Front light ideas

El Gordo
El Gordo Posts: 394
edited February 2009 in Commuting chat
My Cateye EL530 took an unfortunate plunge from my kitchen worktop onto the tiled floor and sadly no longer works so I'm in need of a new light.

Any recomendations around the £30 mark? I was pretty happy with the EL530 (of which I had two) so I could just get a new one but a few people round here don't seem to like Cateye so what's better?

Comments

  • ride_whenever
    ride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    If you're looking aorund the £30 mark, head into your lbs and buy whatever they have. The cheap lights are all fairly similar, and i don't think you can get one of the super LED torches for that amount.
    Neeermad
    Carbon 456
    456 lefty
    Pompino
    White Inbred
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Do you want it to see by, or be seen by ?

    If the former - for £40 you can get a P7 plus batteries plus charger.

    If its the latter - you can get a Fenix LD20 Q5 for £40 - put that on Strobe and anyone will see you - and its bright in a normal mode too.
  • simon_e
    simon_e Posts: 1,706
    I wouldn't bother with a Cateye front light (and the associated pathetic bracket). Having used an EL320 my new Fenix LD20 blows it away. I haven't needed the turbo mode so the 2 rechargeable AAs last well. Even the medium brightness is better than the Cateye, the output of which isn't much less than your EL530.

    The Fenix is waterproof, very well made and can also be used as a torch. The central spot is bigger and visibility from the front belies its small lens diameter. Good service from www.thephotonshop.co.uk
    Aspire not to have more, but to be more.
  • stuartg
    stuartg Posts: 20
    I've just got a Fenix TK11. Its for off-road use and is bloody amazing. Check out their website for cheeper less powerful alternative that would be suitable for commuting. This one has two different brightness settings.
    www.fenix.co.uk.
    The TK11 does use a pretty specific rechargeable battery though and this was a lot cheeper from the Photon Shop. Both sites are great, delivery was free and just a few days.
    Can't recommend them enough. totally waterproof and feel like it would take an awful lot of abuse.
    EX8 Rules
  • Nick6891
    Nick6891 Posts: 274
    i agree with the fenix, only £10 more for the L2D and its so much brighter
  • Cheeky Tosser
    Cheeky Tosser Posts: 22
    Like stuartg I use a Fenix TK11 on my commuter (two of them!!). Light output is fantastic and now I feel much more confident when turning right across oncoming traffic. I recharge the 18650 Lithium ion batteries about once a week and even then they are still putting out bags of light. I would never go back to a "dedicated" cycle light as they pale in comparison to the new high output Cree LED torches.
  • LV
    LV Posts: 28
    Another vote for a Fenix torch. I'm using a P1D with their velcro mount and it is brilliant.
    2009 Mongoose Tyax Super
  • downfader
    downfader Posts: 3,686
    Just remember two things with regards the fenix torch route:

    1. remember to angle them correctly so as not to blind drivers/other road users

    2. they are not classed as road legal lights for bikes, make sure you have a cheap set also on the bike to deal with this.
  • Mr Sworld
    Mr Sworld Posts: 703
    downfader wrote:
    2. they are not classed as road legal lights for bikes, make sure you have a cheap set also on the bike to deal with this.

    What are 'road legal' lights for cycles? I've never heard of this....
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations are explained in that link. For example, for a front lamp it states
    One is required, showing a white light, positioned centrally or offside, up to 1500mm from the ground, aligned towards and visible from the front. If capable of emitting a steady light it must be marked as conforming to BS6102/3 or an equivalent EC standard. If capable of emitting only a flashing light, it must emit at least 4 candela.

    It amounts to the light being BSI approved (or EU equivalent). Probably less than 1% of bike lights have this approval. Lights that state they "comply with" RVLR don't even count unless they have the BSI number stamped on them. Most of the Cateye range are not road legal, neither are almost all other manufacturer's ranges. The few that are legal are usually the most feeble, but to follow the letter of the law you should fit some. Getting lights tested and approved by the BSI is probably too expensive for most manufacturers to bother with, especially as no one seems to care.

    If you have road legal lights you can fit any supplementary lights with or without BSI approval, providing they are white for front, red for rear, and if it flashes, does so between 1 and 4 times per second.

    I run a Fenix L2D CE Q5 on the front and one or two Smart Superflash 1/2 watt on the rear (which is claimed to comply with RVLR, but is not "approved" so this is a nonsense), so I am not road legal. The legal lights are useless and I have no more room to fit a pair of useless lights, I'd rather stay safe, being able to see and be seen. Obviously I do not recommend my approach to anyone else.
  • Mr Sworld
    Mr Sworld Posts: 703
    Well I never!

    Thanks Alfa. Don't think I'll be swapping my L2D for an 'approved' light however! :lol:
  • Nick6891
    Nick6891 Posts: 274
    haah i dont think there are many "road legal" lights out there, plus no cop is ever going to stop you because your light is bright enough to be seen unlike the road legal ones.

    Im thinking of getting a fenix tk11 to go with my L2D
  • Mrs_Ragbrutty
    Mrs_Ragbrutty Posts: 59
    I have a feeling that I read somewhere that no diode light is legal simply because the law is too old to consider modern day diode lights. Rear lights also need a built in reflector.

    Law is not everything. It used to be illegal to drive with your headlights on during the day. At the same time courts were holding m/cyclists partly to blame for accidents when they did not have their lights on.

    If you are using good quality lights that are better than legal lights you have room for manouvre.

    I'm looking for good lights to commute 15 miles in the dark on unlit country lanes as well as trunk raods and dual carriage way. I need to see and be seen. I need them to be robust and waterproof. I need a good solid constant beam. I don't really care about cost. I just don't know what is good.

    Are these fenix lights that good or can you do better for more money.
  • stuartg
    stuartg Posts: 20
    Remember they are a torch. Having said that they supply a bike mount and they are pretty indestructable. Constructed of metal and with seals on all openings to make them waterproof. V good indeed. I've not seen anything brighter than my TK11, 225 lumens!
    EX8 Rules
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    Mrs_Ragbrutty wrote:
    I have a feeling that I read somewhere that no diode light is legal simply because the law is too old to consider modern day diode lights. Rear lights also need a built in reflector.
    The law changed in 2005 so lights do not require a filament bulb to be legal, nevertheless, the problem still stand that virtually zero effective lights are legal.

    Just as an aside, today I cycled with my girlfriend on a circular route from Bath to Castle Combe, on the long descent down Bannerdown Hill I got well ahead of her (she was braking!!! :? ) so I was waiting at the bottom of the hill for her. It was twilight so a good time for flashing mode on the Fenix L2D CE. I could see the flashes for a good 20 seconds before she appeared in view around the bend, which is a testament to the visibility of this light (and before anyone says, the light was aimed slightly down and was not dazzling anyone, as I could tell when she finally approached where I was waiting).
  • Petromyzon
    Petromyzon Posts: 221
    Sorry to hijack a little, but does anyone have a recommendation for an LED I can wear forward-facing on my helmet? Specifically what are the people I see on my commute using to stick torches to the tops of their heads? I am just looking to be seen above cars etc. nothing too star-like is required :lol:
  • El Gordo
    El Gordo Posts: 394
    Cheers for the replies - sounds like it's a Fenix... or maybe a Fenix.... or failing that, a Fenix!
  • singlespeedexplosif
    singlespeedexplosif Posts: 1,564
    Sorry to hijack a little, but does anyone have a recommendation for an LED I can wear forward-facing on my helmet? Specifically what are the people I see on my commute using to stick torches to the tops of their heads? I am just looking to be seen above cars etc. nothing too star-like is required

    try the tesco £8 special. Or a Fenix or similar.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    stuartg wrote:
    Remember they are a torch. Having said that they supply a bike mount and they are pretty indestructable. Constructed of metal and with seals on all openings to make them waterproof. V good indeed. I've not seen anything brighter than my TK11, 225 lumens!

    Stuart - check out this baybeee :

    http://www.mtbbritain.co.uk/mountain_bi ... w_led.html
  • tiny_pens
    tiny_pens Posts: 293
    I second the above post from cougie.

    It depends where you live. I have some unlit roads in my commute and ran Fenix L2ds for a couple of weeks but really it doesn't compare to an SSC P7 flashlight for seeing (and I got fed up with always trying to make sure that the batteries were topped up). The alleged 900 lumens makes the Exposure Maxx I borrowed look fairly dim in comparison. Thats not to say I would take one offroad but for value as a commuting light its pretty good.

    The fenix lock blocks work (sort of) with these big flashlights but the torch does tend to bounce. Better to get an Exposure quick release handlebar mount and drill a hole in your torch to fit it.

    Mind you might be a bit more pricey with the rubbish exchange rate at the moment.

    tiny Pens
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    I've used the P7 off road in the pitch black - its fantastic - no point in having that and a Fenix pointing in the same place - the Fenix is washed out completely by it.

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