Descent front lights for dark county lanes

[Egon Belmontie]

Hi all,

Just after some advice and recommendations on lights

I will be riding home after work about 12;30 in the morning. It takes about an hour in daylight and will mostly be country lanes but even when I get back into town all the street lamps will be off by then, I'm looking to spend no more then about £50 and what's people's view on disposable batteries compared to rechargeable ones?

And any other advice for pedalling down dark country lanes after dark is always appreciated,

Thanks.

 

[Scotchlovingcylist]

I would definitely consider rechargeable batteries otherwise it will become extremely expensive.
I have a cree XML T6 Chinese hobby from eBay on my MTB and it's bloody bright, there is a massive thread about them somewhere on here. They are about £20 and are good lights, I get about 3 hours light from one charge.
Otherwise have a look on planet x as I believe they do some similar off road type lights for around the £50 mark and are well respected

 

[Spinney]

A light mounted on your helmet (assuming you wear one - let's not go there on this thread!) is handy for country lanes - you can look into corners etc to spot pot holes. Just be careful not to look directly at the drivers of oncoming cars!

Rechargeables for overall costs, but maybe wise to carry a spare set of disposables just in case your charge runs out mid ride.


(You have country lanes in Gibraltar??)

 

[Sharky]

Cat eye volt 300 - best by far of the ones I have owned.

If you have an iPad or similar, you can down load the cat eye beam chart which gives good comparisons for their models.

 

[Fab Foodie]

The Cree T6 magic shine copies are pretty good, though longevity varies.
If I was regularly commuting in tee dark I would save my money and invest in a dynohub and associated lampage. Excellent and reliable output without charging faff. Worth the investment in the long run.

General advice?
Back-up lighting system.
Static and flashing rear lights.
Lots of reflectives - ankle bands particularly good because of the movement.
Head torch - good extra illumination and brilliant if you need to fix a p*ncture in the dark.

 

[helston90]

I would recommend a Moon xPower 330 which is on offer from wiggle at the moment for £33.
I found it had a great battery, easy to control strength of beam, and was all round a good light with plenty of power for a unlit road.
Find it here

 

[Tom B]

I regularly commute in the small hours. I have a nightsearcher tracker torch and an £7 led job on my bars. The torch when on high illuminates the distance and gives drivers the heads up on corners as it lights the hedge or wall, the other light illuminates the foreground... In town I have the torch on low and the led on a flash.

Rears I just have a multitude of cheapo leds

 

[Peter88]

I recently bought one of these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-5000LM-XM-L2-X2-Cree-LED-Bike-Bicycle-Headlight-Cycling-Lights-UK-Stock/261642058932?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D30774%26meid%3D19592303074247bd9165f33a4cbe1545%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D291322046689&rt=n
It has 4 modes wide beam, narrow beam, both on and both flashing.

 

[MichaelW2]

Consider a hub dynamo with modern lamps by B&M. It is higher than your budget but you need some serious, reliable lighting. I would suggest dynamo front/rear lamps with battery backups. You really need a backup system. When you are carrying an armfull of removeble accessories, the one you drop is always the expensive lamp.
Once you own a bike, the running costs are small compared to alternative means of commuting. Even people who ride buses spend much more over a few years.
Fit plenty of reflectors on pedals, wheels, mudguards. Use tyres with reflective sidewalls. Set one rear lamp to solid and another to blink. Never set all your lights to blink.

 

[G3CWI]

Blimey is it that time already? The lights thread makes an early appearance. Like a cuckoo in spring.

The nights are drawing in.

 

[Jamieyorky]

I use a Hope Vision one light, its been a fantastic frpnt light, i now use rechargeable AA's in it.

 

[Torvi]

ok guys so im also kinda worrying about my lights, now i got some noname flashlights with mounts but if the road gets shaky they start to blink etc which is quite far from calling reliable then im wondering about one of these:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x2000Lm-...311?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2c96d2246f
or second option:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-Cree-U2...005&rk=4&rkt=6&mehot=es&sd=321761587636&rt=nc

 

[MrGrumpy]

chinese cree lights are ok but for reliability is iffy.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

A light mounted on your helmet (assuming you wear one - let's not go there on this thread!) is handy for country lanes - you can look into corners etc to spot pot holes. Just be careful not to look directly at the drivers of oncoming cars!

Rechargeables for overall costs, but maybe wise to carry a spare set of disposables just in case your charge runs out mid ride.


(You have country lanes in Gibraltar??)

This can be useful for encouraging them to flick off their full beam though, but yes, definitely not a good idea as routine.

High level lights are good for being seen over low walls or hedges too where bar mounted are obscured BUT I'd always have bar mount unit as my primary to see by light.

The dealextreme etc magicshine clone cree t6 are fearsomly bright for the money.

My cracked record suggestions on these type threads (hint, try using the search facility, you'll find dozens of light threads and all the advice you could ever wish for) I have and highly rate Cateye Volt 300 & Smart 700, both great and robust and kick out enough light to see by.

 

[Spinney]

This can be useful for encouraging them to flick off their full beam though, but yes, definitely not a good idea as routine.

High level lights are good for being seen over low walls or hedges too where bar mounted are obscured BUT I'd always have bar mount unit as my primary to see by light.

The dealextreme etc magicshine clone cree t6 are fearsomly bright for the money.

My cracked record suggestions on these type threads (hint, try using the search facility, you'll find dozens of light threads and all the advice you could ever wish for) I have and highly rate Cateye Volt 300 & Smart 700, both great and robust and kick out enough light to see by.

Agree with having a handlebar mounted one as well - my original post should have mentioned that I also have a handlebar mounted light - usually set on flash to draw attention. The handlebar one is my main 'be seen' light and the helmet mounted one is my 'see by' light.