Unlit Road lights

[Llama]

+1 for two rear lights

 

[jethro10]

+1 for two rear lights

Yeah, rear lights are cgeap enough, even good ones. So 2 it is.

Plus a spare cheap front one to limp home with if the main one fails.

 

[HJ]

Get six rear lights. At least. MY first three are main (on rack) , failsafe (on mudguard) and backup (on rack boss down by mech). The backup has a flashing facility that I use during the day when I want to be conspicuous e.g. when it is raining or dull or if my commute involves blind bends in green tunnels built from lovely trees like it does every day

The last three (one on rack bag 2 on panniers) flash like demented things & are just there to piss the drivers off. When they try 'smidsy' after nearly rear ending me then the moral high ground those extra three give me allows me to set aside my vow of non-violence whilst I beat the tossers to a pulp.

Oh, and helmet LEDs don't forget them. and aperatif has some lovely LED handlebar end plugs.

The correct number of rear lights when commutting on unlit country roads is n+1

By the time you add the money you spend buying all those cheap lights, you'll find it cost as much as one set of decent lights. Not only that a decent set of lights is brighter than all the cheap ones combined, I only wish I had made this discovery sooner... Forget n+1 and just get these (or better)...

 

[leyton condor]

I used a hope vision1 on the recent Dunwich Dynamo. it was perfectly adequate on the low setting for most of the ride, turned it up to 3 on some of the fastest tree lined downhills
http://www.bikeoutlet.co.uk/products/Hope_Vision_1_LED_Light_Universal_Mount-489-0.html

I printed this out and evanscycles pricematched it.

 

[RedBike]

You can get the Hope Vision 1 for about £50. Great little light. The only trouble with it is it's battery hungry. You'll want a set or two of recharables with it (or shares in ever-ready)

 

[GrumpyGregry]

By the time you add the money you spend buying all those cheap lights, you'll find it cost as much as one set of decent lights. Not only that a decent set of lights is brighter than all the cheap ones combined, I only wish I had made this discovery sooner... Forget n+1 and just get these (or better)...

Nice lights and a good point well made. Lamps 1, 2, and 3 are quality kit but cost less than £40 in total whilst the other three are super cheap LED's at £1 each from my local pound shop.

ay-ups up front though.

I find some rear LED's too bright in a way that several less bright one's just aren't btw.

 

[jethro10]

Well. i chose this for the front:-
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.NiteFlux-Vision-Stick-Photon-4-Enduro-2009-Rechargeable-Light_19858.htm

as it seems good quality, bright, and a long battery life withthe battery by the bottle cage.
Battery life did it for me for lights at this quality.

Also 2 good quality (can't remember brand off hand) rears, one a bit brighter than the other so differeing battery life times so the chances of them running out together are minimal. I'm making a bracket to fit on the seat rails, above a small bag to take the two lights and the rear reflector.

Jeff

 

[Randochap]

I'd go for a B+M Ixon IQ (£82.5 incl batteries & charger)
Alternatives are the Fenix L2D torch (£43) and the Hope Vision 1 (£100)

For a rear light, the Smart 1/2 W (£13) is good. Two lights is also a good idea as you don't notice if one runs low or goes out.

I personally use a hub dynamo, as I then don't have to remember to charge the batteries and so I've got light if I get unexpectedly delayed.
Suggested light: B+M Cyo (£75, similar brightness to the lights above)
Hub (£55) or wheel (£105)

This.

Worth repeating and expanding on. Safety at night is a good thing.

 

[Randochap]

By the time you add the money you spend buying all those cheap lights, you'll find it cost as much as one set of decent lights. Not only that a decent set of lights is brighter than all the cheap ones combined, I only wish I had made this discovery sooner... Forget n+1 and just get these (or better)...

And this

 

[Randochap]

I only wish I had made this discovery sooner...

I've been trying to help.

 

[HJ]

I found this more help.

Safety at night is a good thing.

My experience is that if you have bright enough lights, they can increase your safety in day light as well...

 

[CopperBrompton]

Agree 100% with buying the right kit once rather than the wrong kits multiple times.

I have Dinotte lights, and they are bright enough to be effective in the day as well as at night (eg. in rain, on fast dual-carriageways, etc).

Also +1 on the backup rear light. The one downside of a bright light is battery-life, so I have a low-powered one as backup.

 

[Randochap]

I found this more help.

That is a helpful review of battery lights, but it isn't much help for those who want info on generator lighting as well.

My experience is that if you have bright enough lights, they can increase your safety in day light as well...

No argument there.

 

[scook94]

Find out what rear light HJ is using and get one of those. I rode behind him recently when he had it switched on in broad daylight, I go into hospital later this week to get my retinas re-attached...

 

[Browser]

For a rear light, the Smart 1/2 W (£13) is good. Two lights is also a good idea as you don't notice if one runs low or goes out.

Second this choice for one rear light. This thing'll weld your retina to the back of your skull if you look directly at it at a distance of less than 3 metres!
I was an eejit and bought a Cateye HL-El600RC for an unlit road commute, 'cos it looked bright in the shop First ride, damn near rode into a ditch, couldn't see a damn thing.
Due to consternation on the part of SWMBO ame suggesting I rid myself of this 'ultimate commuter light' (Cateye's own descrpition, presumably for brightly-lit city streets!?) and get a better one, I bought a Niteflux, VisionStick Halogen 10, which (again) looked bright enough in the ad. I find if I use both together I can just about see what I'm doing. In the fullness of time I will sell these on and get summat with about 15-20 watts (or whatever the lumens equivalent is of 15-20 incandescent-lamp watts) so I can definitely see where the hell I am going.
Last thing, can't overstate the need for a flasher as well as a steady light. Flasher - for the half-asleep motorists i.e. all of them.
Steady - so you can see where the hell you are going.