Which lights......again, sorry

STEFANOS4784

Hi all, i was recommended by the friendly lot on here to buy a fenix L2D torch with lockblock mount, i did, however it aint good enough.
My commute is 10 miles through fair hills and quite heavy traffic, some of the route being unlit, i find the fenix doesn't light the road enough and i end up riding the brakes down the hills, anyhoo guna increase my budget so..........................
Best lights £150 or under (please don't say 2 fenix L2D, or suggest i have duff batteries for that matter :shock:



Many thanks as always!

linsen

wow you must go to some dark places, I've found my fenix fine - have you had it up on max?

Or you could get a friend to drive in front of you and light the way ....

STEFANOS4784

Think it's the cars coming the other way :?

Maybe it is the batteries :oops:

Duracell Ultra, what do you use?

daniel_b

I love my ayups - www.ayup.com.au

now with UK distributors, so prices have gone up a bit :?

They have beamshots on their website.

Dan

linsen

STEFANOS4784 wrote:

Think it's the cars coming the other way :?

Maybe it is the batteries :oops:

Duracell Ultra, what do you use?

My fenix was giving up (after not too long I must say), so I put in some fresh rechargeables and it was good as new. I'm sure others will tell you they eat batteries - how about use rechargeables and charge them up very regularly - like you would your mobile.

cougie

I use vapextech Nimh batteries - you need a decent charger though - they sell them for £14.55 there.

The Fenix is plenty bright enough to ride at speed with - even in pitch black.

If you're getting a lot of dazzle from cars - wear a cap or a peak on your helmet ?

And you arent just using the fenix on its lowest setting are you ? You are clicking it to get to high ?

Turbo is ridiculously bright if you need it.

Failing that - I'll give you a tenner for the torch ! ;-)

Mayhemwmb

I went out for a gentle bimble round the estate with my 4 year old son on his bike, I have a cateye tripleshot pro, I strapped the fenix l2d q5 onto my sons bike, most *issed off when he said "DADDY, MY LIGHTS MUCH BRIGHTER THAN YOURS" He was right, on turbo mode it was much better than the tripleshot!!
So if your fenix aint bright enough don't get a triple shot pro!!!!!!!!!!
ps I only paid £100 for mine - but would have preffered 3 x fenix torches

claash

Another vote for Aye up. I have long stretches of cycle path through fields/next to the forest which are of course unlit........ Wouldn't swap my lights for anything!!! They are great!!

jeepie

STEFANOS4784 - I agree with Cougie - it is absurdly bright on turbo so there must be something going wrong with your Fenix. Save yourself the wedge and just buy

http://www.vapextech.co.uk/acatalog/Hig ... eries.html

and the charger to go with it.

Vapextech 2900mah NiMH batteries £5.50 delivered from UK

Vapextech LCD,WORLD (110v/240v) ,ULTRA FAST 1 HOUR CHARGER £14.55 delivered from UK.

Alpha blue recommended this set up to me and it's awesome.

Note: I know you said don't tell me it's the batteries but ironically the batteries that the Fenix is pre-supplied with are cr*p. Alpha B can explain why this is but it's beyond me!

Surf-Matt

Or a bettercharger is:

http://www.batterylogic.co.uk/technolin ... -bl700.asp

and batteries for infrequent use:

http://www.batterylogic.co.uk/hybrio-aa ... attery.asp

or for daily use:

http://www.battery-force.co.uk/detail_AMAANI004U.html

They are all superb!

Fixedweasel

Another vote for Ay-ups, more than enough light and good run times !

schlepcycling

Fixedweasel wrote:

Another vote for Ay-ups, more than enough light and good run times !

+1

http://www.ayuplights.co.uk/

jackfeeder

I went out for a gentle bimble round the estate with my 4 year old son on his bike, I have a cateye tripleshot pro, I strapped the fenix l2d q5 onto my sons bike, most *issed off when he said "DADDY, MY LIGHTS MUCH BRIGHTER THAN YOURS" He was right, on turbo mode it was much better than the tripleshot!!
So if your fenix aint bright enough don't get a triple shot pro!!!!!!!!!!
ps I only paid £100 for mine - but would have preffered 3 x fenix torches

Mmmm - used my cateye triple shot for the first time last night along wooded pitch black cycle path - not as bright as I thought it would be, may need to add another light. I payed £100 for it as well, can't decide if it was a waste of money yet.
Anyone else got one and what do you think of it?
Got a bl***y puncture as well. had to ride the last 10mins on the rear rim as it was too dark and scary to stop to change the tube. Haven't checked the rim yet to see if it is okay, but may take another route where there is street lighting to allow for mechanicals.
Great first commute in the winter darkness, well it was until the end anyway.

Surf-Matt

I went for the Hope Vision 1 LED after much debate.

With a helmet mounted Tesco 3W cree as back up if needed!

More than enough for my needs and no silly external batteries.

Cateye don't seem to be doing great front lights at the moment it seems.

cougie

Ha ha - too dark and scary to change a tube !

Theres a git spreading tacks on the trails that I use - so I'm getting used to changing tubes. :-(

Yeah - get a head torch for a tenner and see how you get on with that in addition. Should be ample.

The complaining tadpole

Fenix L2D on turbo with a smart polaris 3 Led on flashing mode, both with Vapextech NiMh rechargable batteries is plenty bright enough on my early morning/late night commute on dark Suffolk country roads. If I see a car coming towards me they dip their headlights pretty quickly too!

philbill1973

DiNotte 200-L-AA is on the front of my bike, very bright. Got one for sell as well.

jackfeeder

It was quite dark and scary - honest.
Was thinking about getting a headtorch or perhaps some tyres better suited to commuting as opposed to folding off-road MTB'ing ones.

AndyManc

STEFANOS4784 wrote:

Hi all, i was recommended by the friendly lot on here to buy a fenix L2D torch with lockblock mount, i did, however it aint good enough.
My commute is 10 miles through fair hills and quite heavy traffic, some of the route being unlit, i find the fenix doesn't light the road enough and i end up riding the brakes down the hills, anyhoo guna increase my budget so..........................
Best lights £150 or under (please don't say 2 fenix L2D, or suggest i have duff batteries for that matter :shock:



Many thanks as always!

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Light_And_Motion_Stella_180_Li-Ion_LED_Front_Light/5360032154/

cougie

But that torch is no brighter than the fenix on turbo - longer run time mind you - but three times the price ?

AndyManc

cougie wrote:

But that torch is no brighter than the fenix on turbo - longer run time mind you - but three times the price ?

It's not a torch its a cycle light, according to the specs it's 3 times as bright.

The light and motion Stella illuminates the road like a car headlight. :P



*Ignore that, I've just noticed the turbo mode output, both 180 lumins, still, I bet in a direct demo the Stella would illuminate more effectively"

daniel_b

I'm going to borrow a friends Fenix next week, or the week after, and I'll take some beam shot comparisons with my Ayup's, and some cheaper Electron lights as well.

I'll post em up when done.

Dan

cougie

AndyManc wrote:

cougie wrote:

But that torch is no brighter than the fenix on turbo - longer run time mind you - but three times the price ?

It's not a torch its a cycle light, according to the specs it's 3 times as bright.

The light and motion Stella illuminates the road like a car headlight. :P



*Ignore that, I've just noticed the turbo mode output, both 180 lumins, still, I bet in a direct demo the Stella would illuminate more effectively"

Bet 3 fenix would give more coverage than one lamp ?

TheHatter

I've got the fenix too and its great but having the right batteries and the charger mentioend further up is critical. My commute is 10 miles 5 of which is on an unlit cycle path and the fenix is fine. The batteries last a couple of hours on turbo while the one time I used duracells they lasted only 15. Also its nice to have the flashing mode for being back on the road.
The only criticism I'd have is changing between modes is a bit fiddly on a bike as you have to twist the bezel.

The_Darkness

I have the Fenix, and I also have two SSC P7 MTE torches from dealextreme. The difference is night and day.

The single MTE is much much brighter, even on medium, and last about 5 hours per charge on this setting. Stick them on high and the light output is unbelievable, but the run time is only an hour. They are also significantly cheaper than the Fenix.

The downside is they take a single 18650 battery so you need to figure in the cost of these and a recharger. I bought all mine from Dealextreme and the torch, 4 batteries and the charger came in at ~£40 delivered. Took about a week to deliver when in stock.

Just another option.

Cheers

AndyManc

The_Darkness wrote:

I have the Fenix, and I also have two SSC P7 MTE torches from dealextreme. The difference is night and day.

The single MTE is much much brighter, even on medium, and last about 5 hours per charge on this setting. Stick them on high and the light output is unbelievable, but the run time is only an hour. They are also significantly cheaper than the Fenix.

The downside is they take a single 18650 battery so you need to figure in the cost of these and a recharger. I bought all mine from Dealextreme and the torch, 4 batteries and the charger came in at ~£40 delivered. Took about a week to deliver when in stock.

Just another option.

Cheers

900 Lumens :shock:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260298423480&cguid=2b9f707c11d0a0e202f34303ffdbf275#ebayphotohosting

Surf-Matt

Tests reckon it's more like 600 lumens but that's still a LOT!!

on-oneplus26

Look at On-One and check out the Airbike P7 SL1 lights. <£150 for 670 lumins. (Off)road tested mine the other night and they are realy great. Not use for helmet mounting and some people might think the cycling through the different modes is a bit of a hassel and that the bar mouint is basic but you get alot of good quality light for your money. Would be temped by the Ayup s for a helmet mount.

Surf-Matt

On-one - not meaning to be a pain but seen some damning reviews of Airbike lights. A guy on the MTB forum has a Hope 1 (240 lumens) and an Airbike and thinks the Hope is brighter. I'm sure that's a bit OTT but other have said similar.

I'd go for Ay-up if I was going "up" more in the lighting world. For now the Hope 1 and helment mounted Tesco 3W Cree does all I need it to.

cougie

The_Darkness wrote:

I have the Fenix, and I also have two SSC P7 MTE torches from dealextreme. The difference is night and day.

The single MTE is much much brighter, even on medium, and last about 5 hours per charge on this setting. Stick them on high and the light output is unbelievable, but the run time is only an hour. They are also significantly cheaper than the Fenix.

The downside is they take a single 18650 battery so you need to figure in the cost of these and a recharger. I bought all mine from Dealextreme and the torch, 4 batteries and the charger came in at ~£40 delivered. Took about a week to deliver when in stock.

Just another option.

Cheers

Reading other forums - they reckon that the P7 throws out about 450 Lumens on high ?
What would you say the medum beam gives ?

STEFANOS4784

Hi all, changed my batterys and was better, don't think changing them once a week minimum is to enviromentaly friendly though so will invest is some re-chargables, must say wasn't as good as i expected though but good enough to not have to doodle down the hills at 10mph and christ they are battery eating machines, anyhoo thanks for the advise, saved me a packet