Lights for unlit roads.

d87heaven

So many threads on here for front lights but im going to risk asking again as there is almost too much info out there and Im confused (not hard to do!)

Im going to be cycling in the dark through winter on mostly unlit country roads. I want to avoid the drain covers and potholes so I need to be able to see pretty well. Prob out for a max of an hour or so.
What sort of brightness or light should I be after?
Are the P7 torches anygood? I have seen plenty on ebay but they all mention MTB riding so I wonder if the spread is going to be wide?

schlepcycling

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12660193

d87heaven

I had seen that thread and read some of the 100 pages ta.

bartimaeus

Basically, yes, a P7 SSC is VERY bright, which is why it's an MTB recommendation for riding off road. I use one on my bars (for flood, as the spread is good) and then a smaller C1 on my lid (for an aimable spot). For roads the P7 on its own is fine, and if you get one with a useable MID mode you won't need to run it on HIGH all the time.

I got mine from Dealextreme as shown in the thread above, but there are UK sellers too. Some people have apparently reported quality issues, but I've been using mine about twice a week since spring and have had no problems... and the 100 page discussion thread contains some simple fixes. For about £35 for torch, mount, batteries and charger the P7 seems unbeatable to me.

Another recommended alternative is the Magicshine (DX does this for about £50 - again there are UK sellers). This is basically a P7 bike light in a larger housing, with a separate battery pack made up of 4x18650s - so you get a much longer burn time but with a slightly bulkier set-up. A couple of my friends have these, and they also look excellent.

See also this thread... I've linked back to What Lights and the Discussion, but it's the same question.

Either of these options would be plenty bright enough for you, I think.

d87heaven

Excellent info thanks.

andyrr

FWIW I've got the DX-supplied Magicshines - SKU 25149
I doubt for the money you can get as bright but as mentioned there are quality issues, mine had to be returned with the battery or charger failure, they wouldn't charge up.
Recently I've seen deals for some of the other brand-name lights at reduced prices, Exposure etc so look around, check websites of the big shops etc
Mine are the best lights I've had and allow a confident fast commute on some poor surface, unlit country roads, previous lights weren't up to that task.

father_jack

If you don't mind old school halogens, 5W+10W or 15W will be plenty,or in lumens 500 should be fine.

HonestAl

I've got a P7 torch from dealextreme clamped to my bars too (as have many, many others) and it's brilliant.. The only problem I have with it is that occasionally when I hit a bump, it'll switch into flashing mode. Which, especially on unlit roads, means the whole world becomes like a strobe lit disco - not ideal if you're doing any speed, or at least if your eyes / brain work like mine So I always have a smaller cateye torch on at the same time to at least provide a little illumination while I'm desperately stabbing at the button on the end.

I suspect if you buy one of the units specifically designed for bike they might be a bit less vibration sensitive. Or maybe it's just me

father_jack

oh always have two or more rear lights. I'd avoid the Cateye TL-1000 almost got killed as mine failed. The EH-500 pants too very brittle plastic, only good as town light.

Hrun

+1 for the Magicshine. It is bright enough that cars wait for you at passing places

d87heaven

Thanks for th einfo guys.
Looks like a p7 torch it is then.
My plan for the rear was to have a constant rear light on the seat stem and then a little wrap round flashing rear light on my seat pack.

father_jack

Get two bright rear lights. I've got two Smart 1/2's and they're great, just made 1W versions so two of them would be fantastic.

Scrumple

Beware - P7's use different batteries to off the shelf, and you will need a bespoke charger if not supplied.

If you want something that takes AA's then look at the Fenix range. I use one of their L2D's and prefer it to a P7 as I can use a normal charger and AA's - and can buy some if I need to in emergency. It isn't always about the brightest - the fenix torches are superbly put together.

The Smart 1/2 watt rear light is the only sensible option. One on flash, one steady.

petemadoc

I've just bought a p7 from a UK ebay seller. I'll report back on it's performance when it arrives.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bike-Cycle-SSC-P7 ... 789wt_1137

d87heaven

PeteMadoc wrote:

I've just bought a p7 from a UK ebay seller. I'll report back on it's performance when it arrives.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bike-Cycle-SSC-P7 ... 789wt_1137

Thats the one I was looking at getting. Be good to hear any feedback.

petemadoc

I ordered it 2 days ago so hoping it will arrive tomorrow. I;ll let you knwow

keef66

I've been using a Fenix L2D (the LD20 is the near identical but newer version) for 2 years now. Plenty bright enough for fast riding on unlit roads, and extremely well built / weatherproofed. I like the fact it uses AA rechargeables; just got some 2900 mAh batteries from Vapextech and the Technoline very clever charger from Batterylogic (it does everything but make the tea)

I don't think I'd want anything brighter for the road; drivers dip their lights as soon as they see it, and occasionally I get flashed if it's pointing slightly the wrong way.

Cateye holy hand grenade (TL1100) on the rear, soon to be augmented by a Smart. Might go for the new 1W jobbie.

MattC59

I use my Hope Vision 2, LED unit. It's superb. Not as cheap as the unit mentioned earlier in the thread, but had a much longer burn time and gives 5W of very white light. Cars certainly take notice and treat you like any road user should be treated.

It's designed for mountain biking, but a velcro strap will work just as well on a road bike.

On the rear I use a NiteRider Cherry Bomb. This is horrificly bright !!!! They claim visiblility up to a mile and I wouldn't recommend it if in a group (unless you're at the back !) I caso use a cheapo single LED unit as back up.

cougie

I have a Fenix L2D on my helmet - I thought it was the dogs b*llox when I got it - fantastically bright. But when the P7 is on at the same time - it completely drowns out the Fenix.

You can see pretty well with the Fenix, but its SO so much easier with the P7.

I did about 3 hours mainly offroad last night - bats flitting around me as I rode - good stuff !

apreading

again I started with a Fenix LD20, thought it was great but would still have liked more light. Stuck with it for a good while because I wanted to stick with AA batteries rather than mess with these funny ones.

After a while I found the X2000 or C30 torches, with a zoom head, some of which take 3 AAA batteries. Cost was about £5 so I got one - in a word WOW! It was soo much more than the Fenix, better spill, much brighter etc. If you want normal batteries this would still be my choice and you would never need any more.

However, I could not resist the lure of the P7 torches for too long and thought if the X2000 was that much more how bright must the P7s be? Well I bought one and found out. They so completely flood the entire area in front of you that they could not really be bettered. They spill really wide and even if you get the right one. I can see precisely why people rave about them so much.

But I still know that I would be happy with the X2000 variety, so if you want normal batteries go for them - much better than the Fenix. They must be the best compromise between the pros/cons of the Fenix and the P7s.

Wokie

You need a light 200 lumens+ for unlit roads.

Have a look at these from UK.
http://ant-supplies.co.uk/Solarforce.aspx

There is also some nice torch bike mounts there.

d87heaven

PeteMadoc wrote:

I've just bought a p7 from a UK ebay seller. I'll report back on it's performance when it arrives.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bike-Cycle-SSC-P7 ... 789wt_1137

Any news on the light?

dmch2

d87heaven wrote:

Any news on the light?

+1

I was looking at an Ay-up but £160 = divorce!

So a P7 would be much more in my price range. But they all seem to be eBay or US based sellers...

willbevan

I used to be pro the 50 quid dealextreme bike lights as great amount of light for the money!

After 75% of the lights bought by my club mates died within the first few months and dealextreme not responding to emails etc I am as you can imagine a bit more skeptical.

Also after taking a unit apart for repair and seeing the build quality (as you expect for 50 quid) I would only buy one as a backup, or buy two! Make sure you water proof the battery and you may be okay.

Personally I would say either invest and get a more expensive system such as Lumicycle LED3/4 or 3 ATL or similar (yes they are higher end of 200 pounds) or build a cheap halogen system, over volt the bulbs and you are away! Not the prettiest but will definetly give you reliablity.

alfablue

dmch2 wrote:

d87heaven wrote:

Any news on the light?

+1

I was looking at an Ay-up but £160 = divorce!

So a P7 would be much more in my price range. But they all seem to be eBay or US based sellers...

http://www.lumenjunkies.co.uk/ P7's from a uk seller.

dmch2

alfablue wrote:

http://www.lumenjunkies.co.uk/ P7's from a uk seller.

Ta will check it out. And wrap the unit in plastic to waterproof it from the sounds of things...

alfablue

dmch2 wrote:

alfablue wrote:

http://www.lumenjunkies.co.uk/ P7's from a uk seller.

Ta will check it out. And wrap the unit in plastic to waterproof it from the sounds of things...

Not sure that's necessary, a smear of grease in the threads and tightening up should do - but maybe quality varies. I have had a few similar "low rent" torches with no waterproofing issues.

dmch2

dmch2 wrote:

alfablue wrote:

http://www.lumenjunkies.co.uk/ P7's from a uk seller.

Ta will check it out. And wrap the unit in plastic to waterproof it from the sounds of things...

http://www.lumenjunkies.co.uk/%20MTE%20SF-23%20SSC%20P7-D[

That looks pretty good. I presume I need a set of the lithium AA batteries as well? All the NiMH batteries I have at home are pretty much shot anyway. Do they need a particular charger like the one listed under related products or will any charger do?

They have two handlebar mounts - one is all vecro which looks like it might rotate/slip (I guess a bit of double sided tape would fix that). The other one appears to just have the torch clip in (but is bolted to the handlebars) - anyone know if that's secure enough?

father_jack

You cannot use a standard NIMH charger with Lithium cells, not unless you want a nice fire.

Anonymous

I've got some Ay Ups at the moment - front and rear. And they're ace.

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/a ... look-27728

They are also reliable, possibly unlike these Far Eastern units...

alfablue

dmch2 wrote:

dmch2 wrote:

alfablue wrote:

http://www.lumenjunkies.co.uk/ P7's from a uk seller.

Ta will check it out. And wrap the unit in plastic to waterproof it from the sounds of things...

http://www.lumenjunkies.co.uk/%20MTE%20SF-23%20SSC%20P7-D[

That looks pretty good. I presume I need a set of the lithium AA batteries as well? All the NiMH batteries I have at home are pretty much shot anyway. Do they need a particular charger like the one listed under related products or will any charger do?

They have two handlebar mounts - one is all vecro which looks like it might rotate/slip (I guess a bit of double sided tape would fix that). The other one appears to just have the torch clip in (but is bolted to the handlebars) - anyone know if that's secure enough?

You need

batteries £6.79

Charger £9.49

and either

this mount £3.29, or

this mount £2.99