Lightweight helmet light required

holiver

I'm thinking ahead to when it gets dark in the evenings, when I am going to be riding on unlit roads. I have never done this before, being a city dweller until now!

I have been using an older Hope Vision 1 as a main beam and a Cateye Uno on my helmet when in the city. The Hope may well continue to suffice as a main beam. However, the Cateye Uno certainly will not, outputting a paltry 10 lumen according to the Cateye comparison chart:

http://www.cateye.com/intl/products/chart_detail/3/950/1170/236/0/

I originally chose the Uno because of its light weight (63g with 1xAA battery), as I am really not a fan of a heavy lights on my head. What I require is a lightweight light that outputs significantly more light than the Uno in a tight, well focused beam.

I notice Cateye do Volt 200 and 300 models that would mean I could continue to use my helmet mount. The 200 is of similar weight to the Uno, whilst the 300 is about double. They are both priced at £33.33 from what I can see.

Does anyone have experience of these lights or could recommend any other decent value light (and mount) for the purpose I require?

northpole

I have a Hope Vision 2 mounted on my commuter bars all year round. Last autumn I bought a run out version of the Exposure 6 pack. If you can possibly stretch to one of these, you will be truly staggered at how the road can be lit up by a portable bike light; how it seems as though your Hope light may not be switched on; and how remarkably visible you are to all road users and pedestrians in the road ahead of you. This does not mean focusing the beam upwards to startle oncoming traffic. With something like this you would have no requirement for a helmet light IMO and you'd have a much safer journey on unlit roads.

Peter

veronese68

I once read something about how a bar mounted light should always be brighter than a head mounted light. The light on your head is too close to your eye line so you do not see things like potholes as you do not see the shadow.
I ride with an Exposure Strada on the bars and an Exposure Joystick on my head and both are very good. Riding through the park with lots of deer about I like being able to see when I turn my head. I found being able to smell deer but not see them rather disconcerting.

slowbike

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19681427#p19681427]Veronese68[/url] wrote:

I once read something about how a bar mounted light should always be brighter than a head mounted light./quote]
As a car driver I prefer the main light to be on the bars - whenever I see bright lights dancing around head level it takes me a while to work out what it is - much quicker with bar mounted lights ... I don't know if it's the level or the movement - but if it's confusing for me as a cyclist then I hate to think what it's like for the non-cyclists!

fenix

When I was doing night rides in the pitch dark I used a Fenix torch strapped to the helmet with an old livestrong band and a bit of padding. AA batteries so it was light.

You can go up to the Cree torches off Ebay if you want - brighter lights and very cheap but a bit heavier - but not noticeable.

You want the brightest light on the bars I think. The helmet light is handy for junctions or repairs or checking the computer etc. It doesnt have to be massively bright.

As has been mentioned - I find a helmet light a big confusing if not run with a bar mounted light. It does take a while to work out whats going on.

holiver

Yeah the plan is to have the brightest light on the bars and to use the helmet light for mobility of light. It needs to be brighter than the Uno though!

holiver

Right so I received a Light & Motion Urban 800 which produces an amazing flood of light. I compared it directly in the dark tonight to my Hope Vision 1, which produces a much more focused spot. There is no way I am mounting 264g of Hope to my helmet though!

The Moon Meteor 250 looks like it might be worth a shot. It seems to produce a nice spot and is about the same weight as my Cateye Uno:

http://moon-sport.com/product-detail.php?id=173

meanredspider

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19690365#p19690365]holiver[/url] wrote:

Right so I received a Light & Motion Urban 800 which produces an amazing flood of light. I compared it directly in the dark tonight to my Hope Vision 1, which produces a much more focused spot. There is no way I am mounting 264g of Hope to my helmet though!

The Moon Meteor 250 looks like it might be worth a shot. It seems to produce a nice spot and is about the same weight as my Cateye Uno:

http://moon-sport.com/product-detail.php?id=173

I've had the Light & Motion Vis360 for a while and I think it's very good. A helmet light is mostly for being seen (I use AyUps on my bars for seeing with) and I tend to set the 360 to flashing front and rear. It does have a beam strong enough to see with, should your main light fail, but I never saw the need on my mostly rural single-track back roads commute.