Lights for the road

Ross Gardner
Ross Gardner Posts: 230
edited April 2017 in Road buying advice
I find myself needing to commute at night, and was wondering what the best lights would be. My bike is a Mountain Bike, if that makes any difference.

Are the Niterider Lumina & Sabre any good?

Comments

  • GWalke11
    GWalke11 Posts: 8
    I use this to commute with a separate blinky. Personally believe rear light is more important and use a Bontrager Flare R.

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Evolva-Future- ... B015FFO5DM
  • drwae
    drwae Posts: 223
    I recommend the Lezyne Macro Drive 800XL (front) and Lezyne Strip Drive Pro (rear) very good bright lights with good battery life and multiple settings
  • kingrollo
    kingrollo Posts: 3,198
    watch the run time with the lezyne. Very bright - but annoying it always flops to one side of the seatpost,
  • northpole
    northpole Posts: 1,499
    I have found exposure lights to be tip top on light output, dependability and battery life. Also the mount mechanism is very robust. Expensive but excellent.

    Peter
  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    Ebay Crees... lasted well over this winter.. still functional. under £30 and good... ok battery pack needs strapping to top tube, but hey its not a fashion contest at nighttime commuting.
    Watch Lezynes..... a 600 started to play up after half a winter... now its charge lasts a gold old 30 minutes... overrated. My attitude hardened after it went back and was told nothing wrong with it... yeah right...
  • butcher of bakersfield
    butcher of bakersfield Posts: 1,233
    My experience of Chinese Crees is that they have reliability issues. You do get good bang for the buck and on a budget they are a winner. But I went and got myself a Cateye Volt 1200 for the road bike and it's a much better light. More reliable, brighter, better beam pattern, usb chargeable, and better modes. It was worth buying just to know that I'm not going to find myself in complete darkness within a split second! Have been very happy with it.
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    GWalke11 wrote:
    Personally believe rear light is more important and use a Bontrager Flare R.

    Yet to be taken out by a right turner then....... :wink:
    Faster than a tent.......
  • imafatman
    imafatman Posts: 351
    Lezyne Zecto USB rechargeable set front and rear. Had them for quite a few years now, work very well. Solid and well made. Great for a quick charge at work before you set off home.
  • Bobbinogs
    Bobbinogs Posts: 4,841
    OP, the thread is a bit too open ended...or rather open started! You need to define what you need the light for, e.g., dark country roads for a 2 hour ride? Perhaps just a 'be seen by' light for 30 minutes each day? Can you recharge at work? Would a USB charger be handy? What is your budget? We could all start chipping in with the options we use but unless you give a bit more then it won't mean much.
    Also, before pursuing any ebay Cree options, have a little nosey around as there are some horror stories related to sudden failure or chargers going up in smoke. There are also many stories of everything working out fine. Your choice based on risk assessment, really.
  • Ross Gardner
    Ross Gardner Posts: 230
    Bobbinogs wrote:
    OP, the thread is a bit too open ended...or rather open started! You need to define what you need the light for, e.g., dark country roads for a 2 hour ride?

    Well the commute isn't two hours (at the moment). It would be nice to have lights that tick all the boxes, because I do need to go through some dark country roads, and I'd like to be seen as well as possible.

    I recently saw exposure lights, which really appealed to me (day bright lights).
    Bobbinogs wrote:
    Perhaps just a 'be seen by' light for 30 minutes each day? Can you recharge at work?

    I can recharge where I commute to.
    Bobbinogs wrote:
    Would a USB charger be handy?

    Yes.
    Bobbinogs wrote:
    What is your budget?

    Nothing ridiculous: I have no idea the price point that would be a bargain. £100 or under ideally. I could push to £150.

    I am looking for a helmet light as well.
    Bobbinogs wrote:
    We could all start chipping in with the options we use but unless you give a bit more then it won't mean much.
    Also, before pursuing any ebay Cree options, have a little nosey around as there are some horror stories related to sudden failure or chargers going up in smoke. There are also many stories of everything working out fine. Your choice based on risk assessment, really.

    I'd rather steer clear of lights that have had major issues.
  • freebs
    freebs Posts: 199
    Exposure Sirius mk5 and TraceR combo for me. I paid about £100 for the pair. Does me 23 miles each way throughout the winter. (consider getting separate blinkers to run concurrently both front and rear in case of failure with any lights too)
  • Ross Gardner
    Ross Gardner Posts: 230
    freebs wrote:
    Exposure Sirius mk5 and TraceR combo for me. I paid about £100 for the pair. Does me 23 miles each way throughout the winter. (consider getting separate blinkers to run concurrently both front and rear in case of failure with any lights too)

    Ordered for £102. Thanks a lot!

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