lights camera action
Felix-da-house-mouse
Posts: 801
Hullo,
What i'm after is a set of lights for the road bike, i live in the sticks so i need a set that i can use to see and obviously be seen can anyone recommend a set at less than an arm and a leg around £50/£60 i'd buy off ebay/2nd hand.
What i'm after is a set of lights for the road bike, i live in the sticks so i need a set that i can use to see and obviously be seen can anyone recommend a set at less than an arm and a leg around £50/£60 i'd buy off ebay/2nd hand.
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have a look at the thread called "Good Cheap Front Light?" over in Gear and Know How. Sorry, I don't know how to link to it.0
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Yes that was my thread which is full of good advice and personal recommentations.
For a very very bright cheap rear light btw you can't go wrong with the Smart 1/2watt rear light. I live in the sticks as well so I know the kind of terrain you're riding amongst.0 -
I second the recommendation of the SMart 1/2 watt rear light. I bought one after it was recommended on the forum, and have been well impressed. Difficult to believe something so small can put out so much light.
Now just need a couple of those Fenix torches so I can ditch the heavy and falling-to-bits Smart lights on the front, and I'll be happy!0 -
what about these?:- http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... :IT&ih=0100
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giant mancp wrote:Yes that was my thread which is full of good advice and personal recommentations.
For a very very bright cheap rear light btw you can't go wrong with the Smart 1/2watt rear light. I live in the sticks as well so I know the kind of terrain you're riding amongst.
so did you buy the fenix l2d then?0 -
Felix-da-house-mouse wrote:what about these?:- http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... :IT&ih=010
That's what I have at the moment. On the plus side, they are good and bright. Having only used dinky little bar mounted LEDs before, I was blown away by the amount of light they put out, and by the noticeably increased respect I got from drivers. WIth the twin lights, I think they sometimes mistake you for a motorbike.
On the minus side, the battary pack is very heavy (800g for the battery alone), and hangs from the top tube in a bag which starts to come apart after the first winter. It has rubbed quite a lot of paint off my frame. They come with a dumb charger (no auto cut off) which will cook the battery if you forget to switch it off - I use one of those cheap timers that plugs into a wall socket to staop that from happening.
Bottom line - you won't get brighter for £25. My set are on their 3rd winter and have served me well, but I'll be going for something led-based soon for a lighter and brighter solution.0 -
I had a home made set up for winter commuting. I used a cut-open bottle to store 3x2v Cyclon lead acid gel cells with a 6mm jack socket for connection to a halogen 6v (dynamo) front lamp. The battery was carried in a bottle cage. We had 2 battery packs which my wife and I swapped each day so that I could charge them up at work (I was an electronocs design engineer and I commandeered a bench power supply each winter especially for the job
) When LED rear lights became available we used them rather than wiring a dynamo rear light up.
I guess there's no reason why the battery for comercial systems shouldn't be moved from a top tube bag to a bottle cage mount?
We used that set up for many years with complete success. It was ideal for known regular night riding but less convenient for casual use. For audax riding I fitted a dynamo to the front wheel using a brazed-on fork lamp bracket to support it feeding a halogen lamp on the same bracket, so a good light with minimal wiring.
I had thought of marketing my system but 25 years ago I didn't think anyone would pay the high initial cost. Having seen the price of contemporary similar systems I realise I was underestimating how much people are prepared to pay. I could have been rich beyond the dreams of avarice
GeoffOld cyclists never die; they just fit smaller chainrings ... and pedal faster0 -
Geoff_SS wrote:II guess there's no reason why the battery for comercial systems shouldn't be moved from a top tube bag to a bottle cage mount?
Geoff
fair point, Geoff. The supplied battery is rectangular, but you could probably bodge a modified bottle cage to hold it.
However, when I started thinking about it, I stumbled across a post from someone who had bought 3 of the super bright Seoul LEDS, some optics, and put them in a mount made of copper plumbing fiitings. It looked wickedly bright and very compact, and I'm tempted to make something similar0 -
Felix-da-house-mouse wrote:giant mancp wrote:Yes that was my thread which is full of good advice and personal recommentations.
For a very very bright cheap rear light btw you can't go wrong with the Smart 1/2watt rear light. I live in the sticks as well so I know the kind of terrain you're riding amongst.
so did you buy the fenix l2d then?
Haven't bought anything yet felix, waiting on a 'review' from alfablue on a light that only costs a tenner and hopefully better than the Fenix. We shall see... :roll:0 -
giant mancp wrote:Felix-da-house-mouse wrote:giant mancp wrote:Yes that was my thread which is full of good advice and personal recommentations.
For a very very bright cheap rear light btw you can't go wrong with the Smart 1/2watt rear light. I live in the sticks as well so I know the kind of terrain you're riding amongst.
so did you buy the fenix l2d then?
Haven't bought anything yet felix, waiting on a 'review' from alfablue on a light that only costs a tenner and hopefully better than the Fenix. We shall see... :roll:
Hi Giant, I have added the review on the other thread, not better than the Fenix (ignoring price), the Fenix is clearly better, but the Ultrafire is less than 1/3rd of the price and is definitly not 1/3rd of the performance (more like 80%).0 -
Is that Ultrafire from somewhere like dealextreme?
I thought about buying from there, but being impatient, and wanting to buy something with quick delivery and of a known standard I went for the Fenix.
I generally use my fenix's on the second brightest setting, as its adaquate and prolongs battery life, only switching to 'turbo' for particulary technical bits. So I'm sure the cheaper lights would be good enough if you want to save a few quid. Do they have the same battery life though?0 -
Milese wrote:Is that Ultrafire from somewhere like dealextreme?
I thought about buying from there, but being impatient, and wanting to buy something with quick delivery and of a known standard I went for the Fenix.
I generally use my fenix's on the second brightest setting, as its adaquate and prolongs battery life, only switching to 'turbo' for particulary technical bits. So I'm sure the cheaper lights would be good enough if you want to save a few quid. Do they have the same battery life though?
Yes, the Cree 3 was from Dealextreme, ordering to delivery was 8 days (better than the 10-17 quoted).
On high (i.e. the highest) the Ultrafire is close to the Fenix on high (which, like you, is the setting I generally ride with on unlit rides). I think run time on the Ultrafire will be about 2.5 hours (c/w the Fenix at 4.5, but 2 is all I need for my regular ride).
Clearly the Fenix is better made, better output, better run time, but the Ultrafire really seems like it will do the same job as the Fenix but with a shorter (but still adequate) run time. If looking for a fantastic output, weight, run time, fewest/lightest cells as the best price then a combo of 2 Ultrafires cannot be touched under £120 or more IMHO, and that includes the Dinotte 200L or 5w Ultra and several of the Cateye's.
I have used Dinotte 5w Ultra 4xAA, Electron 10 + 15w halogen / NiMH, Vistalite 10 + 15w halogen NiMH, Smart 6w + 6w SLA, Cateye ABS10 NiMH, Electron Nano 1w 4xAAA. The Ultrafire or Fenix solution knocks them all out of the water - about 230g for two lights c/w over 1kg for Smarts, or 800g for Electrons or Vistalites, 2 cells rather than 4 for the Dinottes, cheap cells (£2.50 ish per set) can be recharged in 1 hour (the battery packs with the other lights take around 8 hours), can easily and cheaply carry many spares, no trailing wires, emitters ("bulbs") that last 50 000 hours, longer run times than all the above, brighter output than all of the above, runs on readily available alkalines if you get stuck. Plus they can be used as a hand held torch, camping light (long run time on low mode) etc.
Total cost for 2 Ultrafires, £22 delivered, 3 lockblock bike mounts, £7.50 delivered, 4 x AA 2900mah batteries (Vapextech) £5.95 delivered, 1 x smart charger with individually controlled bays and LCD display, £14.95 delivered (Vapextech), total £50.40 - obviously cheaper if you have cells and charger already. (NB no customs or VAT liability from Dealextreme when ordered individually - i.e. under the £18 limit).
I still love the Fenix, but the value of the Ultrafires is astonishing!
See my review here.0 -
Thanks alfablue, your detailed comments are much appreciated.
Having read this, I think I'll save myself the bother of ordering a stack of bits and a soldering iron, and just stick a couple of these on the bars.
Anyone interested in a somewhat battered set of Smart lights, free to a good home? Didn't think so...0 -
You're welcome. I got £21 for my Smarts on ebay (they weren't battered though).lateralus wrote:Thanks alfablue, your detailed comments are much appreciated.
Having read this, I think I'll save myself the bother of ordering a stack of bits and a soldering iron, and just stick a couple of these on the bars.
Anyone interested in a somewhat battered set of Smart lights, free to a good home? Didn't think so...0
