Commuting Lights

stuman69er

Have been commuting daily for about 3 year and my kit has started to show its age.

i ride mostly at night (night shift worker) or in rush hour so good visibility is essential. not so much for me as the entire journey is lit well. but for the motorists kicking around at that time in the morning.

have been looking at some very nice kits and can't seem to find the exact thing im looking for so a little help from you guys might come up trumps.

the lights i have looked at are the ay up sets. these look like a good idea, however i don't need all that output. if i could use one kit to light front and rear i think i would be sold. (any mods available?)

also looked at Exposure but once again front light is far too much. they make a nice red light for the back and also a mini add on light for the front. however you seem to need there small sun of a light to be able to run them!! is there anything out there that i could buy to be able to just run there add on lights?



money isn't a massive issue. up to about £200 would be manageable.

must be hard wearing. will be rinding all year round.

rechargeable would be nice but not essential.



anybody have any ideas?


Stu.

davis

stuman69er wrote:

also looked at Exposure but once again front light is far too much. they make a nice red light for the back and also a mini add on light for the front. however you seem to need there small sun of a light to be able to run them!! is there anything out there that i could buy to be able to just run there add on lights?

You can run the Exposure RedEye directly from one of their Piggyback batteries. I get around 5 hours' usage out of a "Single" Piggyback (probably a bit more really, never timed it). You will, however, need one of their chargers too. That makes it really expensive for what is basically a Seoul P4 red LED in a fancy case.

Having said that, it's phenomenal. Really well made, astonishingly bright (you will be seen!), and I tuck the cables away under my saddle so it doesn't get in the way. There's no on/off switch, but you can unplug the light from the female/female cable adapter.

I bought two sets because I prefer having my bikes ready to ride without too much faffing.

GMRK

I've commuted with a Fenix torch and Smart Superflash for a couple of years, this winter I'll have two of these on the handlebars:

http://www.fenixtorch.co.uk/led_torches/fenix-ld20-r4.html

And one each of these on the back, one constant one flashing:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Smart-Lunar-Watt-Light-Batt-Inc/dp/B002Q4TZEU/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=sports&qid=1280733610&sr=1-7

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Smart-Polaris-Super-Flash-Batt-Inc/dp/B002Q4TZF4/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=sports&qid=1280733610&sr=1-8

beverick

These are bright (very!), bomb proof and generally have a good battery life:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Catey ... 360045562/

You can also get spare mounts if you have more than one bike.

I have two of each and use them in tandem (one flashing and one steady). The front lights are easily bright enough to ride on unlit roads for short(ish) distances and you keep to sensible speeds.

Bob

davis

beverick wrote:

These are bright (very!), bomb proof and generally have a good battery life:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Catey ... 360045562/

You can also get spare mounts if you have more than one bike.

Nooo! Those Cateye semi-ziplock-twist-to-tighten mounts are truly horrible. I've had a few, and the twist-to-tighten bit usually ends up moving, meaning that it stops the ratchet strap from moving, they get full of road muck, and they fall to bits. Even if you can get the strap tight it'll still move.

I don't recommend anyone buys Cateye lights. Even their newer mount isn't great.

cougie

+1 for the fenix and Smart Half watt lights. Always go for 2 lights at the back though - just in case one breaks/falls off/fails and you cant see it.

vorsprung

davis wrote:

beverick wrote:

These are bright (very!), bomb proof and generally have a good battery life:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Catey ... 360045562/

You can also get spare mounts if you have more than one bike.

Nooo! Those Cateye semi-ziplock-twist-to-tighten mounts are truly horrible. I've had a few, and the twist-to-tighten bit usually ends up moving, meaning that it stops the ratchet strap from moving, they get full of road muck, and they fall to bits. Even if you can get the strap tight it'll still move.

I don't recommend anyone buys Cateye lights. Even their newer mount isn't great.

I agree the 320 is not a good light
It is not "very bright" by todays standard, although it is adequate. It doesn't have great bang per buck
It is not "bomb proof", it has the typical cateye plastic construction. I mounted mine upside down ( less room on handlebars ) and it leaked in water and rusted the internals
They do have a good battery life because they aren't really that bright so there is nothing to use up the battery....

g00se

davis wrote:

beverick wrote:

These are bright (very!), bomb proof and generally have a good battery life:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Catey ... 360045562/

You can also get spare mounts if you have more than one bike.

Nooo! Those Cateye semi-ziplock-twist-to-tighten mounts are truly horrible. I've had a few, and the twist-to-tighten bit usually ends up moving, meaning that it stops the ratchet strap from moving, they get full of road muck, and they fall to bits. Even if you can get the strap tight it'll still move.

I don't recommend anyone buys Cateye lights. Even their newer mount isn't great.

I've got the 320 but rather than the 610 on the rear, I've got the 1100 which is very bulky but effective: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Cateye_Cateye_TL-LD1100_LED_Rear_Light/5360025767

I didn't have much problem with the clip on the 320 though it would eventually slide about a bit. In the end, I bought the replacement clip for it which is very secure - don't know what they don't supply it with both handlebar width versions as standard: http://www.cateye.com/store/parts.php?cid=2_105

In retrospect, I'd probably have gone for these:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=42464

(Though with the 1100, putting one row of LEDs on 'knight-rider' and the other on random is very eye-catching).

beverick

davis wrote:

beverick wrote:

These are bright (very!), bomb proof and generally have a good battery life:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Catey ... 360045562/

You can also get spare mounts if you have more than one bike.

Nooo! Those Cateye semi-ziplock-twist-to-tighten mounts are truly horrible. I've had a few, and the twist-to-tighten bit usually ends up moving, meaning that it stops the ratchet strap from moving, they get full of road muck, and they fall to bits. Even if you can get the strap tight it'll still move.

I don't recommend anyone buys Cateye lights. Even their newer mount isn't great.

Mine are the bolt-on variety - no problems.

Norky

davis wrote:

Nooo! Those Cateye semi-ziplock-twist-to-tighten mounts are truly horrible. I've had a few, and the twist-to-tighten bit usually ends up moving, meaning that it stops the ratchet strap from moving, they get full of road muck, and they fall to bits. Even if you can get the strap tight it'll still move.

I don't recommend anyone buys Cateye lights. Even their newer mount isn't great.

I second this. I don't like Cateye. The lights themselves are fine, but the mountings (and I've owned eight or more Cateye lights on various bikes - you think I would have learnt by now) range from merely crappy to rage-inducingly stupid in design.