Are wind up front lights any good?

tardington
tardington Posts: 1,379
edited November 2007 in Commuting chat
They're in wiggle for £12
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.a ... nt%20Light

It says you have to wind for a minute to get 30 mins light... but you also charge it up?

Does anyone have one? Are they any good? I am tempted!

Comments

  • Down the Road
    Down the Road Posts: 949
    In a word NO!

    £12 lights are ALL POOR

    Go to you Local shop and Ask the staff what they use.
    Racing is life - everything else is just waiting
  • cntl
    cntl Posts: 290
    I bought these lights from a bike shop on ebay for.... £19.

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SMART-RECHARGEABL ... dZViewItem

    They sold them out within days!!! The price of the new batch is still a low £27.50 (I saw this light in a shop for £50).
  • palinurus
    palinurus Posts: 836
    I might consider something like this to stick in my bag in the winter in case my proper light fails, but I wouldn't use it exclusively.
  • dondare
    dondare Posts: 2,113
    Is this a wind-up?
    This post contains traces of nuts.
  • nickcuk
    nickcuk Posts: 275
    I have both of the above lights !

    The wind-up on max 3-LED setting gives a wide diffused glow rather than an intense light, fine for a back-up or to have in your backpocket for when you get a puncture in the pitch dark ( trust me on that !). I ran it on flashing mode with a 1W luxeon on the basis that it would make me more noticeable and 1 min winding gave 90 mins flashing.

    The 2x10W smart lights do me fine. I get upto 2 hours riding in pitch-black unlit country lanes with one light one without any problem - I used both lights at first and they lasted about an hour before dimming noticeably. Charging is OK and if you keep checking ebay they put up a 'buy me' for under £20 and £7.50 postage every few days. They put 5 - 6 on every day for auction and they go for anything between £15 and £30. For my limited budget, I am very happy with these but will see how the battery holds it's charge into next year
  • Belv
    Belv Posts: 866
    I received two different wind-up lights for christmas last year. Neither is any use on the bike since maximum brightness passes in under 10 mins, but we keep them around the house in case of power cuts.
  • tardington
    tardington Posts: 1,379
    Och well! It looks like my plan to save the world with less battery usage has failed!

    I did see wind-up head torches in Millets the other day too!

    Um, I may have got myself a £4 animal track casting kit. It's a packet of plaster! Worth perhaps 70p :oops:
  • Gambatte
    Gambatte Posts: 1,453
    if you're wanting to be environmetally friendly, you could try the Reelights instead?

    http://reelight.net.dynamicweb.dk/Default.aspx?ID=48

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