How many lights?

Graham K
Graham K Posts: 329
edited November 2013 in Road general
Just out of interest how many lights do you run?

I run 2 rears and 2 fronts for road and 3 for off road.
Someone said its overkill but some of the driving around here I feel the need to be seen.

Comments

  • denniskwok
    denniskwok Posts: 339
    I run two rears and two fronts. The two fronts are a £20 Cree T6 ebay special for when I'm on unlit lanes and a smaller LED spot jobbie for lit town roads.
  • MountainMonster
    MountainMonster Posts: 7,423
    I've got two fronts and a rear. My rear light is quite bright and you can see it a mile off, so i'm happy with people coming from behind. The two front ones are so I can see, as I don't worry about being hit from the front.
    My London Road
  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    4 front: Magicshine on the bars, Knog on the headtube and fibreflare micros on the forks.
    4 Rear: Magicshine on the saddle, fibreflare micro swings from the pannier bag on one side and the other is on the rack plus fibreflare shorty on my helmet.
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.
  • solsurf
    solsurf Posts: 489
    redvee wrote:
    4 front: Magicshine on the bars, Knog on the headtube and fibreflare micros on the forks.
    4 Rear: Magicshine on the saddle, fibreflare micro swings from the pannier bag on one side and the other is on the rack plus fibreflare shorty on my helmet.

    Wow I think you'll be seen. I just have a cateye 1200 volt and cheapy flasher on the front and a knog blinder and cateye thing on the back and lots of reflective stuff too. I still think people can't see me, or thats what I assume.
    http://www.pogu.co.uk
  • ricey155
    ricey155 Posts: 233
    next investment is for my right arm for turning - never quiet sure the car behind understands with a flashing light for guidance

    2 rear 1 front - 3 cree 3600lm works well from China aliexpress jobby
  • vs4b
    vs4b Posts: 257
    2 x Cree XML, one on the bars with a diffuser to spread the beam, one on my helmet as a spot light. Plus a leyzne micro not normally on but it's there as a just in case. Three at the back, normally two running at once, plus a 3m 'waistcoat' for reflective properties and now 36 spoke reflectors but these haven't been fitted yet.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,904
    Two fronts (one is a double that has a mode where one side can flash and the other be on constant). Two rears plus sometimes a third on my jacket and a fibre flare that isn't currently fitted. On top of this I have a blue fibre flare on the top tube, orange reflective ankle bands (in lieu of pedal reflectors), tights with reflective panels and a Night Vision jacket. Need to get spoke reflectors / lights.
  • giant_man
    giant_man Posts: 6,878
    3 rears, 2 fronts ...
  • negativelycra
    negativelycra Posts: 225
    Overkill =)
    Road bike....
    Front:
    Cree T6 on bars
    2 knog copies on forks near the skewer
    1 knog copy on flash on my helmet

    Rear:
    phaart 2 x .5w on saddle bag
    phaart 1x .5w on bum (pocket)
    2 x knog copies on stays
    knog copy on helmet

    I know it's overkill, but I much prefer it this way - on tonights ride on my mtb, I lost a rear light, I was going over some fairly rough stuff and it fell off my pannier (lack of n+1 so my hard tail is also commuter / shopper). If I was reliant on light, would i have even known it was missing before causing a driver to not see me?

    The knog types weigh bugger all and really help being seen - i don't know why anyone would NOT have them all over the shop =)
    [urlhttp://veloviewer.com/SigImage.php?a=f3252&r=3&c=5&u=I&g=s&f=abcdefghij&z=a.png]Veloviewer[/url]
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Lights are so cheap. Why would you ever run just one rear ? If it goes out - you won't know.
  • mattgeezer
    mattgeezer Posts: 1,805
    Volt 1200, Moon 300, Exposure Flash on the front,
    Exposure flare, Moon 60 Rear.
    Allez 2013
    Pitch 2011
    GT Moto 2003
  • Diamant49
    Diamant49 Posts: 101
    2x Cree U2 torches on bars (1 on medium/low always on, other on high and pointing further up the road only when needed on faster sections, though I cover it if I meet a car).

    1 x Cree U2 on helmet - used on high for twisty descents, after I found myself turning into the dark too often for comfort.

    2 x rear, cateye (constant) and Knog Blinder (flashing)

    2x leyzne Femto on back of helmet.

    All in all they don't weigh or cost a lot, but the torches allow me to adapt my lighting to the road conditions - I usually am out at 05.40 and on back roads that I know really well, with little traffic, but compared to the feeble but but really heavy lights I used 30 years ago they are just amazing!
  • flasher
    flasher Posts: 1,734
    2 front, 2 rear, one each static and one each flashing.
  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    solsurf wrote:
    Wow I think you'll be seen.

    The ride home is in the dark year round, 2-10 shift, and there is a mile of unlit lane whichever route I choose to ride home. The Magicshine upfront is an 880 which goes from 200 lumens to 2000 lumens.
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.
  • cmhill79
    cmhill79 Posts: 139
    I think too many lights is unnecessary. Think of your carbon footprint. They all require energy to recharge either in the form of batteries or electricity. Let's think of the environment here.
  • Big Geordie
    Big Geordie Posts: 49
    That was satire right? If you use disposable batteries for all your lights then you could have a point but to recharge a Christmas tree worth of bike lights would have a tiny effect on the environment compared to using a car or even public transport for the same journey. Let's try and keep a sense of reality.
  • shmooster
    shmooster Posts: 335
    Pair of Lezyne Micro front and Rear, pair of Exposure Flare front and rear, makes sure there's no risk of running out of batteries on a long commute. Also got a SolarStorm on the front to see deer in Richmond Park, plus a helmet light (Topeak), along with the free lights I got from marmotte as a backup on the helmet.
    When I carry a rucksack I put a light on there as well.

    I make that 9.
  • diy
    diy Posts: 6,473
    edited November 2013
    Road use:
    Front: 2x501bs with either XM-L, XPG or XM-L2 LED - depending on which come to hand. I also have a cheapy froglight button cell flasher permanently attached to the bars, which I use in daylight occasionally
    Rear: a Smart Lunar R1 and a smart 3 sometimes I will stick some of the £1 shop style led arm bands on too. With rear lights its good to have light coming from more than one location and also helps one light stops working (no single point of failure)

    Off Road up to 3 hours: 2 501bs on the bars and 2 on the lid. One spare in the bag and a couple of spare cells.

    Off road Endurance ~ 6-10hrs : 4 x 501bs on the bars and 1 on the lid

    I would generally say 2 of everything so you have no single point of failure. Its not like a 501b weighs or costs much.
    Guide to cheap bike lights Turbo Trainer Vids Play list
    Stretching & Workout Vids
  • cmhill79
    cmhill79 Posts: 139
    Big Geordie wrote:
    That was satire right? If you use disposable batteries for all your lights then you could have a point but to recharge a Christmas tree worth of bike lights would have a tiny effect on the environment compared to using a car or even public transport for the same journey. Let's try and keep a sense of reality.

    Yes I was being facetious. In Australia we seem to take this climate change debate to the extreme, whereby one state is actually looking at banning things like electric toothbrushes to reduce emissions, and I simply couldn't help myself...
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    I dunno if this is a competition to see who has the most or least .... :?

    Oh well ... I have 4 on the front - but don't use all of them at the same time. 2 powerful ones, 1 button flasher and one on the helmet (handy if I have a roadside mechanical - but thankfully not had to try it out yet).

    On the rear it's 3 - 2 cateyes and a Smart Lunar - in daylight I might put one on (like this morning) - at night all 3 go on, one on solid the other2 on flashing. As they're on the back of a rack behind a bag I can't see them - I can see the glow if I look down at the road though....

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