Rechargeable Lights For Front And Rear, Cateye Vs Exposure

[TomSynnott]

Hi all... looking for a good solid set of lights! The best reviews, seem to be for the Cateye Volt 700 and the Cateye Rapid X2... any thoughts on these or other recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

As a side note, Exposure seem to be amazing, but are they not actually rechargeable?

 

[Bill Scoble]

Hi, I put this on my MTB,that's awesome

 

[Froze]

I think that Cateye tail light is underpowered and over priced in today's world. Try looking at the Serfas TL 60, it puts out a bit more light, but better yet the Serfas TL80 is even brighter though it will cost more money.

Headlight wise it's the same thing, Cateye is overpriced and underpowered, Cygolite has them beat with this: http://www.amazon.com/Cygolite-Expilion-Light-Helmet-Mount/dp/B00LXTOPNU/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1435161348&sr=1-1&keywords=cygolite+expilion And the battery on this is user replaceable.

Or if you want a kit that come with a front and rear light than see this: http://www.amazon.com/Cygolite-Expilion-Headlight-Rechargeable-Flashlight/dp/B00NO70EI4/ref=sr_1_14?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1435161348&sr=1-14&keywords=cygolite+expilion Same headlight as above but with their HotShot rear light which is more powerful than the Cateye, so you get two better lights for the price of just the Cateye head light!

You can go dizzy looking at all the lights on the market, there is even this front headlight that according to reviews is not only bright but seems to be holding up well, see: http://www.amazon.com/Brightest-Bike-Light-Amazon-Installation/dp/B00KQSVRF8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1435161753&sr=8-2&keywords=brightest+cycling+headlights This light cost as much as a Cygolite replacement battery!! Then you could go nuts and spend more money on a very bright tail light like the Serfas TL80 or the Light & Motion Vis180 (not the Vis180 Micro).

 

[sbatz72]

I think to have rechargeable lights on our helmets and in the front and back of our bikes are of course great personal safety. These sound like great lights. I have not done too much research on the subject. To be quite honest it is one of those things I did not think of on my own. I am glad someone mentioned it though, those reflectors on the bike do not really offer to much security as far as safety is concerned.

 

[metalmancpa]

I got these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GGR0XD0?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00

I am satisfied with the light thrown. And I liked getting two rear lights for extra coverage.

 

[Volnix]

Have a look on Lezyne too... Pretty strong and rechargeable. Steady output circuit too. Check the models with exchangeable battery, depending on use the battery might run out fast.

 

[Froze]

Have a look on Lezyne too... Pretty strong and rechargeable. Steady output circuit too. Check the models warmth exchangeable battery, depending on use the battery might run out fast.

If you look at the light comparison sites I gave earlier Lezyne didn't perform as well as most of the other lights including quite a few that were less expensive.

 

[Volnix]

If you look at the light comparison sites I gave earlier Lezyne didn't perform as well as most of the other lights including quite a few that were less expensive.

I'm pretty happy with them... And I got one on sale. It costed me the same moneyzzz as a 1 watt Giant one, working with 3 aaa batteries, so it was even cheaper considering that you have to buy the batteries too.

Plus the giant one had no parts available so after a spill when I broke the mount I had to place it with zip ties! Which might be another thing to consider.

Best value would probably be to DIY some lights. Places like Maplin probably sell all you need to make a light set...

 

[Froze]

There are some low costing non DIY lights on E-Bay and on Amazon, the ones on particular on Amazon has gotten decent reviews and cost less than $50 and are very bright, in excess of 800 lumens. If you look good real well you can find the exact same light that MagicShine gets and plasters their decals on for around $100 less. I doubt these cheap ones will have parts but for the cost of a new battery for a name brand light you get a completely new light, battery, and charger. I wouldn't put a whole lot of faith in the lumens ratings of these lights, I would probably safely say you'll get about 1/2 the rated lumens mentioned in the ads, but even 1200 rated lumen light putting out 600 or so is still really good for the money they charge compared to anyone else. I haven't tried any of those inexpensive Amazon or E-Bay lights but Metamancpa above has, maybe ask him more about it.

 

[Volnix]

Thing that I found important in lights is the steady output thingy...

The 1 watt Giant was doing ok initially with some 1.5v toss away alcalines... then it was gradually dropping output until it went pretty dim for hours and practically useless.

So I went for some flat discharge curve GP Recyco which were another few moneyz. Finally got a pair of Sanyo Eneloop for the rear one (10 eurozzz a pair... ) and I lost them with the light...

You can get a lot more voltage from Lithium from smaller battery pack in the expence of shorter run time and occasional explosions.

But the Lezyne ones say that their Above - Al Quada Bomb Grade - Circuitry has:

-Steady output.
-Battery life protection. (Not allowing the light to discharge the battery to levels damaging its service life recharge cycle numbers or something).

I would love to get a pair with replaceable batteries but they were about 50% more expensive and I got one on sale too...

Doubt that the 1000000 Chinese Lumen ones have that sophistication in their circuit and they are still not that cheap anyway...

Plus it's nice to not be wasteful, especially when it comes to batteries.

DIY might cut it between servicability, performance and price compared to these Ali-Bay Chinese lights in the long run, might...

Plus I don't e-shop if I can help it.


"Your can't miss! - Just what you see pal. "

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdjdpoqITXk