Price of lights

[P.H]

Not a single reply attempting to justify the cost of lights-just a general acceptance that if it costs more it must be better-then no wonder.

Who do you think it needs justifying to?  The seller has to justify it to the buyer, I don't see why any third party should care one way or the other.  I'm happy with my lights, about a £800 worth over three bikes.  I wouldn't consider spending any money on a car, though I don't ask those that do to justify it to me.


You sound like a colleague at work, he goes on and on about only needing to spend £50 to buy a bike.

 

[marinyork]

We have recently ran an initiative at work where we got this set of lights discounted at a local shop by £20 and then got the Company to contribute £1,000 (which worked out to be £12.00 per set when we totalled up the orders), so now 90 people at work have got this set of lights for £38, and judging by the feedback we've had it's gone down a storm.

The aim of the exercise was to get the best set of lights we could for a price that most people could (a) afford and (b) normally pay

...

That's a fantastic scheme, that's exactly the sort of thing that should be going on. Exactly the sort of scheme that should be going on.

 

[Norm]

Not a single reply attempting to justify the cost of lights-just a general acceptance that if it costs more it must be better-then no wonder.

I justify my purchases to one person, and I very much doubt that is you. She was so impressed with my £160 bike light that she asked me to get her one just to use as a torch.

If any justification is required, have a quick look at some comparatives (fixed camera position and fixed exposure) that I did last year...

As a base, a Cateye EL135 on its own...


The Cateye EL135 as above, outshone and outclassed as a beam by an Exposure Joystick on low...


The Cateye EL135 as above, disappears against an Exposure Joystick on high...


And, against an Exposure Maxx D on high, you can't see that the original light is still turned on...


As Cunobelin, I've spent about £500 on lights.

If you want to stick to the areas with street lights, then I reckon you are missing out on some magical riding experiences but you may find a Cateye sufficient for your needs. Riding off-road at night is glorious, riding on the road at night is hassle-free. I get 100% of cars dip at night, cars don't pull out on me and the amount of I light can produce on full power has been mistaken for a lorry.

The only reason I wouldn't buy the same again is that the 3-LED Maxx-D I bought last year has now been replaced by a 4-LED version for an extra £50.

 

[marinyork]

Not a single reply attempting to justify the cost of lights-just a general acceptance that if it costs more it must be better-then no wonder.

Not really but clearly meant as a bit of a moan. You want a rear light for £5-10, I can recommend that. You want a front light for £10 or £20 I can do that. You want a proper decent front light for cheap? Get an LED torch. As Gaz said quite a bit but not all of the front lights under about £70 aren't that good. There's a lot of variation that's why reviews are important. I wouldn't at all recommend a cateye single shot whereas I would a Hope 1 vision even though they cost broadly similar amount. I don't particularly think eyups are value for money at about twice the price, but I have a different set of criteria to others. Some very cheap bike likes are awful whereas others perform all right.

 

[gaz]

Not a single reply attempting to justify the cost of lights-just a general acceptance that if it costs more it must be better-then no wonder.

I'm sorry, did you bother to read the replies here or the review?

To sum up the replies above. Not everyone needs a light to be seen by, some of us need lights to see where we are going. This means more power, bigger batteries, better emitters etc.. This is going to mean higher prices.
If you don't need a light to show you where you are going, then the reviewed light isn't for you.
You can get perfectly good lights which are used to be seen by for much less than that.

If you read the review, whilst it's not clear, the wording does give the impression this is for lighting up the path in front of you. And if you click on the link to [url="http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/tested-30-high-power-mountain-bike-lights-28195"]Tested: 30 high-power mountain bike lights [/url]at the bottom of the article, you will see that the light features there and clearly it is more than just a £30 cateye light.


That infromation is readily available in the posts above and from the article.

 

[Russell Allen]

A magicshine MJ-808 can be had from dealexteme at the mo for about £50 and a good rear multi LED type for £15. so £65 in total for a great lighting rig. On a dark night its worth it for peace of mind, nobody could claim not to have seen you. Cheapo lights are false economy. If you do much mileage in the dark then get some good lights...it need not cost a fortune. If you only avoid one accident in a lifetime because of good lighting it will have been money well spent

Regards

Russell Allen

 

[summerdays]

Mr Summerdays leaves a set of extremely cheap lights permanently attached to his bike all year round (possibly Lidl or Aldi), but to be honest they aren't brilliant and are only on the bike in case the others aren't working ... such as the time someone stole his battery pack for his lights (he used to leave the battery pack on assuming no one would want that on its own - he's learnt that lesson). But the spare lights were so cheap if they get stolen he won't grumble. His ride includes a long length of cycle path, part of which is along a track completely unlit and away from houses - he was having to cycle slowly as he couldn't see that well (he has bad eye-sight), and so I gave him the Ay-up's for Christmas about 2 or 3 years ago. I don't mind spending that money on him if it helps him - some people spend that much on a night out.

We did also buy the Tesco's cree torches but his one developed the loose contact after a while. I still think it was a good buy but it hasn't been as reliable as the more expensive light. The more expensive light also comes with the back up service - so we were able to buy a new battery pack when it was stolen, you can buy extra mounts for different bikes, and recently bought another battery - with the new flash mode.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I attempt to justify my purchases to one person, and I very much doubt that is you.

ftfy Norm

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I don't particularly think eyups are value for money at about twice the price, but I have a different set of criteria to others.

vfm if a funny old thing isn't it?

For me, part of the attraction of AyUps is their chi-chi ness, the clever design separating battery from lamp meaning it takes two seconds to change batteries, the lightness of the lamp heads as a result, and the engineering standards used in their manufactuer. No doubt about it, they are 'designer' lights and part of the price tag is because of that. nothing about them screams 'clunky looking bit of bicycle gear' at you. The superb no questions asked aftersales isn't cheap either I guess. But then I use a lezyne pump because I like chi-chi well engineered bits of kit. Designed for people with more money than sense maybe?

Compared with other mtb race lights, their core market, they weren't that expensive in comparison with the competition when I got mine. I'd think twice now though.

 

[jay clock]

I think this market is like many others in that if you are not careful then value for money is poor. So is a £500 light set massively btter than one of of £50? Not 10x better.

But the benefit of the market economy is that if someone can sell a similar quality and performance product at one third of the price, they will do well. The Magicshine lights are a case in point. Bought mine from HK, with two battery packs, for $107. The light is superb and makes daytime speeds through the woods at night an MTB possibility. Yes, pottering about town you can get away with a cheaper light set as you don't need to illuminate the road/track in the same way.

It sounds to me like the OP has stumbled across a great business opportunity - superb lights at a bargain price. Perhaps he has some ideas how to achieve this nirvana?

 

[dellzeqq]

I think that the OP has a point. The components that go in to lights aren't expensive, the machining and moulding isn't that expensive, and marketing costs aren't that high. And I have a suspicion that you can get the same stuff elsewhere for less

http://www.rei.com/product/745539 - of course you have to compare California Sales Tax with VAT, but that still doesn't explain how this store is able to sell the EL530 at about £28.50

 

[CanucksTraveller]

I too think the OP has a fair enough point and I'm feeling a bit sorry for him for the storm he's unleashed on himself from some members.
I don't think he's specifically asking any one person to justify their purchases, he's asking why something as mechanically simple as a bike light can cost so much, and that's a fair question to ask.

I think if anyone can explain that, he's got his answer, but there's not much explanation so far, only cries of "It's worth it to me", which wasn't the original question.

 

[spence]

So is a £500 light set massively better than one of of £50? Not 10x better.

Yep, mine are. I've a set of Lupin Edison 4's, had for about 5 years and are night and day better (pun intended) over the very old set of Smart something or others. Smarts were about £40 IIRC Eddys £450.

Has the OP ridden tight twisting single track through the trees and or steep descents in the pitch dark? Everyone to their own but in this case if you want the best out of your winter night rides, then yes the better the lighting system the better the ride. And unfortunately in this game it's gonna cost you........rightly or wrongly.

 

[Norm]

... but there's not much explanation so far, only cries of "It's worth it to me", which wasn't the original question.

Then I will re-post part of my justification...

A Cateye EL135 on its own...


The same Cateye in the same position with an Exposure Maxx D on high.


Does that really need any further explanation?

 

[CanucksTraveller]

Still missing the point in my humble opinion. We know brighter lights cost more, but why so much more is the question. Are they that much more expensive to make?