Clueless parent seeking for advice on bike lights

Mel76

Hello,

I am new to this and hope i have come to the right place. I dont know about mountain biking and bike lights. But I was hoping to get some advices so that i could get a bike light for my son's birthday. He is a big mountain biking fan and I know he is looking for one. I have a budget of £40. Any advices and suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you. Mel

I have looked at these lights, which one should i go for? Thank you.

http://www.oxozoom.com/LED-Bicycle-Head ... t--1002062

http://www.oxozoom.com/Alufer-Lynnfield ... t--1002295

http://www.oxozoom.com/Practical-Adjust ... t--1002289

http://www.oxozoom.com/LED-Bicycle-Head ... t--1002060

http://www.oxozoom.com/1200-Lumens-LED- ... t--1002063

john2002

there is a big thread about lights herehttp://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=20005&t=12807034
and this stick notehttp://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=20005&t=12660193
but it will take you to your son next birthday before you read all of it

what will you son use the light for?
wants to be seen or wants the light to see?
does he ride on the street, or off road on dark forest parths?
how long does he ride for?
will he want a light that looks good or just something that is practical?
most of the lights come from china and take a few weeks to get to the uk, will this be a problem?

Angus Young

An 'on line gadget shop' is probably not the best place to be looking. Go here http://www.chainreactioncycles.com and type 'lights' into the search field. You'll find much better stuff.

cooldad

An online gadget shop is the perfect place to look if you've got time.
Otherwise the light in the giant lights thread are available on Ebay for just a little more from UK sellers.

john2002

to keep it simple you shouldent go to wrong with a couple of these
http://www.lightmalls.com/cree-xm-lu2-4-mode-1000-lm-black-4x18650-battery-pack-led-bicycle-front-bike-light-set-black-color

cooldad

Yep ^^^^^^^^^
Just order quickly so they get them in the post before Chinese New Year.

Angus Young

cooldad wrote:

An online gadget shop is the perfect place to look if you've got time.

Really? And why is that better than somewhere like CRC, Evans or Wiggle?

Chunkers1980

Value?

Lumens/£.

cooldad

Chunkers1980 wrote:

Value?

Lumens/£.

+1 glow in the dark potato.

Greer_

Angus Young wrote:

cooldad wrote:

An online gadget shop is the perfect place to look if you've got time.

Really? And why is that better than somewhere like CRC, Evans or Wiggle?

Because CRC etc sell branded bike lights - which means they cost 10 times as much (or more) as an equivalent light. Many of the eBay lights are just as bright, if not brighter than lights costing £100+ from crc - which will be the same lights on the likes of deal extreme, lightmalls (gadget shops).

However if you want lights to 'be seen' rather than to 'see with', bike shops are the best bet.

The Rookie

Before suggesting a light I refer back to the post by John 2002, what for?

On my commuter I use a Lezyne Makro, and it's great for that, but if I used it off road I would probably crash and die and leave my children as Orphans. Off road I use a chinese Magicshine copy and it's great for that, but on road I would annoy the drivers who would probably run me over out of spite and I'd die and leave my children as Orphans.

Get the right light for the job in hand.

Angus Young

Greer_ wrote:

Because CRC etc sell branded bike lights - which means they cost 10 times as much (or more) as an equivalent light. Many of the eBay lights are just as bright, if not brighter than lights costing £100+ from crc - which will be the same lights on the likes of deal extreme, lightmalls (gadget shops).

However if you want lights to 'be seen' rather than to 'see with', bike shops are the best bet.

And crap you buy from 'gadget shops' never falls apart after two weeks, does it...

cooldad

Angus Young wrote:

Greer_ wrote:

Because CRC etc sell branded bike lights - which means they cost 10 times as much (or more) as an equivalent light. Many of the eBay lights are just as bright, if not brighter than lights costing £100+ from crc - which will be the same lights on the likes of deal extreme, lightmalls (gadget shops).

However if you want lights to 'be seen' rather than to 'see with', bike shops are the best bet.

And crap you buy from 'gadget shops' never falls apart after two weeks, does it...

I believe that question? falls into the 'Do you still beat your wife?' category.

The Rookie

Angus Young wrote:

Greer_ wrote:

Because CRC etc sell branded bike lights - which means they cost 10 times as much (or more) as an equivalent light. Many of the eBay lights are just as bright, if not brighter than lights costing £100+ from crc - which will be the same lights on the likes of deal extreme, lightmalls (gadget shops).

However if you want lights to 'be seen' rather than to 'see with', bike shops are the best bet.

And crap you buy from 'gadget shops' never falls apart after two weeks, does it...

I can't say never, but can say is we have 3, 2 are 2 years old and working fine, one is a year old and likewise, the other is certainly more than 2 weeks old and working fine, besides as you can buy about 6 for the price of a branded one, that's at least 12 weeks of use covered....

Greer_

I've had two for the last 18 months .... haven't broken yet!

arran77

Take a look at the bike light database section of this website, it's really useful and there is lots within your budget to choose from.

http://www.torchythebatteryboy.com/

Mel76

Thank you for your replies.

My son spends most of his time off road. He probably rides 2-2.5 hrs a week. I think he would be looking for something that is bright and practical, so that he knows what is out there.

Many thanks for all the websites and recommendations. Choosing a light is harder than I thought. I saw my son browsing this website www.oxozoom.com , so I would like to stick with them.

supersonic

I'd just get this, straight from UK.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-CREE-XML-U ... 4acba92571

sprite1275

^^^ that looks awesome and reckon he would love it if he has not had a cree light before.

If you want more of a torch light with out the separate battery pack just get an ultrafire 501/502b. You will need to get 18650 batteries for it and a charger.

Don't get looking at bike shops as you will need to quadruple your budget just to try and match the above.

Ouija

supersonic wrote:

I'd just get this, straight from UK.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-CREE-XML-U ... 4acba92571

That's a nice light but i agree with Torchy the battery boy when he classes it as a good light but a terrible overall package, largely down to the poor battery. Said it before but i'll say it again. The best £30 floody offroad light at the moment is probably this.



Not just because it's got the latest XM-L2 emitters that are more efficient, or because it comes with a remote switch which makes it more useable on road (you can dip the lights without having to take your hands off the grips) but largely because of the battery. Having just done an exaustive test of battery packs, including two, four, six and eight cell packs from China and elsewhere and can state that the four cell packs that came with that light (i have two) scored the second highest of any pack i've owned/built. Only beaten by a four cell pack containing some uber expensive Senybor high drain cells (rebadged Panasonic, i believe).

supersonic

All about money really, packs are available after market.