What lights do you use

[pichipedals]

My other half has something similar to this..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000-Lm-CREE-XM-L-XML-T6-LED-Bicycle-Bike-light-Head-Light-Headlamp-Rechargeable-/251364426698?hash=item3a867cc3ca:g:AwYAAOSwRLZT0MbJ

His is an older version, which from recolelction is 1500Lm - its insanely bright, so has to be run on its low setting and angled down for use in traffic. But as an additional light for dark lanes etc its very hard to beat. There are similar items on ebay up to 10000Lm (quoted).

 

[Black Dog]

For dark lanes, a decent light on the bars angled onto the road combined with a helmet-mounted light are a great combination. I have two Moon Meteors - the 200 lm goes on the bars and the 250 lm on the helmet, and between them I can see everything I need to. However, these ultra-bright lights need to be used with care. I was riding home this morning (before dawn) and met a cyclist coming the other way on a single-track road. His light was so bright I had to stop, as I simply couldn't see anything ahead of me. If the next thing he meets is a JCB Fastrak doing 40 mph (lots about at the moment here) then blinding the driver is not a good plan.

I have a Lezyne Super Drive 1500 lm on order at the moment, and I shall use it with caution.

 

[Steve UKLSRA]

I run a Lezyne Superdrive 1200 with a Lezyne SD600 on my helmet and it works well in the forests, the bike one lights the track immediately ahead and the helmet light enables me to be able to project a beam around corners and further up the trail...our other bikes run the Solar Storm twin Cree lights off ebay with separate battery packs, very bright but the light spread is not as good as the Lezynes.

 

[ocb]

I just bought my first light...Botranger ion 700RT, and used it for the first time tonight. Paid 130 euro for it. Needed something ASAP though. I am most definitely in the market for more lighting, especially helmet mounted (I have an electric kick scooter amongst other rides, powered + non powered).Some good ideas on here

 

[Black Dog]

I made a mistake - the light I ordered was a Lezyne 1200, not 1500. After one night commute, I am happy with it. On its medium setting it is no brighter than the 250 Moon (which is fairly bright) at the centre of the pattern, but the beam is much, much wider. Two effects of this - 1. it lights up the road and verges beautifully, up to 100m ahead. I have had motorbikes with worse lights. 2. This means that it has to be angled down quite severely if there is oncoming traffic. With the Moon, I just knock it down a bit and you can see the beam doesn't hit the oncoming car. The Lezyne needs to be pointing just in front of the front wheel to avoid dazzling. I have got the bracket set so that it can move with hand pressure, but stays in place over bumpy potholes. Whether it will stay that way with wear and tear remains to be seen. Crashing the bike on a patch of ice didn't upset it.

As a light for the dark lanes, it's excellent. Best thing is, on a combination of maximum and medium settings, it lasted the outward and homeward journeys (total about 1 hour 45 minutes), and it still has about 50% battery left. In contrast, the Moons need recharging while I am at work if I am to be sure of light all the way home. It's a big, heavy lump, but I'd recommend it.

 

[halfer]

I've been using an earlier model of the C&B Seen 1200 lumen kit, and broadly they are very good. I have some concerns about wire durability though, both on the battery and the lamp unit - I regularly store them into a rucksack pocket, and this has over the course of time resulted in wire splits that I've had to resolder.

Last week I ordered a C&B Seen 1900 lumen monster, with an increased battery capacity and thankfully a much slower strobe mode. Once it has bedded in next week I'll write some thoughts about it.

 

[EddiePJ]

I have some concerns about wire durability though, both on the battery and the lamp unit -
.

The cheap Ebay Cree lights aren't any better in that respect. They also don't like prolonged periods of use in rain, and even mud eventually gets behind the lense.

I modded the Fenix BT20 this week, and it now runs an eight cell 18650 battery pack. Running six cell 18650 battery packs on the cheap 1 Cree Ebay lights is close to an evening's use of off road riding, but I still have to change packs to get a full evening of riding. As battery packs fail, I'll swap out to eight or even possibly ten cell packs on those lights as well.

 

[kangooroo]

My bike already has fitted lamps but I've also received quite a large selection of lamps to review from Amazon. My favourite front lamps have to be the CREE LEDs which can be removed and used as a hand torch. For the rear I have an assortment of cheap clip-on lamps plus a better one fitted to the seat post with indicators which sounds gimmicky but works a lot better than I expected. I also have a broad, reflective, USB-rechargeable belt with flashing LEDs.

Yes, I'm certainly visible at night but I live in an area with no street lamps just narrow, black, unlit lanes with quite a few potholes.

 

[Mac_user82]

I use Exposure Lights they are a very good brand but they come at a cross
i have mk6 Diablo with a Support cell to i get about 7 Hours of burn time
on full power.

For my rear light i use a Dinotte Quad Red which is 200 Lumens it is a truly amazing light you can easy be seen from 1 mile away with ease when
you see the light on the road car drivers act completely different towards the light and they do stay off your tall when you are cycling.

A few months ago a police car was behind me and he was coming towards me at a speed then he seen my light and he slowed right down he stopped
off my tail he never pulled me over or nothing just looked at me in the mirror
and carried on going.

 

[Perseus]

I like high power rear lights as I feel that is where the greatest danger lurks and like you use red Cree LEDs to create a wall of unmissable light. I'm not impressed by the cheap AAA battery powered units.

Stats show the greatest % danger comes from the front or side from motor vehicles. A front light is just as important. Where there is not street lighting I use a Cree external battery model.

 

[tillson]

Stats show the greatest % danger comes from the front or side from motor vehicles. A front light is just as important. Where there is not street lighting I use a Cree external battery model.

I use those Cree lights that come with the external battery pack on the front, but mine are wired into the bike's battery. I somehow feel safer with a good rear light and use this

http://www.magicshineuk.co.uk/bike-lights/rear-bike-lights/magicshine-mj-818-rear-light-85-lumens.html?gclid=CNyM8_O6ycoCFQoCwwodJwYPKg

I use a different one on my MTB which is even brighter, but can't remember the brand name. It cost about £55. Both come with an external battery like the front lights.

Both are very bright and get attention, even in daylight and traffic seems to give me more room. The stats may say otherwise, but I'm sticking with the above light thanks.

Edit:

Just remembered the other rear light brand. Bikeray.

http://bikerayuk.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=55

 

[Perseus]

I use those Cree lights that come with the external battery pack on the front, but mine are wired into the bike's battery. I somehow feel safer with a good rear light and use this

http://www.magicshineuk.co.uk/bike-lights/rear-bike-lights/magicshine-mj-818-rear-light-85-lumens.html?gclid=CNyM8_O6ycoCFQoCwwodJwYPKg

I use a different one on my MTB which is even brighter, but can't remember the brand name. It cost about £55. Both come with an external battery like the front lights.

Both are very bright and get attention, even in daylight and traffic seems to give me more room. The stats may say otherwise, but I'm sticking with the above light thanks.

Edit:

Just remembered the other rear light brand. Bikeray.

http://bikerayuk.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=55

Rear lights too pricey for me. I have seen better ones on other bikes than mine. I tend to use two in case one goes out.

 

[Black Dog]

Stats show the greatest % danger comes from the front or side from motor vehicles. A front light is just as important. Where there is not street lighting I use a Cree external battery model.

I'm sure you're right about the statistics, but there is a big difference psychologically. My night riding is on unlit roads and lanes, and I never worry about being hit from the front or side. However, a car coming up behind with a speed differential of perhaps 50-60 mph is a real concern. You can do absolutely nothing about it. The rear light on the Wisper is excellent, and on main roads I supplement it with a blinker and another on my head. Visibility is your only protection against a dozy driver coming up your six.

 

[Perseus]

Country lanes are the most dangerous roads for cyclists. Because of the rear danger I like (ideally) a broad back lamp that can be seen from oblique angles, not just directly behind the cyclist, http://www.tredz.co.uk/search/rear light Not much a cyclist can do if a motorist loses control of a car. Ideally, on a straight road, the flashing back lamp can be seen from far enough away. So can pedal reflectors if the car driver has remembered to put on his lights. In practice I have found the rain gets in back lights and the relatively expensive ones are no better in this respect than the cheap ones. Looking out at back lightsd now. Might just need a sturdy bracket as they can break as well. New ebike came with Halford's Cateye battery lights which are OK in town but front light would not be good enough on country lanes. Got a Cree light for that. Back light is not very good either.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/CyclingUK/

 

[Perseus]

http://www.tredz.co.uk/lights-comparison-test

 

[EddiePJ]

I tend to use two in case one goes out.

I do just the same, and have a third stored away in my Camelbak.

This comes from past experience of loosing two lights on separate occasions riding off road, and also having one battery failure.


My road riding is minimal, and I just buy a load of these at a time. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LED-Bicycle-Cycling-Bike-Front-Rear-Tail-Helmet-Flash-Light-Safety-Warning-Lamp-/231741517722?var=&hash=item35f4deef9a:m:mzOqGrXH3ucK3c__DFovTEA They are more than adequate for my needs.

 

[cosybike]

I have tried the Blaze one with the Bicycle projection laser in them. Not so great in the wet and I do prefer a beam with cutoff. Quite good for moving through pedestrians and on bike paths but a bit blindy for other road users.
http://teamblaze.staging.wpengine.com/

Just seen you get front and rear lights with incident cameras in them these days as well.

 

[jkirkebo]

For "low-beams" I use twin Cycle Lumenators from ebikes.ca. 1000 lumens each, 12 degree spread, runs directly from the main battery. Handlebar mounts.

http://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/cycle-lumenator.html

For "high beams" I use a Rigid D2 Hyperspot. 20W LED, 1760 lumens, 5 degree spread, runs from the main battery through a DC-DC-converter. It's mounted on the fork.

http://www.rigidindustries.com/led-lighting/50371

 

[Black Dog]

Country lanes are the most dangerous roads for cyclists. Because of the rear danger I like (ideally) a broad back lamp that can be seen from oblique angles, not just directly behind the cyclist, http://www.tredz.co.uk/search/rear light Not much a cyclist can do if a motorist loses control of a car.

My normal route is 95% country lanes, with a couple of short stretches of A road. I feel quite safe on the lanes - it's the A roads that I don't like. It's not a question of the driver losing control. Near me recently, a young lad was killed outright on his moped where he was positioned correctly to turn right off the main road, waiting for oncoming traffic to clear, and a car ran into him from behind. He stood no chance. Our company first aid trainer was first on scene - I'll spare you the gruesome details. But the lady driver didn't lose control, she simply didn't see him. On unlit main roads at night I have so much hi-viz and lights you can see me from the ISS, and I still get close passes. I stick to the lanes, where the speed differentials are lower.

 

[Perseus]

Personal experience, of one driver hitting me as a pedestrian jumping pedestrian lights and then losing control, and a second time driver jumping level crossing lights and then losing control and missing me. Both at night. These are urban roads. Country lane has flowers where a moped rider was run down on a slight bend. Excessive speed was the cause, but most accidents occur because of distraction. When a driver loses a control that is when the real nightmares occur, and my excessive precautions will not help. My luck is holding so far after 100 thousand miles, but I have been hit six times at slow speed. Just didn't see me cause they were not looking: Bus, car with teenagers, unmarked Police Car at night, swerving to avoid pram (worst), swerving to avoid a cyclist without lights in torrential rain, hit by car from behind in torrential rain. Urban roads except two which were on bridlepaths. Five were daytime.