Best unlit road light for £100

milese

Sorry if this is becoming a popular thread.....

I'm after a front light to use for riding in the dark, on unlit roads. Obviously want the usual good features, don't mind having a seperate power pack if it means more power / run time. Budget of about a £100, +/- £20 or so.

I've had the £20 lights from China before and whilst they are pretty bright have proved to be unreliable. So I'd rather buy something that will last.

Does the Cateye Volt 1200 Lumen tick all the boxes? Any other contenders?

Thanks

davebradswmb

I'm happy with my Lezyne Macro Drive for about half your budget. I don't think you need anything more unless you're going off road.

bendertherobot

Volt 1200 is fab.

https://roubaixcycling.cc/2016/01/10/cateye-volt-1200/

milese

Thanks for replies.

Any thoughts on the Fenix BC30r which can be found for about £100 too?

spatt77

Another one for Cateye Volt 1200, fantastic light!

Elfed

Light and Motion Urban 800, it has a GoPro adapter so you can mount it neatly under your GPS if you've the right mount.
Looks very neat, with no space taken up on your bars.

andcp

bendertherobot wrote:

Volt 1200 is fab.

https://roubaixcycling.cc/2016/01/10/cateye-volt-1200/

+1, excellent bit of kit. Have a root round here; http://road.cc/category/review-section/ ... ghts-front

BarleyPointer

Just bought and tested a Torchy BK 7even. Really excellent for hammering along on a dark ride. about £80 I think

Bordersroadie

I've done a lot of night riding over the years, all on unlit rural roads, and one thing that strikes me every time the roads are wet/damp (which is most of the time in winter) is how much less light they reflect back to you from your handlebar light.

My 1200 lumen (oldish model) Exposure Toro on dry roads is amazing, like having a pair of car headlights, but on a damp or wet road the light is soaked up to such a degree that it goes from being almost too bright to just bright enough for normal progress. So if in doubt, go bigger on brightness than you think you may need!

I deliberately use the term brightness because the lumens measurement is not really a standardised thing as far as comparing one model against another is concerned due to different beam patterns (you want a good spot AND flood if possible) and a fair sprinkling of marketing BS.

By the way a second hand Exposure light would be a good bet. I have two (now quite old ones) and they are so well made they don't really deteriorate however old they get!

silverbugle

Cateye Volt 800 should tick all your boxes. You can get it for £80, and can buy an additional battery if needed. I have the 700 and used to use it for a 20 mile commute which was about 70% unlit country roads. Most of the time I found that 1/2 power (c300W) was fine to see by with no oncoming traffic, but on 700W oncoming traffic would dip their headlights much earlier and the light was bright enough to pick out the bits of the road I needed to against the dipped headlights. The bracket was secure and it also had a lower 200W setting that was always on that then flashed at 700W. Run time on full power was quoted at 2hours which was pretty much what I got. I paired it with an Exposure Tracer rear light which was equally good in the mount and light department but had more complicated button pressing arrangements to sort out the settings.

itboffin

search ebay for solar storm lights, usually about £15 tiny and ultra bright