UKC

Has anyone got any recommendations for a front light for winter commuting? My route is some city centre work, then country lanes and unlit pathways. This would be a main light to see and be seen. I also have a flashing LED light on the bars and have a head torch which is usually set on flash when on busy roads to get attention, and is on constant on the unlit roads to help vision. I have a budget of around £50 and the Cateye Volt 300 seems to fit the bill. Anything else out there i should be looking at?

Cheers

In reply to the sheep:

Have a look here - http://www.candb-seen.co.uk/bikehead-lights/cabs-02-series---cree-xml.html

In reply to Bob:

I was about to suggest the same brand. Bought a light from them last year and it's been great. Very good customer service from the guy who runs them too. I would go for the 1000 lumen one though, it's plenty bright enough and quite a bit cheaper.

In reply to bigbobbyking:

I was going to do that but noticed they are out of stock

I've this headtorch - http://www.candb-seen.co.uk/flashlightheadlamp/cb-seen-cree-xm-l-t6-900.htm... , it's brighter than my Hope Vision 2 bar lights! For £13 it's stunning value, just have to see how long it lasts.

In reply to the sheep:

Can't recommend anything specific, but when you get it, please angle it so that it hits the floor no more than 10m in front of your bike. For some reason, people with really bright lights like shining them at driver / cyclist / walker eye level which is dazzling at best and down right dangerous at worst.

Good luck!

In reply to the sheep:

I use a Smart light set most of the time for commuting, mainly through lit town/main road, or my NiteRider if I'm using the scenic route home.

As a cyclist and a driver, though, I can't stand flashing lights on cyclists and I never use that mode on any of mine - I don't think they help drivers judge distances when they're on/off. Far better, in my opinion, to have good lights and bright/reflective clothing.

In reply to Bob:


I have a very similar looking generic 1000 lumen light. Plenty bright enough, but adding a diffuser to spread the light in the horizontal plane was a couple of quid well spent.

In reply to the sheep:

Just a point to note, but one that's been driving me to distraction for the past few years, and to which I workled out the answer last week:

LED lights placed directly adjacent to wireless trip computers mask the signal so that the b....y thing doesn't work. The light only need to be a few inches away for it not to interfere with the computer.

This is true for at least Bontrager/Trek and Cateye computers and Lezyne lights.

In reply to nniff:

I've had that issue as well! Don't think its a problem with my cheapy wired computer.

As to lights, I've got a couple of ones probably similar to the torch Bob linked - they each take one Li-Ion 18650 battery. I got them from Deal Extreme in Hong Kong although I've had difficulty getting batteries delivered sometimes. But you can get a light, 2 batteries and the appropriate charger for less than 20 euro (so 15 quidish?). If you don't want to risk China Post/customs issues, then 7dayshop are now doing something similar for not much more.

I bought a few of the velcro-on holders that fit the torches to your handlebars or helmet too, they cost at tops 99 cents each from deal extreme, so worth getting a the two different types for experimenting where to put the lights.

In reply to the sheep:

theres leyzne lights on sport Pursuit right now and about half price. look pretty good!

In reply to the sheep:

Can't comment on the lights you mention but was interested in your thought that 300 lumens was enough for unlit country lanes and pathways.

In reply to Indy:



Mainly going from the review on Road.cc which suggests that whilst at the lower end of the spectrum it is still sufficient.
http://road.cc/content/review/108798-cateye-volt-300-front-light
However not treating that as gospel so im asking for advice.

In reply to the sheep:
I now use the Cateye volt front light. Has a handy "hyperconstant" function whereby it is a constant light but with a background flash (hard to explain). Bargain at £50 too.
I once had a Lezyne superdrive. It last 6 months before packing in.

In reply to the sheep:

Like others I've just brought a cheap Cree XM-L T6 light for £15 quid from ebay. There are various styles of these knocking around (i.e. multiply LEDs etc). I have one with a single LED.

Build quality is good for the money, fairly light, simple handle bar fitting system for the head unit, fairly small battery pack. Battery pack isn't waterproof, so I wrapped in a plastic bag and duct tape before putting it in the supplied nylon case.

Its very bright and suitable for unlit roads and cycle tracks, and commuting. For off road riding I think you'd probably want a second one. Cant comment on battery life yet as I've only run it for a few half hr sessions. Need to angle the light down slightly as there is no control on the spill of light, you get one 'hotspot' of light central to the lens, and a less bright wash of light around the outside. C&B Seen do a diffuser lens which will spill the light in a more horizontal fashion, probably a good idea if you are on road with one of these.

There is an led on the back of the head unit which indicates how much battery is remaining (green, blue and red), which is useful. The only downside I can see is you need to physically unplug the head unit from the battery, or the power indicator led remains on (even when the head unit is switched off).

For the money its seems very very good value, and a great light. Personally I wouldn't waste money on anything more expensive.

Prior to this I was using a single cell Lezyne minidrive front light, which was £45, less bright, with a shorter battery life.

A no brainer, as they say.

In reply to the sheep:

These simply work and do the job, brighter than cr head lights and have been using for 2 years now

WHY pay more?

In reply to LastBoyScout:

^^^This!!! Flashing front lights also look exactly the same in your mirror / wet windows as flashing blue lights on emergency vehicles so don't use them!

In reply to Toerag:


So you can be seen and people get out of the way, dont see a problem there

In reply to Ridge & Phil79:

I second the recommendation for a generic Cree XML with diffuser (which makes a big difference to the spread of light on the road ahead) and some DIY waterproofing of the battery pack.

Cheap to buy & has been great for my rural back road winter commute home for past 2 years. I do carry a backup light, but have never had to use it.

In reply to the sheep:
I've just bought a Fluxient 1600 lumens light (the race edition which has a 2.5hr run time). It is fantastic!! throws an amazing spot a good distance ahead, but also illuminates the road directly in front of you.
I know people are saying that the cheap chinese ones are just as good, and they are (almost) while they last, but in my experience it's not long (have had two that haven't lasted more than 2 months).
The model I have was £80. £30 more than your budget but you get a light which performs like the hopes/exposures. comes with 2 years warranty which has got to be worth something.

In reply to Jacob k-d:

The Hope light units use Cree LEDs, this from their website describing the R4 - "Four Cree XP-G2 LED’s generate 1500 (1000 measured) lumens on full power". The main differences will be the batteries and thermal controller.

The lights aimed primarily at MTB use aren't the best thing to use on roads unless they have some form of diffuser fitted.

In reply to the sheep:

Try http://mapdec.com/collections/all pretty sure Paul has stock and he includes a warranty.

In reply to the sheep:

Yes, 300 lumens is fine for country lanes, if the optics are focused This used to be the max for off road lights as little as 10 years ago, and was more the sufficient off road in woods, let alone on tarmac.

Cheaper LED lights have a forward facing led which dazzles oncoming road users. More expensive the LED faces backwards and the light you see is reflected and more diffused, less likely to blind. Road specific lights also focus the light down onto the road, rather than everywhere that an off road light will.

Enjoy the winter commute, night riding is great.

Cheers All,

I got the C&B seen one in the end and have to say its a cracking light. Would highly recomend it to anyone!