Does anyone else use LED torches as front lights?

[MontyVeda]

I do.

I know they don't comply to that standards for bike lights but neither do plenty of 'bike' lights, but hey, they're better than nothing, right?

Now i don't want a discussion about why i should only use lights that comply to BS (pun intended)... but am interested if there's any others who use LED torches instead of proper bike lights, and what do you use.

 

[Deleted member 23692]

I do

2x Ultrafire 502b. Handlebar mounted and aimed to light up the road in front of me.. and not other road users

 

[Dan B]

I used to use quite a nice fenix torch until someone nicked the bike or was attached to. I've gone to the sandals side note, though : my primary bike has a dynohub

 

[ColinJ]

I had one which was pretty good until I broke it by dropping it onto a hard surface.

I have just ordered 2 of THESE which look like a real bargain. I'm thinking that they can be backups for each other and to point one directly in front of the bike and one up the road.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

I used an ultrafire one from dealextreme and it worked fine by the sheer intensity of the light it pumped out, but I've tried various others Tescs Cree's LED Lenser and been very underwhelmed, I don't like the throw of light onto the road, without being batteringly bright to overcome it, they seem to lose a heck of a lot into the air. I have reverted to more bespoke bike lights.

 

[Milkfloat]

I use a pair of ultrafire's from dealxtreme on my MTB for night riding. They are brighter than then sun, but suffer from poor battery life, I have still not found perfect mounts for them. I use a regular cateye for the road.

 

[slowmotion]

I've bought a couple of different Cree T6 torches on ebay without much success. They were ridiculously bright but the beam patterns were too wide. Unfortunately both of them decided to randomly switch between lighting modes within about ten days of purchase. I guess I was unlucky but I'm not buying a third one.

 

[MontyVeda]

I do

2x Ultrafire 502b. ...

...
I have just ordered 2 of THESE which look like a real bargain. ...

I used an ultrafire one from dealextreme ...

I use a pair of ultrafire's from dealxtreme ...

Those are just the sorts I've been using*... but i find they don't cope well with the constant rattle from the road and often flicker and dim, and occasionally just turn off. Any similar experiences with yours???

*but maybe not the same brands i guess

... I have still not found perfect mounts for them. ....

Have you tried these from Ebay? I think they're great for torches and don't cost an arm and a leg.

I've bought a couple of different Cree T6 torches on ebay without much success. They were ridiculously bright but the beam patterns were too wide. Unfortunately both of them decided to randomly switch between lighting modes within about ten days of purchase. I guess I was unlucky but I'm not buying a third one.

got one of those too... sorted out the beam with a lens off Ebay for a fiver... did experience the mode switching and found what was rattling loose so could be sorted, but it's annoying when it happens.

 

[Deleted member 23692]

Those are just the sorts I've been using*... but i find they don't cope well with the constant rattle from the road and often flicker and dim, and occasionally just turn off. Any similar experiences with yours???

Yup had that on rigid forked bikes but not on suspension forked ones.

I wrapped some insulating around the battery so fits snuggly in the torch without rattling about. You'll have to experiment with how much - too little and it still rattles and too much and the battery wedges in the torch. But after a bit of a faff it seems to have worked.

 

[Milkfloat]

Which eBay mounts have you tried? I have used rubber straps - too wobbly, a tube that clamps - not tight tight enough and a sort of double u shaped rubber that the touch clips into - this is the best but you still run the risk of dropping a light on big hits.

Torch wise mine have been pretty good, one only has high beam now, flashing and low beam don't work. I use Vaseline on the seals to try and keep water out.

I did have a charger blow up (literally) and trip all the power for the office, that did not go down too well. I count myself lucky that the lithium battery did not go with it.

 

[cyberknight]

I have a cree p4 torch as a see me light and i solved the rattle /dimming by sticking a bit of card/paper in the battery case to stop the battery cage moving around.

 

[Deleted member 23692]

I've tried the m all.. and ended up with some solid rifle type scope mounts. But as the bike I use them on now only has 25.4 mm bars they no longer fit. Currently I'm using some LED Lenser mounts which are good fit

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I had one which was pretty good until I broke it by dropping it onto a hard surface.

I have just ordered 2 of THESE which look like a real bargain. I'm thinking that they can be backups for each other and to point one directly in front of the bike and one up the road.

I have one of those but find the beam to be too narrow. I also have one of these - https://www.7dayshop.com/products/7...-led-zoom-flashlight-torch-3-x-aaa-WH2-DS-004 - which are zoomable. I also have a similar couple that I picked up from either ALDI or LiDL, If you keep one fairly wide beam and the other fairly diffuse, you get a reasonable spread of light. (For the darkest roads I use one of those T6 Cree lights with an external battery pack.) The battery holders do rattle around a bit but if they irritate you can experiment with some kind of improvised paper sleeve or with a rubber band. They've withstood pretty wet nights that a Hope Vision couldn't deal with. One even left a dent in the bonnet of an oncoming car that I gave a full-body bonnet valeting and still works fine.

 

[MrGrumpy]

I have them used two ultra fires for the last two years but looking to change for a big brand model. They ain't bad but not great very spotty and little spread .

 

[MontyVeda]

...

Which eBay mounts have you tried? I have used rubber straps - too wobbly, a tube that clamps - not tight tight enough and a sort of double u shaped rubber that the touch clips into - this is the best but you still run the risk of dropping a light on big hits.

Torch wise mine have been pretty good, one only has high beam now, flashing and low beam don't work. I use Vaseline on the seals to try and keep water out.

I did have a charger blow up (literally) and trip all the power for the office, that did not go down too well. I count myself lucky that the lithium battery did not go with it.

Sorry, meant to put this linky in... these ones. Velcro/fabric straps and a dense rubber block. Grips the bar really well and the fabric straps can be pulled nice and tight. They certainly work for me.