Help me buy lights

[stoatsngroats]

Who elses used moon?are any other top brands at the price?

I use Moon lights, Meteor 250 on the front, and a Comet on the rear, but I have others too, to share the load, and give redundancy if one runs out of chart.
I have a Lezyne (something) on the front, and an old Smart on the rear, with 2 bar end lights on the drops, giving 4 lights facing backwards and 2 forwards.
I use my lights if on road, particularly if on dual carriageways during the day with gloom, shady areas etc, as well as low sun. I don’t use them on cycle paths generally.
A mix of steady/flashing seems to help, and the 2 bar end lights give a width guide to drivers behind.

 

[Lovacott]

Heyyyy
I want to buy front and back lights
My budget is £25 tops but really I want around £20 tops ideally.

I've just bought two of these from Amazon (two because if I only had one and it failed in use, I'd literally be blind).

EBUYFIRE USB Rechargeable Bike Lights Set, 3000 Lumens

I've used them the last couple of weeks in the dark mornings (I set off at 5.30am).

They use a belt clip on the underside to clip onto a handlebar mount and are quick to remove (just slide it off the mount).

Like anything rechargeable, I won't know how good they are for at least a couple of months (will the battery start to die etc?).

They are incredibly bright so I have them aimed down at the road about 15 degrees off the horizontal.

At the moment, by the time I hit the unlit country lanes, there is enough daylight to see the road clearly but in about two weeks time it will be properly dark. I hope they do the job because some of my ride has some pretty bad back lanes which are riddled with potholes.

 

[Matthew20]

I've just bought two of these from Amazon (two because if I only had one and it failed in use, I'd literally be blind).

EBUYFIRE USB Rechargeable Bike Lights Set, 3000 Lumens

I've used them the last couple of weeks in the dark mornings (I set off at 5.30am).

They use a belt clip on the underside to clip onto a handlebar mount and are quick to remove (just slide it off the mount).

Like anything rechargeable, I won't know how good they are for at least a couple of months (will the battery start to die etc?).

They are incredibly bright so I have them aimed down at the road about 15 degrees off the horizontal.

At the moment, by the time I hit the unlit country lanes, there is enough daylight to see the road clearly but in about two weeks time it will be properly dark. I hope they do the job because some of my ride has some pretty bad back lanes which are riddled with potholes.

i might buy it
hoping its waterproof

but people here complain lights that bright can be bad, even dangerous?

 

[Lovacott]

i might buy it
hoping its waterproof

The only possible place for water to get in would be the control switch on top. I used them this morning and it was bucketing down for the whole hour of my commute. No issues with water getting in.

I now have them connected to my work PC charging up (3 hours on charge replaces one hour of use on full power).

One tip. The light switch mode sequence is, 1 on bright, 2 on dimmer, 3 on even dimmer again, 4 quick flashing, 5 slow flashing and then 6 off.

However (not in the instructions) is the fact that holding down the switch for two seconds turns it straight to off (saves you having to cycle though all of the modes. When you turn it back on again, it will revert to the mode it was in when you switched it off.

 

[Pale Rider]

i might buy it
hoping its waterproof

but people here complain lights that bright can be bad, even dangerous?

Dazzling oncoming motorists and cyclists is not clever and could result in them crashing into you.

Thus you want a front light with a beam pattern designed for road use.

That rules out many of the crappy Chinese gazillion lumen (claimed) lights you've been looking at.

As said, many of them are also unreliable and fail or fall to bits after a short time.

I use lights designed to the German road standard - the Krauts are usually pretty good at stuff like this.

Those lights may be outside your budget, but there have already been good recommendations in the thread that are on budget.

Cateye lights are designed for the road and reckoned to be decent for the money.

Here's a set for twenty quid:

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bi...MI56DYncGz6wIVTO7tCh14RQw_EAQYASABEgJaivD_BwE

 

[Lovacott]

but people here complain lights that bright can be bad, even dangerous?

The brightest setting could dazzle but there are two step down modes from the brightest.

The mounting has a friction swivel which allows for quite a range of aim and they can be adjusted on the fly. Mine are aimed down about 15 degrees and to the left (much like a car headlight).

The design looks pretty well thought out (one piece metal casing, metal clip).

The unknown of course is the battery life. I should have a better idea in about a month.

 

[Blue Hills]

Flashing lights on a cyclepath are the work of Beelzebub.

Depends how strong they are.
Lots of folk it is true use over powerful flashers.
"Normal" ones ok.
No great need to spend over £15 for a rear flasher.
And as above, use two rear lights.

 

[PaulSB]

i might buy it
hoping its waterproof

but people here complain lights that bright can be bad, even dangerous?

Yes, you're correct, 100% correct. Far too many cyclists ride with ridiculously bright lights which are usually misaligned dazzling both drivers and fellow cyclists. It's a problem and a mentality I don't understand.

By all means use bright lights but point them where they are of use - on the road sueface. I ride with one guy who uses ridiculous lights even on a clear day. His lights are so intense a shoulder check for traffic is rendered useless because one can't tell if the light is him or a car.

I bought a Lezyne front light in 2011. It was £75, has four settings, including a day light mode. It will flood the tarmac of an unlit country lane with enough light to see everything. The battery is now 9 years old and still retains power as though new. An excellent brand.

Whatever you buy please use them correctly.

 

[Blue Hills]

That light and battery sounds very impressive. I wouldn't actually expect the battery to last so long - do you use it for all night rides?

Model number?

I assume that it's a built in battery USB thing.

 

[PaulSB]

@Blue Hills I will have to check for the details but will post later. I don't use it for all night rides. My use has been commuting for a year on unlit country lanes, social winter cycling of around 50/60 miles 2-3 times a week and occassional summer use in poor weather.

Yes it is USB charged.

Perhaps I've just been lucky. It was an investment I baulked at but I couldn't have been more wrong.

 

[MrGrumpy]

@Blue Hills I will have to check for the details but will post later. I don't use it for all night rides. My use has been commuting for a year on unlit country lanes, social winter cycling of around 50/60 miles 2-3 times a week and occassional summer use in poor weather.

Yes it is USB charged.

Perhaps I've just been lucky. It was an investment I baulked at but I couldn't have been more wrong.

What price on safety ?? Seriously why scrimp on lights. Just seems stupid

 

[Matthew20]

And as above, use two rear lights.

Turned on at the same time? Who agrees here
How many lumens each please

Whatever you buy please use them correctly.

I sure will try to

 

[PaulSB]

@Blue Hills my light is a Lezyne Power Drive. It cost me £75 in 2011. There is no serial/product number on it.

The battery is stamped with the date 2011/10/18 which I presume is the manufacture date. It's an 18650 Lithium Ion 3.75V 2400mAh 2 amp protected. Rechargeable.

The above means absolutely zero to me but it may help others.

 

[Sterlo]

Why can't someone come up with some sort of hood/shield on a light so you still get the beam but it makes is more directional and less likely to dazzle oncoming traffic.

 

[Blue Hills]

Why can't someone come up with some sort of hood/shield on a light so you still get the beam but it makes is more directional and less likely to dazzle oncoming traffic.

I think you need this.
https://www.bumm.de/en/products/akku-scheinwerfer/parent/1922/produkt/1922qmla.html
I have one - it's excellent, if a tad delicate, and far bigger I think than Paul's light.
Wonderful for dark country lanes - you can see all you need to without dazzling anyone.
Uses AAs.

see second pic on right for the shield.
It sticks on - seems odd - you'd think it would be integral - but mine hasn't dropped off yet.