard to unscrew the whole thing and at least it wont do the Lemming impression!
MarkMark0 -
I built my own light, its 3 seoul LEDs (same as the led used in the new dinottes) that put out 240lm each. Thats a 720 lumen light. Its a bit like a portable sun.
This runs off a 14.4v LIPO battery (very small) which runs the lights at full tilt for 4 hours.
Total cost - about £950 -
certainly bright enough oxfordian, three questionsfor you, a) how easy/difficult is it to make that light from scratch b) where do you source the parts from and c) would it be suitable for road use without blinding other road users? or is this all classified information? i.e. you could tell me,but then you'd have to kill me?
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a) its not amazingly easy - you need to be familiar with a soldering iron, but other than that its just common sense.
b) www.dotlight.de and ultraleds.co.uk
c) yes its suitable for road use - i now use it in the day aswell to get noticed by bling taxi drivers.
If you want to know more there is a thread somewhere titled project- 720lm bike light. its in the commuter section.0 -
Thanks for that, looks a little out of my depth on electronics but certainly very impressive.You may have a nice little sideline going there, should you choose to market them on the forum.
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