Bike Lights

[Dan Ferris]

Apologies if this has already been covered - I have searched this forum but I cannot see a recent post.

As the nights draw in and trying to get time to ride in-between work shortens I'm in the market for a front light for either my road or mountain bike. I appreciate the more I spend the better but these appear to get pretty good reviews. So I was wondering if anyone has any real world experience of these and/or can offer some alternatives for a similar price point?

Halfords Advanced 1600 Lumen Front Bike Light

https://production-eu01-halfords.de...MI0fzugM_r7AIViaztCh20xwKmEAQYAiABEgK6IvD_BwE

Lifeline:

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-pavo-720-lumen-front-light

Moon Meteor:

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/moon-meteor-storm-lite-light

Thanks in advance for your help

Dan

 

[RoubaixCube]

I am in favour of the Moon, Primarily because you can swap the batteries out where as the other two need to be recharged.

(google 'Moon LX-Bat')

Unfortunately the prices for the batteries seemed to have rocketed quite exponentially and are rather limited in supply. I paid £12 for one 2600mAh battery about 2 years ago. now 3350mah is about £27. If you poke around a little you should be able to find the cheaper and lower capacity batteries elsewhere. Hopefully the end of CoV-19 will fix distribution and supply issues.

It just adds that extra level of longevity but the moon is definitely a good light. The Halfords is a clone of a light made by Lezyne which also isnt too bad though I think the Moon is better due to the fact you can program in your own custom brightness profiles to help you squeeze as much life out of the battery as you can.

Courses for horses though.

 

[cyberknight]

I tried tha halfords one , its was a good light but i found i couldnt operate the button to change modes with winter gloves on.

 

[cosmicbike]

I bought my lad the Halfords one last year for his morning paper round. Excellent light, massively let down by the mounting strap which failed after 6 months. On the plus side I modified a far better Hope mount so the light lives on.

 

[Sharky]

Not sure if I understand or appreciate the numbers. 1600 lumens sounds a lot better than the cateye volt 300, which I guess means 300 lumens. But the volt 300 was the best light I ever had when I was commuting and lit up really dark roads.

If you have two bikes, check if you can buy additional brackets so you can transfer from one to the other. Cateye brackets seem to be compatible across their range, so useful when it's time replace a light.

 

[rockyroller]

if I were to buy a new light, one of the deciding parameters would be the beam pattern or beam cutoff. maybe not important for out in the woods, but certainly on the roads

regarding power, more power uses more juice, so carry extra batteries maybe? or at least look at run times at full power? I recently bought a flashlight, guess you call them torches? it's 1,500 lumen & is VERY bright. I love it. I use it to check the woods for reflective eyeballs & other predators in the morning, before I let the cats out. it takes an absurd # of AA batteries. I guess all those 1.5 volts adds up to what it needs. but those batteries are so skinny, I think the run time is not as long as a lower power light that uses larger batteries

 

[Mike_P]

The Halfords one has available separately a cabled remote which makes it simple to operate especially when mounted upside down on a combi Garmin Go Pro mount

 

[wajc]

I am in favour of the Moon, Primarily because you can swap the batteries out where as the other two need to be recharged.

This is a good point but rather spoilt by the fact that the Moon lights use special 18650 batteries which are expensive if you want to buy spares (both the +ve and -ve terminal are at one end of the battery).

A quick google finds this at £20

Moon 3350mAh battery

and this at £6

Panasonic 18650 - 3400mAh battery

For road usage a proper shaped beam is a great idea so that you don't blind other road users - look for SVTZO compliant lights.

 

[Jenkins]

The Halfords one is a good light, when the rubber strap mount is replaced by a Hope or Go Pro style mount and when used with the remote (I have both on mine), but there's simply too many power modes to cycle through when you want to change the output.

Lezyne have an option to set the lights up to switch just between high & low power output - something like the Microdrive 600XL can be had for the same amount as the other two you linked to.
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bi...micro-drive-600xl----blk/hi-gloss-230710.html

 

[AndreaJ]

I have the Lifeline one from Wiggle, my commute is mostly dark country lanes and I’ve been happy with the light, also gives enough warning when it needs charging to get home first.

 

[RoubaixCube]

This is a good point but rather spoilt by the fact that the Moon lights use special 18650 batteries which are expensive if you want to buy spares (both the +ve and -ve terminal are at one end of the battery).

A quick google finds this at £20

Moon 3350mAh battery

and this at £6

Panasonic 18650 - 3400mAh battery

For road usage a proper shaped beam is a great idea so that you don't blind other road users - look for SVTZO compliant lights.

Yeah i did mention that. I also mentioned that i bought the lower capacities for a lot less. I know its a gimped system but lights that use swappable 18650 cells from reputable are few and far between. Most roll with built in batteries that arent swappable unless you possess a soldering iron and have some skills when it comes to its use.

By the time the stock batteries no longer hold their charge. Hopefully the Moon batteries will be cheaper due to supply and distribution not being hampered by the current goings on.

You wont really find a light that uses single 18650 cells that can be swapped out within seconds unless its a chinese special from amazon and ebay that costs £5-6 with over exaggerated if not questionable quoted specs in area of Lumen/candela ratings. Im aware that Gemini makes one called the Xera 950. I owned one for less then 5 mins before getting it refunded because the amount of light it threw out was absolutely terrible.

Id go as far to say that even one of these...

was brighter than the Xera

I aware that a certain German or Dutch brand that sells these lights on amazon but they are diving/scuba lights so might not fit the cycling criteria.

sure it costs a little more but pickings are very slim.

I think even Evanscycles sold the batteries at one point.

 

[wajc]

I know its a gimped system but lights that use swappable 18650 cells from reputable are few and far between. Most roll with built in batteries that arent swappable unless you possess a soldering iron and have some skills when it comes to its use.

I've always liked the look of the Fenix range of bike lights with standard single 18650 (BC21R) or double 18650 (BC30) batteries. Some of them have Hi/Low dual beam functions and remote switching as well which may be useful to some.

Fenix Bike Lights

 

[Notafettler]

For road usage a proper shaped beam is a great idea so that you don't blind other road users - look for SVTZO compliant lights.

Very true. If you dazzle a car driver he changes to high beam, so you have no benefit at all from your silly light. I have a hope on one bike I rarely need to use but if I do I can tap it to the left to avoid dazzling car drivers.

 

[Chris S]

I got a set of USB rechargeable lights from Lidl for less than £15. The front one is so bright it dazzles pedestrians and car drivers unless I've got it on one of the lower modes. The rear one has only got one LED but it's as noticeable as a motor vehicle tail light.

 

[Blue Hills]

If it's one of the recent, last few years,ones, i don't see how it can literally dazzle motorists. They use the german approved beam pattern.
I agree that they are excellent. The fronts are well up to riding on dark country lanes.
Bike lights are one of the prime areas of bike marketing bullshittery.