Need some front light advice for canal towpath commuting

Gazzak

Hi Everyone, hopefully this is posted in the right place.

I cycle to the office and back 3 times a week along canal towpaths, there are no roads involved at all, and it's about 13 miles each way. Now that the darkness is creeping in I've suddenly realised that I'll be needing a good front light pretty soon. Obviously canals aren't lit at all, so I'm looking for advice on exactly what's out there and what the experts here would recommend.

My current front light came with the bike, so as you can imagine it's pretty pathetic. I think I'll be needing something very strong to see quite far ahead. Any advice would be welcomed.

lmk1

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/mj-808-ha- ... -set-44459
this is what i use fantastically powerful and worth considering as it's stronger than anything of a similiar price.

bails87

lmk1 wrote:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/mj-808-ha-iii-ssc-p7-c-sxo-3-mode-900-lumen-led-bike-light-set-44459
this is what i use fantastically powerful and worth considering as it's stronger than anything of a similiar price.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/t6-waterproof-xml-t6-3-mode-1200-lumen-white-led-bike-light-with-battery-pack-set-82510
That's the newer version. Cheaper, brighter, more efficient.
There will be a wait for it though, typically around 3-4 weeks.

Can be bought from the UK, but it costs more.

alan_sherman

Get a dynamo hub and a B&M cyo front light.

tomb353

just bought a 1200 lumen p& on ebay fro £32 including delivery Took around two weeks to arrive. http://stores.ebay.co.uk/sayusellme/_i. ... 2343307010

Very difficult to justify getting anything else given the price and how blooming bright this thing is. My lad now wants one for christmas for his BMX.

tomb353

would be interested to know if anyone has ever tried putting a red gel over a magicshine type light and running as a rear light (would need to be angled down). Now that they are at this sort of money it starts to look sensible to run two.

gilesjuk

alan sherman wrote:

Get a dynamo hub and a B&M cyo front light.

Seconded. 13 miles each way is a long way to ride with a dead battery. You may forget to charge it or have some other failure.

It's worth carrying a spare anyway as catastrophes can happen with any light.

People may go on about dynamo drag but I did a 50 mile charity ride (with some big hills) with mine on all the way. I was on a rather heavy utility bike about three times the weight of what others were riding. I have a Schmidt SON 28 and a Supernova E3 Pro.

bails87

gilesjuk wrote:

alan sherman wrote:

Get a dynamo hub and a B&M cyo front light.

Seconded. 13 miles each way is a long way to ride with a dead battery. You may forget to charge it or have some other failure.

It's worth carrying a spare anyway as catastrophes can happen with any light.

I agree about carrying a spare, but dynamo lights aren't immune to failure. 13 miles is a long way to ride with a dead dyno hub

tomb353 wrote:

would be interested to know if anyone has ever tried putting a red gel over a magicshine type light and running as a rear light (would need to be angled down). Now that they are at this sort of money it starts to look sensible to run two.

I wouldn’t use a front magicshine on the back, it would be way, way too bright, and have rubbish side on visibility. Get something like this. You can get them from the UK, just the head only, to attach to your current battery pack.

Or just get a normal rear light for £10-15. Smart R1/R2, Cateye Ld1100, RSP Astrum all seem to be well reviewed.

MichaelW

Dynohub+LED lamp will almost never let you down. You will need an additional battery lamp for repairs in the dark so you have a backup.
I would fit a rear LED dynamo lamp + a battery one.
Hybrid AA(A) batteries are rechargeable and dont self discharge so last for months.

A head torch is good for repairs and as a backup.

seataltea

tomb353 wrote:

would be interested to know if anyone has ever tried putting a red gel over a magicshine type light and running as a rear light (would need to be angled down). Now that they are at this sort of money it starts to look sensible to run two.

I run a red led rear on the Aether, some light hits the rear caliper and is reflected backwards whilst the remainder lights up the rear of the bike and a circle about 1m wide on the road.

£7.50 delivered, been through all conditions with no water getting in.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire- ... 123a-20333