Daytime Lights

davidof

Yes lights, I know it is a regular subject but what do people recommend for daytime running lights?

I've gone through a number of brands but they all seem to have very short run times, like just over an hour in real world usage. I'm looking for something to use on rides in Italy - the Italian drivers give you slightly more room (like 30cm rather than 10cm) if you run daytime lights, I find.

Otherwise I don't tend to use them myself.

OnTheRopes

I have a Lezyne strip light (rear). The daylight setting will last around 2.5 hrs (I think) and then drop down to a lower setting and keep going for a few more hours.
Edit: That is the strip drive pro 300. It does have a few irritating features though. The strap to attach it to seatpost whilst easy to use never really feels that secure, though I have never lost it on the road. The charging fits direct into a USB which saves using a cable but is a bit irritating as it does get in the way on a laptop and if nudged can stop charging.
The USB cover is easily lost, I have lost mine, it still works even in the wet but I wonder how long until it corrodes affecting charging

shamrock134

You don't mention a budget, so I'd recommend the Exposure Blaze (Mk2 is around £74) which has a run time of 48hr on the lowest pulse setting.

i.bhamra

I would highly recommend Moon Nebula lights, great visibility in daytime and last >12hrs for me between charges (via USB) when using the high frequency strobe mode or the lower intensity flashing modes. Can usually be found for around £40-£50 for the pair (sometimes less) if you google. Easy to fit and pretty small too.

I have them on two bikes and the oldest set is still going strong after 3 years.

pblakeney

I used a Moon set which worked perfectly well for all-day rides, but the batteries started to lose retention*.
I then got a set of See.Sense while on offer. They are equally good and appear to last days. I'd recommend either.

*This is normal and will eventually happen to all battery powered devices.

pippi_langsamer-2

Bontrager Flare R, or the newer RT...

(I've got the R and it's pretty good)

david7m

I've the Bontrager Flare RT front and rear and they are very impressive. The front is like a car light on full power and the rear on flashing lasts for hours. They are specific day light running lights.

joey54321

Exposure Trace/TraceR for me. They have some niggles, but from a battery and brightness point of view, they are very good.

davidof

that gets me started, I was looking at the Bontrager RT 2 as it seems to have a good runtime but I'll check out the others, many thanks, if anyone has any other comments keep them coming

What do people think of daytime lights in general? Good or bad idea?

shamrock134

davidof wrote:

What do people think of daytime lights in general? Good or bad idea?

I always run a rear light. It helps in wooded or shaded areas or tunnels. I prefer not to give drivers any excuses about visibility.

homers_double

I'll certainly be taking rears as a minimum when we're in Italy later this month, the tunnels although short can be very dark.

step83

Been using a Raveman PR1200 for about a year, usually on its lowest setting I can get at least two full days use. Less if you use it to charge up another device (handy though) has a remote button for a full beam function which also might be handy in the tunnels, buttons also glow in the dark so easier to find in the dark.

meursault

I would be interested in something that can detect other riders near me, and adjust (lower intensity, or stop flashing) accordingly. I've seen a company called Wolf, but they only work with other Wolf products, so no good.

Anyone seen any?

step83

meursault wrote:

I would be interested in something that can detect other riders near me, and adjust (lower intensity, or stop flashing) accordingly. I've seen a company called Wolf, but they only work with other Wolf products, so no good.

Anyone seen any?

Exposure blaze have the Peloton mode which is meant to pick up a close light and dim, I know with my see.sense rear it does literally the opposite which can annoy people.

super_davo

I've got a See Sense Ace rear light.

It does lots of fancy stuff like changing the flash pattern when you brake, linking to my Garmin so you can turn in on/off and change settings on the head unit, switch when you stop etc. It's easy bright enough for day running though it's much more effective and battery lasts substantially longer on flash Vs solid.

I was slightly underwhelmed by it at first mostly because there were lots of features promised when I bought it that didn't work until firmware updates came through or worked on the iPhone app but not Android. It's always worked fine as a basic light and they seem to be resolving those now, so I'm finally getting what I paid for.

If you have BC membership and get the 30% off making if £30 or so, struggle to see why you'd pick anything else (unless you need a 'see by' front light).

cougie

+1 for seesense. Tiny things. Bright as anything.

pblakeney

davidof wrote:

What do people think of daytime lights in general? Good or bad idea?

Good. I never used day lights until last summer when it was really nice. Remember that? :evil:
Driving along in bright sunshine on a straight tree lined country road and suddenly there was 2 cyclists 50m ahead in the shade. I've used daylights since then.
Ruin the appearance of my nice bike but some things are more important. :oops:

andyh01

Yes to daytime lights for me but I commute in urban traffic all weather.

Either dynmano lights, which I was tempted by but didn't go for in end.

Instead I went for Hope R4+ front and rear light, external battery I have 2 cell both lights on flash nearly a whole week of commute out of it equates to about 6 hours use and can easily swap battery over if needed.

FatTed

I think for day time the light needs to be very bright, Lezyne do one with a day mode which increases the lumens on the flash mode. I like my Cateye because it has a flash mode and continuous at the same time. Here is an article from CyclingTips
https://cyclingtips.com/2017/02/see-see ... ng-lights/

davidof

Moon Nebula 2 runtimes

Runtimes: Overdrive 100 lumens - 1 hour 10 mins. High 45 lumens - 2 hours 15 mins. Standard 30 lumens - 3 hours 30 mins. Low 15 lumens - 7 hours 30 mins. 100% flashing 180 lumens - 2 hours 10 mins. 50% flashing 50 lumens - 4 hours 30 mins. 10% flashing 10 lumens - 20 hours 40 mins. Strobe 20 lumens - 10 hours 35 mins.

Exposure Blaze MK2

https://road.cc/content/review/252238-e ... -daybright

Program 1 is the brightest with an output of 80 lumen

Battery life is good for a light of this size and power, with the 80 lumen solid mode giving you more than the claimed 6hrs – I achieved 6hrs 28mins – and the pulse giving you 12hrs.

See Sense Acer

125 lumens - claimed 10 hours
smart light

https://road.cc/content/review/252715-s ... d-rear-set

uk manufacturing


Bontrager RT 2

90 Lumens: 6hrs
- 45 Lumens: 12hrs
- 5 Lumens: 15hrs
- Steady mode 25 Lumens: 4.5hrs
- Steady mode 5 Lumens: 13.5hrs

90 lumens
smart light

https://www.evanscycles.com/en-fr/bontr ... n-EV348529

step83

Raveman PR1200 (for the hell of it)

1200 Lumens - 2 hrs
600 Lumens - 3.5 hrs
400 Lumens - 5 hrs
100 lumens - 21 hours
Pulse flashing 100 lumens - 13 hrs

https://road.cc/content/review/221409-r ... ront-light

FatTed

Re the Raveman, it only has 100 lumens when flashing, so not much use as a day light.

redvision

Daytime lights are only needed to make you more visible, not to light the road ahead.

Think cycling uk did an article on this a while back in which they said the most effective lights for daytime riding are not super bright lights, but simply pretty much any light which has a flashing mode.

Something like these will do the job
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/cateye-orb-fro ... hed-black/
And you can get the equivalents far cheaper from China via Ebay.

You will get several hours use on flashing mode and it will do the job nicely.

pilot_pete

redvision wrote:

Daytime lights are only needed to make you more visible, not to light the road ahead.

Think cycling uk did an article on this a while back in which they said the most effective lights for daytime riding are not super bright lights, but simply pretty much any light which has a flashing mode.

Something like these will do the job
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/cateye-orb-fro ... hed-black/
And you can get the equivalents far cheaper from China via Ebay.

You will get several hours use on flashing mode and it will do the job nicely.

I agree with that. I run a Guee Aero-X which fits my aero seatpost (as well as round posts). It flashes its cob leds very brightly and has several flash modes. Lasts 10+ hours on flash and is really eye catching. Less than £30 on Amazon. It has been superseded with a smart version with power saving, increased intensity when braking etc. £34 retail, can be got cheaper, especially with a BC discount etc.

On the front I have mounted a Fabric Lumaray on my Garmin mount. Very neat and compact and the flash mode lasts ages and just draws attention when drivers are giving that cursory glance at junctions instead of looking properly. I am on my third under warranty as I have found that when mounted between the mount and the Garmin unit as designed the insert snaps out with your gps attached if you hit rough roads/ potholes. It is not strong enough with a 1030 mounted on top of it, but the insert is doing its job of preventing the light body smashing apart, but they don’t sell replacement inserts which are glued in!

My solution was to fabricate a mount placing it under the K-Edge Garmin mount rather than sandwich it between the mount and the head unit. Works perfectly, is sleek, slim, light and does the job. I see some head unit mounts are now being developed with an inbuilt light...

PP

martybsays

Bontrager DT running lights are ace. I use them on two bikes - first gen rear Flare R or a new Flare RT, and up front an Ion 100 or a 200 RT. They're really light, the burst pattern is very effective and they adjust to ambient light levels.

davidof

Went for the Bontrager light in the end. Interesting that it connects to my Garmin 520 via ANT. Pretty visible in daylight. Just need to try not to lose it.

Thanks for the help everyone.