Front light (sorry) under £20?

roundthebend

My old hack commuter has Smart front lights. No idea what model because I bought them 3 years ago but it's basically 2 halogen lamps - 1 is 3.6W and the other is 10W - and you can switch them on individually or together. However, it requires a massive battery strapped to the frame.

My new bike has a sleeker look so I want a new light for it. My requirements:

1. Quick release clip onto handlebars
2. Bright enough for a very dark cycle path through some woods
3. Not too bright to annoy drivers in town (2 brightness settings would be good)
4. Waterproof
5. Rechargeable battery, or able to run on AA or AAA as I have some rechargables already
6. Under £20

Here's what I've seen today:

Oxford Ultra LED 5
Smart Polaris Lux 7
Electron Micro 5
Smart Polaris 3 set

I need a rear light too, but I think I can choose that easy enough.

tomb353

just got one of these 70% off and very bright:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Smart ... 360047700/

RufusA

Not sure about all of the lights listed but IMHO unless you have sharp eyes the Smart Polaris lights are not bright enough to cycle unlit areas, although they are good be seen lights.

I crashed a few years ago into a wooden planter the council had moved in to the middle of the road as the Polaris (5 I think), wasn't bright enough to pick it up whilst mildly dazzled by an oncoming car! Four weeks on crutches with a dicky knee!

If you can stretch an extra fiver the Smart Lunar 35 meets all your criteria and I'm more than confident enough to use it on its own on unlit roads / paths!

http://www.parker-international.co.uk/1 ... n=pid13131

It has a very good "throw" but perhaps not as much "spread" as would be ideal. Though unless you spend serious money, or have two sources of light you are always going to suffer from this!

Alertnatively a good CREE based torch and a twofish lockblock would do the trick, but again possibly over budget!

Rufus.

thelawnet

I would avoid bike shop lights, they are underpowered or overpriced or both.

This light is pretty good: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.14450

I wouldn't pay much attention to your AA/AAA investment, as I assume they are not .low self-discharge

There is this, which takes AAAs http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.26798

But AAAs are really not as good as 18650s....

18650s run about $10 for two.

Gussio

Just bought a Cateye HL-EL130 LED for missus' bike to replace like for like. Not going to show where you are going on an unlit lane, but good for being seen by traffic.

vitesse169

If your smart lights are not enough to not crash into stuff - spending £20 is like buying a candle to see with.
That said I spent £48 on the magicshine 900 lumens lamp. That has a battery about the size of 2 swan vesta match boxes. lasts 7hrs on 400 lumens or 3 on 900.
Well worth the money.

roundthebend

Wow, some very useful responses so far. Thanks.

My current lights are amazing for unlit paths. But, I don't want to attach them to my new bike. I want something smaller if possible. Hence this thread.

thelawnet

The Magicshine stuff is being upgraded currently, and it's perhaps worth holding off until the dust settles a little - the Magicshine 1400 comes with a battery status indicator and waterproof battery pack.

roundthebend

What's the score with ordering from Deal Extreme?

How long will it take for the torch to arrive? Any hidden extras like import duty or VAT?

thelawnet

roundthebend wrote:

What's the score with ordering from Deal Extreme?

How long will it take for the torch to arrive? Any hidden extras like import duty or VAT?

it takes a couple of weeks, and you won't pay any extras.

Specialized Needs

I have both the Smart 1W (recently bought 4 from Wiggle) and the 2W (from last winter). The 1 Watt seems a good all-rouder to see and be seen by (particularly on flash!), and 2 of them helps provide a "spread" of light when on constant. That said, I haven't cycled yet in pitch dark areas with them.

I found my 2W light powerful and good for lighting my way last winter, but it has a habit that I couldn't resolve of switching off over bumps. I'll persevere with it this winter, but not without a backup.

[attempted thread hijack]
What I have found with all front Smart lights of this design in the last 2 years (as a change to previously) is that the battery channels for the AA batteries are tight (13mm when really they should be 14mm I think). Some of my higher power rechargeables don't fit and I am having fun trying to find decent capacity rechargeables that do. Has anyone else found decent NiMH AAs that fit recent Smart front lights? I have asked this before, but couldn't find any useable answer (short of removing the covering sheath).
[/attempted thread hijack]

supersonic

I'd certainly save for the DX torches ie the P7. At 5-600 lumens it is amazing. These output 10 times the amount of light of a typical 1w lamp.

pidism

Try these
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLq ... ct=c009275

£2.99 each. Fantastic light output and run on 3 x AAA.

Worth trying, if not good enough, what have you lost? £6!!!!!

roundthebend

pidism wrote:

Try these
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLq ... ct=c009275

£2.99 each. Fantastic light output and run on 3 x AAA.

Worth trying, if not good enough, what have you lost? £6!!!!!

But the website says £9.99 each :?:

nich

pidism wrote:

Try these
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLq ... ct=c009275

£2.99 each. Fantastic light output and run on 3 x AAA.

Worth trying, if not good enough, what have you lost? £6!!!!!

Thanks this link!

I ordered a couple last night at £2.99 each, and it looks like they've put the price back up to £9.99 now! Looks like I got them just in time woohoo!

headcoat

I agree about the dealextreme items, I got http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12060 two of them, although they are around $30 each. I got them out yesterday and the batteries were still charged.

fatherted

CycleXpress are doing 50% off lights at the moment

They're doing the Cateye Uno and TL600 for less than £25,

http://www.cyclexpress.co.uk/Products/U ... t_Set.aspx

roundthebend

That CatEye deal looks good, thanks.

I've ordered one of the cheapos from ebay. I figured that it's not sufficiently dark at the moment for me to worry too much, and if this doesn't cut the mustard then it'll be good to have for extra visibility and as a torch for locking/unlocking time.