front light

visionset said:

Need a new front light.

In the past I had a Cateye Opticube thing, it was abysmal. You could see
they had saved money by not using a seal and attempting to design it so
water drained through without hitting anything electrical. What a joke!!
Obviously water vapour condenses on everything and so it is next to useless.
Add to that brittle disintegrating plastic that slowly made the bracket a
wobbly rattley nightmare - so no, I don't want another cateye.

What I do want is LED driven, super bright enough to see by (albeit 'just'
I'll concede). High quality, well designed and will last me many years to
come. I will be using it on sections of pitch black road, but only for a
mile or so of the 15 mile commute, the rest is street lit. I value the
efficiency and hassle free nature of LED enough to put up with the less than
ideal output. But prob am looking at the latest most efficient and super
bright LED offering available.

It depends how much you want to spend.
Probably near the lower end is the B&M IXON. Good enough to see by on
unlit roads, but may limit the speed you can go at and see far enough ahead.
At the upper end are a whole range, but I don't have any experience of
them ... yet.

--
Don Whybrow

Sequi Bonum Non Time

A child of five could understand this! Fetch me a child of five.

"visionset" <[email hidden]> wrote in

Quoted message said:

Need a new front light.

In the past I had a Cateye Opticube thing, it was abysmal. You could see
they had saved money by not using a seal and attempting to design it so
water drained through without hitting anything electrical. What a joke!!
Obviously water vapour condenses on everything and so it is next to
useless. Add to that brittle disintegrating plastic that slowly made the
bracket a wobbly rattley nightmare - so no, I don't want another cateye.

You obviously don't have any familiarity with (N)Ever Ready lamps back in
the 80's.

Quoted message said:

What I do want is LED driven, super bright enough to see by (albeit
'just' I'll concede). High quality, well designed and will last me many
years to come. I will be using it on sections of pitch black road, but
only for a mile or so of the 15 mile commute, the rest is street lit. I
value the efficiency and hassle free nature of LED enough to put up with
the less than ideal output. But prob am looking at the latest most
efficient and super bright LED offering available.

The Halfords/Hella 1W lamp has an excellent beam pattern but it needs
masking to remove the backwash. It easily beats 2.5W filament lamps or 1W
Cateyes. I doubt it is robust in the wet. The lamp is a loose fit on the
clamp, the clamp itself is easily broken and I have not found replacements.

One consideration with Cateyes is that the clamps are robust and spares are
easily available. The newer design doesn't seem to rattle.

I recently bought a lighting set from Lidl. Filament obviously and not
bright enough for unlit roads but for £4 you can't argue. It does show,
however, that it really is possible to design a mechanically decent lamp
with a robust, rattle free bracket.

So far I've been pleased with Trelock LED headlights (www.trelock.de),
but have no really long term experience.
LS 600 (5 AA's):
- owned for 2 years
- slightly rattly bracket (but fixed with a bit of sponge tape - a
newer bracket seems better)
- awkward battery compartment lid (rear of case held on with offset
screw, but can use an external charger)
- battery low warning light
- decent beam shape
- survived falling off at 25mile/hr when I hit a drain recess...
- cost £25 🙂

LS730 (4 AA's)
- new
- better fit (same bracket as LS600)
- lighter than LS600
- easy battery access (front section of light removes)
- battery low warning light
- decent beam shape and subjectively similar output to LS630 (despite
what it says on web site)
- cost £25 from bike24 🙂

Can't really comment on waterproofness, as I tend not to ride if it's
'that' wet, but not aware of any issues.
YMMV, of course.

DavidR said:

"visionset" <[email hidden]> wrote in

Quoted message said:

Need a new front light.

In the past I had a Cateye Opticube thing, it was abysmal. You could see
they had saved money by not using a seal and attempting to design it so
water drained through without hitting anything electrical. What a joke!!
Obviously water vapour condenses on everything and so it is next to
useless. Add to that brittle disintegrating plastic that slowly made the
bracket a wobbly rattley nightmare - so no, I don't want another cateye.

You obviously don't have any familiarity with (N)Ever Ready lamps back in
the 80's.

<sigh> And steel rims at night in the wet. Kids today! Don't know
they're born.

DavidR said the following on 31/10/2007 23:25:

Quoted message said:

You obviously don't have any familiarity with (N)Ever Ready lamps back in
the 80's.

Gawd - I'd forgotten about those. When I was a student at Leicester
Poly I used to visit my Gran about 30 miles away regularly (for food!).
How the heck I got there cycling along pitch black lanes with those
crappy lights, I don't know. Half the time I couldn't even see the edge
of the road, and looked forward to cars coming behind me so I could see
where I was going for a bit!

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

Paul Boyd usenet.is.worse@plusnet said:

DavidR said the following on 31/10/2007 23:25:

Quoted message said:

You obviously don't have any familiarity with (N)Ever Ready lamps back in
the 80's.

Gawd - I'd forgotten about those. When I was a student at Leicester
Poly I used to visit my Gran about 30 miles away regularly (for food!).
How the heck I got there cycling along pitch black lanes with those
crappy lights, I don't know. Half the time I couldn't even see the edge
of the road, and looked forward to cars coming behind me so I could see
where I was going for a bit!

--
Paul Boydhttp://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

Don't forget their crappy switches, which were a plastic slider and
strips of phosphor-bronze. Invariably, the strips would deform and
refuse to turn on or turn off. I fitted mine with a decent miniature
toggle switch, in parallel, so the crappyness of the original switch
didn't matter.

In the old days, I recall discussing on urc the benefits of swapping
the reflector from a redundant front Never Ready into a rear. The
extra surface area made for a bright rear light.

David Lloyd

In article <[email hidden]>, usenet.is.worse@plusnet
says...

Quoted message said:

DavidR said the following on 31/10/2007 23:25:

Quoted message said:

You obviously don't have any familiarity with (N)Ever Ready lamps back in
the 80's.

Gawd - I'd forgotten about those. When I was a student at Leicester
Poly I used to visit my Gran about 30 miles away regularly (for food!).
How the heck I got there cycling along pitch black lanes with those
crappy lights, I don't know. Half the time I couldn't even see the edge
of the road, and looked forward to cars coming behind me so I could see
where I was going for a bit!

And that was before the batteries had leaked and corroded all the
electricals ;-)

--
Tony

" I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong."
Bertrand Russell

visionset said:

Need a new front light.

In the past I had a Cateye Opticube thing, it was abysmal. You could see
they had saved money by not using a seal and attempting to design it so
water drained through without hitting anything electrical. What a joke!!
Obviously water vapour condenses on everything and so it is next to useless.
Add to that brittle disintegrating plastic that slowly made the bracket a
wobbly rattley nightmare - so no, I don't want another cateye.

What I do want is LED driven, super bright enough to see by (albeit 'just'
I'll concede). High quality, well designed and will last me many years to
come. I will be using it on sections of pitch black road, but only for a
mile or so of the 15 mile commute, the rest is street lit. I value the
efficiency and hassle free nature of LED enough to put up with the less than
ideal output. But prob am looking at the latest most efficient and super
bright LED offering available.

Thanks
Mike W

That'll be the Lupine Betty 12 then...

"Paul Boyd" <usenet.is.worse@plusnet> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

DavidR said the following on 31/10/2007 23:25:

Quoted message said:

You obviously don't have any familiarity with (N)Ever Ready lamps back in
the 80's.

Gawd - I'd forgotten about those. When I was a student at Leicester Poly
I used to visit my Gran about 30 miles away regularly (for food!). How the
heck I got there cycling along pitch black lanes with those crappy lights,
I don't know. Half the time I couldn't even see the edge of the road, and
looked forward to cars coming behind me so I could see where I was going
for a bit!

The later ones with the batteries at an angle to the lens and the clip up
the middle were fine for urban use IME. People did have problems with them
falling out of the clips, but don't know if that was user error because mine
stayed in ok. I did wonder if there were two generations, one with a more
reliable clip.

I remember a crash due to no light one night, but that was with rather
failing batteries so not really surprising :-)

Still, there are good reasons I went to dynamos all round.

cheers,
clive

DavidR said:

"visionset" <[email hidden]> wrote in

Quoted message said:

Need a new front light.

In the past I had a Cateye Opticube thing, it was abysmal. You could see
they had saved money by not using a seal and attempting to design it so
water drained through without hitting anything electrical. What a joke!!
Obviously water vapour condenses on everything and so it is next to
useless. Add to that brittle disintegrating plastic that slowly made the
bracket a wobbly rattley nightmare - so no, I don't want another cateye.

You obviously don't have any familiarity with (N)Ever Ready lamps back in
the 80's.

Part of my Queen's Scout Award practice expedition involved cycling
along the Acle Straight (A47?) on a January evening around rush hour.
All four or five of us had such lamps. By the time we arrived in Great
Yarmouth we were quivering wrecks.

For the final expedition, we cycled around Snowdonia. We really should
have practised somewhere hillier.

Cheers,
Luke

--
Red Rose Ramblings, the diary of an Essex boy in
exile in Lancashire <http://www.shrimper.org.uk>

In article <[email hidden]>, Clive George
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

The later ones with the batteries at an angle to the lens and the clip up
the middle were fine for urban use IME. People did have problems with them
falling out of the clips, but don't know if that was user error because mine
stayed in ok. I did wonder if there were two generations, one with a more
reliable clip.

There were indeed two versions of the clip - the later one had a small
prong at the top of the bracket that engaged with the lamp to prevent it
from falling out. Apparently Ever Ready hadn't thought to test their
new design by fitting it to a bike and riding fast on a bumpy road. :-\

"Tosspot" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You obviously don't have any familiarity with (N)Ever Ready lamps back in
the 80's.

<sigh> And steel rims at night in the wet. Kids today! Don't know
they're born.

Thanks I'm flattered, but I am 38!
I too has those god awful eveready things, but I sort of expect more these
days, especially in such an overpriced market. I'm a climber too, and
despite the rigorous testing climbing gear has to go through it still comes
in at better value.

--
Mike W

"Duncan Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

visionset said:

Need a new front light.

That'll be the Lupine Betty 12 then...

Wow, I don't mind spending a bit for something good but who has a budget of
600quid for a front light?

--
Mike W

"squeaker" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

So far I've been pleased with Trelock LED headlights (www.trelock.de),

Had a look seem good value,

Thinking more on the lines of:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cycle&ProdID=5360032331&n=Niteflux%20Niteflux%20Photon%204%20Commuter%20Front%20Light

or

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cycle&ProdID=5360032548&n=BLT%20BLT%20Firewire4.0%20Front%20Light

That sort of price point or a little less.
Seems I can budget for 4W LED lights, these look to be the business.
Anyone any comments or alternatives?
What is Knog stuff like - or is it all style over function?

--
Mike W

visionset said:

"Tosspot" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You obviously don't have any familiarity with (N)Ever Ready lamps back in
the 80's.

<sigh> And steel rims at night in the wet. Kids today! Don't know
they're born.

Thanks I'm flattered, but I am 38!
I too has those god awful eveready things, but I sort of expect more these
days, especially in such an overpriced market.

You get more! 10 squids will by tou an alloy wheel. A fiver will by
you an LED front light that will last for hours, 25 squids a puncture
proof tyre. You couldn't buy that for rocking horse [censored] in 1975.

I'm a climber too, and

Quoted message said:

despite the rigorous testing climbing gear has to go through it still comes
in at better value.

"Tosspot" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Thanks I'm flattered, but I am 38!
I too has those god awful eveready things, but I sort of expect more
these days, especially in such an overpriced market.

You get more! 10 squids will by tou an alloy wheel. A fiver will by you
an LED front light that will last for hours, 25 squids a puncture proof
tyre. You couldn't buy that for rocking horse [censored] in 1975.

A bargain is something you don't need at a price you can't resist.
-- Franklin P. Jones

"Don Whybrow" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Probably near the lower end is the B&M IXON. Good enough to see by on
unlit roads, but may limit the speed you can go at and see far enough
ahead.
At the upper end are a whole range, but I don't have any experience of

My Ixon was very good. I just sold it (If royal mail ever deliver it!).

I bought an Ixon IQ. It's even better, but probably not worth the extra cost
over the standard Ixon.

The thing I liked about the Ixon was the light was the "right shape" where
the footprint from the IQ is a little too wide, and not quite tall enough.

Both recommended though. They double as good torches too, long as you don't
look in to it!

Jc.

Clive George said the following on 01/11/2007 13:35:

Quoted message said:

The later ones with the batteries at an angle to the lens and the clip
up the middle were fine for urban use IME. People did have problems with
them falling out of the clips, but don't know if that was user error
because mine stayed in ok. I did wonder if there were two generations,
one with a more reliable clip.

Ah - I did at least have the version that had a little pip on top of the
bracket to stop the light flapping about in its clip and falling out!
The older ones didn't have the pip, so you went over a bump and the clip
bent and the light fell out.

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

Paul Boyd said:

DavidR said the following on 31/10/2007 23:25:

Quoted message said:

You obviously don't have any familiarity with (N)Ever Ready lamps
back in the 80's.

Gawd - I'd forgotten about those. When I was a student at Leicester
Poly I used to visit my Gran about 30 miles away regularly (for
food!). How the heck I got there cycling along pitch black lanes
with those crappy lights, I don't know. Half the time I couldn't
even see the edge of the road, and looked forward to cars coming
behind me so I could see where I was going for a bit!

That takes me back! I remember, back in '84 I think it was, being stopped
by Mr Plod for not showing a front light. Fortunately between the time when
I knew he had seen me and actually being stopped I was able to administer a
few sharp blows to the light and get it working again. This was quite
normal in those days.

When I fitted my first dynamo it seemed nothing short of miraculous to be
able to actually see where I was going on the pitch black back roads.

--

Nigel