Cheap Front Lights

[mags]

Hi guys and gals,

I've been lurking in this newsgroup for what seems like years (well
before we purchased our hybrid Claud Butler classic cycles) .. and a
ride earlier tonight made me aware that I need good front light - not
too expensive, but in the winter I will need to see where I am going!

What are your suggestions ... tia

mags


ps I won't bother asking the LBS where we purchased the bikes as when
they fitted cheapo lights ... the rear one was fastened using tape which
promptly slid and made the use of the rear light impossible. No trust
in THAT LBS for me .... (and a few other things did not match or add up
either ...)which is why I am asking here, as I know that there will be
good advice given



Oh ... and hello

 

[Doki]

"mags" <mags@no_spam> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi guys and gals,
>
> I've been lurking in this newsgroup for what seems like years (well before
> we purchased our hybrid Claud Butler classic cycles) .. and a ride earlier
> tonight made me aware that I need good front light - not too expensive,
> but in the winter I will need to see where I am going!
>
> What are your suggestions ... tia
>
> mags
>
>
> ps I won't bother asking the LBS where we purchased the bikes as when they
> fitted cheapo lights ... the rear one was fastened using tape which
> promptly slid and made the use of the rear light impossible. No trust in
> THAT LBS for me .... (and a few other things did not match or add up
> either ...)which is why I am asking here, as I know that there will be
> good advice given
>
>
>
> Oh ... and hello

On-one are doing some very cheap lights in their clearance section. I plan
on getting umpteen and sticking them all to one bike .

 

[mags]

Doki wrote:
>
> On-one are doing some very cheap lights in their clearance section. I plan
> on getting umpteen and sticking them all to one bike .
>
Wouldn't you be classified as being a UFO?

Imagine the panic you could cause

 

[wafflycat]

"mags" <mags@no_spam> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi guys and gals,
>
> I've been lurking in this newsgroup for what seems like years (well before
> we purchased our hybrid Claud Butler classic cycles) .. and a ride earlier
> tonight made me aware that I need good front light - not too expensive,
> but in the winter I will need to see where I am going!
>
> What are your suggestions ... tia
>
> mags

My night cytcling is mostly on roads with no street-lighting. My solution is
2 x Cateye HL-EL 300s (£26.39 each from cyclexpress.co.uk) and a wee
helmet-mounted LED. Works for me. I wouldn't go off-roading with that
set-up, but for unlight roads at night it gives me ample lighting to see by
+ a long runtime so I don't worry about the batteries failing after a couple
of hours use.

Cheers, helen s

 

[John Duxbury]

> I've been lurking in this newsgroup for what seems like years (well
> before we purchased our hybrid Claud Butler classic cycles) .. and a ride
> earlier tonight made me aware that I need good front light - not too
> expensive, but in the winter I will need to see where I am going!
>
> What are your suggestions ... tia
>
> mags

Personally, I am fed up with buying 'cheap' lights so have finally decided
to spend a little more and get something decent. At the moment it looks like
I might go for the Electron twin rechargeable sytem for about £42

Has anyone else had experience of these, or is there anything better for the
money?

John.

 

[[email protected]]

I have a sigma rechargeable.It is a treat to have a very bright light ,
but I find this pleasure reduced by being always not quite sure when
the battery will run out on you.As the cell gets older it lasts less
well, especially if you have completely discharged it a few times.And
you will need an ordinary battery light as well to use if your
rechargeable fails.
TerryJ

 

[Simon Brooke]

in message <[email protected]>, mags
('mags@no_spam') wrote:

> Hi guys and gals,
>
> I've been lurking in this newsgroup for what seems like years (well
> before we purchased our hybrid Claud Butler classic cycles) .. and a
> ride earlier tonight made me aware that I need good front light - not
> too expensive, but in the winter I will need to see where I am going!

The issue with good lights is enough power. High-power LED lights need
much less power than incandescent bulbs but are very expensive in
themselves. A good dynamo (which essentially means a hub dynamo) is not
cheap in itself and you need it built into a wheel; consequently a
dynamo setup is likely to cost into three figures (yes, you can get
bottle dynamo kits much more cheaply but they're not as good). If you
don't have a dynamo you are into batteries, which essentially means
rechargeables because using disposable batteries will quickly become
very expensive indeed.

Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op are now selling an Electron brand 5 watt halkogen
kit (five hours burn) with nickel metal hydride batteries for £40, or a
Knightlight 15 watt kit (1 hour 45 minutes burn) for only five pounds
more; if you want to pay less than that it will be lead acid batteries,
which are heavy.

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

I'm fed up with Life 1.0. I never liked it much and now it's getting
me down. I think I'll upgrade to MSLife 97 -- you know, the one that
comes in a flash new box and within weeks you're crawling with bugs.

 

[Andrew Chadwick]

On 2005-09-13 22:23 +0000, mags wrote:
>
> I've been lurking in this newsgroup for what seems like years (well
> before we purchased our hybrid Claud Butler classic cycles) .. and a
> ride earlier tonight made me aware that I need good front light - not
> too expensive, but in the winter I will need to see where I am going!
>
> What are your suggestions ... tia

My setup for short-distance hack commuting this winter is a cheapish
bottle dynamo and 3 Watt halogen rig on the front fork. It works, and
gives a nice bright beam, but it's noisy and you can feel the drag. I
use a Nordlicht bottle dynamo, and a Busch & Muller 'Oval' lamp (good
beam pattern). The B&M 'Round' lamps are cheaper, but I've had one fall
to bits on me in the past. I back this up with a cheap LED rear light,
and a decent white LED front light for junctions.

Next step up from that is what I use on my nice long-distance tourer -
hub dynamo, more LED lights, and a 2.4/5.4 Watt dual halogen front and
0.6W LED rear all powered from the dynamo. It's quiet, and you really
can't feel the drag even with the secondary headlamp switched on.

> Oh ... and hello

Pleased to meet you. One of us!

--
Andrew Chadwick

 

[Ian Smith]

On Wed, 14 Sep 2005 09:53:17 +0100, Simon Brooke <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> The issue with good lights is enough power. High-power LED lights need
> much less power than incandescent bulbs but are very expensive in
> themselves.

I thought watts-per-lumen (or however equivalently you want to measure
it) was much teh same, still, for over-volted halogen and LED. Has
this changed?

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

 

[[email protected]]

A bottle is a good thing if very well set up and working, but I had so
much trouble with them I was glad to get the hub and stick to that.
In the long run relability and sidewall wear and not using backup
lights must have saved me money and trouble..
TerryJ

 

[Bertie Wiggins]

On Tue, 13 Sep 2005 23:23:17 +0100, mags <mags@no_spam> wrote:

>I've been lurking in this newsgroup for what seems like years (well
>before we purchased our hybrid Claud Butler classic cycles) .. and a
>ride earlier tonight made me aware that I need good front light - not
>too expensive, but in the winter I will need to see where I am going!
>
>
>What are your suggestions ... tia

Welcome to 2-way communication.

I've recently looked into this to give recommendations to parents
whose children will be taking part in night time cycle training with
me.

#1 bottle dynamo set £16.99 http://tinyurl.com/87om9 plus cheap backup
rear LED light: Electron 5 LED Rear Light 6 Function £5.99 from
www.wiggle.co.uk.

#2 Electron Krypton 2 LED Headlight 5 LED Rear Twin Pack £9.99 from
www.wiggle.co.uk.

I will read, with interest, the comments of others.

 

[D.M. Procida]

Bertie Wiggins <[email protected]> wrote:

> >I've been lurking in this newsgroup for what seems like years (well
> >before we purchased our hybrid Claud Butler classic cycles) .. and a
> >ride earlier tonight made me aware that I need good front light - not
> >too expensive, but in the winter I will need to see where I am going!

> #1 bottle dynamo set £16.99 http://tinyurl.com/87om9 plus cheap backup
> rear LED light: Electron 5 LED Rear Light 6 Function £5.99 from
> www.wiggle.co.uk.
>
> #2 Electron Krypton 2 LED Headlight 5 LED Rear Twin Pack £9.99 from
> www.wiggle.co.uk.

I went through some of this a few weeks ago - there was a resounding
call to get a hub dynamo. But I still in fact haven't purchased
anything, having stolen the lights from my girlfriend's bike instead,
because don't actually know what I should get.

Apparently you can't even feel the drag of the really good hub dynamos,
and despite my resentment at the idea that any of my puny energy should
go anywhere but into my forward velocity, I sometimes almost believe the
claims. But, and this is what put the lid on it for me, dynamos just
aren't that powerful and the light is not so bright.

So at the moment I have a CatEye HL-EL500 at the front and something
that looks like a TL-AU100BS (but redder) at the back. They are all
LEDs, and nicely bright. OK, so I have to bear in mind that the
batteries may suddenly decide they need recharging at an awkward moment,
but it's not such a hardship to change them regularly before it's too
late, or to carry a spare fully charged set around with me.

So far this set-up has worked well and I think I will buy the same for
myself, and give back Carol her lights.

Daniele
--
For sale: Apple PowerBook G4 17", 1.67GHz, 1.5GB RAM, 80GB HDD, DVD
writer, Airport Extreme, Bluetooth, backlit keyboard. Almost brand
new - has been used exactly once, on 8th September 2005, for a one-
day project. Absolutely perfect condition. £1500 + VAT or offers.

 

[Call me Bob]

On Wed, 14 Sep 2005 22:03:25 +0100,
[email protected] (D.M. Procida) wrote:


>So at the moment I have a CatEye HL-EL500 at the front and something
>that looks like a TL-AU100BS (but redder) at the back. They are all
>LEDs, and nicely bright. OK, so I have to bear in mind that the
>batteries may suddenly decide they need recharging at an awkward moment,
>but it's not such a hardship to change them regularly before it's too
>late, or to carry a spare fully charged set around with me.
>
>So far this set-up has worked well and I think I will buy the same for
>myself, and give back Carol her lights.

There's a lot to be said for good LED front lamps, I'm a fan myself. A
hub dynamo set up is an excellent choice yes, but horses for courses
and all that...

If you like the EL500 enough to be buying one for yourself, then you
should also consider the new Smart Nova 1W LED lamp. It's similar to
the Cateye one, but perhaps better in value/performance.

See comprehensive review here:

http://www.ajjrice.plus.com/reviews/smart nova.htm

With the current £5 discount voucher Wiggle are offering, you could
get one for £21.99 with free delivery.

"Bob"
--

Email address is spam trapped, to reply directly remove the beverage.

 

[Bertie Wiggins]

On Wed, 14 Sep 2005 22:03:25 +0100,
[email protected] (D.M. Procida) wrote:

>I went through some of this a few weeks ago - there was a resounding
>call to get a hub dynamo. But I still in fact haven't purchased
>anything, having stolen the lights from my girlfriend's bike instead,
>because don't actually know what I should get.

Hub dynamos are an excellent choice for a bike you will be keeping for
many years. Children tend to grow out of their bikes after a couple
of years and hub dynamos are therefore not such a good idea.

 

[Steph Peters]

[email protected] (D.M. Procida) of Apple Juice,
Cardiff wrote:
>So at the moment I have a CatEye HL-EL500 at the front and something
>that looks like a TL-AU100BS (but redder) at the back. They are all
>LEDs, and nicely bright. OK, so I have to bear in mind that the
>batteries may suddenly decide they need recharging at an awkward moment,
>but it's not such a hardship to change them regularly before it's too
>late, or to carry a spare fully charged set around with me.
>
>So far this set-up has worked well and I think I will buy the same for
>myself, and give back Carol her lights.

And having two sets the same always gives you the possibility of borrowing
the other set again, when you forget to charge your own.
--
Judge: A law student who marks his own papers.
Henry Louis Mencken
Steph Peters delete invalid from [email protected]lid
Tatting, lace & stitching page <http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/index.htm>

 

[mags]

Bertie Wiggins wrote:

>
> I will read, with interest, the comments of others.

As I have been doing since starting this thread. Thanks to everyone who
has responded.

Bertie Wiggins - The choices you provide are indeed affordable and
something that I shall be looking into, thanks.

Cycling home last night (only 5pm)) made me realise just how quickly the
nights are pulling in, especially in rain and the importance of not only
being able to see on the dark streets/lanes, but being seen too!

mags