fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Front light
- Thread starter ScotiaLass
- Start date
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mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Those cheap ebay lights don't satisfy the Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations, so you'll still need a proper light to be legal, plus make sure they don't dazzle oncoming road users. They're also not CE-marked and there are reports of fires during charging.
For a legal light, look for (most likely) German K markings or (possibly) BS markings or similar. On German lights, the lux measurements are consistent and accurate. Axa, B&M and Phillips are usually good but rare in UK stores. Cateye and Sigma are more common but I think only the special G (or is it D?) models like http://www.wiggle.co.uk/cateye-hl-el340-g-led-super-front-light/ are approved. Lidl seem to do fairly good little K-marked battery bike light sets in their occasional sales.
For a legal light, look for (most likely) German K markings or (possibly) BS markings or similar. On German lights, the lux measurements are consistent and accurate. Axa, B&M and Phillips are usually good but rare in UK stores. Cateye and Sigma are more common but I think only the special G (or is it D?) models like http://www.wiggle.co.uk/cateye-hl-el340-g-led-super-front-light/ are approved. Lidl seem to do fairly good little K-marked battery bike light sets in their occasional sales.
400bhp
Guru
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
I know it is for off road. I am advising on decent stuff to use alongside it. I'd suggest being less snappy.
KneesUp
Guru
Ahem....
(The light isn't normally there, in the way of the brakes, by the way - I changed the bars on Saturday to ones with a 31.8mm clamp but forgot to change to the longer o-ring)
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
What happens when an expensive light lets you down at 1am on a rural road in the middle of nowhere, like my Hope did?
T.M.H.N.E.T
Rainbows aren't just for world champions
- Location
- Northern Ireland
You're in the dark then ain't you
Rob3rt
Man or Moose!
- Location
- Manchester
The same thing as when a cheap light fails you
However, these cheap light's generally aren't that good (although it is really the battery and to a lesser extent the power circuitry that is gash) so are more likely to fail. I say this as a cheap light user who doesn't ride in the dark enough to feel the need to spend much on a light (although the number of cheap eBay light's that have failed me is enough to have bought an expensive light in the hope that wouldn't have also failed, lol).
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Well, I wasn't stranded as I carry a Blackburn Scorch as a back up, but the cheapo UK sourced Chinese made replacement is brighter, has a considerably better battery life, costs about 1/8 of what my missus paid for the Hope, and has already outlasted it. Not sure I can spot the downside.
This idea that expensive lights are infallible and thus worth between eight and thirty times as much as the far eastern stuff is simply misguided.
This idea that expensive lights are infallible and thus worth between eight and thirty times as much as the far eastern stuff is simply misguided.
steveindenmark
Legendary Member
Battery or dynamo?
400bhp
Guru
Wtf are you on about.
You post was about road legal lights. Nothing to do wiith being off road and being decent.
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
I've used a Hope Vision One for the last five years but only for road use, mainly in the city. For night rides on country roads it's adequate on full beam but greedy on batteries ( about 100 minutes from four AA rechargeables). I tend to switch power frequently to suit road conditions, saving the battery.
I have also bought two T6 torches, one £40, and one £10. They used exotic batteries (18650 etc). The batteries and chargers worked fine...the electronics in the lights both packed up within two weeks, changing randomly between lighting modes and becoming a PITA. They were both blooming bright while they lasted but they didn't .
I have also bought two T6 torches, one £40, and one £10. They used exotic batteries (18650 etc). The batteries and chargers worked fine...the electronics in the lights both packed up within two weeks, changing randomly between lighting modes and becoming a PITA. They were both blooming bright while they lasted but they didn't .
400bhp
Guru
Would a magicshine pack work with the Cree?
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
D
