Help me buy lights

[Matthew20]

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.

That looks perfect except for using AAs.
I checked, it's expensive.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

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.

That exists, but almost nobody buys or fits it (a lens)

 

[Blue Hills]

That looks perfect except for using AAs.
I checked, it's expensive.

I got mine for £20.
Still not sure why.
I would say it's worth more than £20 and worth getting one if you want to ride through country lane nights.
For it is good enough for that and once you have it you will never really need anything else.
For nights aren't getting darker as far as I know, despite the efforts of the marketing folks to tell us otherwise.
I use rechargeable AAs.
It fits a smart mount, as do my two Lidl lights (one 4xAA, the other USB) which cost far less (£6 and £12) and aren't half bad - if I run out of light on an all-nighter I just swap the lights over.
As all those lights are german they have a good sensible beam pattern.

 

[Scottish Scrutineer]

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.

That looks perfect except for using AAs.
I checked, it's expensive.

Like @Blue Hills , I managed to pick up a couple of these at a very good price. They are great lights. The German approved beam pattern gives good illumination without any fear of dazzling others. The AA batteries give 5hrs+ life at high power, and longer if you turn the level down if you're running under street lights. I used one on an overnight cycle from Carlisle to Edinburgh and there was ample light even on fast descents. If you're worried about replacing batteries, simply use good high capacity rechargeable and carry spares.
I've since fitted B&M lights powered by a hub dynamo our winter bikes.

 

[Blue Hills]

Like @Blue Hills , I managed to pick up a couple of these at a very good price. They are great lights. The German approved beam pattern gives good illumination without any fear of dazzling others. The AA batteries give 5hrs+ life at high power, and longer if you turn the level down if you're running under street lights. I used one on an overnight cycle from Carlisle to Edinburgh and there was ample light even on fast descents. If you're worried about replacing batteries, simply use good high capacity rechargeable and carry spares.
I've since fitted B&M lights powered by a hub dynamo our winter bikes.

maybe you got yours from the same place as mine.
I still find it odd that they were so cheap, but all seemed legit.
I should really have got a second as a spare as I fear that as AA powered lights they will be discontinued in the triumph of USB stuff with built in batteries.
Did you get the second as a spare or to use two at once?
Are yours now unused?

The main downside of them is the fiddle of changing the batteries and you have to be careful with the hinge mechanism. Because of this I have never changed batteries mid-ride - if I need to I just plonk one of the Lidls on. Sometimes use those at the beginning of the ride to spare the B&M on full power for the depths of the night.
At first I didn't like its lack of a flash mode, but came to like it's simplicity - swapping between low and high power on the move is very easy with a single touch - unlike some lights where you have to scroll through 4 or 5 **ing settings to get to an adjacent one.

 

[Sterlo]

Must admit the IQ Premium does look good, best price I can find is a touch under £50. One thing I can't grasp is why can't any bike company manage to make the bracket as good as the light. Virtually every one you look at says the brackets are naff.

 

[PaulSB]

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 find angling my light slightly downwards is the answer. If it is just illuminating the bottom edge of a road sign I'm happy.

It's quite capable of lighting a sign up completely.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

I got mine for £20.

Like @Blue Hills , I managed to pick up a couple of these at a very good price.

Where did you get them?

 

[Blue Hills]

Where did you get them?

can't remember - but pretty sure not available now.
It was a short term offer from a seller i seem to recall wasn't really a full time cycle stuff seller - possibly a storefront selling via amazon.

maybe they fell off the back of a recumbent, but all seemed above board with the paperwork and product - i should have bought two.

i also seem to recall that it was a hot tip from another cycle place - yes they do exist.

but as i say, worth paying more for it.

it wouldn't suit some as it isn't small.

 

[Matthew20]

I got mine for £20.
Still not sure why.

From where or who?

update never mind seen you were asked and answered.

 

[vickster]

Must admit the IQ Premium does look good, best price I can find is a touch under £50. One thing I can't grasp is why can't any bike company manage to make the bracket as good as the light. Virtually every one you look at says the brackets are naff.

The moon rubber ones are v neat

 

[faster]

Must admit the IQ Premium does look good, best price I can find is a touch under £50. One thing I can't grasp is why can't any bike company manage to make the bracket as good as the light. Virtually every one you look at says the brackets are naff.

I don't think it is so much that the brackets are naff rather than the lights themselves being heavy.

Most lights that are actually powerful enough to see with (rather than be seen) and have decent battery life are usually quite heavy - often having 4AAs on board or a big rechargeable battery.

Sheer inertia means that hitting a bumps or potholes can result in the bracket moving around on the bars, which can result in everything suddenly going dark - not good! If you manage to get the bracket tight enough not to do this, it then becomes difficult/impossible to adjust the aim of the light on the move, which can be very handy.

I had exactly this problem with a Philips Saferide. It weighed a ton and I spent more time trying to point the thing in the right direction than looking where I was going - completely useless and only really fit for the bin. This was an expensive light at the time too, recommended by the 'you get what you pay for' merchants due to it's German style optics. It also had rubbish battery life, was unreliable and at 80 lux, not exactly bright.

If your light doesn't weigh much, you can have the best of both worlds. It isn't as affected by bumps and can be fairly loosely mounted for quick on the fly adjustments.

The correct solution to the problem is to decouple the weight of the battery from the lamp - just like the Chinese do with their excellent quality yet reasonably priced lights.

 

[Sterlo]

Just been doing some research, looks like you need one which is StVZO approved, this German spec doesn't allow a glare which would shine into the eyes of drivers or pedestrians. Any light which passes shows the symbol/label, I just Googled and have come across quite a few on Amazon that look similar to the ones suggested previously. Might give one a try if I can find one I like at a reasonable price as I don't do loads of rides in the dark and I do live out in the country.

 

[Scottish Scrutineer]

can't remember - but pretty sure not available now.
It was a short term offer from a seller i seem to recall wasn't really a full time cycle stuff seller - possibly a storefront selling via amazon.

maybe they fell off the back of a recumbent, but all seemed above board with the paperwork and product - i should have bought two.

i also seem to recall that it was a hot tip from another cycle place - yes they do exist.

but as i say, worth paying more for it.

it wouldn't suit some as it isn't small.

I think we both have bought from the same source, I suspect it was Amazon also. I did buy two
The standard B&M Ixon brackets which attach at the fork crown are adaptable to different bikes, but require some fettling to avoid interference with the brake calipers etc

 

[Ming the Merciless]

That looks perfect except for using AAs.
I checked, it's expensive.

What’s wrong with AA?