Best Exposure light for road use?

primalcarl

I'm being tempted bby some of the current discounts on Exposure lights.

The best value seems to be the Toro mk4 with 1200 lumens for £200

The Strada mk4 can be had for £215 but is only 800 lumens.

I would prefer to go with the cheaper and more powerful Toro, but is the Strada really that much better for road riding?

Monty Dog

Check out the review sites - the Strada beam shape if optimised for the road, with a wide flat beam whereas the Toro and MTB lights generally blast light in all directions which means you need to point it down to not blind oncoming drivers - little point in having all those lumens if they're just going skyward.

earth

Every time I use my Strada 4 someone coming the other way tells me it is a very bright light. I'm worried it might be too bright. 800 lumens is definitely bright enough for road use.

asprilla

With the newer Strada you can choose a number of power options. I have mine set to max out at about 600l. Certainly much friendlier than anything else I've seen used.

izza

I have one of the earlier Strada models and it is great for the road even with 'only' 645 lumen.

Have you tried http://use1.com/exposure-lights/outlet-store?

Bordersroadie

It depends how much rural night riding you plan to do.

With family,work etc almost all my autumn/winter riding is dark and rural and I do a lot of night riding, in all weathers. Although they're fine on dry tarmac, when the roads are wet, an 800 lumen light is not bright enough for safe fast riding, in my experience, as the reflected light diminishes significantly.

The Toro meets this challenge and is the best light for all-weather night riding. Its upward light spill, as mentioned, is a problem for oncoming cars but with judicious use of the mode button and a home-made cowl (a cut out black plastic aerosol cap), it's not an issue.

derosa

Just invested in a Race Mk 8. Highly recommended! http://www.rutlandcycling.com/107814/pr ... light.aspx

nferrar

I have a mk.3 Strada and it's pretty good, I would like a bit more light for descents (30mph+) but overall they're bright enough. The remote switch can be a PITA at times though (I've lost count of the number of times I've turned it off completely instead of making it brighter on a descent). They look to have the same battery so personally I'd pay the £15 more for the Strada assuming it has a more road-friendly beam pattern (and the remote is actually useful if you're trying to maximise battery life even though it's annoying at times)

luv2ride

I went for the mk4 Toro and very pleased with it. If you think the max output of 1200 lumens is too much, just play around with the other light programmes to set it for a lower output and increase the run times. I found the programme button very easy to use when riding, so was easy to pop it back into max mode when in totally dark countryside after dimming it when cars approached. Other benefit is that cars tend to see you from a long way off.