Front lights

alamb200

Hi,

Before I ask my question I will say that I know you get what you pay for but money is tight and I cannot afford to go silly on this.

I am biking 10.5 mile each way three days a week as part of my commute so much of this arround 3 miles is under street lights but the rest is down unlit B roads. So far I have managed with a light I bought several years ago and has three LED's which gives an okay light for about 6 yards but I think I need something better.

I am looking at getting something like the Topeak bar extender so I can keep my existing light and add another but need help finding a decent light at a cheap price. I know I will not get a perfect light and I am probably asking for the holy grail but I am only looking to spend around £15 to but the new light.

Can anyone offer any advice apart from spend more money?

Thanks,

alamb200

Kieran_Burns

It's not going to happen unfortunately - to get a light to see by, you need to be in the £70 (Hope Vision 1) region. I tried the same thing you did and simply wasted money on cheaper lights. In the end I got a Cateye Single shot plus, but it didn't light up as far forward as I wanted, so got the Hope Vision 2 instead.

The cateye finally gave up the ghost (clamp problem) and got Vision 1 to replace it.

The thing is: down those lanes you rely on the lights totally, so I took the decision to pay extra for something I could rely on.

jonnyboy77

alamb200 wrote:

I am only looking to spend around £15 to but the new light.

Can anyone offer any advice apart from spend more money?

Thanks,

alamb200

This



from B&Q, mounted with some zip ties to the front of the bike ...

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?a ... arch=false

Not terribly practical, but at least I didn't suggest you spend more money ... ?

- Jon

alamb200

Thats brilliant, first thing I have laughed at in ages.

Torvid

Moon Mask 5.0 USB Rechargeable Front Bike Lighthttp://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/300606620936?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar

£25 bit more than you wanted to spend but there is a good review of here you can compare to other lights in the price range http://road.cc/content/review/47211-moon-mask-5-led-front-light with a handy picture of how much it lights up.

jonnyboy77

alamb200 wrote:

Thats brilliant, first thing I have laughed at in ages.

Glad to have helped well, sort of.

I run a Hope Vision 1 combined with a cheaper Smart front light (to see, and be seen respectively). I replaced a dual setup of Smart front lights with an Electron Terra 2 setup, but these failed and were replaced by CRC where I chose the Hope Vision 1. These are £70+ and not close to your £15 budget though.

- Jon

Mr Plum

This is the closest you'll get to your budget that will be anywhere near what you need -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UltraFire-WF- ... 1374wt_800

jonnyboy77

I have seen these touted as decent front lights: http://www.amazon.co.uk/7dayshop-Power- ... B005HH30JO

I haven't tried them myself though,

- Jon

mmuk

little more than you want to pay

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/p7-water-r ... -set-82734

but a cracking headlight! (and I have one)

MM

robert-sb

I have one of these on my helmet and one ziptied to my bars.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/spiderfire ... -904419767

I have commuted through 2 winters to date, along 1.5 mile of lit roads followed by 13 miles of unlit roads. Can't fault it although you will need a battery and a charger.

jefflad

jonnyboy77 wrote:

I have seen these touted as decent front lights: http://www.amazon.co.uk/7dayshop-Power- ... B005HH30JO

I haven't tried them myself though,

- Jon

Exact light I've been getting and my route sounds similar to yours, I've found it good and certainly better than my two cateyes I have. I've actually tie wrapped this light to my lid so I've got a good light for where I'm looking, if you go for this you won't be disappointed in either cost or performance.

monkeycowboy

Theres plenty of talk on the mtb forum about the torch type lights

viewtopic.php?f=20005&t=12660193

£50 and you'll have a pair of torches with plenty of lumens.

Edit - Just saw the £15 budget.

cougie

I've just had my Ultrafire WF501B delivered. Ridiculously cheap and powerful. I've ridden pitch black country trails with its predecessor no bother, and this one looks even brighter.

Aerozine50

You can get the really good Chinese copies off Ebay, running at 1400 lumens for £30 odd quid.

SImply fit to your bike or helmet and enjoy playing light chicken with the pratts in white vans and 4x4's who thing they dont have to come off full beam for a cyclist at night. Aim for the head for maximum effectiveness!!!

I.e. have this in your face you bar steward!!!

Kallaen

cougie wrote:

Ultrafire WF501B

+1

Got one myself. Ridiculously powerful for the money.

king_jeffers

Kieran_Burns wrote:

It's not going to happen unfortunately - to get a light to see by, you need to be in the £70 (Hope Vision 1) region. I tried the same thing you did and simply wasted money on cheaper lights. In the end I got a Cateye Single shot plus, but it didn't light up as far forward as I wanted, so got the Hope Vision 2 instead.

The cateye finally gave up the ghost (clamp problem) and got Vision 1 to replace it.

The thing is: down those lanes you rely on the lights totally, so I took the decision to pay extra for something I could rely on.

Agree. I purchased the Cateye HL-EL320 (front) and TL-LD610 (rear) Light Set for about £40 they are great for being spotted but nothing more. The front light is massive and gives off little light, the bracket went last week. I just purchased another bracket and a set of knog lights for £15... kind of wishing I just stumped up £80 for a proper front light. Come payday its going in the draw along with the halfords (bike hut) lights - lesson learned.

alamb200

Does the Ultrafire WF501B give enough spread as a bike light or is it a straight focused beam?

gosport_commuter

I would think the 501b would be fine - and by fine I mean brighter than any genuine "bike light" for less than £100.

I myself bought one of these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/250913253592? ... 089wt_1182

And I have to say it is extremely bright! For a comparison it has 3 modes low, med, high - the LOW mode is approximately the same brightness/spread as my cateye EL-500 1000(supposedly) candle power front light it replaced. the medium drowns it out completely, and the high mode can actually be seen IN the car headlights spread on the road! (albeit only the spot). In high mode it lights my entire garden at night to be fully visible (20 foot X 40).

I cannot impress enough how much brighter this £35ish light (once you got batteries+charger+mount) is compared to real "bike lights".

rideslikeagirl

This: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=14398

Really unbelievably bright, and cheap, i rode the newnham 24/12 with two of these and a helmet light, and i didn't really need the helmet light! Very wide beam, my commute at the time was twisty unlisted roads with stupid hills, and you could tell i was coming because of the massive pool of light and me going 'wheeee!!!'

On flash mode you can easily give someone a fit... (do not try this)

Mettan

alamb200 wrote:

Does the Ultrafire WF501B give enough spread as a bike light or is it a straight focused beam?

I run an XM-L T6 UltraFire 502b to see with and a 5w cree 270 (and Cateye flasher)to be seen by - and yes, the 501/502b's comfortably have enough spill to see a large-enough road-width when your'e riding in totally unlit areas - (the beam both throws well enough but also spills adequately aswell, so no worries) - (if you want massive lateral coverage though, go for a pair of 501/502 b's - you get get them for £15 each on Ebay UK). Make sure you get some decent batteries aswell, Xtar 2600 maH/ Yezl 2400 maH or even AW 2900 maH are all great cells - You can get mounts for approx £4 each and an adeqaute charger for £10 - £15

Initialised

jonnyboy77 wrote:

I have seen these touted as decent front lights: http://www.amazon.co.uk/7dayshop-Power- ... B005HH30JO

I haven't tried them myself though,

- Jon

My friend Jonny recommended these, so I said what the f***, and bought one. I love the strobe mode, it even makes pedestrians turn and look at you by making everything around them flash. Not sure how effective it is on unlit roads, but it is certainly brighter than my Cateye EL-530.

stuaff

+1 for the Hope Vision 1. When I did my first FNRttC, the consensus was that this was the best bang for the buck. If you want something that takes regular AAs and not some custom battery pack, it still is as far as I know. I use a Cateye 320 as my regular commute light, does the job just fine for that...but for unlit lanes there's no comparison. Even on the lowest setting the difference is (figuratively) night and day. Yes, the Hope is £70 odd....but it's worth it for your safety and peace of mind. You need a light to see with, not just be seen by.

thescouselander

I recently bought a niterider mako 2 watt. Ok, its not as bright as the more expensive lights but at 130 lumens and only £35 it seems good value to me. I'm happy to cycle down a completely unlit cycle path at around 18 mph with it. Worth a look anyway.

gosport_commuter

£35 could buy you 900+ lumens if you go down the torch route. I find it a little worrying so many people spend such huge amounts on "bike lights" with a fraction of the brightness.

gosport_commuter

This guide from the MTB section has all the information you need, and then some!

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

Twostage

Tesco are selling Cree torches for £10. You can get a mount off flea bay for about three quid. A mate at work saw mine and has swapped from his £50 twin light system with drink bottle sized battery and says the Tesco jobbie is brighter. Battery life is about 4 hours.

tony m

ive been using some lights i bought off ebay they are cree 1600 lumens which i paid £35 english pound .they are from a hong kong supplier and todate are better than anthing ive had before i bought these as a stand in spare set and was gonna spend about £150 on a good set these are the dogs for the money, 6 off my mates from work also own the same lights and all have never had any probs with them ,they took about 10 days to arrive..

Bordersroadie

gosport_commuter wrote:

£35 could buy you 900+ lumens if you go down the torch route. I find it a little worrying so many people spend such huge amounts on "bike lights" with a fraction of the brightness.

Paying for an Exposure light gets you, amongst other things:

A beautifully engineered purpose-built bracket and mounting system that is rock solid and 100% dependable A solid one-piece turned aluminium body which is completely weatherproof No separate battery, no wires, no hassle USB or mains fast charging on a Li-Ion long life battery Lenses and beam patterns designed for bike riding. UK manufacturer with great customer service and track record A purpose made remote switch for switching between settings from the bars Internals manufactured with long-term vibration of the unit in mind. Details, materials and design contributing to the unit's longevity have been established by R&D that is specific to on- and off-road bike riding No materials or parts have been selected based on lowest cost Lumen measurements based on documented scientific trials not marketing men or EBay shop owners with a vivid imagination

And most importantly, complete freedom of any worry. Personally the last one is worth paying for - I don't want even a tiny bit of doubt that on a dark remote winter night the light will fail me if I wipe out/hit a pothole or for any other reason. With a cheap import or a supermarket torch I'd always be thinking "When is it going to fail?" My Exposure Toro I am confident will take many years of abuse and work the same as the day I bought it, 100% reliably.

One thing in life is a truism - you get what you pay for. No such thing as a true bargain, a cheaper alternative will always have drawbacks, it just depends on whether or not you're prepared to live with them, or whether you're prepared to pay for the quality and the peace of mind that comes with a purpose made unit.

I'm far from wealthy. My light is worth more than my bike, probably, but I don't feel it's an inflated price for the benefits it gives me.

Yeoer

You want to get one of these babies! bloody amazing light! you would never think such a small light could be so bright. 8)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190586375786

The only problem with it is its so bright on little roads it makes car drivers stop and wait for you to get to them! i've had to make a reflector to stop it doing that which also send some light right down around the front wheel which is ideal.

I have one teamed with a 270 lumen CREE light which i thought was bright when i got it first!, which gets completely swollowed up by the big one.

Yeoer

Initialised wrote:

jonnyboy77 wrote:

I have seen these touted as decent front lights: http://www.amazon.co.uk/7dayshop-Power- ... B005HH30JO

I haven't tried them myself though,

- Jon

My friend Jonny recommended these, so I said what the f***, and bought one. I love the strobe mode, it even makes pedestrians turn and look at you by making everything around them flash. Not sure how effective it is on unlit roads, but it is certainly brighter than my Cateye EL-530.

Thats the same light as my 270 lumen CREE. If you think thats bright you haven't seen anything! Its about the same brightness as the main one i have on its lowest power setting! I'll post a couple of pictures!

wyadvd

ive got this:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/3w-rechargeable ... rch-415752

on my helmet and it outshines my maxxd. fits into an exposure joystick helmet mount nicely and its rechargeable 160lumen total output, focused beam (NOT FLOOD) worth a look. bar mount available on ebay