Road bike lights

caherconree

Hi,
I had to turn back the other day as my lights were inadequate; very good for the road for normal cycling and to be seen but not very good to see. Any recommendations for some good road light?
Thanks

alfablue

Dinotte 200L or Ay-Up I reckon. Dinotte is a bit cheaper (£95 plus batteries and charger), Ay-Up a bit better (longer run times, brighter) but needs to be imported from Oz.

irb10

There have been a few discussions on this topic already in this forum, so I suggest you do a forum search. There are also various reviews in the "Bikes & Gear" section.

I personally use a Dinotte 200L-AA single LED headlight which ticks all the boxes for me - not too expensive, small and lightweight, enough light for cycling on unlit roads. My version runs on AA rechargeables, a feature I like because of the ease of replacement (proprietary batteries can be pricey), but they also do a Li-ion version which has a longer run-time. With the current $ exchange rate, you might find it cheaper to buy directly from Dinotte's USA website, even with shipping and duty.

willbevan

depends what your going to use it for.

If you don't mind a heavy battery, then the smart lights, 10w are around 30 pounds on ebay or in my local bike shop (climb on bikes in hereford)

I use a double 10w set(rahter than an updated single unit that climb on bike has that looks more modern), don't really use both at the same time as not needed unless its very very bad terrain , and then you will only get an hours run time.. or 2 hrs on single

Now you can get replacement batteries from maplins for 4 pounds (not the entire battery pack but the battery itself so you need to unlcip the leads, 30 seconds max), so can carry a spare, or get a larger capacity one like i have (7.2ah rather than 4.5ah, makes a difference, dont run out of light on my evening club rides which are over 2 hrs , used it for over 3 without a problem)

I will be buying a high quality set probably next year as this is my first winter, but find the smart great, bear in mind that i actually ride a lot of the time roads that have NO street lighting, and i still get cars pulling over into passing places for me.


As for a back light, i can fully recommened the cateye LD1100, about 23 on wiggle.co.uk, so expensive in comparison, but had a number of people on club rides complain how bright it was behind them (put it down to one row to keep them happy), but can't comment how much safier i feel knowing that!