Need a light for potholes and black ice.

markybhoy67

Hi guys and sorry for another what light thread, although I have searched and read most of the threads on this website and other websites, in fact what seemed an easy task of buying a light has got complicated due to information overload.

I commute 10 miles each way oh A roads and main roads, so mostly the roads are lit, albeit more a dim light, but they are covered in potholes, about 0.5 mile each way is pitch black and up until Monday I had missed the potholes here but alas my side wall took the brunt of one and I ended up with a flat.

My commute to work is mostly downhill, so I can easily be descending at 30mph+

I do 12 hours shifts, so I am on the road at 5.30 am and usually leave work at 7pm, with winter coming in I would be needing a totally waterproof light (I work in Glasgow) as well as the ability to show black ice when winter finally arrives.

I was initially going to go with a Hope Vision 1 but I read that the light didn't have a good spread.

I then looked at the Magicshine Bike Light Set MJ-816 this looks a great light but I think that this might be overkill with the lumens, there seems to be some poor comments regarding build quality and waterproofness (not sure if this is a word).

This leads me on to Exposure lights:

I like the Exposure MaXx-D Mk4 Front Light but again, I think this may be overkill (and if the wife finds out how much I am thinking of spending then there will definitely be a killing on the cards....)

So this leads me to the Exposure Strada Mk3 Front Light, this seems to be the light for road use from what I have been reading on this forum.

Can anyone comment on the ability of the strada to pick up potholes and black ice?

From the videos I have looked at on you tube, the Magicshine defo looks the business even if I was only using it at lower setting but I want to buy a light which is a quality item and hopefully doesn't throw up any wobblies.

Thanks for reading this very long...winded post.

Mark

DrLex

Not sure if anything will show up black ice; check a thermometer and cycle accordingly.
Had I not already ordered a £30 DealExtreme special to try this year in place of my T7 Led Lenser lashed to the 'bars, I'd have ordered the Philips LED at £80 from Rosebikes.co.uk (although based in Germany).

keef66

+1 good luck on spotting the black ice at night!

I use an old tech Fenix L2D LED torch with rechargeable 2900 mAh AA batteries. Good enough for a 10 mile commute.

cougie

I'd go with the dealextreme light. At that price - even if it fails you'll still be quids in if you need to buy two.

The L2D torch is very good - but the Dealextreme absolutley blows it out of the water.

And if its icy - dont ride.

markybhoy67

Cheers for the replies.

I am really interested in the Philips LED,I went and read about this on the candelpowerforum and it gets a really good write up.

I have just dug out an old £10 cree torch to use in the mean time. along side my knog front light.

I like the the magicshine but waterproof is a big issue for me as I usually cycle to work until late nov / early dec and then start again late jan / early feb so the weather is usually crap, I also suffer the black ice more due to being on the road so early in the morning.

When the black ice appears, I usually switch to my hybrid for a wee bit extra grip, I have toyed with getting schwalbe marathon winters, as they get good reviews.

warrerj

I've had my Magic shine for a while (this'll be the 3rd winter of use). I've never had any problem with waterproofing. The only issue I could see possible is the battery pack. The new lights come with a much better sealed pack so even that isn't an issue. For £30-£40 is really is a no brainer even tho it's very much overkill for use ont he road on full power.

APIII

The Magicshine does seem to have a higher rate of failure than most, although that could be due to the fact there are a lot of them around. I was riding with a friend when theirs packed up in the middle of nowhere. They'd have been in the sh1t if out on their own. The output is good, not overkill at all if riding unlit roads, but I'd go for something less powerful and more reliable any day. People witH Hope lights seem to like them. I use Lupine myself.

markybhoy67

warrerj wrote:

I've had my Magic shine for a while (this'll be the 3rd winter of use). I've never had any problem with waterproofing. The only issue I could see possible is the battery pack. The new lights come with a much better sealed pack so even that isn't an issue. For £30-£40 is really is a no brainer even tho it's very much overkill for use ont he road on full power.

The magicshine I was looking at is:

http://www.magicshineuk.co.uk/products/ ... MJ-816LSET
£93 and including an open source battery for £16 so £109 in total, I know this is overkill 8) 8) 8) If I hadn't read about waterproof and build quality problems then I would have bought it.

The Philips one I am seriously considering.

What I liked about the Exposure and Philips lights is that they are all in one units but still very bright.

I just seem to be confusing myself more :oops:

markybhoy67

APIII wrote:

The Magicshine does seem to have a higher rate of failure than most, although that could be due to the fact there are a lot of them around. I was riding with a friend when theirs packed up in the middle of nowhere. They'd have been in the sh1t if out on their own. The output is good, not overkill at all if riding unlit roads, but I'd go for something less powerful and more reliable any day. People witH Hope lights seem to like them. I use Lupine myself.

Yeah, the magicshine does have me a wee bit concerned, I would rather buy quality than buy twice (with reason of course)

The Philips one in this thread does seem to get a good review as well as a good brand name so hopefully no major issues. It seems to be really good value for money.

Out with that I take it any one who has an exposure strada has only very good reports as I can't find any negative reviews. This is the one that worries me with the wife though, I would have to get this delivered to my local Evans and go in and collect it so she doesn't see the receipt

Slow Downcp

If there's ice, hybrid tyres won't make any difference. I hit a patch if black ice in daylight - rest of the roads were wet so didn't look and difference and I went down like a sack of spuds. A fractured elbow and four months off the bike :-(

markybhoy67

Slow Downcp wrote:

If there's ice, hybrid tyres won't make any difference. I hit a patch if black ice in daylight - rest of the roads were wet so didn't look and difference and I went down like a sack of spuds. A fractured elbow and four months off the bike :-(

Sorry to hear that Slow Downcp, I have come off twice on black ice, at almost the exact same spot going through a park (taken a short cut) luckily both times I landed on grass at side of path, just ripped my clothes and and couple of bruises but nothing as bad as your injuries.

The winter tyres are supposed to have carbon studs to help give a bit of grip on ice, how effective they are though, I am not sure but reviews seem to give them the thumbs up.

bompington

I'm seriously thinking of studs for ice this winter, nothing else works.
And, as mentioned above more than once, the whole point of black ice is that you can't see it in broad daylight, never mind the dark. A really good light will catch frost sparkles glinting though, which helps.

mask of sanity

I love my Magicshine. I've had two now because the first battery pack died after getting soaked (my fault). I made sure to get the upgraded battery pack the second time and it's a huge improvement. Looks very watertight. It is a lot bigger but you're getting a really bright light with a pretty good amount of run time for an absolute steal. The light build quality is top notch and looks like it should retail at a lot more than it does. I would rather get four of these then buy one exposure!

BTW, it's not overkill with the lumens! Cars will not miss you even on half beam and on full beam they will mistake you for a motor bike, or even a car if you're round a corner! I'm never going to buy a light that's not capable of at least 300 lumens now.

warrerj

markybhoy67 wrote:

warrerj wrote:

I've had my Magic shine for a while (this'll be the 3rd winter of use). I've never had any problem with waterproofing. The only issue I could see possible is the battery pack. The new lights come with a much better sealed pack so even that isn't an issue. For £30-£40 is really is a no brainer even tho it's very much overkill for use ont he road on full power.

The magicshine I was looking at is:

http://www.magicshineuk.co.uk/products/ ... MJ-816LSET
£93 and including an open source battery for £16 so £109 in total, I know this is overkill 8) 8) 8) If I hadn't read about waterproof and build quality problems then I would have bought it.

The Philips one I am seriously considering.

What I liked about the Exposure and Philips lights is that they are all in one units but still very bright.

I just seem to be confusing myself more :oops:

Better off with 1 of these : http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CREE-XML-XM-L-T6-LED-Bicycle-Light-HeadLight-headLamp-/160611766675?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_Camping_LightsLanternsTorches&hash=item2565351193 it's got the newer LED, is brighter, last longer and is cheaper

I do like the Exposure lights but I can get 6 of the above for the equivalent exposure. I always carry a backup light anyway but mine hasn't failed in 2 years of use. Neither for that matter have the 1's bought by the guys and ride with. But hey it's your money.
I'd rather spend the exrta cash on some nice winter tights or jacket

diy

You do have to be careful running ultra bright lights on the road as it can blind oncoming traffic which can mask your distance and speed. But my standard recommendations is:

either the torch route
1 or 2 of these (400-450 otf lumen)

a mount this
or this

some 18650 laptop batteries from old laptops or ebay

A charger

or the complete light (approx 800 otf lumen)

Without going in to the technical detail (which is discussed on the MTB What light thread, the Magicshines (and clones) use a 4 cell configuration with 2 cells in parallel and 2 in serial. Over time the cells can get out of balance and this can lead to premature failure, with all the normal risks associated with high energy Li-ion cells. Torches are much safer.

The torches I recommend are each brighter than the hope vision 1 (about 2-3 times). You cannot beat the above recommendation for lumens/£ My 4 light setup is about 30% brighter than lights costing £200+

You should also take with a pinch of salt the output and runtime claims of most lights.
A cree XML T6 is a 1000 Lumen LED, after about 5 mins of run it will drop to about 900, 20mins about 850. There are no "1600" Lumen T6s on the market.

As a rule of thumb divide the amps by 3 - 3.5 to get Lumen on any light with a SSC P7, CREE XM-L, MC-E or XPG LED.

with a quality laptop battery you will get 100 mins of run time on High with the torches (~450-500 Lumen), about 10-12 hours on low 80-90 lumen.

nferrar

I have one of these on order http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAGICSHINE-MJ ... 5412wt_881 it hasn't turned up yet though so can't recommend it! Planning to use it off-road to as think it will be a bit too floody for the road.

For road I currently have 2 year old Ay-Ups but they're not bright enough for descents so going to compare the latest Ay-Ups with an Exposure Strada and go from there. I like the idea of the Strada but it's pricey for the lumens but then again the lumens rating on paper doesn't always match to performance in reality.

desweller

Schmidt Edelux + hub dynamo. Wonderfully bright, well shaped beam, legendary weatherproofing and never worry about flat batteries ever again.

vorsprung

I commute 15 miles in all weather, including ice and snow
My route includes poor lanes with potholes

For lighting I am using a B&M IQ Fly powered by a Shimano generator hub

When it is icey I switch the tyres to Schwalbe Winter Marathon. These are studded and do not slip on black ice. For example I can ride up a 16% ice sheet on them.

jordan_217

I use two of these for riding on completely unlit B roads and non technical off road at night:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Led-Lenser-8407 ... 270&sr=8-1

Mounted to bike using:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lockblock-FH1-F ... 30&sr=8-15

This is the second Winter I've used them and they've never let me down. On the brightest setting (they have two) you can confidently go full speed on an unlit road. Battery life is fine. They run on AAA batteries and I usually replace them every 2 weeks to keep the beam bright. The mounts are fine, keep the velcro tight and there's no slipping.

You could probably get away with one of these if the roads are poorly lit. I bought a second one for off road night riding. Not bad for just over £70 (at the time).

Monty Dog

On the subject of black ice, it's almost impossible to spot - sometimes it can be damp and others ice - it can be as little as one degree in temperature variation. I'm not sure that using studded tyres is the answer either as they are pretty heavy and ride awfully on tarmac.
Light-wise, I'd suggest that you need a minimum of 600 lumens for unlit roads - but it also depends on the optics of the light i.e. spread and intensity.

cougie

I've come a cropper on black ice in broad daylight on a day when the fishing ponds I'd just passed weren't even iced over. There's no way I'd have spotted it at night.

What are racing trikes like for ice ?

bails87

I can recommend the Magicshine Mj-872 for road use, on the lowest power it won't blind drivers, but will still (just about) put out enough light to ride by on unlit country lanes. Then there are 3 higher modes for when you need more light. It's pretty well put together, with a well sealed battery, I've ridden in torrential rain a number of times (including a utterly filthy MTB ride, gritty mud and water everywhere) and it's still going absolutely fine.

andrew_s

DesWeller wrote:

Schmidt Edelux + hub dynamo. Wonderfully bright, well shaped beam, legendary weatherproofing and never worry about flat batteries ever again.

+1

You can hear when you go onto black ice - the tyre noise reduces, and you can then avoid the sudden movements that will have you off.

For potholes, having a fairly low mounted light helps a lot - fork crown or low rider bosses. With higher lights closer to your eye line, there's none of the shadoes and relief that make potholes easy to spot.

bobgfish

Just brought a Lezyne Superdrive. Wow !!! Used on road on the way home tonight for the first time on high power and it's brilliant. Would be ideal light for MTB as well I think. Listed with 4hour run time on low power setting and 1.5 hour on high.

puppiesdanglybits

Just bought a Busch & Muller ixon light £80 & used it on unlit country lanes last night, great light with excellent beam pattern, equivalent to around 360 lumen on full, great run time as well at 5 hours on high mode, looks a bit bulky but no separate battery pack to mess with, it's German road compliant so is designed specifically for the road unlike a lot of others

Hoopdriver

I reckon 600 lumens at a minimum for unlit roads, especially in the country.

Spotting black ice is just about impossible. What you see can be moisture on bitumen, or it can be a lethal veneer of ice; you just never know. Even the temperature isn't always a reliable guide. As was noted above a degree or two variation can be all it takes. Likewise, you can be lulled into believing that all the dubious looking patches on the road are merely moisture only to find - in a frost hollow - that you've come onto a beauty, completely unawares.

As for lights, I use Lupine and love them. Expensive, yes, but you can see where your money has gone; well worth it.

diy

Obviously the size of the head is important, but unless you have some sort of diffuser 600 lumen out of a compact light or torch is too much for road use. You will dazzle people. IMO better to run a pair on low or medium mode.

meanredspider

Well I do far more than my fair share of cycling on unlit roads covered with industrial quantities of black ice.

Firstly, I can thoroughly recommend studded ice tyres - 2 full seasons of the worst winters on them and they've not once let me down or even given me a "moment". I wouldn't risk anything else tbh. The first ride I tried before I got them I fell off in less than a mile - I still have the torn jacket, glove and base layer to match the scar on my arm.

As for lights, I run 400 lumens of AyUps - great lights and very simple. I'll happily do closing on 40mph on single-track country lanes using them though I've been commuting the route for a couple of years so I know where the damaging pot holes are. Wouldn't trust lights to spot black ice - hence the tyres. I think AyUps will become more and more popular as they are top quality and great value. Even though they are from Australia, they're here in under a week.