Bright Headlight for Winter - Recommendations?

[guerney]

The front headlight in pic (two of them), seems decent quality plastic and is bloody bright, nowhere to put it yet though as not sorted out handle bar too busy problem. It comes with a remote cable and button for the audio 'bell' not that loud and makes some strange noises but seeing as I don't have a bell...
So far: 9/10 - based solely on initial impressions

It does look impressively bright indoors, but on the bike... you'll soon see why I said you'd need at least two. It's casts a wide beam. Just one on these:

12V-80V DC 1800LM 6 LED MTB Bicycle Motorcycle Light Bike Front Headlight UK | eBay

12V-80V DC 6X LED Electric Bicycle Bike Ultra bright Waterproof 1800LM Powerful Headlight Motorcycle Light. 6x LED Headlight. High transmission,correct curved plastic lens for better luminous efficiency.

www.ebay.co.uk

... is 4.89 times as bright (1800LUX vs 8800LUX, measured mid-beam using phone luxmeter app at 60cm). First time out with the 1800LM, I reckoned it was about the minimum level of brightness a cyclist should use. However, it's beam is narrower, illuminates a smaller area than I needed when angled down pothole spotting, so I got another for more coverage, then another 2400LM to illuminate a bit further up the road, for when I'm going fast. Together (with the 70LUX on the fork), they form a decent enough pohole kill box.

 

[guerney]

I really should upgrade the 70LUX on the fork - if you look st this screenshot from the vid above (there aren't any potholes on that road, which is why I couldn't resist cycling along it, such a novelty) shadow revealing depth would have been longer on this manhole cover, if I had a brighter fork light projecting light from a lower angle.

 

[portals]

I've got that brighter one on order too that will be powered by 52V, also got the fuse holder and female kettle plug from ebay so just need to get some fuses to test it when it arrives.

 

[portals]

Probably I need new glasses too, when I put a woolly hat on the bi-focal glasses go to ****.

 

[guerney]

The state of how the box arrives is not the fault Ali Exp or the seller, ultimately it is the courier and could easily be down to one of the UK couriers who all suffer from poor handling/care of parcels.

Nearly always, even small boxes arrive from Amazon protected in a larger padded box. I say nearly always because unusually, a hard drive arrived the other day with only a sticky address label protecting it's own little box. I don't yet know if it's been thrown about and fscked by the frenzied postal apes that got employed at the sorting facility after shooting the opening scene from 2001 A Space Odyssey.

 

[guerney]

I've got that brighter one on order too that will be powered by 52V, also got the fuse holder and female kettle plug from ebay so just need to get some fuses to test it when it arrives.

If it works, you'll like that one. If it's the headlight you shared a screengrab of from AliExpress, it probably won't work at 52V - I think I ordered the same one (the big 2400LM light visible on my handebar in the vid) and it didn't work at 36V. Fine up to 30V. If it doesn't, order another and connect in series for 26V each? Mind you, it's big compared to the ebay version I linked in post #121, and it's beam is wider than that of the smaller ebay headlight.

 

[portals]

Got my most definitely fake Logitech M185 mouse today, pretty easy to tell it's a fake due to gap at front lip and it's slightly narrow to feel than a real one and doesn't quite feel quite right. Knock-off was £3.06, when it breaks I'll get a real one from amazon for a tenner, last one I had lasted a decade with heavy daily use.

Everything has been delivered apart from what I originally came to ALiE to buy, the 52V battery headlight!!

 

[guerney]

Got my most definitely fake Logitech M185 mouse today, pretty easy to tell it's a fake due to gap at front lip and it's slightly narrow to feel than a real one and doesn't quite feel quite right. Knock-off was £3.06, when it breaks I'll get a real one from amazon for a tenner, last one I had lasted a decade with heavy daily use.

Did it die of dead switches? I have no idea what switches your M185 needs if so. Replaced the switches of my Logitech Marble mice graveyard with much more robust ones. Good job too, because they don't make those trackballs anymore. When I locate my dead M570 trackball graveyard they'll also be revived.

 

[portals]

Yeah I watched a quick teardown of the knock-off I got and he also show what's in the legit M185....yikes...not much difference....eh!! Knock of is the left

So old mouse in in repairs box for a rainy day, might be easy enough to get it working again.

 

[portals]

Tried out the two rear bike lights tonight.

First the laser strip (£5)
Has down pointing laser and rear facing night rider KIT style strip and clips off easily when locked up and took secs to fit rubber band, keep it as high as you can under seat to miss frame for best laser pattern

Multi-functional Bike Red Taillight USB Rechargeable Back Seat Safety Warning Light LED Cycling Rear Lamp - AliExpress 18

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

vi.aliexpress.com

So far: 9/10 - Hope to try this out for real tomorrow evening, looks nuts so far! Not too shabby for a fiver! Getting another for my son!

Laser only on static:



Laser and LED on static:




Second the long round rear light (£5)

X-TIGER Bike Rear Light Smart Brake Sensing Light Bicycle Tail Light IPX6 Waterproof LED Charging Taillight Cycling Accessories - AliExpress 18

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

vi.aliexpress.com

So far: 8/10 - not as bright as hoped/expected however quickly removed (easily unscrew main part from runner band part by hand in 5 secs) for when bike is locked up and took secs to mount.




Will keep the laser strip, and above on seating post also the new round long one at 45deg on right and the current small circular light on left at 45deg, will post some pics when I get round to taking it out at night again - so will 3 leds on at once.

 

[guerney]

The LED on that laser light is good and stays lit a good while, but your 9/10 score will reduce when you see how the lasers disappear on tarmac in the bright glare of headlights. I did worry about being chased by hordes of cats, but that hasn't happened. I did have to beep a small mostly black cat at 120db, to stop it running out into traffic the other night (there was a car beind me), but lasers weren't responsible. You can just about make out it's eyes, the white patch under it's neck and it's feet, if you take a line down from the red traffic light. Looked young. When I pulled over and looked back, it was gone. Not flat. While cycling I've seen too many dead and dying cats on roads, hence seeing one anywhere near a road makes me nervous.

(Screengrab from 1/960s and ISO800 video, hence dark and underexposed, but less motion blur)



Zooming in... it's turning it's head quickly and there's a lot of light directed at it, so my headlights reflected by it's eyes have blurred together and combined - but I think this is one of it's eyes reflecting a small beam. Wouldn't have been visible to the camera, if it hadn't been a bit of a foggy night.

 

[portals]

I tried the laser down light tonight, you're right the laser bit is crap and can barely be seen however the rear strip of LEDs does add some visibility
Revised score: 7.5/10

Didn't see any cats.

 

[soundwave]

https://www.sanwulasers.com/product/7wblue?gs=1&vid=DvSpMz&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgdC6BhCgARIsAPWNWH2HjsHeIVvqZH8ArQ2kb7F2UpxegaDmFs3xQw1g1IuQP5R1rIkpTlwaAurSEALw_wcB

fkn set ppl on fire with that id recommend 2 for a 14w direct energy beam weapon right up the ass plus you can blind ppl if you remove the ir filter oh no

 

[thelarkbox]

fyi Youtube has decided to show me car laser light vids recently.. ebay has a diy 3a module for £70 though you need an additional laser diode driver pcb to get it going..

 

[soundwave]

its like everything you just need more power

thanos fired part of a moon to knock out iron man what if i could throw star systems at them like worm hole weapon

im god by default oh no

 

[guerney]

fyi Youtube has decided to show me car laser light vids recently.. ebay has a diy 3a module for £70 though you need an additional laser diode driver pcb to get it going..

Very interesting video and channel (cheers, bookmarked), and it's small so I could fit 6 of those on my handbar in custom built waterproof housing and blind eveyone everywhere I go. Saw this laser vs LED comparison vid a couple of years ago, which along with the intense brightness of damned LEDs, could explain why so many car headlights are painfully eyeball stabby and dangerously eyeball roasting blue-ish these days. I hate cars etc.

Appears temptingly easy enough to rig up. Surely can't be long before we start seeing laser bicycle headlights being sold. Could do with yellow lasers too, noticed visibility was reduced at speed the other night when lightly foggy.

Beam pattern has been worrying me lately, because in order to illuminate enough of the pothole blighted road ahead at legal speed, I have to angle at least one of my headlights up... but there aren't many beam limiting wired headlights available, and the ones that are aren't bright, like this 70LUX Stvzo on my bike's fork:

Linkbest Headlight LED Bicycle Light StVZO Approved Cree Led 70 Lux Near Range Beam Mountainbike Ebike Lamp Running Light - AliExpress 18

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

I could use adapters and put up to four on the handlebar - could do that with these too, supposed to be brighter (claims 110LUX), plus one in the fork could make 5 lines forming one brightish pothole kill box:

Toptrek E-Bike Front Light Stvzo Bicycle Lamp for E-Bike/E-Scooter Waterproof Scotter Headlight with Perspective Light Bar - AliExpress 18

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

Pics of the "110LUX" uploaded by unhappy reviewers:

 

[MikelBikel]

Got a "Rad Premium" stvzo led (€50 extra) on the radrunner fork but in country darkness the cutoff beam doesn't cut it, hehe. Hence added Cateye 1100 on bars.
Those car Leds good for driver but blinding everyone coming the other way, esp aftermarket blue-ish.
Yellow Leds sound interesting..easier on the eye?

Yellow Projector foglamps apparently do exist

 

[guerney]

Yellow Projector foglamps apparently do exist

I've seen those reviewed. Bright and diffuse. They also draw about 3A, more than all of my lights draw in total. I could put an amp limiting power module inline connecting three or more I suppose, try angling them down sharply.

I angle one or two of my headlights down for normal roads, angle them back up for country, but I could dim my lights by switching them off and on again. Do that again and they become horrifyingly high intensity flashy. Easy to yellowfy using heat resistant acetate sheet.

I'd prefer this sort of pattern, supposedly projected by a Lezyne Hecto Drive E50. What the heck? Look at the sky, I seriously doubt this Hecto thing looks this bright::

https://www.bike-components.de/en/Lezyne/Hecto-Drive-E50-LED-Front-Light-for-E-Bikes-StVZO-Approved-p68298/

...but I don't prefer it anywhere near enough to spend freaking £50 each for three in serial on my handlebar and one wired in parallel on the fork!


Two wire connection:

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0043/1246/5494/files/Ebike_Hecto_Stvzo_E50_Power_Pro_Stvzo_E80_-_72924-MANUAL-Y12-Hecto_PowerPro_STVZO-EBIKE-R0B1.pdf

 

[guerney]

Yellow Leds sound interesting..easier on the eye?

I reckon yellowfied would be easier on the eye, but I don't think cyclists are allowed yellow headlights.

 

[MikelBikel]

I reckon yellowfied would be easier on the eye, but I don't think cyclists are allowed yellow headlights.

Maybe we could pretend we are French?
From Reddit, so with a pinch!
"MOT handbook, section 4.1.4
The colour of the light headlamps emit must be one of the following:
white
predominantly white with blue tinge
yellow "

Apparently BMW offer them as option