# Best back up Audax light?



## middleagecyclist (3 Oct 2012)

I know this forum is mainly about rides rather than kit but I would like advice from experienced Audaxers please.

I am getting my 'Audax bike' in the spring and it will have a dynohub driven front light - probably a Schmidt Edelux. I have one already on my tourer and love it. However, I also want a good front light I can use at present for night rides on my road bike which will serve as a secondary/back up light on the audax bike in the future. I don't want to be reliant on mains recharging for this light so it needs to be able to run on alkaline AAs if pushed. I suppose the main contender is a Hope Vision One but wondered if there were any other lights I should consider. Also, does anyone know how running a HV1 on alkaline cells compares to NiMH cells?

Thanks


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## vernon (3 Oct 2012)

I use a Cateye TLD1100. It does the job admirably and does not noticeably deplete the cash reserves.


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## middleagecyclist (3 Oct 2012)

vernon said:


> I use a Cateye TLD1100. It does the job admirably and does not noticeably deplete the cash reserves.


Thanks Vernon but isn't the TLD1100 a rear light?


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## srw (3 Oct 2012)

"The one you've got with you" is the obvious answer. I've now used a 3W LED light I bought from 7dayshop.com on a couple of night rides. It's the business. I paid a fiver, but you'll have to stump out £6.49.
http://www.7dayshop.com/7dayshop-bi...hlight-with-mount-blue-ring?q=bike lght&sl=sl


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## middleagecyclist (3 Oct 2012)

srw said:


> "The one you've got with you" is the obvious answer. I've now used a 3W LED light I bought from 7dayshop.com on a couple of night rides. It's the business. I paid a fiver, but you'll have to stump out £6.49.
> http://www.7dayshop.com/7dayshop-bike-light-and-hand-torch-ultra-high-power-3-watt-cree-led-front-bicycle-flashlight-with-mount-blue-ring?q=bike lght&sl=sl


£6.49!! Seems to good to be true and what a great price. I've got to wonder though do you lose anything with reliability/quality compared to more expensive units?


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## potsy (3 Oct 2012)

If you want something reliable and easy to use then the HV1 is ideal, bit pricey for the lumens of light it produces compared to some others though.
I have 2 which have served me well for nearly 3 years, have only recently got myself a more powerful main light and now have the Hopes as back-up


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## vernon (3 Oct 2012)

middleagecyclist said:


> Thanks Vernon but isn't the TLD1100 a rear light?


 
All this techno geek stuff confused me. Saw the word 'back' and jumped to the conclusion you were talking about a rear light. Mind you if put it on the front and wear infra red specs and you'll see for miles


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## srw (3 Oct 2012)

middleagecyclist said:


> £6.49!! Seems to good to be true and what a great price. I've got to wonder though do you lose anything with reliability/quality compared to more expensive units?


Page dellzeqq of this parish. He's the guru of night riding, and recommends one.


> and, finally, if you can find one of these you've got yourself a bargain....From time to time front lights with 3w Cree emitters turn up. This one, from 7dayshop, is about six pounds. It's well able to light your way, but you'll need to carry spare batteries.


http://fnrttc.blogspot.co.uk/p/lights.html
And, for what it's worth, I think he's wrong about the batteries - though 3 AAAs take up no room and weigh nothing in an audax context.

The quality isn't as good as something more expensive, but then again you won't need it. Your main light needs to break down first, and if you're running a hub dynamo that won't happen quickly. Where you lose out is first of all the ethics of manufacture (though I probably wouldn't enquire too closely about the factories Cateye uses) and secondly the quality of the beam - there's not much effort to focus and direct all the light that's produced.


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## middleagecyclist (3 Oct 2012)

srw said:


> "The one you've got with you" is the obvious answer. I've now used a 3W LED light I bought from 7dayshop.com on a couple of night rides. It's the business. I paid a fiver, but you'll have to stump out £6.49.
> http://www.7dayshop.com/7dayshop-bike-light-and-hand-torch-ultra-high-power-3-watt-cree-led-front-bicycle-flashlight-with-mount-blue-ring?q=bike lght&sl=sl


Ahh, bugger it. I've just ordered two. If they don't do they job for me they'll make great Christmas pressies!

Thanks


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## vernon (3 Oct 2012)

middleagecyclist said:


> Thanks Vernon but isn't the TLD1100 a rear light?


 
In which case the matching front light the EL 500 or 530 does a half decent job. I am too trusting perhaps and don't take a backup front light apart as there's next to now to go wrong. I know that I'm tempting fate but the Shimano and SON hub dynamos that I use have good reputations for reliability as do the lumicycle lamps.


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## middleagecyclist (3 Oct 2012)

vernon said:


> In which case the matching front light the EL 500 or 530 does a half decent job. I am too trusting perhaps and don't take a backup front light apart as there's next to now to go wrong. I know that I'm tempting fate but the Shimano and SON hub dynamos that I use have good reputations for reliability as do the lumicycle lamps.


Yep. I've got a SON and Schmidt Edelux on my tourer/commuter and it is fit and forget. Thing is it's rarely used anywhere it is completely dark so if it did fail a little blinkie would suffice to get me home. I want to put a bike and kit together for night rides in the middle of nowhere including the LEL. I would feel better with a back up light 'just in case'. And anyway, I still need a decent battery light for night rides on my road bike until the Hewitt becomes mine!


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## vernon (3 Oct 2012)

middleagecyclist said:


> Yep. I've got a SON and Schmidt Edelux on my tourer/commuter and it is fit and forget. Thing is it's rarely used anywhere it is completely dark so if it did fail a little blinkie would suffice to get me home. I want to put a bike and kit together for night rides in the middle of nowhere including the LEL. I would feel better with a back up light 'just in case'. And anyway, I still need a decent battery light for night rides on my road bike until the Hewitt becomes mine!


 
After a weekend purchase of a an almost new dynamo hubbed front wheel and light , all three of my road going bikes - a tourer/expedition, a Dave Yates' Randonneur audax bike and a Trevor Jarvis Flying Gate replica are all now fitted with dynamo hubs and I can now take any of them out for late night riding in total darkness. There will be a couple of occasions where protracted faffing will see me scurrying through the pitch black byroads of North Yorkshire November/December/January. It's a great experience.


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## PoweredByVeg (4 Oct 2012)

And that battery back up light an be removed from the bike for illuminating any punctures/mechanicals in the dark


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## middleagecyclist (4 Oct 2012)

PoweredByVeg said:


> And that battery back up light an be removed from the bike for illuminating any punctures/mechanicals in the dark


My thoughts exactly.


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## middleagecyclist (10 Oct 2012)

Right. As per the above comments I've now got two of these:






For the cost I think they are great little bits of kit. The majority of time I'll use them for night rides on the road bike with rechargeables and I'll take one as a spare on dark audax rides. What rechargeable cells are people using with these lights for best effect please?


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## PpPete (10 Oct 2012)

I have various front lights that use AA batteries and always found Vapex to be excellent. Use their AAA in rear lights too.
Basically they have two kinds, one which has a red colour scheme which offers the highest possible capacity for the size of battery (up there with the much spendier Eneloops) and one with a green colour scheme which whilst slightly lower overall capacity is a "low-self-discharge" variety, and so better for intermittent use, and keeping in the saddlebag as back-ups.

http://www.vapextech.co.uk/acatalog/High_Power_Consumer_Batteries.html
or http://www.component-shop.co.uk


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## Noodley (10 Oct 2012)

I have just pruchased some 7 day shop 2900mAh's

http://www.7dayshop.com/batteries-a...ck-of-4-in-free-case?brand=189&cat=155&cl=153

I have never used Vapex, so cannot compare, but never had any problems with 7 day shop batteries


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## middleagecyclist (10 Oct 2012)

Thanks for the battery advice @PpPete and @Noodley. :-)


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## Scoosh (11 Oct 2012)

A bit late, perhaps but a good site for lighting matters is this one and his ebay page.

He's very good and his light comparisons can be quite an eye-opener.


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## JoeyB (11 Oct 2012)

middleagecyclist said:


> Ahh, bugger it. I've just ordered two. If they don't do they job for me they'll make great Christmas pressies!
> 
> Thanks



I've just ordered two as well! Worth a punt.


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## mcshroom (11 Oct 2012)

My current audax setup (I haven't got a hub dynamo - yet) is a B&M Ixon IQ as a primary light (4xAA) and a Smart Lunar 35 (2xAA) as a backup. I use either of these lights for commuting on their own and although the Ixon is more powerful, both are good enough so should be fine as a backup. Another option I sometimes use is an Alpkit Gamma headtorch which has the added advantages of not requiring holding when fixing a puncture and being used for reading route sheet/gps/computer while riding.


I've tried some Ultrafire torches and they are incredibly bright (magicshine brightness) while giving a decent running time, but I seem to rattle them too much and they start flickering/shifting mode which gets annoying. 

To be honest even a 0.5W flasher is better than nothing if it's the only light you have, but riding down steep hills in the dark relying on one is scary.


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## srw (11 Oct 2012)

JoeyB said:


> I've just ordered two as well! Worth a punt.


 On the FNRttC Wetstable thread (biblical downpours all night), StuartG reports that his worked perfectly all night.


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