Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2013 19:39:26 GMT
Just curious as to what lights people are using on their bikes....im a commuter and start work at 4am (yes 4am in the morning) so im out on the road by 3.15am when its still dark, I have been using a set of cat eyes for years and could not tell you the model number of them now but paid about £50 for the set from halfords when I got them....been excellent and suited the previous bikes but think they look a bit chunky for the T7.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2013 20:38:42 GMT
I can't really help here, but I would also like some recommendations for when the nights start drawing in. I quite like the usb rechargeable types.
What are the best choices out there?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2013 21:59:18 GMT
I got this little beaut off ebay for £16. Its bright as daylight!! Also this little monkey from Amazon, for £9 including batteries and charger... Bearing in mind it's tiny, it packs a heck of a punch. I used the bracket that my old Aldi cheapo light was on and it's excellent. I have the standard rear light atm but will probably change to one of the Lezyne lights like Billy has, or one of the ones with numerous LEDs
|
|
|
Post by bobcollege on Jul 14, 2013 9:23:33 GMT
Also as a commuter, On my T3 I use an Exposure Enduro on the front, great for the dark country lanes on my way home and really lights makes you visible from the front. On the rear a Cateye TL-LD1100 with two rows of LED's, I have one flashing and one on static, they provide great side visibility. I also have a Knog style silicone light mounted in rear of my helmet and this Hi Viz Waterproof Rucksack Backpack Cover for extra visibility. I can also highly recommend the Trelock LS-950 front light, great battery life and very bright. I do have a few reviews of the lights mentioned above in the reviews section. I work at a busy motor manufacturer so my commute home involves a fair few car transporters passing me and cars leaving the plant, so far no near misses or close calls. Cars always give me a wide berth. Also cars seem to wait at junctions along time, not sure if they cant tell if I am a motorbike or not due to bright lights, never had anyone pull out on me.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2013 10:40:57 GMT
A Smart Lunar R2 on the rear. It's a blinder. A fairly basic LED torch type on the front which I'll replace for something beefier as the summer tails off.
|
|
|
Post by bobcollege on Jul 14, 2013 12:05:20 GMT
A Smart Lunar R2 on the rear. It's a blinder. A fairly basic LED torch type on the front which I'll replace for something beefier as the summer tails off. I can give a big thumbs up to the Smart Lunar R2, very bright. Would be a great light if you had the ability to leave one LED on and one flashing.
|
|
|
Post by ozzrahog on Jul 14, 2013 18:00:57 GMT
I got this little beaut off ebay for £16. Its bright as daylight!! Also this little monkey from Amazon, for £9 including batteries and charger... Bearing in mind it's tiny, it packs a heck of a punch. I used the bracket that my old Aldi cheapo light was on and it's excellent. I have the standard rear light atm but will probably change to one of the Lezyne lights like Billy has, or one of the ones with numerous LEDs What is the eBay light, looks worth getting
|
|
|
Post by psyclepath on Jul 14, 2013 21:26:58 GMT
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2013 8:25:53 GMT
When it comes to light I don't compromise on my safety - my commutes have always been rural with no street lighting of any kind and some nasty roads - or completely off road needing seriously good lighting. Also lights for being seen with and lights for seeing with have completely different requirements and Mackly does not state which he needs.
Now, my rides are virtually all rural (living rurally), and that means a light to see with for the vast majority of my time in darkness rather than a light to be seen with, so I have an Exposure Joystick (325 lumens) which is a mountain bike light and fantastic, but not cheap. One thing I can tell you is that I don't get missed, even when running it on its lowest setting in towns, cars (& other vehicles) think twice, usually beleiving I am a motorbike which I don't care about, it means they don't pull out in front of me. The only thing I do have to be careful about is that on my longer commutes/rides (plus 3 hours) is that I have a spare light available - I may well get around to purchasing the backup battery pack for it this Autumn, or alternatively carry on carrying my OH's as a spare (it is small) if he is not cycling to work.
I will point out that the light is bright enough for me to descend at speed on unlit country lanes and be able to see potholes, grids, tree branches etc and be able to respond to avoid them. It also has a dimmer switch easily available to drop the brightness when in towns/anywhere with road lighting so I can save battery life and not blind oncoming drivers.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2013 11:19:50 GMT
Holy shhhh...t satnav, they are expensive lights and way beyond my budget so gonna have to rule them out...think will just stick to the front cateye light that I have as it is a good one and lights up enough of the road for me to avoid nasty stuff...I do like the look of the Smart Rear light mentioned above but read a few comments saying its mince if it gets wet.....not good for an all year round biker...I do have mudguards so might be ok with it??? if anyone cares to confirm if any issues or not with it.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2013 13:48:45 GMT
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2013 14:04:24 GMT
I've got the same CREE light as Buzz mentioned, bought it last winter . It's uber bright for £22 which is what I paid for mine from China.
|
|
|
Post by captslog on Jul 15, 2013 14:15:34 GMT
I think I'm using something like these.... www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_950561_langId_-1_categoryId_165636which I managed to pick up for a couple of quid of the Ebay. If you can find the 5 LED Smart rear light, buy one. It looks just the same but has two LEDs which face sideways out of the casing giving a lot of light to your sides. Youngest son has one of these, and I bought mine as I thought it was the same, sadly not but still and OK light. I like to use a couple of sets at the same time, one flashing and one 'solid' and for most commuting purposes I think that this type are adequate.. Mainly because they are so simple and cheap enough not to worry about when they break. It seems that most lights break sooner or later regardless of cost and spending a lot on them just hurts more.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2013 18:33:14 GMT
Holy shhhh...t satnav, they are expensive lights and way beyond my budget so gonna have to rule them out...think will just stick to the front cateye light that I have as it is a good one and lights up enough of the road for me to avoid nasty stuff...I do like the look of the Smart Rear light mentioned above but read a few comments saying its mince if it gets wet.....not good for an all year round biker...I do have mudguards so might be ok with it??? if anyone cares to confirm if any issues or not with it. I was knocked off my bike as a teenager cycling to uni. I got lucky - didn't walk away but came around in the ambulance to find out I had had 2 "expert" witnesses who knoew my routine, knew exactly where I was going and had seen me commuting ot uni all year - one was a police office on his way to work, the other brain surgeon who was in the back of the ambulance with me now returning to work. my old commute to work was that dangerous that after 4 years of it and seeing 4 or 5 near misses each and every commute of less than 5 miles (not to mention actually crashes over the years as well) that I changed my route to go off-road and nearly doubled the distance. I learnt the hard way you can never make yourself visible enough to drivers. Thankfully, the light is rechargable and frequently on special offer bringing it down to sensible prices (£75) which I do not believe is the cost of a human life! As for a rear light - I can not fault the cateye TL-LD1100 which runs off 2 AA batteries (will take rechargeable) has 2 flashing or stationary strips of lights and is one of the few rear lights in this country that actually meets the UK lighting regulations of being visible from 3 sides. The rear light I have above has stood up to anything and everything the UK can throw at it and more - it went on the 12 month tour with me and survived Norway (and trust me, if you want to read how grim 2 particular days were in norway, go to my journal link and read Day `58 & day 159. day 159 is the only time in my life I have every considered sleeping the night in a public toilet in preference to being outside in the 'weather'.) this article by CTC also makes for a good/interesting read www.ctc.org.uk/cyclists-library/regulations/lighting-regulations
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2013 19:24:53 GMT
I've got a Fenix TK22 on the front and a Cateye TL-LD1100 on the rear. Best set up I could ever imagine. As good as a motorbikes lights haha.
I wear the rear free one that came with the Triban, on the back of my backpack.
The Fenix was expensive, but I needed it for other uses, so was a justified purchase. You can get similar torches and a mount for much less.
|
|