Lights

jimmas

Hi guys
will soon need to purchase some lights for my bike, just wondered what you guys use typically,looking for something mid range price wise.

grim168

Noooooo. Its the middle of summer. Please save it for the autumn

Mikey41

Do you need them to be seen, or to see with? That will affect price massively. If you are riding under street lights or in dull or wet conditions, then you only need lights that will get you seen, which is much cheaper.

I'm using Cateye lights, an EL135 at the front and a LD150 at the rear.

hatch87

You can't really go wrong with a rear light, most last ages and are bright. I have this http://www.wiggle.co.uk/smart-lunar-r2-rear-light/

As for front light, really depends on what you want it for. I ride in the evenings so a good 7-8 months of my riding is spent in the dark. I've tried cheap, not so cheap and stupidly expensive. Wish I started with the stupidly expensive and saved myself some dosh. Either they broke, or the battery would need charging every ride. I ended up getting one of these http://www.wiggle.co.uk/exposure-maxx-d ... ont-light/ for about £250 at the time. Even on the brightness with 24 hour battery life it lit up the darkest lanes, just needed to make it brighter if descending over 25 mph

slowbike

As has been asked - to See or Be Seen. That matters to the front ...

For the rear I use 2 or 3 lights - the CatEye TL-LD600, and the TL-Rapid 3 as well as a Halfords own with built in reflector. This means that one can fail and I've still got a rear light on. I don't worry about it so much in the summer (so now I've just got one light fitted) but if I'm planning on a dark ride then I'll put the other one/s back on.

For the front I use two lights - a CatEye NanoShot + and a smaller CatEye Seeme light. The Nanoshot+ is excellent for on the road riding even in country lanes where there is no light, but the battery runtime on high power is quite short (1.5hrs) so you'd need to consider your requirements - mine is fine as I can use it on 1/2 power (4hrs) for the 40 minute commute and charge it every few days. The seeme light is there for when I don't need to see or the Nanoshot runs out of power (hasn't happened yet).

Depending on where you're riding you also need to consider your side on visibility - I've nearly taken out a rider who had just a seeme light on the front that blended into the background lights, dark clothing and no side reflectives.

Gizmodo

As others have said, city riding - lights to be seen by, country riding - lights to see by?

I've been using one of these for 2 winters. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CREE-XML-XM-L-1800-Lumens-LED-Cycling-Bicycle-Light-bike-Headlamp-HeadLight-Lamp-/270890128716

It includes rechargeable batteries and lasts for 2.5 hours on high, longer if you turn it down and is less than £32. I cycle on unlit country roads at 6:30am and it lasts until the sun comes up even on the shortest days.

I also use Lezyne Femto Drive LED Light Pair as you should always have a backup light.

Neil_aky

Smart Lunar R2 for the rear is excellent http://www.amazon.co.uk/Smart-Lunar-2X1-Watt-Rear/dp/B00452O6LI/ref=pd_sim_sg_1- I use it steady for night riding and flashing during the day (regardless of weather) for the front Moon Mask 5 is versatile in a similar way as long as you are not riding unlit roads at night when something with a better beam angle will be neededhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Moon-Mask-Front-Light-Black/dp/B005XYIC5S

Hoopdriver

If you are riding dark lanes, and any kind of distance, get something reliable. You want something weatherproof, good burn times, nice beam spread and light colour, and, as I said, reliable. With lights, as with just about everything else, you get what you pay for. If you are going to be doing much night riding and need to SEE as opposed to be seen, prepare to invest some reasonable money